Help! We downsized and my sewing/craft area is about half the size it used to be.
That is okay but I’ve got lots of good quality material I no longer need. What would
be the best way to divest myself of it. It would be great to give it to someone who could
put it to use.
Replies
I would see if any local senior citizen's groups have sewing groups or know of sewing individuals. They may, in fact, be donating made projects to 'need' individuals or groups. Women's shelters or disabled groups may also have sewing fabric needs.
The fabric store in my community closed last year. I was wondering what home ec classes do to purchase fabric. Some may have the ability to order on line, but some may not. Perhaps contacting the sewing teacher at a community school would know of a young person who would benefit from fabric. There may just be a poor, but budding designer out there!
As this dilemna has come up before, please let us know who benefited from you unused material. I may be in the same position soon myself!
Other Options for Fabric Stash
When my mother passed away I inherited her fabric stash--in addition to my own copious collection. My friends here at Gatherings had several suggestions. If we can still check old posts with this new system, that discussion might be helpful.
There were several alternatives provided and here are the ones I investigated as a result of what they suggested.
Local High School/Community Theater department. Found this was most effective when class was in session and the head of the drama department was here to see it.
The senior centers were most interested in cotton fabrics suitable for quilting and poly-cotton fabric that is washable and can make easy to care clothing.
There are several charities that are sewing for our troops. Sew Much Comfort is one that is looking for fabric. They wanted 3 yard lengths of fabric as follows: woven shirting (like store bought PJ's) in masculine plaids or stripes. Flannel; black gray, navy, brown, dark or olive green. Twill; tan/khaki, black, navy, gray or olive green for our dress pants.
Gifts. My mother had a young woman who she had a special relationship who recently took up sewing. I invited her over to pick several lengths. It was amazing how she embraced it and it made me feel as if I was enabling my mother to pass this special bond to her.
Ebay and Craig's List .I haven't done this yet. Ran out of steam.
Good luck!
Refugee Centers
All of the suggestions you've received thus far are good ones, but here's one more to consider. We have a nearby community center which offers some special programs for the many recent refugee immigrants in our area. One such program is a sewing studio, with a money-earning tote-bag project. There may be such a program in your area, too.
Whichever group you choose to receive your generous contribution of fabric, call first to see what kinds of fabrics they can use. Some cannot use upholstery fabrics, for example, or need only larger pieces of fabric, while others might welcome small scraps for piecing.
maybe swap unused material?
Hi there! If you still have some space and are culling some of the fabrics simply because you no longer like them, another thing to consider is to ask the staff at your local sewing machine store if they would consider hosting a small swap meet in a classroom or lecture space. If they say yes, they could help promote the event by posting flyers. I bet that some sewing guild groups would enjoy hosting or participating in such an event as well. Or you might have enough sewing pals to host such a thing privately.
A simple way to make the swap effective is to pin a tag showing the price originally paid on each length of cut fabric. This helps determine equivalent trades, especially if the fiber content or cut length varies between the two items being swapped. It is assumed that traders are honest and fair in their recollections of prices paid, but the bottom line is that like a reserve bid, traders are free to name a threshold under which they wouldn't trade a piece of fabric. Presumably they're motivated to trade and will be flexible if they see fabrics they're eager to trade for.
Of course there may be small sales tax implications if the trades are done in a public place - your state or provincial govt website should be able to answer that. It's not really bartering, but it's fuzzy enough that it might bear looking into.
As for venues, I expect that a fabric store might not want to do it - why would they want customers coming in if they weren't planning to buy fabric? - but sewing machine stores could gain from the possibility that swappers might also pick up needles and notions that would now be necessary for making up the newly swapped "prizes". And of course many sewing guilds meet in Church basements or halls, where there is no retail environment to consider.
Of course, if you don't want to replace the culled fabrics with other ones and can't find a local charity that could use the fabric, there is always Craigslist or Freecycle.
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