Sourcing Fabrics


Sourcing the right materials for any project is always a bit harrowing for me. Is it the right color? The right type? The right price? I never knew how good I had it in the US until I moved to Dublin.

One of the big issues I've been having with this Korra costume is fabrics. Naturally, I can't settle on just plain old cotton. No, that would be too simple for me.

I managed to find an old leather skirt in a secondhand shop last fall that will be perfect for her waist drape, and one dreary day I stumbled across the perfect blue stretchy material for the tank top. I bought a new felt-vicose blend to try out for her jacket, and found some fabulous faux white fur to round things off. When I was in the US I picked up some lining material and jersey on the cheap, but that leaves me where I am now- without pants.

At least, without fabric for pants. The problem is Dublin is terribly shoddy at fabric selection. There aren't huge stores like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or Joanns. It just doesn't exist over here. Everywhere is small, which always means the selection is small.

This does mean that I get to be creative in my fabric sources. All of the selections above have come from different places. Outside of the stop in the US, every last piece has been bought in a different shop.

I definitely miss the big chain stores. As much as they get a bad wrap, and have dreadful service at the fabric cutting table usually, having one available to you is a luxury I envy.

I do think some of my procrastination is that I don't feel like I'm "ready" to make her- by which I mean I'm missing some vital stuff. I keep telling myself if I could just source that one last thing that all of it would fall together and I'd be able to sit down with a machine and go to town. I may be deluding myself on that one. The panic of not being able to find it certainly has kicked in.

If you happen to pass a good blue wool section in the next few days in Dublin, drop me a line.

On the plus side, my orchid bloomed.

Comments

  1. I suspect you have more fabric choices in Dublin than we do here in Selçuk. We have the fabric the ladies use to make their şalwar (flowery, baggy trousers). But that is all too often synthetic. Cotton is grown here but it is hard to get pure cotton fabric. What we do get is not expensive, but there is limited choice.

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