Well, I was planning to sew from and NOT add to my stash. Ooops. Silly online sales of awesome tempted me. And amazing fabric finds from LA. What can I say. I am weak. Of course, to be entirely fair, my posting is also a bit backlogged, so this is really several months worth of fabric buying. Not that I really needed to get this much fabric. But, well, bargains!
Fabric.com
I needed to get some stable ponte knit for one of my planned upcoming projects. Of course, I couldn’t get just one thing – not when free shipping was at stake. Or $3/yard wool. I know. I have a problem.
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| Clearance priced houndstooth wool and copper suede. |
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| Black knits for an upcoming project. Blue knit print for fun. |
Fabric Mart Fabrics
Fabric Mart also sucked me in with one of their awesome pyramid sales… That coupled with a lot of $1 per yard and half-off fabrics meant super bargains for me!
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| Back: Blue water-proof Anna Sui fabric, plum acetate taffeta Front: ITY knit print, teal wool blend, grey cotton denim. |
The ITY print is sitting by my cutting table now. With any luck it should be a wearable garment soon!
Michael Levine and the Loft
You know I can’t resist bargain fabric, and every time I go to LA the $2.50 per pound price is just too good to pass up! On my most recent visit to the Loft:
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| Two types of grey suiting material. Enough for at least four pairs of pants. The red is a thick poly coating (and a bit darker than in the photo). It was selling for $14/yard in the main store. I should have enough to make a short coat. |
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| Pink ponte knit, pink/grey striped jersey (cotton or rayon?), purple woven, and grey sweater knit. |
And from the main store:
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| Teal acetate slinky (for a skating dress), metallic denim (for a skirt), and tan stretch satin. |
Gold Star Tool
While I was in LA I also decided to spend a bit to pimp out my sewing space. I found a store that is a great source for notions and supplies – especially elastic and cheap presser feet! I have recently discovered that they have an online store that you can visit here. Also, check out their awesome price on muslin! While in LA (aside from hundreds of yards of elastic) I picked up a few other things:
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| A fun array of new presser feet… |
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| Pattern weights, snaps, waistband elastic, hook-n-eyes, seam tape… |
Oh, and I also got a few fancy French curve rulers as well. But the best thing so far are the pattern weights – they have revolutionized my life! I might have to pick up another set the next time I am in lala land.
More LA Fabric Shopping
While in LA I used some of my skating costume sewing money on a few splurge purchases. Definitely got a great price for the quality of the fabric, though some was still more expensive than average for me. But so so worth it!
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| These fabrics were from the $1.99 store. Poly charmeuse and poly suiting, but the consistency and weight of the fabric were pretty good for the price! |
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| Ok, I know I just got done sewing more than enough glittery sequin junk to satisfy 3 seamstresses, but I couldn’t help but stock up on materials for next year. |
And, finally, the pies de resistance, my splurge and latest fabric obsession:
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| Guipure lace in 2 colors! This stuff is thick and lovely and wonderful. |
I have Big Plans for this lace. Oh yes, Big Plans indeed. I hadn’t planned to buy the same lace pattern, but one of the great things about LA is that a lot of the places carry similar items at very different prices. So if you do a bit of digging you can have options of perfect fabric or perfect price. Maybe, if you are lucky, you can have both! The pattern was nice, but the colors are perfect. Price was a nice bonus. These are for different projects – I just won’t wear the finished pieces together, and no one but my lovely blog readers will have to know.
Definitely didn’t need to add to the fabric stash, but I have already been using the tools and notions I bought, so I feel pretty justified there. And now that I am not totally swamped with skating costume orders maybe I can actually get some of this stash sewn down to a reasonable level! And maybe even (gasp) post actual finished projects!
Doctor T Designs 
ohhhh such lovely fabric goodness. The lace is particularly gorgeous. Where did you get it? I have to get my hands on some.
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I bought it at Fiesta Fabrics in Los Angeles. There were a lot of other stores in the area that also had nice guipure lace in other colors and other patterns. A few of the other places I remember having some were Fancy Fabrics (they had the cheapest and largest selection of colors and styles, but mine was only $2 per yard more and I liked it better), Silk City (they have the most lovely Emerald Green that I didn't see anywhere else), and New Corner Fabrics (I liked their patterns the best, but their prices were a bit higher). These stores are all close to Michael Levine's and are close to the corners of 9th and Maple.
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