Friday, September 16, 2011

San Francisco Fabric Shopping Part 1



I got all of this for $5!!!! I was super excited to go fabric shopping with Mena while I was in San Francisco. If you follow Mena's blog, you know she always finds super amazing fabric (often vintage) and sewing notion deals.


Our first stop (and the source of all the booty above) was Scrap.  Scrap is an AMAZING space.  It's in an old warehouse building and doesn't look like much from the outside but you walk in and lo-and-behold it is a crafter's haven!  There are literally bins of zippers for 5 cents, two large filing cabinets full of patterns for a quarter, row upon row of fabric scraps and a whole aisle of buttons and notions!!


What's even better?  Scrap is a non-profit organisation or what they call a 'creative reuse centre and materials depot'.  It's been around since 1976 and it relies on donations of re-usable materials (often 'scraps' or in bulk) and diverts them from landfills into classrooms and to home seamstresses like me :)  

I got loads of buttons, fabrics, zippers, lace, corded piping, belt buckles and a few patterns! Mena was really good at spotting the fabulous fabrics like the two colourful prints above (about 1.5 yards and 2 yards each).

I highly recommend visiting scraps if you are ever in the bay area.  It is amazing.  I wish we had something like that in Scotland!!


Next up on the shopping tour was Stonemountain and Daughter fabric store.  I remembered reading about this fabric store on Mena's blog and it was lovely to visit them.  They have a great range of reproduction cotton prints, a lovely collection of wool crepes and tons of colour cottons.


I credit Mena with finding this lovely fabric!  I walked away with 4.5 yards enough for a dress or separates and a dress.  I am planning to make something from it for our upcoming picnic in New York City at the end of the month!  Isn't it lovely??

Stay tuned tomorrow for more of my fabric shopping adventures! It was so much fun to hang out with Mena and to go to some of her favourite places!  
SHARE:

26 comments

  1. Fantastic finds! And that red floral is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great finds. I wish there was a place in the U.S like scraps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. Nice to see that San Francisco still has places like that. Both look really cool. I'll bet there's something like it in Portland.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so jealous of exciting fabric finds. There is nowhere decent to buy fabric where I live :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. Im decided. Sao Frascisco is now an official contender for holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW! No WONDER Mena has such thrifty haberdash and things! Well done Debi!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a store wish I knew it was there when I lived in CA. Can't wait to see with what you do with your finds.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WOW I am in the UK and I so jealous of all America has to offer especially SCRAPS :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. OMG ! What bargains you found ! If only we had places like that here in the UK ! Cant wait to see what you stitch up with all this booty ! xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, I do wish we had more places like that over here. Special trips to London are the only way I can get much, unless I pay through the nose in my local department store...

    Can't wait to see the finished products, especially the orange, that's beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad you had such a good time and found lots of things!

    ReplyDelete
  12. debi that red is MAGNIFCENT!!!! holy cow i have to step it up with the NY stores....

    ReplyDelete
  13. I buy tons of fabric at Stone Mountain which is my local (and independently owned - hurrah!) fabric store. They always have a great selection, and the salespeople are very knowledgeable. Glad you enjoyed your time here in the SF Bay area.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ohh I am so envious! I totally want a "scrap" in my neighborhood:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. $5 for all that?! We NEED a Scrap in the UK!

    ReplyDelete
  16. OMG, $5!!!! That is unbelieveable!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. @David, there IS a place like this in Portland, and it's called....SCRAP. It's over in Northeast.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have been hearing about Scrap for years now but I have never made it in there. I need to make a point of going now for sure! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh wow! What great bargains. I love the heart shaped buckle.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We have a Scrapstore in Selkirk. It is like a wee Aladdin's Cave - fab!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I really hate that there are no places like this in the Netherlands!

    ReplyDelete
  22. You forgot to mention that Scrap was closed! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Both of your posts make it look so fun! Can't wait to see what you do with that fabulous orange print!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think scrap looks pretty amazing from the outside, too...hehe! I wish we had something like that here, and in fact it's kind of a dream of mine to be involved in such an organization. Nice haul!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh no--Scrap is closed? I just came across your post because I'm visiting San Francisco soon and saw you mentioned shopping there... their website looks like it's still active?

    ReplyDelete

I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
MINIMAL BLOGGER TEMPLATES BY pipdig