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Thursday, April 19, 2012

How do you....???

I have so many questions. I need your help.


  1. How do you decide which fabrics to keep and which to add to your "Destash" pile?
  2. What are your musts for your stash fabrics? I'm talking about prints, colors, designs that you keep "just in case you need it for something" fabrics. Do you keep them/buy them even if you don't *love* them - but because they could be good filler fabrics?
  3. What is your stash made up of? random prints, collections/bundles, what?


don't worry, I have more questions. I'm getting ready to destash my stash and I need some help! I definitely have fabrics I LOVE! Should those be the only ones I keep? I also have a few collection bundles. Do I keep those all together, or take out the few that I don't necessarily love? Is it against the law to break up a collection? lol. 


now to the next set of questions:

  1. are there guidelines to selling destash fabrics? What would you be willing to buy and NOT buy?
  2. how do you price your destash fabrics? do you determine it on the quantity more (all 1/2 yards are the same price despite the print?), or more off the design? would you pay less for destash fabrics?
  3. what's your opinion on washed fabrics? I know some people don't prewash. I used to prewash my fabrics the moment I brought them through the door. Now not necessarily. But most of my destash is going to be prewashed. Does that change anything for the value or desirability?
  4. Bundle like colors? or sell everything separate? or only bundle fabrics that are in the same line?

ok, I really have no idea what I'm doing. But I want to get rid of a lot. Kind of embarrassed by some of it. lol. I bought a lot of my stash a few years ago when I really started sewing, and before I knew the who's who of fabric. Some of it was sale fabrics... come to find out I had good taste. :) Sometimes I look through my stash and find a AMH, or some Joel Dewberry. It makes me feel cool that I actually have some of those desirable fabrics in my stash! lol. 


Does any of this really even matter?

Thanks for your help!!!!




p.s. on another note, can everyone please stop blogging for a few days???!!! I basically only read my google reader on my phone, but it's a bit kaput. I got a new one, but it's still having the same problem....  anyway, don't be mad that I don't comment on your blogs lately ok?! Hopefully I'll get it fixed soon and be able to catch up! And so if you all of a sudden get comments on 10 posts at a time, just know that I got my phone fixed. lol. :)



Diane

10 comments:

  1. My stash is in need of a destash too. I've got no idea where to start so no help with #1. #2 I sometimes buy by collection - sometimes as a bundle but more often pick my faves from a collection. I also buy a lot of monochromatic prints, to add to other more colourful fabrics. My fave of these right now are Lizzy House's jewels and pearl bracelets. I wont try to answer how to destash - I'm a shocking fabric hoarder!

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  2. 1. never destashed before, don't have that big of a stash yet
    2. must have white, off white, or black in yardage! Try not to buy fabrics that I don't love ,anymore, but I have before, just to match something.
    3. Mostly random prints

    next questions

    1.now, i would like to buy FQ bundles(getting wiser)
    2.n/a
    3.it would not bother me if it was pre washed...especially if it was a desirable fabric to me or a good bargan.
    4.bundles in colors and or same line. It really doesn't matter if they are the same line and much as they are cohesive. That they match, but are not to matchy matchy. I think bundles would be better than separates. Its like the difference between a piece of candy or a whole bowl. Plus, someone picking out random fabric for me would be like my own personal fabric stylist! Picking out fabric takes me forever!!!

    I hope this is what you needed:)

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  3. I've seen people post destashes in small groupings - like fabrics together. And priced by the fabric desirability and amount. But I'm pretty sure there's not set way to do it. So, just do want ya feel like. :)

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  4. I've seen people post destashes in small groupings - like fabrics together. And priced by the fabric desirability and amount. But I'm pretty sure there's not set way to do it. So, just do want ya feel like. :)

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  5. Also, to bad about your phone! I am posting tomorrow what I hope to be a very interesting post! I am just to tired to do it right now!:)

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  6. 1. Ok, what you need to do is sort through your fabrics, stroke each one as you go, hold it up to the light, maybe group them...then decide that you should destash EVERYTHING and start again from fresh. Now here's the important part - send all your old stash to me! :)

    2/3 My stash is mainly made up of sale fabrics! I am perpetually poor, so I just buy anything and everything that is on offer. Practically anything decent I have was either bought to make something for someone else, I won it, or my mum bought me it!

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  7. I'll tell you what I know based on what I have bought in the past:

    Go with your gut in regards as to what to keep or not. Think about "if I get rid of this, will I be sad about it later?"

    I have bought every size of fabric, as long as it clearly states what size the fabric is or what it all weighs....a yard roughly weighs 6 oz., so if you have a pile of scraps, weigh it and sell it based on weight and it gives you an idea of how much you are getting. The only size I have bought that pissed me off was some 1/2" and 1" scraps the seller didn't care to mention were that tiny. Price depends on what it is...is it rare or OOP? Price it higher. Scraps can be priced via weight, if a yard is $10, then a set of fabrics that weight roughly 6 oz, can be priced around $10, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what the fabric is! I would group fabric together based on designer, line or color.

    Hope this helps!

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  8. 1. I've never destashed (not really) but if I was going to, I'd put in the "destash" pile everything that I haven't been able to use for the past couple months... I had Amy Butler prints that I liked but I know I won't use them because the scale of the print is too big.. So I swapped them ! What I'm trying to say is keep what you REALLY love..

    2. Musts are : small scale prints. You know, stuff that you can easily match together. In every colors of course !

    3. Favorite prints of random collections. I rarely buy a whole collection, I try to focus on the prints that I love and can use with other fabrics. Because you know, there are some prints that really don't go well alone. I try to avoid these because I like to mix things!

    Next set :

    1. I'd buy anything that I like ! Whether I buy it from you or someone that has a "real" (etsy) fabric shop, doesn't matter to me. What matter is what you offer.

    2. Never done that.. But I'd say that if it's really desirable/hard to find/out of print fabric, it can be a little more expensive than regular fabric.

    3. I never understood what was the problem with prewashed fabric. Maybe you can explain it to me ? I'd still mention it on the listing just so people know.

    4.Both ? Some bundles like colors, some separate.. I know that I prefer to buy separate (except when it's for a special project, then I usually buy a whole collection).

    Wow, I think that it was my longest comment ! Hope it helps a little !

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  9. 1. I usually get bundles so straight away I take out the fabrics I don't like and leave them to one side, whilst sorting the fabrics I love. With the fabrics I don't like or know aren't my style I swap with other people for new ones I love! I think swapping is better in some ways as you get the fabrics you want and it's cheaper than buying more and is like selling, but instead you're getting fabric in return.

    2. I have been trying to get fabrics of every colour. Even the colours I don't love. So if I make a quilt it's for someone else and not me, so I never have to keep those colours. I like a mix of prints both larger and smaller as they can be used on different projects e.g pillows, pouches.
    I sometimes keep odd prints because I know if I use them someone else may love them.

    3. My stash has a range of prints. I don't by whole collections unless I love all the prints, it seems a shame to break them up. So I just buy the prints I love and leave the others.

    Next set of questions golly there's a lot!

    1. I haven't really bought destash fabrics to be honest. As I usually swap mine. It has to be fabric of useable size though with no pieces missing. If there is a piece cut, cut it out and add it to a scrap bag and sell that separately by weight or size so e.g a yard of scraps 2 yards etc

    2.If they haven't been used then it's fine to sell them by size and some prints are slightly rarer than others so that too can determine the price. Have a look around ETSY and see what there's are going for.

    3.I don't think it makes much difference if they are washed, least that way you know the colour has been set better and will be less likely to run on dark prints. It may be an issue to some, so add it in a note on the listing.

    4.I'd sell separate, some people may only want a few of the prints in a bundle. Possibly make a custom listing with some price guides and so if they do want a few prints the custom bundle could work out cheaper.
    Fabrics from the same line should only be bundled if you have 3 or more of them in my opinion.

    Hope that helps =D

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  10. My stash is has two main parts: fabric I've acquired from other people ("inheriting" their stashes) and fabric I've purchased for other things. I always buy more than I need for things so part of my stash is leftovers. I try to almost always buy fabric with a specific purpose in mind (in theory this keeps me from getting too much fabric).

    The problem for me with keeping just what I love would be that then I wouldn't necessarily have things that coordinated. Also, I have such a hard time cutting the ones I really love - I'm always saving them for something Super Awesome!

    I buy destash fabrics, often via garage sales or randomly lucking into things. When things have been priced, I think it's been by the yardage but I've also most often just received someone's destash in the vein of "just take it off my hands!"

    I wash everything when I bring it home. Prewashed wouldn't necessarily affect how I perceived the value of the fabric. And I'd wash any fabric I'd acquired via someone's destashing anyway.

    As for bundling, I think it'd depend on how much there was of various fabrics and how confident I was about my ability to make awesome bundles. If you bundle, do it by colors/coordinates.

    Good luck!

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