At some point if you start sewing–really, I don’t care WHAT it is that you are sewing, it seems to follow that you will indeed accumulate a stash.
It starts out innocently enough…some scraps here, a yard of this or that, and then one day you realize that you not only need even more storage for all of the fabric that you already have scraps of, but you start to wonder if your family might turn you into one of those shows on hoarding.
The categories in my stash are thus:
1. Scraps–they live in a box on the floor for Noah to revel in or for me to use for whatever.
2. Muslining fabrics–an accumulation of sheets, large scraps of previous projects too small for another project, and once in a while actual muslin
3. To be used imminently–in a cubby under my sewing table. It’s deep enough for me to have a couple of seasons sorted in there, but I can only see what’s in the front pile which is helpful.
4. Quilting fabrics–these take up way too much room because I bought a lot of them when I first started sewing out of not really thinking I’d ever sew myself a garment lest I be sporting that “homemade” sort of look. They are pretty, but they annoy me acutely because I don’t like/don’t want to quilt.
5. Deep stash–this is a category whose existence I’ve had to come to terms with. These fabrics are the ones I have set aside for specific projects (like the teal winter wool for a coat) or because they’re too pretty for me to haphazardly cut into without a very special reason (the pale aqua Patagonia wool knit). In one way I feel guilty about buying new fabric when I have these on hand, but then, I know that I’ve segregated them into this pile for the very reason that they will be loved and used to a degree that I would regret rash action on my part in cutting them up. I started feeling better about my deep stash when I started thinking about the deep stash I have in my kitchen. I keep odd things like Lyle’s Golden Syrup (for my favorite spice cookies), a selection of tasty vinegars (because really good vinegar is transformative in your cooking), and candied orange rind (for really really special baked goods) on hand for a few tasks. Occasionally I think about tossing them, but there’s a purpose behind each of them and I really DO use them. And what about the random gadgets that I only use once a year, like my spritz gun? All I can say is, woe to anyone who tries to swipe my spritz gun around Christmas.
I’m thinking about all of this because as I’ve been trying to plan out some maternity wear, I bought a couple of fabrics from Fashionista Fabrics. They were on clearance, so even with shipping, they were more than reasonable. One is a light blue cotton/spandex shirting which will go into the imminent stash for a blouse. The other one is sadly, going into deep stash.
I thought I was buying just a polyester print woven, in which case, it would have been this tunic, but this is a poly/lyrca knit. Being a knit junkie, I won’t complain about FF not putting better info on their website…I was secretly hoping it WAS a knit. But when it arrived, I realized that I love the print FAR too much to only wear it during this and any subsequent pregnancies. So while I’m bummed that I must wait to sew this up until my body goes back to some sort of normal, I’m looking forward to wearing what I’ll make from it.
What say you people? Do you all have deep stashes?
