Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Buying Stash Fabric

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you already know I like to buy stash fabrics for my backings and backgrounds.  When I decide to finish up a quilt top or start a project, I like to "shop" in my stash for its backing or for its background.  

And I also like to buy the fabric I stash at a really great price.

I often get emails asking me how I decide what to buy...



I recently received the order I place at Connecting Threads when they had one of their 30% off the entire order sale.  I thought I would share my purchases.

First, I usually make large lap quilts - 60 x 72" is about the size I aim for.  That means that 4 yards of fabric is a perfect backing size if I seam horizontally.  For wide backs, a 2 yard cut will work great.

The dark gray chambray on the bottom is a wide backing - I was drawn to it because it could be a backing or it would be great for sashing or the background fabric on a quilt.  Connecting Threads carries it in a number of colors. The same is true for the turquoise Grunge fabric (Pool).  It is also a wide backing cut and available in other colors.

I am in love with the white floral print.  I wish I would have ordered more - lucky for me it is still available.  It is a wide backing cut and is also a really versatile piece.

Connecting Threads is starting to stock a number of other manufacturer's collections so I was delighted that they had Janet Clare's newest collection.  I am a huge fan and love the "distressed denim" look to her blues.  I bought this 4 yards of Seaweed print.  Once again, it could be a backing or a fun directional background fabric.

I was pleasantly surprised with the top blue fabric.  This print went in and out of my cart a number of times.  I am so glad I purchased it.  I can see it as a binding, backing or some fun striped sashing.

So I guess my point in sharing these is that when I buy for my stash, I am looking for fabrics that I can see used in a number of ways.  I don't often buy prints that are multicolored or what would be considered "focus fabric".  I have discovered that those fabrics are the ones that hang around my stash for years waiting for the right project.  I can see me using any of these in the near future!

So if you are not sure quite how to go about buying pieces for your stash when you see a great sale, I hope this helps some.  Of course, these colors and prints work well with my style but with a little adjustment on color, they might just work with yours.

Enjoy your day!


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4 comments:

JanineMarie said...

Thanks for sharing your buying strategy. I am always stymied about how to build a useable stash from sale fabrics whether online or in-store. I remember buying plain white in a store one time when I was on vacation because I wanted to support the store but was paralyzed by all the choices. This should help a lot!

Astrid said...

Thanks for sharing! You are so fortunate to have shops/online shops in your country. Here, I don't get 100% cotton fabric for quilting. I have to purchase from the US. During the pandemic, most of the online shops I purchase from, have suspended international orders. There's only one I can purchase from now and shipping (Fedex Express) is just horrible expensive! Usually I buy only what I need to finish a quilt.This year, I've been forced to be creative with backings. So in a way, the pandemic is a good way to reduce my stash! lol

maggie fellow said...

beautiful, versatile fabrics. They will work great

Allison said...

Thank you for sharing your stash buying strategy. I'm finding it increasingly useful to have a stash of fabrics ready to mix and match for quilt backs and binding. And I do have a few fabrics in my stash that I love(d) but are very hard to fit in with projects...

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