How to Care

When I buy fabric, I’ll generally find a quiet corner in the store and whip out my notebook so I can take note of the name of the fabric, fiber content and care directions (assuming it’s all written on the bolt). Plus I’ll often write a little helpful description of the fabric itself (e.g. pink with gray lines) to help me distinguish between similar fabrics I may have. I also try to jot down of the number of yards I’ve purchased as well as price per yard (this helps me to keep track of what fabric I should practice on and what fabric I’m saving for when I’m a better sewer).

It’s been about a year and a half since I first impulsively bought fabric and decided to start sewing, and since then I’ve bought quite a bit of fabric (and generally with no actual plan for it at the time of purchase). I know I don’t need a vast majority of the fabrics I buy, but they’re often on sale for a fairly cheap price and I just want it.

The other week I finally decided to get somewhat organized and decided to make a spreadsheet of all the fabric I’ve purchased. [That sounds really nerdy. (Pause.) Okay it is nerdy. (Sigh.)]. But I kept on having to check the chicken-scratch markings in my notebook, trying to find the fabric care of a specific fabric, and I thought there should be an easier way to have my information organized. A spreadsheet seemed like the logical thing to make.

So my spreadsheet has all the same information found in my notebook, but also with an extra column of whether or not the fabric was used for anything (e.g. pencil skirt, pleated skirt, etc.). It was actually a lengthy process to fill out my spreadsheet and I was shocked (well, not really shocked, more like dismayed) to find out that I’d bought over 50 different fabrics. Now some fabrics I’d bought a good amount of yardage while others were just remnants, but still, that’s a lot of fabric. How many years will it take for me to actually use it all (since making a single garment takes days for me to sew and I don’t sew super frequently)? I know this spreadsheet should help deter me from getting more fabric, and it might…for a while, but then I know I won’t be able to resist the urge to buy more fabric. It’s a problem. [Pause.] I know. [Sigh.]