Threads of the Month: October
Do you subscribe to Threads of the Month? It’s Thread and Grain’s monthly subscription to a mystery fabric.
Katy of Wild and Wanderful chooses a fabric for subscribers and sends it out to us every month. They vary in print and base (fabric type). I’ve gotten french terry, double brushed poly, rayon spandex and even a spun poly. She does a great job of finding fabrics that I don’t see popping up all over the internet (and I see a lot of fabric on the internet!).
Every month she includes a cute inspiration card telling you more about the fabric and why she chose it. There’s often a little bonus too, like an iron-on, some buttons or a little art print for your making space.
I love subscription boxes. I’ve cancelled my Birchbox (makeup box) and I never did get into Rent the Runway or Stitch Fix or anything like that, but I don’t think you can go wrong with a fabric subscription. I love seeing it arrive, standing at the kitchen counter when I walk in opening it up and then wondering what I could make!
Fabric for Mental Health
I have a rule about not using my Threads of the Month for testing. They’re just for me.
When you’re doing PDF pattern testing, you don’t always get to share your makes. Sometimes early versions of the pattern don’t display the fit correctly and can’t be shared. I wouldn’t want that to happen to my TOTM. Plus you can’t control the release dates, so even if you get to share what you made, you may need to wait awhile and that can’t be tough if everyone else is sharing their TOTM makes.
I’ve seen some bloggers who time it perfectly and can use strike off fabric for their finals in pattern testing. I’ve not taken the risk, but also the timing has never worked out for me.
But if you are interested in getting into strike off making, TOTM can be a great way to practice. Every month you get a two yard cut. It arrives around the 25th. Challenge yourself to make and have something ready to post by the first of the month. It may not be a challenge for you, but I struggle sometimes with a 2 yard cut (which is what most of the strike off assignments I receive are) because it’s not always enough for a dress bodice and skirt.
October Make
This month has been really packed with tests for me. So many new patterns releasing! Which is great because I didn’t have a lot of me-made Fall clothes and now I am set!
But I needed something just for me. My TOTM arrived at the perfect time. I had a ton of other projects on my table and was trying to make all the deadlines. Sunday night I decided to stay up an extra hour and I pulled out an old-favorite pattern, the Mamma Can Do It Adalynn.
Since the MCDI Peplum (blog post) and Sunflower Tank (blog post) are my other go-tos when I have an extra yard and an extra hour, I’ve gotten really fast at bindings. I can do this neck binding in nothing flat! I can also whip up a Baby Adalynn (blog post) for a baby shower the night before! Ask me how I know!
Related Kitty Makes It Blog Posts
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| Baby Adalynn (blog) |
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| Peplum (blog) |
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| Sunflower Tank (blog) |
(Back to my new Adalynn)
So I grabbed my pattern and sure enough, I had just enough (size 20) in my two yard TOTM cut!
This month it’s a rayon spandex, so it has fantastic drape.
This is my favorite type of Monday outfit. Hides all the chips and guac from the weekend and is super comfortable to wear with (boots or flats? I can’t decide!) when I’m not quite ready to return to my adult life.
Can’t wait to see what Katy sends next month!
Prior TOTM Makes
Here’s another project I made with my TOTM. (More Cowl Neck! – blog post)
I had this hack in my head and finally gave myself the time to make it come true when I received my monthly threads.
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| Cowl Hack |
I also subscribe to The Fab Clique Fabric Shoppe Solid Essentials monthly box. You get three yards in that one and you might get more than one fabric. They’re all solids which means they’re great to have on hand for a situation, for example, if your two yard cut needs an accent or a little supplement to finish the make you have in mind!
