The Sewing Room

karmacookie

Sunshine12 wrote: »

Hi,
Can someone tell me what a fat 1/4 is?

It's a small piece of fabric around 50cm x 50cm

Kandipandi

smileylu wrote: »

Hi there! I am new to sewing and I am on a real tight budget. I am finding it difficult to get hold of some cheap cotton material to practice making things. I have looked on eBay, looked in department store but all really expensive. Any ideas anyone?
:j

Totally agree with the charity shops. Always make sure you check out the bedding/towel section and the ladies dresses. You can get some nice cotton printed dresses and the longer ones have quite a bit of fabric on them.
This weekend I bought some kids cotton shirts at my local charity shop 75p each, washed them and cut them all up to make wiggly bags for the hospital.
I also visit my local fabric warehouse store where they sell off cuts for about 50p each and you get about a metre or so of some lovely stuff! I love it in there!

ginnyknit

Am about to start a batch of sewing. Decided to make a shopping bag for the back of the wheelchair as I don't have enough hands when Im pushing Dh and if I load him up he can't propel himself. So its sort of a messenger bag with plastic canvas inside to reinforce it, will post a pic if it works. Also going to do a taggy blanket for baby to be and some bags for a friend. Cross your fingers for me.

Crafty_JuJu

:TFirst of all I LOVE EVERYTHING you all make & do on here.
I have been lurking around here for the last month & have finally put up the courage to sign up & say 'Hi'

I have got so many ideas from you all, my fav's list is bursting, I just need to find the time to try it all. I have 2 gorgeous children, Alex will be 6 this year & Emily will be 3 this year so I' hoping to have a little more time soon to do what I love & make things

I have always had a passion for crafting, a couple of years ago I did start making scarves & cards to sell but then Emily came & its been put a side!

Since I came across this great thread & others I have made some sock animals & have just recieved some lovely fat 1/4's from Fabric Rehab to make some cushions for my chairs in the kitchen.
I have also bought quite a few of the books mentioned on here, they are gorgeous, my hubby couldn't moan about that as he was wanting to buy a new computer game...its only fair I have something too Lol

My next step is to set up a Blog to share what I have made, well maybe leave that for when the kids are in bed...Emily wants me, must go, we're potty training :T

loopychriss

Sunshine12 wrote: »

Hi,
Can someone tell me what a fat 1/4 is?

It's a piece of fabric which is 18" x 22" (most places seem to sell it in inches). If you cut a yard of fabric into quarters, it would be 9" x 44" (the most common width of fabric). As 9" isn't very much to work with when making patchwork, it is cut into what is called fat quarters, which means that it is double the lenth (18") but only half the width (22").

loopychriss

smileylu wrote: »

Hi there! I am new to sewing and I am on a real tight budget. I am finding it difficult to get hold of some cheap cotton material to practice making things. I have looked on eBay, looked in department store but all really expensive. Any ideas anyone?
:j

100% cotton fabric is very expensive in this country if you buy it new. I've seen fabric in Hobbycraft at £9.99 a metre that I got in the US last year for about £3 a yard!

I think your best bet would be to put a 'wanted' on your local Freegle and ask if any patchwork/quilters have any scraps you could have. Most patchwork/quilters have bags full of odd scraps, plus a big stash of new fabric to use, so might be pleased to get rid of some.

I buy the odd fat quarter on Ebay if they're cheap enough, but then you only get 18" x 22" or thereabouts. Charity shops, as someone mentioned, are a good source too. Also Ikea do fabrics, although they are a bit of a specialised taste!

Hope this helps...

loopychriss

Have made a couple of Morsbags, one yesterday and one today. Supposed to be doing a national giveaway on Valentine's Day but I've only made 2 so far - still, there's a few more days to go to get some more made!


Fabric strips sewn to a foundation square. Sewed the sides of this up then realised I hadn't sewn the label on so had to do it by hand.


Got about 7 yards of this fabric so will be make a few more like this!

hazy_baby

Crafty_JuJu wrote: »

Since I came across this great thread & others I have made some sock animals & have just recieved some lovely fat 1/4's from Fabric Rehab to make some cushions for my chairs in the kitchen.

I bought some bundles and FQ's from there not long ago and I still am not sure what to do with them! They are all so pretty!

Crafty_JuJu

hazy_baby wrote: »

I bought some bundles and FQ's from there not long ago and I still am not sure what to do with them! They are all so pretty!

I know what you mean, I could have gone mad & ordered loads but I was a good girl & just ordered what I needed & knew where it would get used.
I've just about finished redecorating my kitchen, I was after a retro style fabric & I found Cupcake fabric on their site which was exactly what I was after

loopychriss your Morsbags are gorgeous

Sunshine12

loopychriss wrote: »

Have made a couple of Morsbags, one yesterday and one today. Supposed to be doing a national giveaway on Valentine's Day but I've only made 2 so far - still, there's a few more days to go to get some more made!


Fabric strips sewn to a foundation square. Sewed the sides of this up then realised I hadn't sewn the label on so had to do it by hand.


Got about 7 yards of this fabric so will be make a few more like this!

These are fab!!! Really love the top one! :T:T