Fabulous Polyester Goodness!

My absolute favorite places to shop for fabric to make my bags from are thrift shops. I love finding things that someone has grown tired of, and making them into something brand new and fun. The patterns you find in clothing are so different and have so much more variety than those I am able to find in any fabric store.

The best part about thrift store fabric shopping is that you never know what you are going to run across. There is no ad to tell you what is there that week. You may find fairly new clothing to work with, or, if you are lucky, items that are fabulously, fantastically out of date!

Last week I came across this:


Four yards of uncut plaid polyester goodness! It still had the tag on it from when it was cut off the bolt! Yes, I have to admit that I did a mini happy dance, which I am pretty sure no one was lucky enough to see. And, because I am me, a bunch of questions ran through my head, as they always do.

-What in the world was someone originally going to make with this? (I was hoping NOT something to wear! This stuff is all kinds of itchy!)
-Where has it been sitting since it was purchased and not used? It has obviously been hanging out somewhere for quite a while.
-And, most importantly, what kinds of craziness am I going to make out of it?

It didn't take me long to get it washed and start cutting. I have two bags that are ready to be photographed and listed in my shop. One of those bags has been bedecked with flower appliques from a previous polyester find. You will have to be the judge if I went to far with the pattern combinations!