Tuesday, May 18, 2010

way to save




I'm having my chairs and chaise reupholstered, and so I have been running all over NYC trying to find the PERFECT fabrics for them... purely by color, not price, just finding the right thing...

I've been to the fancy places, I've gone the dusty packed full of fabric places in my hood, and I've gone to the Silk Trading Company...and the upholstery fabric district down near Chinatown...

I gathered my fabric swatches, and decided EXACTLY what I wanted..
(the top left purple with a swish zag through it)

Until I looked at the prices...

See that, orange purple gold silk fabric?
$250 a YARD
(ZOIKS!!!!)

NO WAY, that's out.

ok then.

How about the blue-ish purple toile silk to the right of the lavender linen?
$180 a yard...
NOPE, that's out!

That top Purple silk top left hand corner that I originally liked seemed like a bargain,
at $72 a yard

nope. still to much for me.

I went back to the store where I recently found the fabric for my couch...
and low and behold, I got yards for $6 a yard for the chaise
and $8 a yard for my two chairs! YIPPEE!

So what to do with the pricey fabric samples?

Sew them all together into a pillow to sit on my $9 dollar a yard couch!


Cheap and Cheery!

25 comments:

Andrea, the little collector said...

No $270 a yard fabrics? Hey, a few more visits (and samples) and you could have a whole quilt. Hadn't thought of that approach to stash building. :)

badlandsquilts said...

egads... I'd opt for Mill End when your here for the summer or if you do market again check out High Fashion Fabs home store in Houston!

Catsngrams said...

Wow those fabs are made only for the rich. What are they made of gold? Too rich for me I would be afraid of letting anyone sit on them. You did good girl. $6.00 is a lot better and I love the pillow.

Chase said...

wow... This is cool..I love your new pillows. It looks great~

shellysquilts said...

I love it! Happy sewing!

Stephanie said...

Clever. Love it.

Trudi said...

What a perfect little pillow!

Mrs Moen said...

Love it! The solid grey swatch looks just like my couch.-)

Alexis said...

Fabulous pillow- and a fun way to remember your adventures in reupholstering your furniture!

beth said...

it's fun to see the pricey stuff...even more fun (in my opinion) to save your pennies.;)

amandajean said...

LOVE the pillow. what a great way to use up the bits. :)

YankeeQuilter said...

Love the pillow! Goes great with the couch too!

When I was a kid my Mom got a book of great samples at a flea market in Europe. When we got home she stretched them samples on frames and hung a group of them in our summer cottage hallway...loved them!

Char said...

Love the pillow and the couch. $270 a yard, that's a lot of money.

Jamie said...

Wow! What a fabulous pillow! It is very "rich". Haha!

Rachel said...

Oh smart! That pillow is great - and it goes so well with your couch. Of course it does - all the swatches were possibilities! Awesome.

$250 a yard? Crazy.

Anne at Film and Thread said...

Gulp! $270/yard?! I found a chair by the side of the road that I refinished for our daughter. We saw some Trina Turk orange and white fabric that looked perfect for the upholstery, but it was $100/yard. I like your solution the best - an expensive pillow and affordable upholstery!

Mego said...

REALLY nice! I was craving that orange and purple flower stuff. It's great you could get a little piece into a pillow. I love it.

holly k said...

hahahaha!! that's awesome! and now you have a memory of the experience! :)

Tonya R said...

wonderful pillow! and eek, those are some pricey fabrics. glad you found such a good deal.

Lynda said...

Wow! At those prices I wouldn't allow anyone to sit on the couch!! Pays to shop around. Love the pillow...makes a nice conversation piece.

Kim said...

So did make the covers yourself?
they look great and I hope you have a good laugh over the pillow.....certainly will make you think how you could have spent!

I've read that many crazy quilts were made from young ladies going about begging fabric samples......back in the day :0).

Happy Sewing

Paula Prass said...

Now you know the life of the interior designer. I find the perfect fabrics, wallpapers, etc. then hyperventilate when I see the prices. Clients don't believe me. That's why designing fabrics that retail for $9-10 a yd. is so rewarding!

Hmm, maybe I have some swatches laying around..Your pillow is so you!

Annie said...

Yup, love the pillow. That was my delete earlier. Had to do it over,noticed a mistake.

emma said...

Brilliant, love your pillow...do you think they'll catch on if we start storming those stores just for samples?! he he

Helen said...

Waste not....Want not....amd Save the Planet, one scrap at a time!!!

Helen B.

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