What's Up, Cupcake? Menu

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Bay Area Sewists Fabric Meetup

For the last year, a group of Bay Area members of the Sew Weekly community have been talking about scheduling a meet-up.  One of the members, Meghan, was nice enough to setup an official group on Meetup.com, that also reached out to other crafty people in the area.  The end result?  The Bay Area Sewists Meet-up Group.

We were already planning some future outings, but I was thinking about making a trek to San Francisco to check out the luxury fabric store, Britex.  I posted it to the page and lo and behold, our first meet-up was formed!

Britex, street-view. A four story fabric shop off of Union Square.

A cable car driving through Union Square

Britex is right off of Union Square in San Francisco, pretty much the heart of downtown.  I arrived a bit early and peered into the store windows in awe at the gorgeous fabrics on display.  I wandered around for a bit and by the time I returned, a small crowd had formed.  We did introductions and I was impressed by the number of people who actually weren't from the Sew Weekly group (considering that's where our original discussions started) but excited to find that there were so many people who were interested in garment sewing.  In the end there were about a dozen of us though a few left early while we were still window-shopping.  I say window shopping because while the fabrics were gorgeous, they were totally out of my price range!  Definitely eye-candy and some good inspiration - and it gave me an idea of what's out there if I really want to search (or splurge).  Alas, pictures were not allowed inside the store so I can't share the glorious fabrics.

The group post-shopping
Unfortunately I couldn't hang around for lunch afterwards, but it was great to meet everyone!  The group is going to hold other outings, including the mega-flea market that is known for their great vintage and fabric finds, as well as more shopping trips, fit clinics, etc.

I did pick up a couple of fabrics from their remnants/sale area.  I've already started one dress with the Japanese print (the one on the right).

My fabric finds

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like it was a lot of fun!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Debi! It was a blast! I love the connections I'm making with the Sew Weekly!

      Delete
  2. Yay for sewists meet-ups! Sounds like lots of fun. :-) I love the fabric you got - looking forward to seeing what you make with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Macska! You'll be seeing one of them next week... maybe a sneak peak tomorrow. ;)

      Delete
  3. How fun! One of my friends is hosting a knitting night early next month (she doesn't know how to knit and figured getting knitters over to teach her would be a good way to start) and I am sooo excited! I wonder how I can find a sewist meet-up in my area?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's so many ways! A couple that you could try: Meetup.com Enter your zip code or nearest big city and you can search based on your interested (crafts, sewing, etc). You can also check out the Sew Weekly forum which is how our meetup started. There are contributors from all over the world and they're always looking for meetups.

      You could also try your local craft shop and see if they know of any groups or if they would be interested in starting one. Good luck!

      Delete
  4. thats so much fun.. Oh I love meet ups !

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so jealous! I would love to meet up with you guys!!!! I live in Grover Beach, California (10 minutes from San Luis Obispo).

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...