While we were sorting out the pantry the other day, I came up with a good idea to potentially help me get a handle on my fabric storage issues. Namely, I need to sew more and buy/store less. The problem is, I get excited about new fabric and don’t sew up the old fabric, or get bogged down in ideas about what things could be and can’t decide what to make with that particular fabric.

So I decided that in order to cut down on some decisions, I would make myself a new challenge. I will only use the fabric that’s sitting out until most of it can then fit in my bins. Of course, there are a few exceptions. If I need a particular solid color for accent, or a specific fabric for the 52 Week Sewing Challenge bonus, I can use that. I took pictures of all the fabrics I had that weren’t put away yet so I could stay accountable.

The funny thing is, I generally have an idea of what I’d like to make with the fabrics, I just get distracted.

Left to Right: Pink French Terry, Teal Cotton Interlock- no stretch, light blue lightweight sweater knit, heavy quilted sweatshirt fabric, polka dotted french terry.

The pink french terry has enough to make part of a sweater. It’s thinner, so it would be good for a short sleeved shirt too. The teal interlock will be a shirt. Light blue sweater will be a summer weight Cocoon Cardigan, as it has little holes where the bow ties are. The polka dotted french terry wants to be a sweater pattern. I don’t have a ton of it though, so not sure which pattern yet. Blue quilted knit will be a vest, I think for fall. It’s super heavy and not very stretchy, so I’m not sure I want it to be a full sweater.

Black Birds- cotton interlock, not super stretchy. Good for tshirts. Music fabric is a gorgeous, thicker double brushed poly. It might be a skirt for a dress, or a tunic. I can’t decide if a tunic would be too busy. I have a lot of it though. The monsters are for my favorite little boys. It’s a cotton lycra. It will pair nicely with the black cotton lycra that’s next to it. The grey is leftover DBP from a tunic dress for K1. You can’t really go wrong with a nice grey shirt or tank top, so that’s probably what that will be. Actually, I do need to replace a grey tank I have that just doesn’t work for me anymore. This would be perfect!

Grey lightweight sweater fabric has already been made into a very nice tunic length Grandpa Cardi .

It’s got a little shimmer to it and is light enough that it doesn’t make me too warm, but keeps me at the right temp. I think it will be perfect in summer too.

The flamingo fabric is swimsuit material. I was going to make a swimsuit this week, but chickened out. I need to make a test version first and just didn’t have the time before I was down and out from the second vaccine dose.

The plaid is a soft hacci sweater knit. It wants to be a tunic or sweater dress. The starry fabric is french terry. I have a Cocoon Cardi in this, but liked it so much I wanted more for hoodies. The teal is crushed velvet for fancy pajamas. I know I swore off crushed velvet, but I couldn’t help it. These last three are from Olga’s Closet and so will be bonus entries for the challenge.

Top is a scrap of french terry for accents. I’ll make the Husband more shorts with it if there’s enough. Next is my River Tam panel, which is going to go on the back of a motorcycle jacket because it’s that awesome. The teal is a dbp and will probably be leggings or a tank. Black is dbp as well and will also be leggings. I only have one pair of black and that hasn’t been enough. The red is more berry like in real life and is double gauze. That will be a nice peasant style blouse or dress.

The wildly printed fabric is dbp and will be used for test night attire and other muslins. I really wanted it, but ended up with a lot, since it was on clearance. The white is a loose weaved sweater knit for a summer sweater. Probably a grandpa cardi as it doesn’t have a ton of drape for a Cocoon. The grey is a thermal. Probably a shirt for the Husband or the Brother, or possibly another sleep shirt for me. The gold veined fabric is a dark teal in real life and is cotton lycra. Originally it was going to be leggings, but it’s super pretty. It actually goes really well with the mustard stars, so it may end up being a hoodie instead. The stars are french terry.

The top is knight and dragon flannel that will be Husband pj pants now that I’ve found a good pattern. The next one is actually a dark navy and will be capris or pants. The next one is black jegging material and will most likely be Solar Flares. The last one is a navy bullet/Liverpool and will be a short sleeved dress. I think I’m going to try a Mix it Up dress by George and Ginger with a really pretty neckline for interest, since the rest of the dress will be so plain.

So that’s my plan for the next couple of months. Hopefully I can figure out what to do with my scraps too. They’re taking over the basement. I know some of the H&M stores will take them to recycle them. Maybe I can find a Girl Scout troop or something too. It seems Piggy needs more cushions too as she tends to curl up on whatever she can find sometimes. She needs a bed for the Husband’s office so she’ll go hang with him and not make trouble in the living room. Wish me luck!