Sunday 21 June 2015

Treasure Trove

Hello everyone, how's it going?

Today I wanted to share with you some amazing fabrics I've recently aquired from  one of my grandparent's neighbours. His wife, who passed away a few years ago, was a seamstress and left behind a large amount of fabric, some of which has now been passed on to me. 


I was given two large plastic bags bursting with different colours and designs (there's even one with hats on!), as well as a big plastic tub filled with more zips than you can possibly imagine! 



Some of the fabric looks quite vintage to me, but I have absolutely no idea how to date them - any ideas? I've picked out a few of my favourites for you to have a look at... 


Paisley! There are three of these in red, blue and brown. The red feels like a lightweight cotton whilst the blue and brown have a more drapey, silky feel to them. 


This is a gorgeous textured fabric. I think it would make a really lovely summer blouse. 


These flowers are HUGE! Destined for a skirt, perhaps? 


Crazy fabric! I've already made a pair of shorts from this (watch this space!) but there's plenty left for another project. 

I intend to put these fabrics to good use and do their previous owner proud. They look as if they've been sat around in boxes for years before being unearthed and passed on to me, so I think it's about time they were given a purpose. Some of the remnants are too small to make a whole garment out of (like the red paisley, which is just a bunch of oddly sized scraps), but might be good for little accessories like a purse, bag or headscarf. 

What would you do with these fabrics?

Beth x

6 comments:

  1. Wow, that really is a treasure trove! I know the feeling of excitement these finds provide --I've acquired a few of such small treasure troves over the last year and I can never get enough of looking at them.

    As far as I know, dating fabrics is easiest done by measuring their width. The rule of the thumb is: narrower they are, the older they are. 0,7m wide usually means produced before 1960s, 0,8m wide was in production till 1980s (I think?) and the later, the wider. Today's standard is 120-150cm, I believe.

    I can't remember the exact source for this info, I think I read it on We Sew Retro facebook group... I need to research this topic further, thanks for reminding me! When I find something interesting, I'll let you know!

    And that hat fabric - ugh! So cute!

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    1. ooh thank you! this is really helpful - i will have to get my tape measure out and see how wide all the fabrics are! :)

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  2. the blue dots with flowers on the top picture looks lovely! I acquired a similar stash and gave a lot of it away to good homes, its lovely that things can be passed on and reused it would make me happy my stash was being put to good use!

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    1. yes i like that one too! it is lovely when we are entrusted with someone else's fabric stash isn't it? :)

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  3. Ohhhh lovely fabrics! I love the paisley print, I can imagine this as a beautiful flowing dress and this big flower print - I definitely agree a skirt?

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    1. thank you! there's not enough of the red paisley to make a dress, so i've not decided what to do with it yet. i am definitely leaning towards a skirt in the big flower print fabric though! :)

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