Haulin' Stash

I don't know what your fabric stash looks like, but mine is extensive. It spans three rooms of our small house, and encompasses 2 years of JoAnn sales, thrifted sheet sets, and remnants for days. I wish I could say that my stash was secretly in preparation for such a quarantine, and that I will be diligently working through it over the coming weeks. But alas, online shopping is alive and well, and my stash continues to grow.

Every now and then, I grab a fabric from the "archives" rather than gravitating towards the newest finds. This project was one of those. I bought this fabric from JoAnn in the summer of 2018. At the time, I was commuting from Berkeley to Palo Alto everyday for an internship (and spending about 3 hours in the car daily, woof). As a consequence, I spent much more time indulging in "retail therapy" than I spent actually sewing. The stash was born.

Initially, I had no idea what I wanted to do with this fabric (aside from making a dress), and simply bought a nondescript 3-yards. Note: many of the fabrics in my stash are generic 3 or 4 yard cuts. Over the years, I've tentatively planned to make this dress in a number of different patterns; however, the fabric has remained uncut -- until now.

Part of me cut into this fabric to make headway on my ever expanding stash (to haul stash, if you will), but the rest of me was motivated by shoes: specifically, my new mint points from Rothy's. These shoes are so comfortable and the color is lovely, but I was having difficulty finding clothing in my closet to match.

[enter the stash]

I held one of the shoes up to my fabric stash, pulling out fabrics that I thought would match and voilà! I decided on this print, which was coincidentally one of the first ones to join my stash. I made this dress using New Look 6723, opting for View D's sweetheart neckline. This pattern only calls for 2 1/4 yard, so I was able to make it longer. I added about 6 inches to the bottom of the dress. I also added pockets to the side seams. This pattern is simple but lovely, sporting princess seams and a gathered waistline.

Here are my attempts at getting a good photo on a very windy day.