At the beginning of last year I joined the 2014 stashbusting sew along. Since I didn't want to throttle my possibilities completely, I committed only to use twice as much fabric as I bought during the year.
How did I do? Far better than I'd hoped! Even though I sewed very little for most of the year, I still used up 32.2 m of fabric and bought only 3.2 m (lining, interfacing, and notions are not included in the assessment). That's a 10:1 ratio and a net outlay of 29 m: far, far better than expected, and by an enormous margin too.
The challenge was a great boon to me. It saved me a lot of cash (oh yes!), it let me browse my favourite online fabric stores while controlling the urge to compulsively buy every lovely piece of cloth that caught my eye (there's always more fabric, ladies!), and it forced me to browse through my stash when the inclination to make something hit me.
So I'm going to continue in this vein this year. If all goes well, I'll be able to do more sewing than last year. I have a lot - a lot, lot, lot - of very lovely fabrics. Lots of potential for new wardrobe items.
Here's my pledge: during 2015, I commit to using at least twice as much fashion fabric from my stash as any I buy. Any lining, interfacing, or notions needed to complete a stash-sourced project are not included in the pledge.
In a similar vein, my RTW fast - a commitment not to buy ready to wear clothing - was a rip-roaring success: I didn't buy any clothing at all. So I'll just carry on with that.
In closing, a little silk and wool teaser for my current project:
I have the same silk (although in a different colorway) from Fabric mart! It's destined to be a jacket lining.... ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations - you did amazing on your stash busting last year. I tried, failed and then stopped counting! But this year I commit to shopping the stash first and shopping as a last resort when it comes to projects, not the other way around
ReplyDeleteWell done your stash pledge was well and truly achieved, I failed mine completely.
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