So since the world has been in this weird place I’ve taken it upon myself to support small businesses … that basically means I’ve been shopping ! But I’ve tried my best to buy from wonderful small businesses, so I thought I would talk you through them and what I bought.
When I visited The Stitch Festival on 1st March I had a lovely time browsing and stroking all the beautiful fabrics at Sew Me Sunshine’s stand … and ever since I’ve been a bit obsessed with scrolling through all her amazing fabrics online! At the festival I bought a dreamy blue sweatshirting to make a Bertha cardigan out of, and then when that was a success I decided to buy it in the stone colourway too. And I bought the red version to make another cardigan in but this time as a birthdaygift for my sister!
Harriet has a wonderful range of fabrics (which has been slightly limited in the current craziness but she has worked so hard to give us an amazing range!) so do head over to her website!
The next business is another fabric shop … and one that I didn’t discover until quite recently. 1st for Fabrics has a huge range of fabrics and haberdashery and the lovely ladies who run it are ridiculously helpful! I’ve placed a couple of orders with them so far this lockdown … first of all was some beautiful Navy linen and white jersey. Both of which are amazing quality and a great price … the linen is waiting to be sewn into some Safiya dungarees!
The next order was mainly overlocker thread … I needed more black thread but decided to treat myself to some colours too. I bought pink, turquoise and blue to use all together for extra fun seams! After I placed the order I received a phone call from them apologising for the fact they were out of stock of one colour, it was so lovely to receive such personal service and of course I didn’t mind choosing a different colour. I also ordered some white viscose to line a skirt which was a bargain. I know I will keep ordering from them as they always seem to have what I need !
Happy Fabric is another of the small businesses I have bought from in the last few weeks. I love their iron on vinyls and always find it hard to choose from their beautiful colours! I placed an order for all the rainbow colours as well as a glitter sheet and a flocked one to … I can never resist their glitters! I really recommend visiting their social media accounts (particularly Instagram and Pinterest) as they have tons of inspiration to help you get started.
Something a bit different this time … I took part in one of Too Cute To Quit’s virtual workshops! Zoe runs workshops around London and surrounding areas but of course with the crazy situation we are in the middle of at the moment she cannot host them in person. So she’s set up some amazing online workshops, I took part in the macramé plant pot holder workshop and it was so much fun! She sent all the materials needed through the post and then last Friday evening Zoe taught myself and 4 other ladies how to knot and somehow we ended up with beautiful plant pot holders … it was so lovely chatting with people who are outside of my little lockdown bubble! And who knew macramé was so relaxing and mindful … I definitely haven’t been doing any online window shopping at macramé cord !! But at least that would mean I am supporting another small business … right ?!?
If you fancy learning a new craft keep an eye on Zoe’s social media so you’ll find out about any upcoming events!
I technically didn’t buy this from a small business however the new Great British Sewing Bee book has been written by two lovely ladies from the sewing community. Alexandra and Caroline from Selkie patterns have created a wonderful range of patterns for the new book and I’m so excited to get sewing! It’s also a plus that one of my lovely friends from school is modelling in the book – how cool is that!?! I’m particularly excited about the overalls, one of the dresses and the jacket … which of course may mean I need to buy more fabric!!
My latest purchase is from Holm Sown – a really lovely fabric shop and haberdashery in Castle Douglas, Scotland. Rachel sells a beautiful range of fabrics, patterns and haberdashery which are very difficult to resist! She had some beautiful natural linen fabric which I’ve bought with the thought of maybe making a couple pairs of trousers – possibly the Tilly and the Buttons Safiya trousers and the In the Folds Peppermint Magazine Wide Leg Pants. The linen was such a bargain as it was in the sale – sorry I managed to nab the last of it ! But I’m considering dyeing some of it to make the Safiya trousers for work so maybe navy or black. I also stocked up on a few bits of haberdashery like machine needles, interfacing and a zip to use on the trousers!
So think that’s all the small businesses I have bought from so far but a few others that I highly recommend are …
Pink Coat Club – super cute pin badges, patches and labels all sewing themed ! I have way too many of these but every new design Joy creates are beautiful !
Cloth and Candy – Fuz sells the prettiest fabrics for crafting, quilting and dressmaking. If you want beautiful prints on a lovely range of cotton fabrics head over to her website. She also sells haberdashery and gifts too … I’ve bought a few bits of fabric from the shop and it’s always hard to stop myself buying all the pretties!
Tilly and the Buttons – my absolute favourite indie sewing pattern designer! Tilly and her fabulous team produce amazing garment patterns and books which are perfect for beginners and experienced sewers alike … particular favourites are the Cleo Dungaree Dress, the Tabitha T-shirt and the Ness Skirt!
Fabric Godmother – they have an incredibly beautiful range of fabrics and also sell a lot of remnants at really good prices. When I visited the Stitch Festival it was so lovely to be able to stroke lots of their amazing fabrics, I genuinely don’t know how I resisted buying more!
So that’s everything for today but I just wanted to finish by saying that please continue to buy from small businesses … I know sometimes it’s not possible and I’ve certainly bought from the likes of Amazon and Hobbycraft when I can’t buy from a small business (for example Cricut supplies!). But where you can checkout the small businesses online and even locally to you! Lets help them all stay busy and maybe it’s a good enough reason to treat yourself !
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