Op-shoppery: Recent fabric pickings (part 2)

The same op shop yielded quite a bounty on another day. The roll of grey is lining fabric, $8 for the roll but a bargain considering it costs at least $5/metre new. The pink fabric was also $8 for the roll. I think its some type of 1990's parasilk type synthetic. It has a matte finish and a crisp hand so I think would be great for a 1950's style dress: 

The pale mint green fabric is actually silk - 7 metres for $1 as it has several large stains, but at that price I can cut around them! Question is what to make with it as it very fine and floaty. Would it tear when wet? Have to do some testing...

The last fabric is a soft cotton-y dress fabric with an interesting faux stitched hibiscus print :

(yes I Instagrammed this one)

 Skirt or shirt maybe?

Oh and I nearly forgot! Either a very large hanky or smallish scarf? Regardless... am digging this graphic print:

 

All up quite a good haul for two separate half hour visits to my local Oppy ;)

Happy sewing/thrifting!!!

Kate :)

Christmas fabric buys

It's getting towards that time of year again when everyone starts thinking about Christmas crafts (or - if you are more organised AKA not me- has already made their crafts!).
This year I'm looking to make a few Christmassy items up for each of the kidlets :)
To that end I've rounded up all the Christmas fabrics I've brought over the last month or so from Spotlight and Textiles Traders, so I can start planning my projects.
This is the batch so far:

Being pre-Christmas the prices of some fabrics were more than I would have liked, take this really cute cat print from Spotlight:

$19.95 a metre ouch! Originally when I saw it I was planning make the kids stocking up out of these and the matching dog print, that is until I saw the price. So I've made do with half a metre and hopefully will find a way to put it to good use.

This flannel reindeer print was an absolute bargain from Textile Trader's at $2 for a metre (end of roll):

I know its pyjama material and flannel is like totally the wrong season for our hot Aussie Christmases but its so bright and cheerful I thought surely it would be OK for craft and at $2 a pop I wouldn't break the bank if it ended up in the bin.
I must have been on the right track as DS broke into my sewing room (OK I forgot the door was open) and I found him trying to stash this piece into his t-shirt drawer (never trust a quiet toddler)! Now I know he likes it I will be sure to use it for him :)

The rest of the fabric I brought were around the $9.95/metre mark. The lady at Textile Trader's Midland had to point out the cute Babushka- style nativity scene on this fabric:

Each time I look at it it grows on me more and more, no doubt I will regret only buying one metre :(

Baby fabric pics from my shop at Rathdowne Fabrics

After posting my review of Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants I realised I had forgotten to add pictures of what I actually purchased! Maybe I can blame it on having pregnancy brain this time, I seem to be forgetting stuff more and more often...
At least though I have managed to track down my camera cable, so posting pics is now a possibility :)

Here are the lovely fabrics I scored, total cost being around $19:

From L to R :  Yellow polka dot cotton knit, yellow cotton knit with a flower like pattern woven in, blue cotton knit with teddy bear faces woven in, yellow ribbed terry towelling and 10cms of green ribbing. I brought a metre each of all the fabrics except for the ribbing.

Clos up of the blue knit showing the cute teddy bear faces! I don't know what sex babies I'm having yet but I figure even if they are both girls I can whack a girly hairband them on to make it obvious if I have to. I just couldn't pass this fabric up and it was only available in blue.

Close up of the yellow knit showing the broderie anglaise style flowers woven in.

Snuggly yellow terry towelling with a ribbed effect. So glad to find some in colours other than pink, white or blue. It has a good stretch to it and is a nice weight- not too thick and not too thin. Not sure what I'll be making this into but do know I'll be washing it a few times first - terry towelling has the reputation of shrinking like crazy!

All up not a bad selection of fabrics, hopefully I will be able to make quite a few baby clothes up in the next week or so :) Now just to work out sizing...

Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants

Yesterday I had a chance to stop into Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants on my hunt for baby fabrics, and I'm so glad I did! From I entered the ample fabric showroom to when I left with a nice bundle of baby-suitable fabrics the whole the whole experience was FANTASTIC! A very nice change from my last fabric store foray  :)

Location: Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants is located at 154-158 Victoria Street, just off Lygon, in Brunswick. Street parking is free (!!!) but there are also 6 bays out the front just for customers and I was able to nab one of these on my visit :) A helpful sign on the corner of Lygon and Victoria St proclaiming "Cheap Fabrics" helps to point the way, useful if you are unfamiliar with the area ...or easily distracted like me.

Staff: Well staffed – 3 customer service staff on shop floor at time of visit. Friendly, super-helpful, very knowledgeable of fabrics and the fashion industry. Manager Sandra is particularly helpful if you have any questions regarding stock or the business' role in the industry. The business is family owned and still family run, as I had the opportunity to find out by meeting one of the owners- Dean Sunshine-while talking to Sandra. The son of Rathdowne Fabric’s original founder, Morre Sunshine, Dean was more than happy to answer my questions about the business and provide some interesting details about the business’ involvement with Project Runway Australia. Embarrassingly I had no idea that parts of both season one and two had been filmed on the shop floor and that this was where the contestants sourced their fabrics from! I definitely need to catch up on past episodes now ... :)

Floorplan: Housed in a warehouse style unit, the space is carefully thought out and well lit. Dressier/evening wear and high end fabrics are arranged at the front, with more "casual wear/ dress style fabrics and knits in middle and upholstery fabrics at the back. Fabrics are arranged by type (lycra, fleeces, woollens etc) on tables and racking, with offcut bins throughout offering the chance to snag a bargain at a further 25% off the marked price. There is ample space to move around most of the aisles and stock is kept neat and orderly, with prices clearly marked on roll ends in texta. Several cutting tables spaced throughout store mean that you do not have to carry rolls of fabrics very far and staff appeared willing to help move fabrics if you are unable to do so.

Stock: A simply wonderful selection of fabrics that changes regularly due to what job lot remnants have been brought – and from where- by the owners. Mainstay types of fabric (fleece, knits, evening wear) will always be in stock but styles, colours and textures may vary. Speciality and more unusual types of fabric also appear on the shop floor- during my brief visit I noted Swiss Guipure lace (vintage!!!!), woollen/cashmere coating and a wide range of swimsuit fabrics on display. There is also good selection of curtaining, sheeting and upholstery fabrics to be had. Rathdowne Fabrics buys remnant rolls from big name clothing manufacturers such as: Seafolly, Allanah Hill and Bettina Liano plus excess stock from smaller designers seeking to have a clear out – this leads to an unusual variety of fabrics to choose from. Quality is high and pricing good with many fabrics appearing to be about 25 to 40 % cheaper than what I've seen elsewhere. They also carry a range of patterns (Simplicity, Kwik Sew and New Look), notions and haberdashery, adding to the convenience of shopping there for the home sewer.

Conclusion: Lovely family owned store with absolutely brilliant staff and stock.
A stop here is a must for any fabric shopaholic living in or visiting Melbourne. Be warned if travelling by plane you will have to plan your packing accordingly – so much interesting stuff to choose from could easily send you over your baggage limit :)  Eftpos facilities are available instore (excluding MasterCard and Diners) and Rathdowne Fabrics will ship internet orders both Australia wide and Internationally.

Order forms and other information can be found on their website:
http://www.rathdownefabrics.com.au/
Bonus: Dean Sunshine happily agreed to let me take photos of stock and the showroom during my next visit!! Stay tuned for future pics of some truly scrumptous yummy fabrics :)

A little bit of Sydney Road shopping - Part 2

Thanks to Sew4Fun who was able to clear up the mystery of half sizes on vintage patterns for me :)

In her own words:
"Half Sizes are an old pattern sizing that were phased out in the 80's I think. It used to be thought of as the "mature figure type".
The half-size lady has a fully developed figure but is shorter, about 5'2" to 5'3" tall. The waist is also larger in proportion to the bust, and the shoulders are narrower. "
So I guess that means I have a prematurely "mature figure" (except for the height issue) lol.


My main reason for visiting Sydney road was to (hopefully) pick up some winter-style children's fabric. Unfortunately for me most of the little fabric shops dotted up and down (and there are many!) seemed to cater more to women's dress fabrics or evening fabrics. Also as it is currently the beginning of summer here winter fabrics like polar fleece were pretty much non-existent. So that left Spotlight. The Brunswick branch, smack in the middle of Sydney road.

I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Spotlight. Sometimes I love Spotlight - such as when I find a store that has a large dressmaking fabric section, or friendly helpful staff, or they have a 20% off sale :)

Other times it’s a case of vast disappointment - such as when the store has cut back its dressmaking supplies to almost nonexistent to make room for "home decor" items, when the queues to have fabric cut are impossibly long and I have a short time budget due to being on a lunch break or when the exact pattern I want is sold out in my size and the new order doesn’t arrive for weeks on end.

Sydney Road Spotlight is kind of in between the two - I neither loved nor hated it but I would probably rather shop elsewhere if I can help it! Firstly -while not being non-existent - the fabric/dressmaking section was small. Now given that the entire shop itself wasn't huge (they do have to squeeze into old buildings and I imagine rental would be high) I can understand that, but unfortunately it does limit your options somewhat. The haberdashery section was tiny - compared to other stores- and made near impossible to reach by two massive fabric roll trolleys blocking up the aisle. Being pregnant I have found I'm getting less and less agile the bigger I get and this was a real pain as what I wanted was right behind the trolleys.
On the plus side they did have the pattern in stock I wanted ( Kwik Sew 2978) and some baby suitable fabrics.

Unfortunately though the range of baby fabrics - at least in stretchy fabrics suitable for rompers - was limited. Fabric choices were either terry towelling in three colours (white, pink and blue) and a cotton knit in 2 prints- one really cute red elephants and the other a so-so animal print in red or black. Polar fleece seemed to be thin on the ground, either I missed it in my hurry to get out of there or they had removed it to make room for summer stock. I did see some on the sales trolley that had Dora the explorer or Spiderman on it but didn't really think it’s really age appropriate for babies. Besides I hate dressing kids in head to toe movie/ TV merchandise.

The flannel table yielded better results with all flannel being marked down to $2 a metre, so I picked up a couple of metres of lemon yellow and sorbet green. Not what I came in for but am sure it will come in handy for bunny rugs or something :)

Probably the most disappointing part of the whole store visit was the customer service I received from one of the staff when asking if they had a particular item in stock. Now I know Spotlight stores sell Kwik Sew books - or at least they did up until I moved to Melbourne. Darwin used to have a range of titles in stock and I think I even saw the odd FFRP on display at times when in Perth. However after checking out the twirly magazine/book racks in this store (and having to squeeze past stock to do that) all I came up with was a plethora of "Get Creative" magazines and knitting titles.

So I asked a staff member if they had Kwik Sew titles in stock.

Staff member looked at me and said "All we have is over there" (waves arm in general direction of twirly racks) then gives me a look that made me feel like I was asking a reeeaaally stupid question. Now other Spotlight stores I have been in - if the staff member is on the ball- they offer to look up items on the system and order stock in, if its available and even if it’s really busy and there’s a queue behind me (oops did I complain about queues before? ). Now this store was quiet (I was the only person in line) and maybe this staff member was new, or having a bad day, but they didn't offer to look anything up or even try to find out if these books were ever stocked.

Retail staff please note: I don't care if you have to make a phone call, ask another staff member or search a computer, at least attempt tomake the most basic effort to find out!! I'll wait if it's something I really want, honestly!

I know Spotlight stores are part of a large chain and you probably can't expect the same level of service you would get from smaller, family run stores but still it was way under what I expected. I love sewing and even if the person on the other side of the counter is not a sewer I expect some sort of enthusiasm for the job and a reasonably helpful level of customer service. Is that too much to ask?

Ok, rant over....