Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Questions on fabric

For all you crafty types and quilters out there, I need your help. I am about to embark on a craft project and need a lot of small pieces of different types of fabric. I've never been into quilting so I don't have too much experience buying fabric and was wondering if I can buy scraps of fabric or if most stores only sell by the yard? I don't want or need that much fabric for this project; I guess I could just visit some stores, but I thought I'd get some tips here first. Thanks for your help.

5 comments:

Kate said...

depends on how small you need. most fabric store sell "fat quaters" which is a square of 1/4 yard fabric. those can tend to be expensive if what you're really looking for is scraps. i had to start out the same way as you are; buying my "scraps" until I had a pile of my own. now i have so much i need to store them in the attic! you may just want to go through some friends' piles if they'll let you or try ebay if you're really looking for a deal. otherwise i suggest that you just need to start your own "scrap pile" by purchasing your own. At most stores they can sell you fabric cut down to the 1/8 yard, wich is a pretty good price if you're buying cotton around $8.00 a yard. good luck. what is this project all about?

Allison Brown said...

Thanks Kate. Unfortunately I don't know that many people here, and those that I do, don't quilt. So...can't go through any stuff.

I did find a store today in Davis that has a scrap box and also sold 1/4 yards and smaller for different prices; I think I got what I needed.

The project I'm actually stealing from what I saw in a baby store. Kaylin's nursery is decorated in a jungle animal theme, and I saw an elephant, lion, and two giraffes made out of fabric and framed in small white shadow boxes (seperately). Does that make sense? They were really cute, but way too much money--I figured I could make them for a lot cheaper. Unfortunately, I haven't worked with fabric in a really long time, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing. I might have to get help along the way. For instance, I was planning on glueing the fabric to some kind of backing (cardboard maybe?) but wasn't sure if that would work, plus when cutting it, I wasn't sure if it would fray and wasn't sure what to do if it does. I'm not even sure what type of scissors to use, especially since a lot of what I would cut out would be pretty small (a bird, a cloud, etc.) So any tips would be great! I also thought if it does work, that they'd be fun to make for baby showers and such.

Brianna Heldt said...

allison you're awesome, what a fun project! i don't know the first thing about sewing (though i do own a machine) but look forward to eventually finding some fun projects to do. keep us posted on your progress!

Kristen Borland said...

okay, i think i left a note on this when you first posted, and then my computer froze and lost it. but i basically said what kate said!

there is iron-on adhesive (blanking on the term) to attach fabric to stuff. maybe you could use fabric as your background to make this easier. if it won't be handle much (especially in a frame), then you don't have to really worry about it fraying. The iron-on stuff (kate, help me out here) will keep it from fraying i think.

sounds so cute!!

Kate said...

stitch whitchery or pellon