I’ve been anxious to visit Walthamstow Market after reading Karen’s posts (here and here) about the great sewing finds it has to offer. My friend recently moved to the area so I invited myself (cheeky, I know) over to check out her new place and the market. Luckily for me she didn’t mind showing me around and being patient as I ogled over all the great stuff I saw.
Fabric is the last thing I need (…for now) but I had to snatch up this blue eyelet at £1 a meter.
Only something sweet can come from this
I own quite a bit of fabric but I’ve found I don’t have enough notions. When I was making my sailboat skirt I had to nip out for a zip. I kept my eye out for some and bought these, 20 for 50P!
Zips! No concealed ones...but still...Zips!
So many great stalls for haberdashery. I felt like an overexcited puppy. Haberdashery galore!
I love a bargain
1. 30 Snaps, 50P
2. 5M of lace, 50P. (Hoping to use these for some cute undies)
3. 4M of lace, £2.00 (My first purchase at the beginning of the market. Didn’t know there cheaper options to come!)
4. 7M of stripey cotton twill, 50P
5. 30M Bias Binding, £2.35
6. 30M Bias Binding, £2.35
7, 30M Bias Binding, £2.35
8. 25M Bias Binding, £1.00
9. 10M navy lace, £1.00
10. 5M of elastic, 50P
11. 6 buttons, 40P
12. 35 buttons, 30P
All in all I think I did pretty well for myself. I walked away with a ton of notions and spent less than £20. Yowsers. Thanks for posting about Walthamstow Market, Karen. Great market, great finds.
My mister asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I instantly replied with, “Fabric, please.” Although I have quite the stash growing I still wanted to branch out and get something other than cotton or cotton blends. With Dibs along I knew fabric shopping would be twice the fun. And it was. I took her to my favourite fabric shop in Holloway, Rolls and Rems, not too far from my place. They have the most unbelievable remnants bin I have seen. It’s pretty big.
Rolls and Rems, Remnants Bin
I’m glad someone told me about this place because I would have never found it on my own. The best part, it’s a 15 minute bus ride away. I have yet to buy anything that isn’t a remnant. But maybe one day I’ll purchase something outside the bin. They have pretty and affordable options.
Oh, so pretty
And affordable notions and haberdashery.
Buttons
A bit of haberdashery
After spending quite a bit of time stalking the bin and walking about the store we finally made our purchases. It was quite the successful venture!
A happy Dibs with her fabric finds
Two very satisfied customers
I walked away with 24 yards, or 22 meters, of beautiful fabrics for £32! Not bad. Not bad at all.
When I picked this sheer pink polka dot fabric I was channeling Marie, from A Sewing Odyssey. I loved the look of her Sorbetto top. So feminine, so sweet. I want those things! Hope I can accomplish that with my polka dot choice.
Sheer pink polka dot fabric
This black taffeta has such great details. It will make a lovely dress and skirt. Yes, I got that much of it. I am hoping to make Gertie’s Full Gathered Skirt with it. Do you think it’ll work? Or will I need something with less details?
Black taffeta
This cotton lawn will make a sweet skirt or blouse. Once I get my order of patterns I’ll decide which one I will make.
Cotton lawn
Dibs kept laughing at me when I pointed out which fabrics would make great napkins. I can’t help it. I love napkins. It’s the hostess in me. I love throwing dinner parties and setting a gorgeous tables. Every year, around Thanksgiving, I go crazy looking for vibrant, sophisticated napkins and always come out empty. They are either overpriced or dull, dull, dull. Why did I take up sewing? To make napkins. Yes. True story.
Floral cotton
I see a great springy dress or skirt in this green floral linen.
Green floral linen
This is my ace. I knew I was in for a challenge when Dibs walked away from this one. She explained it was due to how costly and/or time consuming pre-shrinking wool could be. I love a challenge so I snapped it up as soon I saw a woman put it down. When I become an amazing sewist I will make a jacket with this one. So this one will be put in the back of my stash cabinet. See you eventually, my pretty.
Pink, navy and black checkered wool
These pretty squares I bought from eBay. They are part of my birthday gift from G as well. They are 62 4″x4″ vintage Liberty squares. When I saw them I instantly thought: patch skirt! Sadly I will need a billion more to make one. Wish I had done the math before bidding and winning them. So dear reader, what shall I make with these little treasures?
Liberty Vintage fabric squares, 4"x4"
Luck was on my side the day that I came across a blogger’s post about a fabric shop hop! Karen from Did You Make That? organized a brilliant get-together, Fabric Fandango: Goldhawk Road. She provided a map of the sewing shops in the area and prizes for the first ten people who showed up! Amazing. And always the eager beaver guess who got a bag? Me…correct. About 40 women showed up for the event. Coincidentally another sewing group was having an outing to the shops as well. We all split up into small groups and on we went.
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| Dibs and her mountain of fabric! |
