Making Plans For This New Fabric

I wanted to come on here quickly to share some of the fabric and sewing supplies I’ve acquired over the past few weeks. Since the arrival of my new sewing machine, I’ve made two trips to fabric stores in search of some material to help me get started. I wasn’t really in search for anything specific but I wanted the colors to be fun and the material to feel nice against my skin.

My first stop was at Jo-Ann Fabrics. One thing about Jo-Ann’s is that they are good for having a sale, hunny. I mean, like ALWAYS having a sale. I am signed up on their e-mail list (and you should be, too) and almost every day I receive an e-mail from them with at least one 50% off or 60% off coupon for one regular priced item and more. This is perfect for those pricy sewing fabrics and supplies that I’m not willing to pay full price for. So if you happen to see me mentioning Jo-Ann’s in plenty of my future posts, you know why!

On this particular day, there were TWO 50% off coupons for any regular priced item plus sales on some fabrics so I purchased this beautiful yellow (my favorite color) one and this nice navy blue flower printed one. Both are 100% cotton, feel nice and will probably feel a little softer once washed. I plan to make an off the shoulder, flared top with the yellow fabric and a pajama top and bottom with the navy blue flower print.

Along with this purchase, I also bought yellow and navy blue thread, elastic and a new pair of scissors. I have learned very quickly to never underestimate the power of sharp scissors when it comes to sewing. Cutting fabric has become a lot easier with these scissors and literally glides through my fabrics making cleaner cuts.

My next trip was to Golden D’or Fabric Outlet on Harry Hines. I’ve quickly visited this place once, right before closing with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and wanted to return to properly shop and sift out some great deals on fabrics. This place is HUGE and had every type of fabric you could think of including faux fur and leather hides. I played I-Spy-With-My-Frugal-Eye and immediately spotted the ‘Clearance’ section at the back of the store and headed straight there. I picked up a white stretchy cotton material, a navy blue jersey fabric, satin in navy blue, and this flowy white and gold striped fabric.

I want to try making a t-shirt for me and an undershirt for my husband hence the white stretchy cotton fabric. I am still debating on what I want to do with the jersey material but my initial thought was to use it to make a romper and use the satin as a lining to prevent it from being to revealing. I also want to make a dress, which I thought the white and gold striped fabric would be perfect for, but still figuring out the exact style.

Last but not least, I have these two beautiful Ankara wax fabrics that my friend Neneh bought for me in Sierra Leone. If you are not familiar with Ankara material,  it is an African fabric that comes in gorgeous, fun prints and used in a lot of West African traditional outfits. They are inexpensive back home in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa but pretty pricy here in the U.S. so I am glad my friend snagged these babies up for me on her trip. I have come to find that certain Ankara prints aren’t easily found everywhere and these particular ones don’t seem common.

I love these designs and the fact that the colors stand out but aren’t too loud. If I choose to make these into high-waisted pencil skirts, I won’t have to feel like I am overdoing it if I happen to wear them more than twice in a year. *Rolls eyes at social media*

I’d like to hear any ideas you may have on what I should do with these fabrics. Any tips you have from working with any of them? Comment down below!

Thanks for stopping by. Like/Share/Subscribe! Until next time!

Love,

Christine