A couple of months ago I hit the jackpot of the best quality wool I have ever found in a charity shop:
Wool from Skein Queen, The Yarn Yard and Mirasol.
The skeins were 99p each and the orange Mirasol was undone from its skein and in a bag - £1.49 for 100g. It's Llama wool, beautifully soft and a gorgeous colour. The light brown yarn has been sent to a new home as couldn't see myself knitting with laceweight, but am hoping to use the soft self-striping yarns and the gorgeous green in a project soon.
I hope the person who donated the wool to the charity shop would be pleased their yarns have gone to an appreciative home!
Shortly after that, in the most expensive, boutique-style charity shop of them all, I was chuffed to find some lovely denim:
Actually denim, not just 'denim-like'!
It was £8.99 for just over 2 metres, so not the cheapest charity shop fabric I've ever bought, but a fair price for the quality. Maybe it'll become that pinafore-style dress I've been thinking about? Now it's moving into Autumn I feel like sewing with slightly heavier fabrics.
Have you made any good charity shop purchases recently?
K x
That is such a great set of finds. I have not found anything much, certainly no wool or fabric. I don't get to go until the weekends so maybe it is snapped up during the week? I love the charity shops in the West End, especially the Salvation Army one at the bottom of Church Street. I used to pop out at lunchtime from the Western and go nuts buying all the cheap books. Looking forward to spending more time back there soon. Xx
ReplyDeleteThat Salvation Army one can be good, although they tend to save up their best stuff for sales on a Saturday morning (I think) every month or so, so less chance of stumbling across any gems
Deletescore! that is great. a lot of charity shops don't sell wool despite the fact they get loads donated (according to my sister in law who used to manage a charity shop - if they put it out it never sold so they used to use it to knit up stuff for local hospitals etc). the same is true for needles - you can often get a big bundle of needles for virtually nothing. so worth asking when you go in if they have anything. i suspect the same is often true for patterns and fabric.
ReplyDeleteIt's rare to see any wool that isn't odd balls of crappy looking acrylic, in my experience. You're probably right about not putting out patterns, they don't seem to know what to do with crafting stuff sometimes
Deleteooh that's some great finds! the west end charity shops are pricier aren't they?! Joanne, I was just thinking the same thing the other day and think I might start asking in the local charity shops if they have any sewing patterns.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely pricier, often for things that really don't warrant it!
DeleteLovely charity shop finds! One of the charity shops in Worthing charges over £3 for dress patterns!!!
ReplyDeleteOh that's expensive, I bet they don't check if they're complete either!
DeleteGreat finds. Can't wait to see what you do with the denim.
ReplyDeleteGreat finds. Can't wait to see what you do with the denim.
ReplyDeleteThanks Louise, I'm hoping to use it this autumn
DeleteThat denim is a lucky find! I look in charity shops all the time in the hope of finding some sewing gems but usually never do...except for one time in a PDSA in Glasgow when I found 6 metres of cotton https://clootiedumplings.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/burda-style-cotton-summer-dress/ , some blue boiled wool and a few metres of grey suiting that is marked 'silk and kid mohair' on the selvage. And all for a few pounds. I couldn't believe my luck!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that suiting sounds like an amazing find!
DeleteThese are classy, classic finds. I have been avoiding charity shops for a while. As I took a break from sewing I didn't want to keep increasing my stash! Although decent secondhand fabric is very hard to find locally anyway - I don't think anyone makes their own clothes here except me!
ReplyDeleteCharity shop fabric is so hit and miss, but often it's under-priced as they don't know what to do with it
DeleteA few months ago I found 3yds of a soft pink wool coating for $15 at a local Salvation Army store. That's my best find recently. Both Salvation Army and Goodwill tend to be hit or miss, though I've picked up some great fabric and vintage patterns at estate sales. The fabric is usually just a couple of dollars per piece and the patterns $1-$2 a piece.
ReplyDeleteSo envious of the estate sales you have in North America, we don't have them in the UK!
DeleteThat has to be the best charity shop yarn haul - ever!
ReplyDeleteTotally unprecedented, I'm sure I'll never see the like again!
DeleteThose are such a great charity shop finds I have occasionally found good fabric but only after regular and repeated visits! I had a quick visit to the West End charity shops in Glasgow when I was there in August but my impatient children won the day, we hightailed it out to eat instead and I only got a scarf albeit a lovely one I wear daily!
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