Introducing Elizabeth Binns, Fabric Enthusiast
On a dark, dark evening in a dull, dull month (okay, in November if you want it straight) I clicked on the link to Fabworks, and it was like being given the key to a bright and entrancing world. I had put ‘wool fabric’ in the search engine, because I wanted to make a throw.
Suddenly here was not just wool fabric, but wool fabric in huge variety and at reasonable prices. I did a double take. (That first visit I never stepped beyond the wools). I spent some happy hours picking the best matches for a double sided throw and then fell for a couple of dress and skirt fabrics I fancied putting by ‘for later’. Dear Reader, I ordered. Fabworks is swift, and within two days my parcel arrived. It was Christmas come early.
The quality of the fabrics was stunning, and what was more, a lot of the material was woven in Britain. I decided then and there that making a few more throws was ‘sensible’. I now realise I was already finding excuses for purchasing lots more fabric. I made my throw, and a second, and have the materials for two more, as well as making one for our son to give as an engagement gift to some friends. Fabworks watching has become a daily ritual - sit with a cup of tea or a coffee, browse, imagine, plan, and some days I buy. What is offered changes, not quite constantly, but giving that buzz of new options, fabrics about to sell out. I keep thinking ‘Ooh, now that would be perfect for . . .’
’Home made’ in clothes used to be a bit derogatory, but think of it as ‘self bespoke’. It sounds much better. We ought to wear clothes that make us feel good, please us, give us confidence. If you pick a fabric you really like, construct a piece that fits you, not some generic model, you are sewing your own self confidence.
I am a novelist by profession, so I ‘sew words together’. Writing about my Fabworks experiences comes easily to me, and I would like others to get what I do from being a Fabworks customer. Some blog pieces are fun, some practical assessments of fabrics I have and how I want to use them, ideas to inspire.
Fabworks has brightened my wardrobe, and brightens my day. See what it can do for yours.