Bargain hunting for sewing bits!

A great way to save when sewing is to shop thrift stores and garage and estate sales. These are great places to salvage the dying art of sewing. Its always interesting what one can find in the zip lock bags full of notions marked 1$ at a thrift shop or what is going out in Grandma's estate sale. Usually these things are a steal because no one else really knows what they are... I've found some great and funky fabrics at thrift stores. I bought some wonderfully awful red and brown and blue small plaid like print fabric that is screaming winter coat at me for about 75 cents a yard!

Another thing to remember is that many things are made out of wonderful fabrics but weren't necessarily made into wonderful things. Take for instance sheets and comforters... large men's shirts... frumpy dresses... bath robes and my personal favorite; curtains. These things all scream at me to be reworked into something magical and one of a kind. Reworking and recycling a thrift store or garage sale find is somewhat easier than starting from scratch because the pattern has already been put together, just a few things need to be rearranged.

The trick to recycled fashion is to have an eye, not just for a good find but to see beyond what is there and seeing what could be there. Its like sculpting. You have to chip away what is there to get to the beauty inside.