Saturday, October 13, 2007

More fabric - imagine that

Okay, call me crazy. Yesterday, I wanted to get my hair cut which meant biking over to Merivale Road. Since I was already all the way over there and I had the bike, I thought, "why not continue on to see what Fabricland might have for sale?" I had just got the green wool and am only halfway through making the suit but I thought I would toddle over there anyway. When I got there, I remembered that my stamp-and-save card was full and so whatever I might buy might not cost that much.

I looked at the Butterick patterns which were on sale for only $3.49 that week (every week, one of the pattern manufacturers is on sale) but I didn't find any that turned my crank. Then I wandered back to the "get rid of it fast" tables at the back, where the fabric is piled and you have to dig to find anything. Right away, I found a bolt of peach coloured cotton with 3% Lycra and I snatched it up in a hurry. I have been thinking I would like to have more solid coloured shirts because all the patterns I have are too hard to match to the patterned skirts and things. And then I saw this other, funny-looking fabric. Initially, I didn't realize that it was the wrong side of the fabric but something drew me to it anyway. I looked at the label on the bolt and it said "80% silk" and I couldn't recall ever having seen this fabric in the store before. I unfolded it and looked at the right side and it spoke to me. It was marked down to $5 per meter and I glanced from side to side to see if anyone else was interested in it. No one was. I took it to the cutting table, together with the peach cotton. It was 140 cm (55 inches) wide and when measured, came to 2 meters in length. I smelled it and it smelled like raw silk. I took what was left on the bolt. (I also bought the 2 meters of cotton left on that bolt.)

The when I got it home, I washed it. Yes! Raw silk, into the washing machine on the delicate cycle. When it was finished, I took it out and it looked a little "fluffier" but still good. I hung it on the rack to dry and later, put it into the dryer for only ten minutes. It still looked okay. When I took it upstairs to iron it today, I discovered that it had shrunk mightily, and just from the washing. Where it had been 55 inches wide, it was now only 45 inches wide! That's what I call shrinkage. But now I can cut a suit out of it (or at least a jacket) and clean it very carefully but not with the fear that it will be ruined.
some raw silk
I got 2 m of cotton, 2 m of silk, 2 m of lining and 2 zippers and 2 threads, all for $21.45. Because of all the stamp-and-save points, the whole thing cost me $1.45. Amazing.

3 comments:

quilteddogs said...

Glad to see you started blogging again and nice to see some of your new creations.

Anonymous said...

Hi Julia,
There is nothing crazy about that at all! What a bargain?! You did quite well. Did you get to start a new stamp card too? LOL
That silk is very nice.
Heather

JuliaR said...

Thanks QD and Heather! Yes, I started a new stamp-and-save card - there were points left over from the one I cashed in! But I Do like this silk.