Shopping for fabric with a list

I had my Birthday on Thursday and the lovely people in my life gave me money and gift cards to Lincraft to fuel my habit spend. Since I'd recently been thinking about how to choose fabric for sewing projects I decided to get all adult about this and do some research. I flicked through my Pinterest boards looking for basic spring/summer items that I know I will wear over and over. I also did a little online browsing and pinned some further inspiration to fill in the obvious gaps. Overall I was looking for a wardrobe that's functional. Light skirts in colours that will match most of my tops, dressy tops for going to the Theatre/Movies/Dinner/Pub, light tops with capped sleeves to see me through spring to summer as well as a light blazer/jacket to mix and match with all of the above.

So here's what I bought paired with the inspiration:

Top pinned here

I love the look of this top so much I bought two colours to make it in. I figure I can dress it up or down depending on whether I wear it with black skinny jeans or a skirt.

Top pinned here                                                                                                                 Top pinned here

I got enough drapey white jersey to replicate this batwing top with beading. It just so happens that I'm hoarding some matt silver beads which would be perfect for this. Also I think there should be enough left over to make a simple white jersey singlet with a little interest in the neckline. Not sure if I'm a butterfly person but it looks really cute here.

Top pinned here     

I bought this ponte knit to make a dressy peplum top from. Still kind of in love with peplums.

Top pinned here

Next up is some plain purple cotton to turn into a peter pan collared, cap sleeved top with black bias tape and black buttons down a placket. Also I borrowed this person's photo on the internet and my program chewed it up and made it look all pixelly - sorry.

This is actually navy cotton even though my camera didn't think so. I'm thinking of turning it into a little bustier singlet. I also bought some thin white grosgrain ribbon to use as trim and potentially on the straps.

Skirt pinned here

Now onto the skirts. I got some lightweight cotton in grey, blue and black to make a colourblock skirt. This grey one on the right is the closest to what it sorta, kinda looks like in my head. But different.

Skirt pinned here

This cotton is actually more of a deep aqua and I'm intending to follow this great tutorial to make it just like the skirt on the right.

Then I bought some soft black cotton/drill/suiting (??) fabric to make a blazer out of. I've had this jacket for the last two years now and it has reached the end of it's life. It's rayon and usually looks this crinkly even if I iron it before going out. Also the hem has come undone and the back piece has shrunk significantly so now the front hangs down much lower than the back. In short it was a cheap jacket at the time that I've worn way too much. What I do love though is the cascading ruffle down the front and I figured if I unpicked the seams and used it as a pattern with some heavier, sturdier cotton it would last me another couple of years.

Bag pinned here                                                              Bag pinned here  

And last but not least I made a bit of an impulse buy (which wasn't on the list, shhh!). I bought some faux leather in a nice tan colour to make myself a new handbag out of. It's really hard to photograph though so it kinda just looks cream here. I haven't decided on the exact shape of the bag but these two bags are some of my favourites.

I've also gone back through my fabric stash in the last week and found some great solid coloured fabric that I'll be making a skirt and maxi dress out of. So I'm sure they'll make an appearance amongst all these items.

It was surprisingly fun going fabric shopping with a list. It was so much easier to focus and not feel like a kid in a candy store. I'm really looking forward to creating  them and wearing all of the above items with clothes I already own. I like this new way of planning out my sewing.

I feel all growed up.



Finished Projects from this post are linked up here:
Peachy Keen Top
Black & White Striped Peplum Top
Colourblocked skirt + Tutorial