Sunday, May 25, 2014

Fabric-a-brac 2014

Hello dears! How is your weekend going? 

For me, this weekend was successfully spent splurging my pay on vintage fabric and patterns, eating bagels, listening to ukulele bands and "sewcialising" with Susan from Measure Twice/Cut once and lots of other fabric lovers

The shops, crowd and merchandise was substantially bigger then last year, which was awesome. If you remember I attended last years Fabric-a-brac at Newtown and had quite a bit of luck with my buys - you can see last years post here. I didn't spend as much time in the notions baskets or button jars this time - I had my eyes on fabric and the huge amount of vintage patterns which filled the boxes, cute suitcases and baskets around the tables

Photo by Susan Goodwin



Photo by Susan Goodwin

Photo by Susan Goodwin

My voice decided to disappear (thanks to a naughty cold) at the start of the day leaving me with little chance to bargain, but it eventually returned after a kind cup of tea. I picked up 16 patterns and multiple metres of fabric. Would you like see?

Of the patterns we have;


Style 4056, Simplicity 7207, Simplicity 6531


Simplicity 7021, Facile play suit, Butterick 3493 by 60s designer Jean Muir

Of course I had to pick up the Facile pattern! There was one other floating around, but I had seriously run out of money and it wasn't a pattern I liked much so it stayed behind


Butterick 4664 by 60s designer Michèle Rosier, Butterick 2624, 
Butterick 3498 by Mary Quant

I actually already own the "123 Shift" dress, but I bought it because I thought it would be the right size. I seemed to think that the one I had at home was a size 10, but when I checked I already had a 14! The pattern never fits correctly which is why I thought I needed it, but now I just have a double. Perhaps I'll have to do as my boyfriend suggested and do a give away?


Butterick 3454, Weigel's 2750, Butterick 4034


Style 3747, McCall's 2070, Simplicity 7792

I totally have to make those pants one day soon! How awesome are they? 
Sadly Simplicity 7792 is missing the bodice. In my haste I completely missed the note written on the envelope about the missing pieces. If you happen to own this pattern in a size 14, drop me an email and we can negotiate a pattern trace swap!!


And just to make things more interesting, I picked up what I thought was Simplicity 9219, but once home and I opened the envelope I found a totally different pattern!! 

Going by the instruction sheet, fonts and illustration style, I think it might be a Maudella pattern - 3102. Its the right size for me, but totally not what I thought it was.

If you need a new envelope for your Simplicity 9219 - email me your address!

And now for the fabric!!!


Purple plaid wool - 1 metre. I'm envisioning a cute late 60s style mini
Blue Floral soft cotton - 2 metres
Green wool blend - enough for a mini skirt
Floral thick poly - 2.5 metres. Totally one of those fabrics I can see Vix turning into one of her fabulous maxi skirts, but I don't yet have a plan for it


Rayon Navy floral - 2 metres
Pink and Orange cotton paisley - 1 metre
Soft cotton blue  paisley - 2.6 metres
Purple paisley cotton - 3 metres.

I'm not entirely convinced by the purple paisley. I think it might be quilting fabric, but I bought all four of these because I have realised a gap in my wardrobe thanks to Me Made May. I do not have enough tops and shirts for work, so yesterday I bought a shirt pattern from Etsy to help use these fabrics up. I always screw shirt collars up, so stay tuned for those adventures! 


This navy floral deserves a close up - I love it!


I was also given this sweet white frock by Susan. It looks old, but she is pretty sure it was a sample sewn up in one of the workshops she used to work at. Its a little tight around the hips, but I did use it to give my boyfriend a little "overly attached girlfriend" scare and told him this is the dress I'm gonna wear to our wedding. We aren't actually engaged, but we do like to play tricks on each other from time to time, and overly attached girlfriend is one of my favourites

So Fabric-a-brac has certainly grown since last year! And going by how much money I spent, I'm looking forward to draining my bank account at the next one. I think I'll have to bring along one of those nanna shopping trolleys with me so I can take home all the fabric!

This post has muscled its way in front of the new dress post I promised, but I will share it with you tomorrow for sure! Something to help your Monday go a little easier. 

She's pretty paisley lady with contrast collar and cuffs! Oh my it will be a fun post!

xoxo Cat 

25 comments:

  1. What a fab day out! I'm seriously coveting the Simplicity Jiffy "wardrobe" pattern - those flares! Loving the navy fabric with the bold orange flowers, too. Hope your voice makes a speedy return! xxx

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    1. thanks! Oh that pattern would totally suit you! heck i seem to keep finding things and thinking "that totally suits Vix" but then i dont know how to get it to you!

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  2. Omg all of those patterns! Swoon! xox

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  3. So many amazing finds! I wish I went along! I clearly missed out! Minis are a great idea, so quick to make, but they would help close any gaps in the wardrobe. The purple plaid would be fab as a mini! Is purple your favourite colour?

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    1. yes! omg you have to come to the next one, they're so fun!
      Actually, when i was little i loved purple, but nowadays im a fan of all colours. But yes, i do keep buying purple fabrics a lot lately. 7 year old me is subconsciously helping me buy fabric

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  4. I so hope your cold has gone away and you are feeling better?
    It was lovely to catch up and see all your beautiful fabrics, cannot wait to see what you make with them.

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    1. yes its about 99.9% gone now! just that weird runny nose/icky cough period left! haha
      It was so good to see people there i knew! pitty im missing this Saturday, i hope you guys have fun!

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  5. LOVE your wedding dress - LOL. You bought some great fabric & patterns. I now feel like I didn't try hard enough to bring home more of a haul. Next year!

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    1. lol! we're such jokers. i didn't get a lot either last year, but this time i took more money and said to myself, if i spend it all that's ok. and i did! and i got heaps!

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  6. I have got serious pattern and fabric envy here! Amazing haul, and here's hoping the voice comes back soon :D x

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    1. thank you! voice is back and machine is on!

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  7. What a great day you had! You got some fab patterns and fabric, I'm looking forward to seeing what you make with it all x

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    1. yes! it was a fab day! I cant wait to get sewing with them

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  8. All the patterns! And the fabric! Just wonderful! I look forward to seeing them made up.
    I have a handmade sixties wedding dress that I considered wearing when I got married, it's really sweet and did get a couple of outings, though not at my wedding.

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    1. ooh that's sweet! i don't know if i could wear an actual vintage wedding dress, even normal vintage doesn't fit me because im tall. but if i really wanted one, i guess i should start the hunt now!

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    2. I'm tall too, but this was a short dress which fell to a good length so I was lucky there :)

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  9. What fantastic finds! I love that purple fabric with the big orange flowers, I can't wait to see what you do with it!

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    1. yay! me too! i wanted to make a maxi skirt but then had to think about where an when i could wear it. not to work sadly...

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  10. Seeing all these patterns made me very excited! I can't wait to see them all made up into groovy new clothes

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  11. Oh wow, you found some really great things. I especially love the Jean Muir pattern and the very funky paisley prints

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    1. thanks! Jean Muir is such a great designer, i think this pattern would suit you actually? im mean if you ever had to make a vintage dress, you could look her work up!

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  12. I really love that brown and orange one with the big flowers!

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