Stupid money
Oct. 5th, 2016 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotI have got to get serious about saving money. (Fortunately I have a paycheck from while I was away to deposit, but without that what I have left is basically enough to pay this month's rent - late, oops - and my credit card bills.) My number one expenditure is fabric, so I'm going to try to make fewer impulse buys by not going to Joann, and to be savvier about what patterns I use/make sure to have enough ease so I don't end up making dresses that I try on and hate (which necessitates more fabric as now I have fewer dresses than I thought I would).
"Use up what you have" is obviously the best advice here, but all the dress lengths I have are either or both too lightweight or not quite long enough for the patterns I want to use, or I hate them because they looked better on FFC than they do IRL. There are a couple of those I'll be selling off on Etsy (I hope), which probably won't bring me much money but will at least make me feel less dumb about having fabric sitting around I'll never use.
I'd really love to find more of this:
I got 3 yds at Joann a month or two ago, the end of the bolt, and that's just not enough for a dress as it's 45" wide. Sadly, I can't find it online anywhere (the selvage says it's by Richloom, but all the Richloom fabric I see is upholstery and this is a slightly heavier cotton), but then it's very hard to search for as it's not really "floral" and it's not really "abstract". Let me know if you've seen it! I need like 1.5 yds more for the pattern I'd like to use, Butterick B6018.
Right now I'm making an apron with this:
I've been looking at it in the discount bin for, I swear, years, and have always liked it. Of course the time I actually go for it there's only a yard and a bit, so an apron it is. I've never been into aprons because I always dressed like crap, but now I have dresses that I don't want to spill anything (more) on. So I'm using Simplicity 4282, the one in the upper left minus pockets, a little shortened, and with pieced ties.
For this winter, I'll be branching out into the 1940s for once with Simplicity 8050, in a light blue check (no contrasting collar, no Agent Carter flair). I think I'll be almost as happy with a small A-line skirt as with a full one. I started a Pinterest board for Patterns I Actually Have - I have some other more modern patterns, but they're kind of set aside for now - so you can see what I have to work with. The numbers in parentheses are the yardages needed for my preferred views, 45" and 60", so I can easily check what I need when not at home or without getting it all out.
"Use up what you have" is obviously the best advice here, but all the dress lengths I have are either or both too lightweight or not quite long enough for the patterns I want to use, or I hate them because they looked better on FFC than they do IRL. There are a couple of those I'll be selling off on Etsy (I hope), which probably won't bring me much money but will at least make me feel less dumb about having fabric sitting around I'll never use.
I'd really love to find more of this:
I got 3 yds at Joann a month or two ago, the end of the bolt, and that's just not enough for a dress as it's 45" wide. Sadly, I can't find it online anywhere (the selvage says it's by Richloom, but all the Richloom fabric I see is upholstery and this is a slightly heavier cotton), but then it's very hard to search for as it's not really "floral" and it's not really "abstract". Let me know if you've seen it! I need like 1.5 yds more for the pattern I'd like to use, Butterick B6018.
Right now I'm making an apron with this:
I've been looking at it in the discount bin for, I swear, years, and have always liked it. Of course the time I actually go for it there's only a yard and a bit, so an apron it is. I've never been into aprons because I always dressed like crap, but now I have dresses that I don't want to spill anything (more) on. So I'm using Simplicity 4282, the one in the upper left minus pockets, a little shortened, and with pieced ties.
For this winter, I'll be branching out into the 1940s for once with Simplicity 8050, in a light blue check (no contrasting collar, no Agent Carter flair). I think I'll be almost as happy with a small A-line skirt as with a full one. I started a Pinterest board for Patterns I Actually Have - I have some other more modern patterns, but they're kind of set aside for now - so you can see what I have to work with. The numbers in parentheses are the yardages needed for my preferred views, 45" and 60", so I can easily check what I need when not at home or without getting it all out.
