Fabric Store Trends

Home sewing lets you be the trend setter. You pick the fabric, you make the design choices, and you make it fit your body. But I can't help notice the obvious design trends I see in the fabric store, even my favorite large-selection local haunts.

When I started making bathing suits, for example, the material was almost impossible to come by in my favorite local stores. Sure, people have been making bathing suits forever, but the clerks said they just didn't carry that stuff. Now, more than a year later, I see it popping up everywhere. Maybe now they'll carry bathing suit elastic, too...

The other trend I've been noticing is stretch lace: it's popping up everywhere lately! I even scooped up some recently to make a pair of undies, which I'm pretty excited about. But where was it last winter when Jessica Alba inspired me to make a lace dress? My favorite store didn't carry it, and even the bridal fabric shop (dedicated entirely to LACE) had none. Even after the clerk at my regular spot told me that no one really sews with lace anymore, I finally found some hiding in the sale section and bought it up as soon as I could. And now it's everywhere!

And don't even get me started on patterns...

Don't worry though, this isn't a complete rant. Somtimes trends are fun! I'm really loving the organic shapes and designs I've been seeing lately, especially on soft knits. I also love the ikat fabric, if only it wasn't so expensive (can anyone tell me why that is?).

So what do you think? Have you noticed any fabric store trends, for better or for worse? What are you trending on right now?

4 comments:

  1. My guess about the lace is Kate Middleton, that one navy blue dress. I haven't been in the fabric store lately to see local trends though >.<

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  2. I was dying to get stretch lace last year, and I'm super excited that more stores are starting to carry it. It has always been really hard to find until now.

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  3. Finding knits suitable for adult garments is a long-term source of frustration for me. Gold sequins, crazy stripes, etc. don't always work for making casual or work-appropriate outfits!

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  4. True Ikat is made by hand dying threads which are then woven into the finished fabric giving the awesome 'bleed' pattern. Bleed happens because natural thread (and fabric) absorbs dye to different levels depending on fibre content. Because the dying and weaving process are done by hand (the latter on a hand loom) and back breakingly slow and labour intensive the resulting fabric tends to be narrow width and expensive. Most of the contemporary 'Ikat' you get from commercial companies is just printed onto crappy made in china fabric (printed and woven by machine) so I have no ida why it costs any more than any other print fabric. Possibly because there are idiots willing to pay for it XP

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