More Selfish Sewing

So leading on from my post about my new favourite fabric shop, to some more selfish sewing. One of my New Years Resolutions, which I pretty much stuck to last year, is to not buy any more clothes. However, I can make as many as I like!

So after visiting Goldbrick Fabrics recently, here is my first dress that I made. I chose a super light weight cotton floral print, to make a knee length summer dress for my Mum's 60th birthday party. I found a pattern I liked the style of online, adapted the pattern, and then set to work making.

Here are some finished images:

Here is a picture of me wearing the finished dress just as the party started! It was such a beautiful day for a party!!

New Favourite Fabric Shop

I love living right next to Goldhawk Road! It saves me so much time (although also means I probably spend far too much money!)

My favourite shops are:

Goldhawk Silks & Trimmings
The other side of the tube station from all of the other shops, on the same side of the road as Shepherd's Bush Market, this shop is fairly new and is a fabulous haberdashery. It is the expanded upstairs section of A-One fabrics, run by 2 lovely, helpful ladies, and has a lot more crammed into the very tidy interior than you would imagine!

I go most often for: embroidery silks, bias binding, elastic, curtain tape, and fun trimmings.


A-One Fabrics
This is one of the biggest shops on the road, crammed full, just across the road from the tube station, and I think the cheapest shop on the road. I have found fabrics in there that are at least £1-2 less per m than identical fabrics in other shops, and they always give me discounts if I buy large lengths of fabric. They are also incredibly helpful and quick at re-ordering if I get to the end of a roll and need more. They are also one of the only shops who will give you a sample.

I go most often for: mainly work commissions, most recently pale washed denim, fabulous printed cottons, and silk chiffon for bridesmaids dresses.


Goldbrick Fabrics
And finally to the newcomer, but currently my firm favourite!! It has a very different layout inside from the others, and smells of new wood. All of the fabrics are very clearly grouped and labelled, and they have a whole rack of sample sections, which they are happy to give you a piece of. They have some amazing fabrics which you wouldn't find anything like in any of the other shops. Slightly more expensive per metre than the other shops, but totally worth it.

I go most often for: splurging on fabrics to buy for ME!! And for work commissions as it's so clear and easy to see their whole range.

All are open from 9am ish to 6pm ish (A-One closes for prayers on Friday lunchtime) and all are shut on Sundays.

Time for some sewing for ME!! #selfishsewing

I spend a lot of time in my local fabrics shops looking for a particular sort of fabric for a commission. Most recently I was looking for green, yellow and coral kite fabric, and then pale pink taffeta to make some curtains out of. 

Whilst I do enjoy browsing, it's always hard as I can easily choose what I would go for, but trying to decide what the client would choose, is a lot harder. 

I'd been browsing on about 5 separate occasions when I decided that it was about time I bought some fabric for me. I had many many options of ones I'd see that I really liked, and could imagine what I'd make out of them, but I calmed myself down and ended up buying just 2 pieces of fabric. This one was £6 per metre, and I loved the soft colours and the vintage-y style print. My boyfriend did comment that it looked like I was making a dress out of my Granny's table cloth, but what does he know?!?

I made a pattern from a dress I have which I bought in a vintage shop in Thailand 9 years ago, and have rarely been able to wear, as I can just about do it up, but can't really sit down, or eat in it, for fear of the buttons bursting apart. So I used it to make a pattern, and then enlarged it to make sure that this one would actually fit. 

The great thing about this fabric, is that the pattern has no right way up, so I could use it both ways up, to cut as many pieces as I could from the piece of fabric. I made a draft toile first out of some plain green fabric I had, made a few adjustments, and then went ahead with the real thing. 

I'd been given a self cover button set a few years ago, and had never used it, so decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. I am very pleased with the finished result. 

Even more excitingly, I also had a fair bit of fabric left (I'd bought 1.5m and it was 1.5m wide) so used a very comfy summer pair of shorts that I have, to make a pattern for some comfy elasticated waist shorts. 

The pom pom trim, I'd been given for my birthday, was the perfect finishing touch for these shorts. I can't WAIT for it to be warm enough to wear them out! Preferably on holiday.....