We were on our last day in Portugal, at the tail-end of a two-week holiday, and I spyed a fabric store selling all “retasos” or odd-pieces or is it end-pieces of fabric… essentially what’s left on a bolt of cloth. Why do I know this? Because my mother loved to sew, and whenever we walked by shops like these on foreign trips, it meant an hour or two of supreme boredom while she sorted through hundreds of pieces and inevitably bought several of them. So I must have been channeling my mom at that moment, for some strange reason, I insisted that Mrs. MM and our daughter and I pop into the rather dubious looking place to have a gander…
Well, to make a long story short, we each ended up with 4-5 pieces of fabric, mine all a meter or just over long. My fine quality cotton shirting material was marked down from the original Euro 20+ or so per meter to an unbelievable Euro 2-3 per piece! Mom would be proud. But the fabric is too small to make shirts, though I know exactly what I am going to use them for (and they are being made as I type this), even if the sewing cost is more than the cost of the fabric.
So my question for you is, with these pieces of fabric roughly a meter long, you would make __________. Leave me a comment and let’s see how many are either outrageously creative or wickedly accurate.
24 Responses
I’d have them make loose walking shorts that falls a little above my knee for walking by the beach on warm summer nights.
Placemats, napkins, table runners, throw pillow covers, lid fabrics for mason jars, quilt. There’s lots more but it could get complicated.
@tnm: lid fabrics, sleeves/insulators/carry bags for mason jars! Right up my alley! :)
Throw pillow covers, placemats, fabric coasters (from smaller retazo), table runners (“dugtungan” required for you dining tables, MM)
And since I am almost a foot shorter than you, I can get a few pairs of short-shorts made!
The fabric is beautiful, as are the fabric samples you featured in your Les Toiles du Soleil post.
Throw pillow cases. Boxer shorts.
What’s the width? 45? 60? 72?
Agree. Fine quality cotton boxers.
I’ve always wanted to do something like this using beautifully patterned cloths and embroidery hoops.
https://g-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/2212413/2010-07-bline2_rect640_rect540.jpg
Quilted liners for baskets!
boxer shorts
Yap, boxers
Runners and placemats
pocket squares. from top: 1,2,4,6 especially.
hmmm, a meter might not be enough for table runners/placemats (unless its for a table setting for 6 or less).
I’m guessing boxers since cotton shirt fabric is preferred by my brothers. I then turn the scraps into drawstring pouches to put the boxers in when travelling or as my kikay kit :)
Drawstring shorts to lounge in your Nasugbu beach home, or perhaps a man apron?
aprons! or, yes..boxers!
bandannas for my fluffy hair, place mats and napkins, table cloth and runners, cork board covers and big shopping bags
A dozen plant pouches!!!
Table runners and placemats
neckties/bowties and ribbons for the crew?
boxers, pillow cases, place mats (quilted and reversible- using the other
Fabric designs), pockets for plain white tshirts
Quilted tops or a summer dress with matching quilted small tote bag. If it were mine.. You could have a pair of quilted shorts, MM.
So my question for you is, with these pieces of fabric roughly a meter long, you would make __________.
Clothing for the young students at the Banawa Elementary School in Cebu.
Hmm. I’m pretty petite. Maybe I can make a summer dress or skirt with them.
“Purontong” shorts
Placemats :-)