March 2018

March was a very satisfying month for sewing!  I finished two not-for-me projects that, to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to sewing.  I used up a cut of fabric that had been hanging out in the stash for some five years.  I also sewed two woven dresses for myself, both of which I love.  And I only bought three yards of fabric!  I'm going ahead and calling this month a win.

PROJECTS COMPLETED

1) Two simple unlined tote bags for a game my brother-in-law is developing.  He bought the materials, but I did make a prototype using some of that too-heavy shirting I ended up getting for free from FabricMart last month.  I didn't use any of my own fabric for the final versions.  2/3 yard used.  Completed 3/3.

2) Matryoshka doll tote.   I used about 2.25 yards from deep stash to make this bag, plus a stashed zipper.  I did have to buy some interfacing.  To be blogged soon.  Completed 3/8.

3) My girls sewed a couple of things (felt-backed dolls and a little reversible purse) from the leftover fabrics from my tote bag, which took out another 1/2 + 1/3 of a yard. Yes, it counts for my fabric in/out tally! Completed 3/9.

4) An altar boy sticharion (robe) for my nephew.  He is too small to fit in the smallest one at church, so I made a pattern from an existing sticharion at church.  I used 2 yards of this fabric, that was bought for this purpose. I won't use that fabric again - it was horrible and plasticky and shredded as I was working with it.  Completed 3/17.

5) Lisette Portfolio dress, aka Simplicity 2245. For this dress, I used a long-stashed pattern and 3.25 yards of linen bought in February without a concrete purpose.  I still have 1 5/8 yards of that linen left.  Coming soon to a blog post near you.  Completed 3/20.

6) Simplicity 8166 dress in polyester crepe for Easter.  2 2/3 yards used.  I bought this fabric in October to make a different pattern that did not pan out in the muslin stage.  I'll definitely be blogging this one after Easter! Completed 3/25.

7) Four pairs of Playtime Leggings for the girls.  I cut a size 7 with the length of an 8.  Width good for Z and a little loose for N.  The length was just right for Z and too short for N.   Had to add 2" of length with cuffs for N.   I used up 1 2/3 yards of ponte and 3/4 yard of pink cotton/lycra jersey from the stash. Completed 3/29.

MENDING: I patched a pair of pants for G, fixed holes in two pairs of Natasha's leggings, took in a skirt for Natasha, and took up the shoulders of a RTW dress for Z.

FABRIC PURCHASES

March 10: 2 yards liturgical brocade for altar boy sticharion.
March 13: 2 yards pink poly crepe from Amazon to complete my Simplicity 8166 dress. $8.50.  I only paid for 1 yard of this fabric, and I didn't actually end up using it on my dress because UPS temporarily lost my package.  In the interim, I was sent a second yard, but not soon enough, so I ended up deciding to just make my whole dress blue.  Not sure what I will do with the two yards of fabric, maybe another Simplicity 1377 shell.

This month I was able to keep my fabric buying down primarily by not stalking fabric web sites on the daily.  But thanks to these monthly round-ups, I also knew exactly how much fabric I had already purchased in 2018, and I already have a mental list of about four things to sew for next month that I already have fabric for.  I found this knowledge very helpful in resisting some pretty shirting one day when I did check out FabricMart's site.

FABRIC IN/OUT

March Fabric In: 4
March Fabric Out: 14.08 yards

Year-to-date Fabric In: 55.25
Year-to-date Fabric Out: 40.5 yards