I don't know about anyone else but late January/early February always finds me restocking my sewing notions. When I sit down to sew, I like to have everything on hand. I hate to run out of thread or hooks 'n eyes, etc. in the middle of sewing a garment....anything that stops the project just annoys the heck out of me. So once a year, I restock.
I keep lists of notions that have been used during the year and place large orders to restock them. What do I buy in bulk and keep on hand? Elastics in all sizes, thread - both for my sewing machine and serger, interfacing, silk organza, needles - both for the sewing machine and hand needles, zippers, and shoulder pads to name a few things.
I restock from places like Atlanta Thread and Supply, Home Sew, Newark Dressmaker's Supply, Nancy's Notions, Thai Silks, and Joann's. Carefully going through my notion supply, I make lists of everything that is low and then I just start ordering. Most of my restocking is done through mail order but I do purchase some goods from Steinlauf and Stoller in NYC.
What do I replace? Thread from Atlanta Thread & Supply - they sell Gutterman Thread for $2.95 for 1100 yards; Maxi-Lock serger thread is $1.99 ~ though I buy my basic colors in the 5,000 yard cones...don't need to reorder as often. I buy elastics from Home Sew and Newark Dressmaker's Supply in 25 or 50 yard rolls. Home Sew also has a great selection of shoes/hats/purses for 18" dolls. Silk Organza is purchased from Thai Silks in three colors in 20 yard lengths. From Nancy's Notions ~ things like snaps, interesting notions, etc. mostly whatever interests me from her catalogue. Steinlauf and Stoller offer gridded pattern paper, zippers in all sizes and rayon hem tape in every color under the sun!
I do this religiously at the beginning of the year because it allows me to sew without worry the rest of the year. So do you restock? Or do you purchase notions as needed? Do you purchase online? Or do you run out to Joann's or Hancock's? How do you keep your notions stashed?
I restock all year long. But I also have a lifelong supply of things like hooks and eyes etc inherited from other sewers in my life.
ReplyDeleteYour way sounds more economical to be sure. My way of restocking usually leads to impulse purchases ;)
I don't do a big restock, though that is a fantastic idea. I do stock up on silk organza for interfacings whenever I get to NYC, and I stock up on purse hardware and other hard to find notions while I'm there too.
ReplyDeleteI like doing big all-at-once restocks too. I do most of my stocking-up during the big Jo-Ann's sales after Thanksgiving. But I still manage to run out of things, especially things like thread and zippers which require color-matching.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm frustrated because I forgot to order wooly nylon thread to match my current project, and Hancock's doesn't sell it anymore. I'm going to mail-order it, so on my to-do list for today is to go through my notions and see what else needs to re-stocked and ordered through the mail.
I keep most of my notions organized in plastic shoeboxes. I have stashes of fusible tapes, elastics, rayon seam bindings, and closures.
I stock up on a more quarterly basis. It seems like my needs change a lot. And I don't have the storage space for lots of bulk items (if I buy too much muslin, I'll have no place to keep the real fabric!).
ReplyDeleteI dont have any stocking up routine. If I did, I'd have to remember what it is, that's too hard. I do it by the seat of my pants. Impusle and/or need, especially if these correspond to a sale, or a shipping discoutn if I order enough. Ironically, I'm really a bad shopper at trade fairs and quilt shows, almost never buy anything there!
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