Finding the place

The flyer says at the corner of Commercial and Powell. Once you get to the corner, continue heading west on Powell. It’s on the north side of the street (the right side if you’re driving) and you’ll see a sign out front.

Parking

Lots of free, one-hour parking! Parking was no problem, I parked a block away but could have parked much closer.

Fabric

Fabric was either in boxes on the floor or on rolls. You could fill your bag with the box fabric, fabric on the rolls was $2/metre. (Excellent pricing!) The bags you get are nice and big. Bigger than a paper grocery bag I’d say!

A wide variety of everything from scraps to technical knits. I recognize some of the knits as really high-end technical fabrics, ones that would cost close to $30-$50 per metre if you were to buy them regularly. From what you guys said in the comments, I’d guess that the fabric selection changes at every sale. When I was there, the fabric on rolls was more interesting than the fabric in the bins, but that may be just because the best stuff was snagged by then!

I’d probably say by the speed that fabric was flying out the door, you want to be there right at opening. (I rolled in around 12:30, well after the sale had started.) Especially if you’re making the trip in from somewhere far. Go with free hands (no handbags that require your hands) so you can rummage through the bins easily. This is the kind of sale where you go with no particular project in mind, just an open mind to the possibilities of what you might find.

Did you go this weekend? What kind of fabrics did you find?

This happens because of several reasons: buying minimums (a company needs to order a minimum of1000 metres but only needs 850 metres to produce the line), shipping overages (fabric companies are allowed to send up to 10% extra, so if you only wanted 200 yards they might send you 220!) and changes in production (as sales come in, some colours are less popular than predicted so you’ll end up with more orange fabric leftover and not enough navy blue.) Do you find this interesting? It’s all part of the many factors that a clothing company has to consider when producing a line!

Anyways, enough about that. The point is, there is waste, a lot of it. And there’s a new, wonderful non-profit organization based in Vancouver, BC that is collecting all of this unwanted fabric and helping it find a new and happy home with someone who can make use of it.

Here’s the official ‘About’ from the website:

About Our Social Fabric

Our Social Fabric is a non-profit Vancouver group that helps recycle excess fabric from manufacturers, the movie industry, and more. Through monthly sales, we put the fabric into the hands of creators in our community.

Our storage unit at 1631 Powell Street is full of fabulous fabrics rescued from the landfill and ready to be repurposed! Most are high quality sample fabrics donated directly to us from the film industry, factories, and production facilities. The fabric is still on the bolt and unused. We have a wide variety of wools, cottons, linens, polyester blends, and technical fabrics from places such as Lululemon and Mountain Equipment Co-op.

We recycle fabric by holding monthly fill-a-bag fabric sales out of our storage unit in East Vancouver. Fabric sales are staffed by volunteers, and proceeds go to maintaining the storage unit and keeping it available for donations while we grow our organization and develop related programs.

And in the future, we hope to get involved in textile shredding and remanufacturing, while providing employment and social reintegration opportunities for Downtown Eastside residents.

What a great concept! I love the idea of connecting this unused fabric with the right people, who’d be so excited to score a good deal and help reduce textile waste. Fabric that’s no longer ‘current’ or useful to the fashion industry is perfectly useful to us, right? And who doesn’t love the thrill of the hunt, especially when it’s a good deal?

This is especially interesting for local readers, as you’ll be able to visit the sale and pick up great-quality unused fabric at fantastic prices. In fact, there’s a sale coming up this weekend! (Click the image to go to the website and find out more.)

One bag is $25 and you can get two for $40—all funds go to paying their storage unit rent and other administration fees.

Know what’s even better? A giveaway! Jhenifer from Our Social Fabric contacted me and wanted to offer a FREE bag of fabric to one lucky reader!

We are happy to give away a free bag of fabric good at any upcoming sale, which would both help us gain a bit more exposure and reward your readers with something fun. And we’d all be keeping more textiles out of the landfill!

So if you’re here in the Vancouver area and want to win a FREE bag of fabric at the sale on Saturday (or a future sale), leave a comment below to enter to win. To enter, how about you tell us the best deal you ever got on fabric? Jhenifer’s going to pick the winner at random before Friday at 6pm Pacific Time. Be sure to leave your comment before then to be eligible to win! (I wish there was a way to include everyone, not just local readers, but for this one it’s pretty hard as you kind of have to be here to pick up the prize. If you’re able to come to the Vancouver sale, you’re eligible to win!)

Want to know more about this organization? Visit Our Social Fabric’s website. They’ve also mentioned that the best way to stay updated on what we’re up to is through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the mailing list.

The more we support initiatives like this, the more good they can do in the community!

Thankfully, Threads put together a comprehensive list of the best sewing spots in town!

Check out the June issue of Threads Magazine for all of the sewing hotspots in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland (the cities that touch Vancouver if you’re not from here, they’re basically within a half-hour drive from Vancouver.)

I won’t give away the secrets, but I’d agree with the recommended fabric destinations in the article! My usual favourites are in there: Fabricana, Dressew, Button Button, Spool of Thread – plus a few new places!

And now I have a few new places to visit myself. I’ll still put together a post with my favourites one day, but this is a wonderful guide to the city’s best sewing spots. It’s exciting to see my hometown recognized in Threads Magazine! We’re fortunate to have some of the greatest fabric stores nearby. When I see people mention they have to drive three hours to their nearest fabric store, I’m really thankful to have lovely shops just around the corner!

Check it out if you’re planning a trip to Vancouver, or if you’re a local and want to find new places to shop!

I spent an afternoon sewing at Spool of Thread last week, for a change of scenery. Thought I’d tell you what it’s like to drop-in and sew! It’s nice to know what to expect before venturing in. So here’s how the sewing lounge works, what I brought and what’s provided, and whether I’d drop in again. Feel free to ask me any questions about my drop-in experience!

What did you bring?

• Fabric for my project – I cut it out at home
• Thread
• A couple of other projects in case I changed my mind

What’s provided?

• Cutting table
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Pincushions
• Scissors
• Grid ruler
• Rotary cutter
• Iron and ironing board
• Serger
• Dress form
• Mirrors
• Parking: 2 hours free on the street

What’s the equipment like?

• Cutting table: awesome! It’s so nice to use a higher table, instead of bending over my dining table to cut. There’s so much space to work, the table is five or six times the length of my dining table. Love it!

• Iron: better than my home iron! This all depends on what your home iron is like. Mine’s functional, it doesn’t spit rust on my projects, and it shuts off automatically. So it works. The irons are a step up from mine, with a steam button and very fast heat-up times. There are three ironing stations set up around the cutting table.

• Pins and pincushions: Lots, in little cushions and bowls all around the place. You can reach out for a pin and grab one easily. They’re the good kind with large coloured heads.

• Sewing machine: I really like my home machine, so it’s hard for me to like anything better than mine. These are good solid machines that sew nice tidy stitches, which is a good review in my books. There are cool features – like a speed dial! You can dial it down to turtle speed or up to rabbit speed. The bobbin is visible through a clear cover, so you can see when you’re about to run out.

• Scissors: Good! Clearly marked with ‘fabric’ so you know which ones not to use on paper.

Note: I didn’t use the serger, the rotary cutter or the grid ruler. I didn’t bring serger thread, and there wasn’t a lot to serge on my project so I zigzagged. I’ll test it out next time and report back! Same with the rotary cutter, once I have something to cut out.

How does it all work?

• You show up, and Henry or Lili will take note of the time you arrive. Henry was there when I went, and he was super helpful! They’ll help you thread the machine and wind your bobbin, as every machine is a little bit different.

• Work as long as you want – as long as there are no classes scheduled! (Call and check before you go, just to be sure.) If you need supplies – dress form, iron, anything – just ask! If you need thread partway through your project, there’s thread for sale. (How handy is that?)

• When you’re ready to leave, pack up your stuff and pay your tab at the front desk. Pick up any supplies you need for home, and any fabric that you can’t leave without.

Would you go back?

Absolutely! It may seem strange to go somewhere else to sew when you have the equipment at home. But when you go somewhere to sew, that’s all you’re there to do. It’s too easy to get distracted at home with chores, laundry, and television. Especially when I have to be self-directed! So it’s nice to be able to totally focus and sew. Bonus: you meet other people who like to sew, too!

I especially liked using the cutting tables – something I’d never be able to set up at home. It’s worth it to be able to cut out a ton of projects on a comfortable, back-friendly table. Also, how awesome is it to sew with tools and notions available? Run out of thread? It’s right there! Tempting though, to buy more fabric when you’re surrounded with pretty fabrics while you sew. (I was good though, all I bought was thread for my next project.)

All in all, it’s a great way to work without distractions. Plus if you wanted to sew together with a friend, there’s enough space to work without having to share a machine.

Hope you had a fun and productive weekend, it’s back to the Sew-Along tomorrow!

I’m happy to annouce that Spool of Thread is the latest store to carry the Pendrell Blouse pattern. It’s wonderful to be in a local store! Now Vancouver-based sewists have somewhere to pick up the pattern. Instant gratification! Besides, don’t you want an excuse to drop by?

If you don’t now, you definitely will in the New Year! I overheard very exciting news of silk and cotton voiles arriving, which would be lovely in the Pendrell Blouse! (You heard it here first!)

Don’t you find voile one of the hardest fabrics to track down, in stores? I was searching for some voiles and lawns yesterday, so I’m thrilled to hear Spool of Thread may have just what I’m looking for. Just in time for Spring sewing! (Yup, I said it, spring sewing. Might as well get a head start since I hardly did any winter sewing!)

Check out SpoolofThread.com for more info! I hope you are all having a lovely Saturday!

You can rent machines, take a class, or buy fabric and supplies at this bright and friendly space!

They just opened up this year and I think it’s a brilliant idea. (I mentioned it way back in June, in fact! Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to drop by.) I was on my way downtown so it worked out perfectly.

I arrived right as the store opened, and already the phone was ringing with people signing up for classes, wanting to learn to sew. How exciting!

Borrow a machine, a table, a dress form – plus there’s tons of space to work! You can rent space by the hour, if you already know how to sew and just need the space and machinery.

But if you don’t know how to sew, Spool of Thread will teach you! There’s even Sewing Machine 101 for the very beginner. Classes are listed on a chalkboard at the front of the store.

They sell fabric too! Cotton solids and prints, a variety of wonderful quilting cottons, all arranged by colour.

I know there’s a lot of debate on whether quilting cotton is for clothing, but doesn’t the rainbow of fun prints make you want to ignore the rules and make yourself a sundress? (I sure did, and then remembered it’s freezing out. Guess the sundresses are on hold for a couple of months.)

Patterns for sale! Colette Patterns and Oliver + S. One of the only places in Vancouver that sells Colette Patterns that I’ve seen! (Maybe one day Sewaholic Patterns will get a little spot on that wall…)

Besides fabric, they also stock essential supplies like thread, scissors, pins, and marking tools.

I bet you’re wondering, what did I buy? I couldn’t leave without something, so I picked up this adorable owl-print cotton! I’m going to make cloth napkins.

When I first moved out to my own place, I bought a ton of brightly-coloured paper napkins from IKEA. (Doesn’t everyone buy napkins and candle-holders when they first move out?) Well, I’ve finally worked through my supply of paper napkins and I’m looking for a more eco-friendly solution.

Aren’t these little owls so cute? I’m going to cut napkin-sized pieces, serge the edges and whip up a ton of reusable napkins! (I’ll write up the easiest tutorial in the world, so you can make your own napkins, very soon!)

I wanted to hang out longer in Spool of Thread, if you’re in the Vancouver area, it’s worth a visit. Especially if you’ve always wanted to learn to sew, why not take a class or two and try it out? Or if you sew in a very small apartment and need more space – don’t we all need just a little more space?

Check out SpoolofThread.com for more info!

Uh oh… just what I needed! I wandered into Dressew in downtown Vancouver (which is already full of excellent cheap deals) to find they have a half price sale. I’d been dressing people up all morning (volunteering for Dress for Success, which is worthy of its own post someday too) so I had clothes and sewing on the brain. (When don’t I have sewing on the brain?)

It’s easy to do at Button Button in downtown Vancouver. This little shop is a candy store for knitters and seamstresses, in search of the perfect finishing touch.

I stopped by on a lovely sunny Saturday and the store was full of knitters, sewists and other crafters, with finished projects or swatches in hand. And they were kind enough to let me take pictures!

Buttons are sorted by material, or by colour, or by theme. I could spend hours there, just looking and touching and imagining what each button could be used for.

I just had to own these sweet golden yellow heart buttons – since I didn’t have a project in mind, three seemed like a good number. (I can always go back!) It’s hard to tell from the picture but they’re about 1″ wide. I think my Advance shirtdress asks for 3 buttons…

If you have patience and time to spare, there are plenty of goodies in the appropriately named Button Soup bin. This bin is larger than it looks in the picture, even bigger than a kitchen sink!

I managed to score 6 of the same black-and-white flower button by digging through Button Soup.

Won’t they be adorable on this Vintage Vogue sundress I’m planning to make? And would you look at that, it needs 6 buttons. How perfect is that?

I’m already regretting not picking up a pound of assorted buttons for $4. Think of the possibilities! A pound of buttons goes a long way, and looking at the bundles from the outside, the assortment and quality looked excellent.

It’s the sort of thing you wish you had on hand, when you’re looking for buttons to finish a project late at night, and all the fabric stores are closed.

Once I have planned projects in need of buttons, I’ll definitely go back. It was a lot of fun picking out buttons for imaginary projects, but I’d like to do it again with fabric swatches in hand.

Like when I make another Beignet skirt, where the buttons are a focal point. I actually picked up 12 green and white vintage buttons for a future Beignet project.

I’m not sure of the colour for the skirt – would kelly green be too much? White? Or go completely in a different direction, stop trying to match, and make the skirt in hot pink?

Button Button is the perfect place to choose buttons for a coat, where you need one or two big, fabulous buttons to place front and centre.

And when I’m back, of course I’ll pick up my pound bag and poke through Button Soup again, how can I resist?

If you’re in the Vancouver area and are looking for the perfect button to finish a project, or find inspiration for your next one, Button Button is worth the visit!

If you’re in the Vancouver area, this long weekend is the time to stock up on trims! Notions, lining and interfacing are HALF PRICE at Fabricana this weekend.

Which is fantastic, as I usually get so caught up in buying the actual fabric that I leave without getting the trims to complete the project. Or, I change my mind on what I’m going to make, and turn out needing a zipper instead of buttons. Anyways, regardless of the reasons, it’s a great time to buy notions and lining and interfacing. I’ll be hitting the sale later on today or tomorrow, for sure!

Check out Fabricana’s website for locations and hours, and sign up for email updates so you’re in the loop for future sales. See you there!

PS. Thanks to everyone who sent me ideas and comments on my Sewing for Men post. He’s thrilled now about the idea of custom-made jeans, what have you ladies got me into?! Seriously though, I’m up for the challenge and think it will be a fun project.  Kwik Sew 3504, here I come!