Uber-butch fabric

October 9, 2006 12:15 PM

Fabric for Ogres! Newish sewer with aggressive bent seeks suitablly badassed fabric prints for purchase via the internets.

For reference. After a number of years of wanting a few items I finally married a woman who'd allow me to use her sewing machine and would teach me the rudiments. She was also kind enough to purchase me some of this fabric which I thought was a bitchen find and felt that it allows me sufficient gruffness to say "grrr...yeah, I sewed this". Sew haha, help me find some similar (though not necessarily skullish) prints to help me get over my boy-sewing titter?

Something that says "bad motherfucker", if you please.

posted by Ogre Lawless to home & garden (8 comments total)

So...what do you want to make in this badass print fabric? Clearly you're going to get a different effect if you make something up in bats, bandanna print, paint splatter or tie dye than you would if you used a more classic "guy fabric" like pinstripes, houndstooth, plaid, or even Hawaiian print.

You have my sympathy, by the way. Finding prints that don't suck is incredibly difficult, even without the badass-guy-fabric specification. If I never see another cabbage rose floral it'll be too soon.
posted by Vervain at 1:01 PM on October 9, 2006

A search on equilter for flames or skulls will bring up some good options for prints. I know they have plenty of hot-rod prints, pin-up gals and tattoo flash prints too.
posted by splityarn at 1:06 PM on October 9, 2006

Aside from skulls, the butchest thing I could think of at the moment was "trucks" so I put that into the search box at equilter.com and gradually ended up here.

Seriously, equilter has every kind of print you could imagine, it's just a matter of finding it on the site. This is pretty great too.
posted by runtina at 1:14 PM on October 9, 2006

Find the awesome fabric store in your area. I don't mean the store that can't quite decide whether it's fabrics or crafts. I don't mean the store that can't decide if it's selling sewing machines or fabric.

You want to find the place that is (1) like a supermarket with a some notions, but mostly fabric: bolt upon bolt of fabric and start walking. If you don't find sections where you see the same print on 5 bolts in 5 colors, then this isn't a fabric store, but keep walking because sometimes you can come up with some winning prints or (2) like a small warehouse with no ambiance, just aisle upon aisle upon aisle of fabric. Plan to spend half a day there getting the lay of the land. In either place, walk with the confidence of a man posessed and get used to women looking at you wondering if they should turn you in to the counter for lost children.

Online is OK, I suppose, but fabrics run in trends and I'd doubt that online stores will keep up with the changing inventory unless their inventory is very static.

If you see something you absolutely love, buy way more than you need because if you don't, you'll never see it again. Keep a couple of standard projects in mind and keep a mental tab of how much fabric each takes.

Watch for specials on fleece - you can make all kinds of nifty things from fleece and when they run specials, it can be dirt cheap.

If you really want to impress your spouse, buy some manilla envelopes and when you buy a pattern, put the pattern pieces in the envelope and glue the cover page onto the outside. It's sooo much easier to get the pattern in and out of a larger envelope.

Oh, and if you start making Hawaiian shirts, get in touch with the Kapaia Stitchery in Lihue, HI (808-245-2281). I couldn't find a good online presence, but they have an insane selection of tropical prints and silks.
posted by plinth at 2:13 PM on October 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

equilter thirded.

Skulls'n'roses (my personal fave)
Skulls'n'crossbones (yarrrr)
Skeletons on flaming motorcycles (would make great pajamas!)

Butch as you please.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:54 PM on October 9, 2006

Alexander Henry does that skull-bandana print you've got, plus tons of other awesome prints, but it can be difficult to find a specific print in retail. Repro Depot (also linked above) is a great resource.
posted by logic vs love at 9:01 PM on October 9, 2006

Patterns in envelopes? Ugh. Try ziplock bags ;-) No pasting! See through! Bigger than those little envelopes! Handy for all kinds of notions, etc.

I took up sewing recently. I'm male. Easy to get ignored in fabric stores.

"Uber-butch" made me think the OP was a lesbian, not a male.
posted by Goofyy at 5:12 AM on October 10, 2006

Thanks all. Those Alexander Henry prints are fannn-tastic (and no, probably no Hawaiian prints. I'm thinking more Death Metal I-Have-Sewn-Something-That-Will-Eat-Your-Face than Tom Seleck Have-You-Seen-How-Hairy-My-Chest-Is)
posted by Ogre Lawless at 9:05 AM on October 12, 2006