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New To Buying Fabric?
I can still remember the first time I bought fabric.
I was like 12 years old and terrified. Jo Ann’s was a vast land of uncharted territory and I was dazed by the sparkling lame and terrified by the unfamiliar nature of fabric stores. I remember thinking “How do I buy fabric? Do I cut it myself? Do I carry it somewhere to be cut? This is confusing…”
If you’re buying fabric for the first time ever, these tips might help you avoid the cold sweat that fabric stores can sometimes cause!
1. Know your project: If you are buying fabric for a specific pattern or project, bring the materials list, or better yet, the pattern jacket , with you to the store. This way you can make sure you don’t miss anything or get the wrong type of fabric for what you are creating (if it says use cotton or linen and you end up with silk disappointment will ensue).
2. Grab the bolt, get to steppin’: Yes – you have to lug the bolt to the cutting table and let one of those old ladies cut it for you. Don’t bring your own scissors and try to do it yourself. Not that you would *cough* Sarah at 12 *cough* One exception: at High Fashion Home, ask a salesperson for assistance so you don’t crush yourself with one of the huge decorator bolts.
3. Don’t lose your slip! The cutting table lady will give you a slip with all of your cut fabric’s prices on it. Bring it with you to the register and hand it to the checkout lady – she’ll take it from there!
4. Don’t Forget Your Notions: Notions are a big part of many projects – so make sure to check your pattern jacket for what you will need. Nothing sucks more than getting home from the store and starting on your project, only to find out you need elastic and fusible interfacing (which you don’t have).
Once you get the first experience under your belt, you’ll be able to walk in there like you own the place and get your craft supply shopping on in style! Just think of all the possibilities that lie within each bolt of fabric…
*Photo by Decor8
Green Fever Hits Sew Crafty…
It’s easy being green when you live and die DIY - that is why we are introducing two classes to help you reduce, reuse and recycle!
The Easy Peasy Grocery Tote class will take you through making a set of grocery totes from an old sheet set (or use a new set if your old Laura Ashley isn’t your style anymore). These totes will roll up easily and secure with snaps. Pretty fancy, eh?
The Little Lunch Bag and Sassy Sandwich Wrap class will teach you how to make a cute lunch set so you can tote your meal to the office in style - while simultaneously saving the environment one bag at a time!
Join us and make something green!
*Image by Jelene - so cute!
UPDATE: D’oh! The web scheduler was taking a day off and would not let people sign up online - it’s back up now!
New Hours!
A funny thing happens when you open a new business - that perfect schedule you came up with is no longer the perfect schedule. You realize that the perfect schedule is the one that your crafters say is the best for them - I like that line of thinking much better. Thanks to your awesome responses on the survey, we have changed our hours to better suit your needs!
We will still offer a variety of classes in the evenings and on weekends plus some daytime classes for kiddos and the work-at-night crowd peeps, but we are combining Gocco Lab and Sewing Lounge time into one night - Mondays!
That way, you can rough it through the workday and reward yourself with a cupcake and some crafts after. The only exception will be when we have an awesome class for Monday nights, but that will be a once in a blue moon affair! Make sure you check the class schedule before you head out just in case…
Starting June 3rd, Sew Crafty will be open for classes and:
Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday Noon - 5 p.m.
Monday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for Sewing Lounge/Open Studio Time and Gocco Lab time
We hope to see you there!
Rawr - Etsy Sunday!
I love Etsy. Yes I realize this is not news to any of you crafty people out there - it’s practically a requirement as a DIY devotee to love Etsy. Buying handmade helps you support another artist AND get a unique item to boot! It’s a win - win!
Each Sunday, we (the Sew Crafty peeps) will pick out a cool Etsy shop that we want to share with all of you! It’s our way of saying “Hiya! If you are looking for something awesome - here it is!”
This week’s pick is HeLiS - a Turkish seller with a passion for ceramics and makes the coolest rings! I have been looking for a lion ring for a long while and came across this gem when I visited Etsy this morning - yay!
Do you have a favorite seller on Etsy? Let us know!
