How to Navigate Fabric Stores with Intention

Podcast Transcript

Sarai

I'm Sarai.

Haley

And I'm Haley.

Sarai

And this is Seamwork Radio. Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy. And today, we're talking about how to approach fabric shopping with a clear intention. So, we're going to cover how to avoid feeling overwhelmed and instead, focus on selecting fabrics that you know you'll sew. All right, so, for our icebreaker today, Haley, what fabric do you think is, one - highly underrated and two - highly overrated?

Haley

I like this one. Underrated? I'm going to go with like a wool jersey or a merino jersey. It is one of my favorite fabrics. And, you just don’t.. Maybe it's not as much underrated as like uncommon, but I just feel like it doesn't get its flowers. I want to see people, like, loving it in the way it deserves to be loved.

Sarai

Yeah. I almost bought some merino jersey for the greer dress because I'm making a greer dress. And I ended up going with a different wool knit that I'm hoping is not itchy when I get it, because it was a color that I wanted, but I think you're right, merino is just so lovely.

Haley

Yeah, it's a good one. I think for overrated, I'm also going to go... I'm going to stay in the knits category to be fair. I would say any kind of.. like tissue type net or really lightweight rayon jerseys. I think they have their place and there's good ones out there. But I think that there's more bad ones than there are good ones, and it does not stand the test of time super well. I always, if I'm getting something that's drapier in the net category, I am trying and go for something that's like a little bit heftier, maybe like bamboo oftentimes is a little higher quality. But I think, yeah, real drapey nets. It's a real like meh for me.

Sarai

Yeah. I think they're hard to work with. They're hard to pair with the perfect project to make them work. I think that's the thing that's difficult about them.

Haley

And really challenging to cut out and keep things on grain. So I think lots of times the execution can just be such a challenge that it never meets the expectation of what you're looking for.

Sarai

Yeah, I agree. Okay, so my answer is for this. I think there are a lot of fabrics that are, I would say underrated only because I don't see them as often as I think they could be used because they're so nice. I think one of these is for me, a corduroy. I love corduroy. I love sewing with corduroy. It's just so cozy, and it works in so many different applications. You know, you can use it for pants and skirts, obviously, but you can also use it for shirts and jackets. You can use like pinwale corduroy for shirts. You can use a heavier weight corduroy for bottoms. It just has so many more applications than I think people typically use it for. It makes great dresses, pinafores, anything where you need a little bit of body. I think that's a fabric that people don't use as often as I would love to see it. I think another one that I would add that I really personally like to sew with and I like, - are homespun fabrics. You see them in the quilting world. I feel like you don't see them quite as much in garment sewing, but I think they come in such beautiful plaids. They have a really nice look to them, and they are woven plaids, so they look the same on the front and the back, which is also really cool for certain applications. Also great for home decor, too. You can use them to make tablecloths or napkins. I just think they have a lot of different uses. For overrated, I don't know. This one's hard for me because I feel like every fabric has its use.

Haley

So true.

Sarai

And a lot of the ones that I personally would not use is just because they're synthetics that I don't like against my skin. So I would say any kind of polycrepe or anything like that. I don't know if they'd be considered overrated because I don't think... I think most.. a lot of people that I talk to, at least, also don't really like working with them, don't really like wearing them. And they're a little bit less common I think home sewers like us tend to be a little bit more snobby with fabric a lot of the time.

Haley

I feel like you see them a lot and ready to wear.

Sarai

Ready to wear, yeah. So I guess I would say they're overrated in that sense in that they're everywhere in the world, but I don't see it as much in home sewing. So, great icebreaker. So if you have an icebreaker for us and you want us to read it on a future episode, if you're a Seamwork member, you can just go to Seamwork.com/go/icebreakers and leave a question for us there, and we'll probably use it on a future episode. Okay, so let's get into our topic for today. So, when we ask people what they struggle with the most, I think fabric shopping is always up there on the top of the list somewhere, don't you think, Haley?

Haley

Yeah, I would say like fitting and fabric shopping and making time for sewing. Those are the top three.

Sarai

Yeah, definitely. Those are the top three. So many of you tell us that as soon as you step into a fabric store, you forget everything about your style, about the colors you like, what fabrics you actually need for the projects you're making, and you just get kind of overwhelmed by all the choices. I really identify with this. I don't know. For me, Haley, like when I go into a fabric store, especially a large fabric store that has a lot of selection, like Mill End here in Portland, that's the place I tend to shop a lot because it's closest to where I live, I just get so overwhelmed. And the longer I spend in the store, the more overwhelmed I start to feel. So, I really.. I definitely identify with this, and hopefully, our tips and tricks today will help you like they've helped me. It's just hard to stay focused and remember your plans when there's all these bright, shiny things right in front of you. So, for you, what's the last fabric you bought? Do you have any regrets about it?

Haley

Okay, I'll answer the first one first, which is the last fabric I bought was an ivory, like an off-white denim from a Blackbird Fabrics, and a corduroy in the shade – you know, since we're talking about corduroy, and the shade is called Pickle. It's like a chartreuse kind of a color, and I'm making a Parker jacket out of it. I'm doing the jacket in the white, and then the collar and the lining of the cuffs in Pickle… Pickle corduroy.

Sarai

Oh, that'll be cool.

Haley

I wanted to do kind of like a riff on like a classic like chore coat with the corduroy collar, but do it in something that was like just like a little bit like.. a little off-kilter.

Sarai

Yeah, I like that.

Haley

And I needed, I wanted a jacket that was not blue denim to go with my jeans when I don't feel like doing the Canadian tuxedo.

Sarai

Yeah. I have a white bull denim. I guess it's a natural color bull denim, red jacket, and it's great for wearing with jeans.

Haley

Yeah. Yeah, I contemplated just doing it solid, but I was like, I just, I want to make it a little something special. Do I have any fabric regrets? I have so many. I would say like a third of... I really need to destash a little bit because I'd say currently about a third of my stash. I'm like, What am I going to make with this? Like, what's going on, Haley? But as I've... I think part of it is maturing and recognizing my style, and also part of it is just getting better at identifying the things that I'll actually sew with. I have less and less, so, fabric regrets all the time.

Sarai

Yeah. I would say, like I don't have... I wouldn't say regrets about fabric, but I do feel like a little bit overwhelmed or guilty about the fabric I have that I haven't used, because I have big ideas when I buy it, and then if I don't actually use it, either for a project that was intended or an idea I had, or I only bought it because it was pretty and I didn't really know what I was going to do with it, which is fine. Sometimes that happens. But then I start to feel a little bit guilty. I don't know if it's regret because I still enjoy having it.

Haley

Okay.

Sarai

But it's a little bit of an emotional weight, I guess.

Haley

Yeah.

Sarai

Same thing with clothing, really, or any, having too many possessions, generally, where you just feel like, I don't need all of this stuff.

Haley

Yeah, it's overwhelming. What is the last fabric that you bought?

Sarai

Well, I went on a fabric-buying spree because I planned out my winter projects, and I went through my stash and found fabrics that I already had to use, and then I ordered some other fabrics for the rest of it. And, so I'll just pick out one, which is probably the last one I bought, which was an organic cotton sherpa, which I'm going to use to make the Liliana jacket. So, there is...

Haley

Cute

Sarai

Yeah, it's going to be really cute. There's this... It's been trendy for a few years, but it's a Toteme jacket that's shearling, and has black leather trim and toggles for closures, black leather toggles. I'm going to do kind of a riff on that using the Lilliana jacket. I know we're throwing out names of patterns, which you guys might not know what they are. The Lilliana jacket is a boxy, just a really simple boxy jacket that has binding on the edges, and it doesn't have any closures. So, I'm going to add the toggle closures, which will be perfect because there's no lap. It meets in the middle, exactly in the middle. And then I believe Lilliana is not lined, so I'm going to add a quilted lining on the inside to make it really, really warm. And so, this was something I struggled with actually, deciding between a fabric that's more practical and a fabric that's more cute. So, I thought about making it in a nylon quilted fabric just for practicality, but I ended up going with a cotton because I found this gingham pre-quilted cotton. So it's going to have a cotton lining, which is not as, you know, weather resistant or easy to slip on, but I have another jacket that's lined in cotton, and it's fine. So I'm just going to go with the Q1. Those are the last fabrics that I bought.

Haley

This is a fun topic, thinking about fabric. I love this episode already. So what fabric would you say has been in your stash the longest?

Sarai

Oh, I don't know. Oh, gosh. I have a lot of vintage fabrics that I've had for a really, really long time, and they feel almost more like collector's items than things that I plan to sew with, which I don't know if that's good or bad, but I have some really beautiful rayons, cold rayons from the '40s with really beautiful prints on them that I've picked up at various you know antique shows and vintage stores or thrift stores or even at your eBay. And they just kind of sit there doing their thing because I don't want to cut them. Those are probably the ones I've had for the longest. What about you?

Haley

I would say, oh, gosh, I do have a lot of vintage fabric that I've had for probably close to 20 years now. Lots of fabric that people just gave to me because they had maybe a loved one who passed away and they don't sew, so they gave it to me. And so, it has this kind of emotional weight to it where I'm like, I don't want to get rid of this, but I don't know if I would necessarily make something out of it. So, I have quite a bit of pieces like that.

Sarai

It’s hard, it's hard with gifts because if you just don't know what you're going to do with it, then...

Haley

I know.

Sarai

I know. I mean, that's true for other things that are not fabric, too.

Haley

Right. So that's probably... I think that a lot of the older stuff that I haven't used at this point, I did a big destash in 2020, and I got rid of a lot of that stuff. But the gift things, like, I held on to.

Sarai

Yeah. We had a fabric swap here at the studio for the local Seamwork chapter, and I did manage to get some of that stuff out of my sewing room that I liked, but I knew I was never going to use it. But then I came home with even more stuff, so…

Haley

This is the problem with a swap situation. Okay, my last question is, what is your fabric store kryptonite?

Sarai

For me, I would say, the thing that I just can't resist is a really beautiful silk print. Okay. When I see a silk fabric in a beautiful color, a beautiful print, it is really hard for me to say no. I like wearing silk. I'm wearing silk today, in fact, It also makes great linings. So even if it's a wild print that I might not wear that much, I know I can use it for a jacket lining or a coat lining. So I guess I have a little bit of a rationale for buying it at the ready. What about you?

Haley

I think that something that I... This isn't like a specific fabric, but the type of fabric I have a really hard time passing up is..are like the perfect basics. So if I find, like, a denim that's just be perfect blue, perfect in my opinion, blue. Like it doesn't matter if I told myself I wasn't going to buy anything at the fabric store. I'm going to buy that. Or if I find, it’s like a black knit in the perfect weight and fiber content, I find that those are the things I have a hard time saying no to, just because I know that I will use them. I find it easier and easier to say no to the more novelty things. Now, the only time I buy things that are more a little more novelty here, one - when I have a very specific project in mind and I'm going to be making it in the near future.

Sarai

Yeah, I'll add another one to my list, which would be, since you mentioned, you know, certain knits, I think a sweater knit, it's just right, is hard to pass up just because they come in such variety and you never know what you're going to find at the fabric store. So when I see a sweater knit, that's like... I like a chunkier sweater knit. So if I see a chunky sweater knit that's in a really nice texture, a really nice color, then I feel like I have to buy it because it won't be around.

Haley

Yeah, that's a good one. I think that scarcity is a real like motivator for accumulating fabric.

Sarai

Yes, absolutely.

Haley

Well, let's get into some of these tips. I'm going to start this off with really what I think is my number one tip for curbing unnecessary fabric store purchases, and that is making a sewing plan. So, here at Seamwork, we're like obviously really big into design your wardrobe, which is a program that we run five or four times a year, that helps you to plan your wardrobe for the upcoming season. I think using a program like this or having your own kind of planning and designing ritual that you follow is the single best way that you can make sure that you are sewing the fabrics that you buy and buying fabrics that you want to sew with. I think this helps kind of twofold. Number one is the most obvious is that you have a plan and you're buying fabrics specifically for that plan. But I think the kind of other side benefit of it, is that when you have a process that you follow regularly, a design process, it helps you to uncover your personal style, your taste. And once you can kind of dig into that and really start to identify the things that you like and the things that you wear, and those can be two different things, the more you are going to be able to stay really focused when you're shopping.

Sarai

Yeah, that helps me a lot. Just having a plan means that I can buy for that plan. And when I have a list of things that I need for specific projects, I am so much less likely to just buy whatever looks pretty to me. So I think that's super, super helpful. And kind of to go with that, another thing, as part of creating a plan that I find really helpful is creating a color palette that you can keep with you when you shop. So part of the design your wardrobe process actually involves creating a little palette of fabrics. And having that in mind when you go shopping can help you to narrow down your choices. So first of all, you want to identify the colors that you actually wear, the colors that you're actually going to put on your body, and that'll go with the other things that are in your wardrobe already. So colors that really complement your existing wardrobe. Then once you have that palette, and we do have kind of a process for developing this palette in design your wardrobe, but obviously, there are a lot of different color systems you could use to create your own palette. Once you have it, you can keep it on your phone, or you can even print out a little palette for yourself to take with you. And you don't really have to shop only within your palette, but you can make sure that anything that you buy fits within the colors on your palette. In other words, things that will go with what you have on your palette can really, again, help you to just kind of narrow your choices and figure out what actually works for you. And it’s just…sometimes you just need reasons to say no to something. And even if you really, really like it, because we can't buy all the things that we like. So, sometimes you just need to give yourself boundaries around what you're going buy and what you're not going to buy. And having a palette is a great way to do that.

Haley

Yeah, I agree. I think that's one of the things what I observe people who really love having like a seasonal color palette that they follow, is that having those constraints is like really helped them to create a really consistent wardrobe, in addition to all of the other like, you know, benefits of dressing in colors that flatter you. All right, the next tip is to limit novelty fabrics, or maybe I should edit that to say, be realistic about novelty fabrics, because I think this is very specific to your personal style and your taste. But for me, I know it's really tempting to buy fun prints when you're in a fabric store, it's the colorful, pretty shiny things. But I have found that sticking to fabrics that I know I'll realistically use, and when I'm impulsively buying something, it really has to be a standout star or one of those basics I know that I'm going to wear all the time, has been really helpful. If you rarely wear bold prints, you might find it helpful to focus on solids or more subtle patterns. If you wear a lot of bold prints, just disregard this tip.

Sarai

Yeah, I was thinking about this because I recently, I was going through my fabric stash and I found this fabric in there that I was just like, Why did I, why? Why did I buy this? It's It's like a kind of mid-century-looking print. It's got a lot of different colors on it. The print kind of looks like fish. I don't know. I don't know where it came from or why I bought it, but I guess I liked it at some point. But it's really not me at all. So sometimes, you know, just because you like something doesn't mean that it's going to work with what you actually wear.

Haley

So true.

Sarai

So that's kind of the next tip, which is define the fabrics that you do love working with and wearing. So think about the fabric fabrics that you enjoy sewing with the most, and that can be really helpful for, you know, helping you to narrow down your choices. So if you prefer stable fabrics like cottons and linens, you can steer clear of tricky materials like silks or synthetics that, you know may not feel so great to sew. So, you can reference your closet and find out what it is you really like to wear the most. And you can take a note of these fabrics and then include maybe the fiber contents and the percentages and keep those with your color palette so you have them while you're shopping. That can be really, really helpful. I also like to think about what are the things that I've liked to sew with and liked to wear for a really long time because that tells me it's going to have longevity in my wardrobe. So I recently, I'm going to be making the sage blouse this winter, and I was thinking about fabrics for it, and I decided to splurge and buy a Liberty print fabric, a Liberty Tana Lawn. And, the thing that helped me make that decision was I know I've worn Liberty prints for probably 15 years, and I've always really liked them, so I probably always will really like them. So, just having that knowledge about the fabrics that you love and the fabrics that you actually will wear can really, really help you to, again, just narrow down your choices, give you a little bit of a filter that you can go through while you're shopping.

Haley

I can't wait to see this Liberty top. It sounds so cute.

Sarai

I hope it comes out. I know. I mean, it's hard to screw up with Liberty, personally, I think.

Haley

It's true.

Sarai

But I hope it comes out the way I want.

Haley

Okay, so our next tip is to buy fabric with a specific garment in mind. So this is something that I like to do when I go into a fabric store, if I'm like going, you know, on a social fabric shopping date, or I know I'm going like kind of just want to treat myself to a fabric, is I try to have a couple specific garments in mind. So for instance, right now, since we are in the fall as we record this, if I went into a fabric store with the mission of just buying something fun for myself, I would probably look for something for a sweater and kind of have sweaters in mind and stick to that as I'm in the fabric store. It can sometimes be unrealistic to have a specific pattern in mind. You can shop with that in mind as well. But sometimes I just like to have kind of an overarching concept in mind. And that can really help me to zero in on a certain section of the fabric store, if it is a particularly large one, or put some kind of bumpers on my shopping experience so I don't go hog wild.

Sarai

Yeah, that's the key there, stopping yourself. So another kind of limitation you can place on yourself is setting a fabric budget. So limiting your spending on fabric really helps you to focus on choosing what you'll actually use. So, I think having a budget for your fabric can be really, really helpful for that and very, very practical. So, it’s just, It curbs the temptation to overbuy and to accumulate a stash that you're never going to sew through. So, you can set a budget for the shopping trip, or you can set at least some kind of cap, like only buying one to two fabrics or something like that. And that can be a helpful limitation as well. Plus, you know, as I said, it's practical. You probably don't want to spend a ton of money on fabric that you're not going to use. So, that is just a really simple and clear way to do it.

Haley

Okay. And my next tip is to prioritize versatile fabrics. And when I say this, I'm speaking specifically to if you are impulsively buying something that you do not necessarily have a plan for, make sure that that fabric is something that's going to work well for a variety of projects. So for me, this would be something like lightweight cottons or linens or jersey nets, denim. These are all things that are repeated items, have repetitious uses in my wardrobe. For me, something that I run into a lot with fabric is that I have maybe a really specific idea in mind when I buy it, and then as it sits and languishes in my stash for a long time, maybe I'm kind of tired of that particular style, or I forget my plan altogether, that also happens. But if it's something that has a ton of different uses, I'm much more likely to be able to pivot and choose a kind of plan B for it.

Sarai

Yeah, yeah, I think that's also a really good point. I have a lot of fabrics in my stash that have only like very specific uses, and that's why I haven't used them. Whereas the ones that are simple and easy to use in a variety of ways, do tend to get used up eventually. That's really helpful. And finally, take advantage of the fabric shop's knowledgeable staff. So, this works for in-person shopping, obviously, but it also works for online shopping. Most stores are really happy to answer any questions and to give you suggestions. So, that's a great way to help you make decisions is just to engage with somebody else who knows what they're doing and can give you some advice. I just find that bouncing ideas off of somebody else is really helpful. So even bringing a friend with you when you go fabric shopping can be really, really helpful in making decisions.

Haley

Yeah, definitely. I think that something, a lot of the fabrics in my stash that maybe I regret or have some regret around buying or fabrics that ended up looking different or feeling different than I anticipated. And I worked in a fabric store that sold fabric online, and I answered questions all the time via email about - Hey, would this fabric be an appropriate weight for a sweatshirt? Or, It's hard to tell on the website, is this blue like more saturated or a little bit more dull? I was always happy to answer this question, so I don't know why I don't ask them more frequently. But just a little hot tip, there's a person on the other end of that screen, and they're usually happy to help you.

Sarai

Yeah, especially with the smaller independent fabric stores. You often have wonderful selections. They're always happy to answer your questions and help you choose the right fabric. All right, well, I'm going to recap the tips that we shared today. We had some really good ones. Tip one is to make a sewing plan. Tip two is to create a color palette you can keep with you when you shop. Tip three is to limit novelty fabrics. Tip four is to find the fabrics you love working with and wearing. Tip five is to buy with a specific garment in mind. Tip six is to set a fabric budget of some kind. Tip seven is to prioritize versatile fabrics. Tip eight is to take advantage of the fabric shop staff. All right, what's your big takeaway from this episode?

Haley

I think that my big takeaway is that spending the time to plan your wardrobe and to really like get like intimately acquainted with your own personal taste is the number one way to have less sewing regrets, less fabric regrets, less regrets across the line when it comes to your sewing practice. And I love an impulsive sew as much as the next person, and sometimes you have to jump on that like, you know, creative streak as it, you know, as they come. But it doesn't negate the need to do, the kind of like, the inner work of examining your personal taste.

Sarai

Yeah. And I think if you're interested in a process for this, you might want to check out our style workshop It's only $10, and it's a live workshop that we recorded that takes you through some exercises to kind of uncover your personal style for sewing. So it's really helpful. Yeah, that stuck out to me as well, just the importance of understanding what you like. But I think another thing that this led me to think about is just that shopping for fabric is really... It's like shopping for anything. There's a high level of dopamine involved, and it can be... it can feel good, but when it gets to a point where it's actually, you know, costing you in some way, either in the burden of having too much stuff or the space it takes up, or that it's just costing you too much money or you feel like you're contributing to waste. If it's not making you feel good, then I think just being aware that it's like shopping in any other context and that, you know, it feels good in the moment, but it's just kind of a momentary pleasure if you don't actually use it. So, that's something that stuck out to me. Well, you can use all of these tips and save money on fabric with our member exclusive fabric discounts. So if you are looking for fabric right now, you can find a number of shops on our website that we collaborate with to give discounts to our Seamwork members, and any of them will be happy to answer your fabric questions as you're sewing. So, you can save anywhere from 10% to 20% off your purchases of fabric as a Seamwork member. A lot of people say that these discounts alone pay for their entire membership. So you can see a list of participating fabric stores, and we have a lot of good ones, tons of independent fabric stores on here, and you can find them at seamwork.com/deals. And if you like this episode, we would super appreciate a five-star review from you and just to hear from you. So if you have a topic for a future episode that you like to see us cover, you could leave that in your review, and we read every single review that we get. So whether you're using Apple Podcasts or Spotify, whatever platform you're using right now, go ahead and leave us a review and help other people find the show. You can also find us on YouTube at Seamwork Video. Definitely go check us out on YouTube. We have a ton of great videos there, and I will be sharing my winter sewing plans, which I've mentioned several times lately on YouTube pretty soon, if it's not already out by the time that this podcast is published. You can also find us on Instagram at Seamwork. If you'd like to join Seamwork and become part of our private community, plus, get access to hundreds of sewing patterns and dozens of sew-along classes. Our podcast listeners get a 50% off lifetime discount when you join at seamwork.com/go/podcast50. So that's seamwork.com/go/podcast50. And that's it for us this week. I'm Sarai.

Haley

And I'm Haley.

Sarai

And this is Seamwork Radio. Seamwork Radio is brought to you by the team at Seamwork. Seamwork is an online community that supports you in creating a wardrobe that feels right for you. When you join us at Seamwork, you become part of our private community of makers, and you also get access to monthly sew-along classes, a library of over 200 sewing patterns, and tons of great resources to help guide you through the sewing adventure that you choose. Podcast listeners can get half off a Seamwork unlimited membership, which means you can download as many of those 200 plus patterns as you want at any time, and our community will be there to guide and support you. If you'd like to join us for half off, just visit Seamwork.com/go/podcast50. You can also find us on Instagram at Seamwork, or visit our YouTube channel, which is called Seamwork Video. We love hearing from you, so let us know if there's a topic or a personal story that you'd like us to cover. Thanks for listening to Seamwork Radio.