Old clothes vs new fabic. Doll clothing craft prefrence.

There's a ton of material you CANNOT get in fabric stores that I've gotten from 2nd hand & vintage shops. Of course I've been trolling those shops for decades, did the whole Retro thing in the 80s, and know exactly what to look for. As far as bugs, LOL just disinfect. Of course ALL the major thrift shops do that anyway. As I said, I've bought clothing & other stuff from such stores, for myself to wear, or to sew with, or for the dolls - for YEARS and have never ONCE gotten any kind of bug or infestation. That's such an unwarranted worry.

 

I do both. I try and avoid the fabric store as much as possible only because I know I'll walk out with waaaaaay more than I planned. Typically, if I'm in a second-hand store, I don't buy kids/baby clothes but go for scarves, table runners, cloth napkins and the like. I'll also go to the dollar store and buy things like scarves, handkerchiefs, valences and table runners. For my own clothes, if it could still be useful to someone else, I donate it. If it's beyond repair, then I'll try and salvage what I can.

There have been a few exceptions though. I had a blouse that I really loved but didn't fit into anymore due to excessive boobage. I couldn't bear to part with the blouse so I made an outfit for one of my SD's and another outfit for one of my smaller MSD's out of it. I really love the way both outfits turned out and I still get to enjoy a favourite blouse in a way.

 

Oh I'm not talking reputable second hand stores (I get dolly clothing there) but random eBay sellers who "found a box" of fabric. You don't really know how it's going to smell or if it's stained or covered in bed bugs. Those things are hard to kill, I hear!

But I'm just iffy about used people clothes because of reasons.

 

Ah - yeah I'm very wary about that - if I can't see & feel the fabric (including that in the online fabric shops) I don't like it. I bought one dress online, which was ok, but not the quality of satin it looked like in the picture (for $10 I didn't care) but that's it. Even those bargain bins behind Goodwill really need to be checked thoroughly! and for the online fabric stores, always request swatches! They usually are free, & sometimes big enough to make things with LOL

 

Definitely! I have ordered from Hobby Lobby and JoAnns, but both were for specific patterns or colors because I ran out. ^^; Unfortunately, the customer service at JoAnns was abysmal.

 

JoAnne's tries to be all things for all people. I went there in person to find cotton batiste - neither the sales person nor her supervisor even KNEW what that WAS! I mean really? So it does not surprise me that the online store is terrible.
There are specialized fabric stores online that are better, BTW. It's about the only way to get real silk & linen anymore unless you get it in vintage/thrift shops!

 

I have been buying fabric and vintage garments on ebay since its inception (20 years) and have never had a problem with bugs. Of course I buy from reputable sellers who have their livelihood to consider.

There are many reputable sellers on ebay who sell high quality new fabrics, too-- including the types of fabric that are hard to find at chain stores. Like the batiste @Teleri mentioned, or lawn, voile, etc. These fabrics often hang better than quilting cottons, which are woven to allow easy hand sewing, but which also can seem a bit too thick for certain doll clothes. Or if you want to avoid ebay altogether, fabricdepot.com has an awesome selection (their retail store is local to me, and it has the largest square footage of any fabric store in the US.) And they offer free swatches by mail.

By the way, if it really is a concern, sticking a used garment in a ziploc bag in the freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit/ -18 Celsius for four days will kill both moth eggs and bedbugs/eggs. The freezer section of your refrigerator is probably not cold enough-- you need a deep freeze that doesn't self defrost. But no chemicals involved, or possible damage to fabric.

In the past, I've bought thrifted garments for doll clothes, but where I live, thrifting is so popular that the prices are insane. Luckily I have built up a large stash!

 

I'll use fabric from old clothes, but I much prefer buying new fabric. I tend to have a lot more options to choose from that way. I also really like going to Goodwill and picking up clothes made with fabric that I like. This saves a lot of money and is just generally more fun for me.

 

I'll use fabric from old clothes, but I much prefer buying new fabric. I tend to have a lot more options to choose from that way. I also really like going to Goodwill and picking up clothes made with fabric that I like. This saves a lot of money and is just generally more fun for me.

 

I do a bit of both. Sometimes I have random fabrics left over from cosplays that get used. Sometimes I buy a new fabric if it's what I've been looking for (they know me by name now at the local Hancock's), and occasionally a shirt will catch my eye at Goodwill or I'll score in their craft supplies bin on fabric & yarns.

I raided Goodwill the other day for satiny look night clothes since it was a thinner fabric for a project than the other scraps of stuff I had on hand.

The problem isn't where the fabric stash comes from for me ... it's actually getting something done with it instead of it just collecting and piling up. My mother has already threatened to come shopping in my one fabric closet for some of her quilt projects.

 

I definitely have a bit of a thrift-store problem. The fabric stores I've found in my area tend to be expensive, but I can find used clothing for really cheap (especially during sales) and with exciting patterns, so... I've built up a larger stash than I intended. This is partly due to my affinity for sweater fabrics.

 

I make a lot of my doll clothe and 90% of them are from recycling mens cotton button-down shrts -t hey come in small-scale patterns that you don't see in the ships, the fabric is fine enough to drape well in doll scale and has often been worn and washed to an even softer hand and finer drape. Plus you can get them cheaply in charity shops and get a couple of Victorian style dresses for an SD sized doll form one adult shirt. Neckties give nice brocades and damasks for doll scale historical clothing.

I also use off-cuts form human-sized costume (mostly silks) that are fine enough for use in doll clothes. Ant other clothes are usually form stuff like patchwork cottons (again, lots of small scale prints available) and the occasional second hand child's dress or skirt that works I doll scale too. These latter mean I can often use the skirt as is and just gather or pleat it onto a doll-sized bodice cut form the rest of the garment, a real bonus in that it's already hemmed, and decorated in smallish scale ruffles and/or trim so it saves time in getting a finished doll-sized garment made.

Teddy