A Thrifty Notion is an online source for sustainable and secondhand fabrics. Since the practice of sewing was historically a household skill and was often used to re-make or repair clothing, we believe it can and should be sustainable. We encourage our customers to think before they buy - check their stash, sew with what they have, upcycle, and put thought into their projects. But we also know that deadstock fabric sitting in a warehouse somewhere isn’t doing anyone any good, so we are happy to provide a secondhand shopping alternative for thoughtful makers.
Most of what we sell comes from donations or leftover stock from businesses that close their doors, but we also curate a very special collection of new items. These include organic fabrics, hemp blends, and high-quality items from brands that we have researched and trust.
Thanks so much for showing the fabrics. Your descriptions as well as seeing the fabric move is such a big help in deciding a project for your beautiful collection.
I just found these videos, very useful when I’m deciding what to purchase. Why California beaches? I’m from Cali, I love the vibe, fabrics and the names!
Thank you so much! I guess all the talk about Lilly Pulitzer had beaches on Liv's mind that day! We like to have some sort of theme for the fabric names, and Cali has some fun beach names for sure. - Kelly
Super cute! I bought the pattern today, and made it with fabric I got at my local creative reuse store. I even found leather for the bottom! I didn't have enough leather for the straps, but I made it work with the scraps from the top of the bag. This is a great quick project, and the instructions in the pattern were very clear. The additional ideas in this video are super helpful, and I ended up adding a small pocket to the lining of my bag. I only wish you'd included the dimensions of the fabric cuts. I quilt, so it's easier for me to cut fabric to a known size with my rotary cutter/rulers than to print out the pattern and cut from there (and it's a bit more eco friendly!). Thanks for the pattern!
I discovered that I could iron ribbon that had gotten creased and wrinkled, and that made recycling it as other bows much more doable. Even the thin ribbon that is not fabric can be smoothed out nicely by lightly rubbling it on a curling iron set on low.
Great tips! Thank you for sharing. Irons are useful for so many things, I use them on my sewing patterns all the time! Have you ever tried using a mini hair straightener? I haven't seen them as often in recent years, but they used to be very popular, and I think that would work wonderfully for straightening out ribbon! - Kelly
How wonderful that your store is willing to go to such lengths to make the most of the fabrics. I still keep super scrappy pueces of whole cloth because i can't bear to waste it.
Hi! These hides sold pretty quickly after the collection went live, but we do have some other leather available. Most of our current leather is upholstery weight and shades of beige or light brown. Thanks for your interest!
I love your videos. I'm learning as I go how to effectively use fabrics, so hearing you describe textures and drapes and project ideas is super helpful for me.
I always learn something from these videos! I learned about flannel being a notorious shrinker and that some silks stick to itself. I am curious, what made that one Tranquility silk a suiting fabric rather than a shirting or skirting? Was it because of the houndstooth print, or did it have a stiffer drape?
I love the concept of A Thrifty Notion but why are the fabrics so expensive. Almost equivalent to new and far pricer than me thrifting myself. Just curious.
That's a great question! There are a few things that go into this: We have a physical thrift store where we sell fabric and notions for $5 per pound, and offer bag sales and bins of free fabric - that’s how we started and where most of our items were sold in our first few years. We strive to be a resource for our local community - to spread the love and joy that is found in creating. Our free bins are where many children have come to pick up their first supplies to learn sewing, knitting, or crochet, and where sewists have picked up free muslin for their practice garments! So, for our local customers, we do carry a bit more of the "thrift store" feel. (I wish there was more we could do to translate this concept online, but I will mention what we are doing in a second!) Secondly, our staff are paid a fair wage. To be worth the labor of photography and writing up an internet listing, a fabric needs to be pretty special, so initially, only our more expensive and rare items got listed online. It’s similar to what large thrift store chains do with collectible and valuable items that show up in their stores. Unlike traditional thrift stores, though, we don't come across all of our inventory for free. Some of our inventory does come from local donations since many thrift stores near us don't accept fabrics, but we purchase a good percentage of it from individuals, as well. This makes our business model closer to a consignment/resale shop than a thrift store. As time has gone on, we have increased our inventory, and that, combined with the global pandemic, has meant a shift in how our business is run. We still highlight our most special fabrics in monthly collections. Those are generally our most expensive fabrics, although we try to price lower than comparable fabrics would be in other stores! We also now list more inventory throughout the week, and bundle items that would not be worth the labor of listing individually. These items are still curated and processed by our staff, but they lean much closer to traditional thrift store prices. Our best bargains sell out fast! Lastly, we are a little more focused on the sustainability aspect of using fabric that already exists rather than encouraging more production than is necessary by buying new. "A Sustainable Notion" just didn't have the same ring to it though 😉. I hope that helped answer your question, and gave some insight into what we do! Thanks for being here! Kelly
@@AThriftyNotion you answered my question and more. I thank you for taking the time to really lay it out for me. A Thrifty Notion is still on my radar, more now than ever
Hello. I just bought a 100% polyester child’s chef hat from hobby lobby. The iron-on little patches says if used on polyester fabrics it will be better to use glue instead of the iron. My question is: what kind of glue should I buy? Thanks! 🎄👍🏼
I would suggest a product like Fabri-Tac, Fabric Fusion, or Tear Mender. Those are all made for fabrics of various types, and would probably work well for what you're doing! If you can't find one of those, there are a lot of other fabric glues on the market. Gorilla Glue and other super glue brands even make fabric glue now! Just make sure you're getting one that says it has a permanent hold. Hope that helps! - Kelly
I would love more information on the history of different fabrics - their geographic origins, what they were originally used for, etc. I think it would be enough 'material' for separate videos for the history of different fabrics, instead of trying to fit it all in one video, simply because fiber and weave can be the same for many fabrics, but the history of one fabric with the same fiber and weave as another, could be completely different. I just bought 2 vintage textile books that I am reading to learn more about the fabrics that were around in the 1920's (no synthetics!) and the late 40's, and I would love to learn more about fabrics from other eras, too. And it's also funny how the same name of a fabric, can change meaning through the years. The muslin of a century ago isn't the same fabric that we call muslin today. Same with gingham. Fascinating! Anyway, love to learn the history of fabrics, as well as their properties.
Great points! Thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a thoughtful response. I will definitely keep what you said in mind when planning future videos!
This is just my opinion, but I specifically watch these to learn more about textiles, and if you were to go more in-depth on the history of things I would love that! I watch these when I know I have some time to truly digest them, not when I just want background noise, so longer or chattier fits the genre I think. You have so much knowledge to share and you have a soothing personality that makes it easy to learn from, thank you for putting your time, energy and heart into producing these! I also am not too fussed about what the background of your videos looks like, but on a side note, I will say I was very happy that you did not make slurping, swallowing or "ahhh" noises when you sipped your tea lol. I would still watch your videos if you did that, but I really hate it when I can hear people eating/drinking, especially on a video :D
As promised, here are the "Ten Steps to Health" from my favorite mug: 1. Eat more vegetable than less meat 2. Take more vinegar than less salt 3. Eat more fruits than less sugar 4. Bite small and chew lot 5. Dress light and take in sunlight 6. Be active not talkative 7. Walk more than drive car 8. Give more and take less 9. Forget about worries and sleep tight 10. Laugh more than being angry This mug and it's great advice makes me smile every time I use it! I hope you can get some enjoyment out of it, too! Thanks for watching! Kelly
Fabric sample books can be very helpful! I have checked out a few of them, and haven't found one that I LOVE yet. If I find a good one, I'll be sure to recommend it!
You had me cracking up in this video, I love it ❤ Also, that fancy fabric that is red one way and blue the other way reminds me of Princess Aurora when the fairies keep changing the color of her dress while she's dancing!
Hi! I have a question. If you are trying to identify a mystery fabric, would you be able to see these weave patterns if you look very close (or use a magnifying glass), or is it best to just go by secondary characteristics like the drape/sheen/tear-ability?
I'd say I use a combination of both! Sometimes, it's obvious at first glance/touch and others it takes a bit more effort. Magnifying glasses can be very helpful for identifying tricky fabrics!
Thank you for this information! I am wondering, is the fabric for the shirt you are wearing in this video an open knit, or a weave? I was also noticing the baskets in the back illustrating that over/under woven structure 😂.
The cardigan I'm wearing is a knit! If you look close, you can see that the yarns are fairly thick and there's a V shape to the pattern. Those factors together indicate that the garment was knitted with a standard knit stitch! Thanks for watching! ❤
Can confirm that an elastic waist quilting cotton skirt is an excellent first garment sewing project! Glad i picked an "easy" fabric and a fun print for something satisfying instead of frustrating early in my sewing journey. Also, quilting cotton tote bags and pouches were excellent non-garment early sewing projects. Loving this series!
Thanks for watching! Here's a link to the blog post, which also has a fabric yardage printable: athriftynotion.com/a/blog/quilting-cotton Here are some other resources related to sewing clothing with quilting cotton: thefabricfox.co.uk/blog/utilizing-quilting-cotton-to-create-stunning-clothing/ www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/07/sewing-clothing-with-quilting-cotton.html blog.seamwork.com/fabric/sewing-garments-with-quilting-cottons/
Disclaimer: Most of the information included in this post came from my existing knowledge of the textile industry and supply chain management gained while completing my degree in Apparel and Textiles. However, I am a firm believer in fact-checking before sharing information, as I want to avoid the chances of ever sharing false information. Resources from the Environmental Justice Foundation, International Labour Organization, and Environmental Protection Agency were consulted for this post. If this is a topic you are interested in and want to learn more, those are a few sources I would recommend. Here are a few links to specific pages and studies that were referenced for this video (I'll admit, I forgot to save all of them, but these are the key ones!) Nutrient pollution from the EPA: www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution Data about pesticide poisoning was obtained from this recent study: bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-09939-0 Child Labor in Cotton: www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do?type=document&id=29655
It's great to hear this sort of stuff talked about more and more! I'd be curious to learn more about cellulose fibers like tencel and rayon -- I have heard that they can be quite bad for the environment to produce but know little more than that. Is that something we may see from you guys in the future?
Absolutely! There is a video dedicated to regenerated cellulose fabrics coming soon! We will talk about all the different brand names and which ones are more sustainable options!
So informative, Kelly. Thanks again for doing these videos! Thanks for covering the sustainability issues with cotton. I'd also love it if you could talk about the environmental aspects of dying and printing the various fibers. Keep up the good work!
Your apparel & textile department had a WAY more reasonable approach to teaching sustainability than my undergrad business school. The approach CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility because everything in biz school has to have a three-letter acronym) pretty much always posited environmental/social sustainability as in OPPOSITION to economic sustainability, rather than looking for OVERLAP. Sigh. The Three Pillars model seems vastly superior
Ooh! That is interesting. The fact that it is being taught this way doesn't surprise me, but it does say a lot. It opens up a whole can of worms about why the world is the way it is, and how much easier it is for businesses to make money when they aren't worried about social and environmental issues. But, it also makes me wonder - how much different would our world look and how much would we gain if it wasn't this way? I often wonder what unexpected benefits would come from it, because I think we'd gain much more than the obvious. - Kelly
Cool, thanks. Looking forward to the rest of the series! Sad to hear about the environmental impact of cotton, since it seems like such a useful fiber. Do you have thoughts on other fibers that would make a good every day textile? I'm coming from the needlework world, trying to get into sewing, so I experience the materials very differently, but I do love working with bamboo blends
Glad you're enjoying the series! In the video coming out tonight, I talk briefly about some great alternatives (hemp and linen are two very sustainable natural fibers!), but we'll also talk about more fibers in the future, and each one will have a sustainability breakdown.
