Sleepless nights and shopping lists ...

Hello, hope everyone is enjoying the sweltering weather we are currently experiencing? No? Me neither! It's way too hot to be marking exam papers and teaching in hot classrooms of 32 kids.

I have a busy weekend coming up. Tomorrow I'm off to London and Sunday I am visiting my parents. I'm so excited to be going up to London. It's not far (1 hour on the train) and we do go up often, but this time I have convinced the Husband to take me up to Walthamstow.

I'm making a pilgrimage to Walthamstow Market after reading about it on so many blogs ... fabric for £2-£3 per meter? Yes, please!

Map of Walthamstow fabric shops by Karen from Did You Make That? 

In fact I've been so excited about this shopping trip that I have been dreaming about fabric and sewing. I haven't bought any fabric for a while now, so I'm really looking to build up my stash.

I wanted to be able to take a 'shopping list' of sorts with me to Walthamstow, so that I come back with useful items and to avoid impulse buys. The issue with this is that I prefer to buy a pattern first and then match the fabric to the pattern.

I have been trying to decide on a pattern for a shirt dress (see shirt dress inspiration) and I was really stuck between Pauline Alice's Cami Dress and Sew Over It's newest pattern the Vintage Shirt Dress. This actually gave me sleepless nights. Every evening for the past few days I have been googling both dresses and almost got close to buying both ... but didn't.

In the end, it was a helpful comment by Kirsty from Scientific Sewing that helped me make my mind up. I wrote in a post on shirt dress inspiration about not liking the pleats on the skirt. Kirsty helpfully suggested I could gather the skirt instead of pleating! Queue a lightbulb moment - I've found my perfect shirt dress pattern. So I've bought it - and slept very well since!

So now I can make a proper shopping list of what I would like to be able to find at Walthamstow. Here's my list:

1. Light/Medium weight cotton for McCalls 6696 shirt dress. I'd like something floral and maybe a gingham for some practise at pattern matching.
2. More cotton or polyester woven fabric for shirts for both me and the Husband - I have shirt patterns for both of us and now just need fabric!
3. Knits - I'm hoping to find some nice knit fabrics to make some smart t-shirts ready for the next school year
4. Buttons- needed for shirts and shirt dresses.
5. Bias tape - I'm hoping to pick up a few packets of ready made bias tape as I have none in my stash.

I know that realistically that I won't be able to get everything on my list, but hopefully if I can get some of these items I'll be a happy girly. Have a great weekend all and wish me luck with my shopping!

Has anyone else been fabric shopping in Walthamstow?