Thrifting Rules

Almost everything I make is from fabric that started its useful life as something else.  Thrifted fabrics have always held an attraction for me; after years of buying things at secondhand stores that weren't old enough to be vintage or anywhere near my size, I finally have found uses for the bags of clothing I'd stashed away.

I do have a few rules when buying thrifted clothes - obviously, it can't look too worn, or at least whatever part of it that I'm eyeing can't (yes, I've purchased garments before just to get at the buttons); they can't have moth or any other kind of damage that will continue to cause the fabric to deteriorate, otherwise I'm just making something doomed to fall apart; and - at least for the most part - it can't be too good to cut up.

I say for the most part because occasionally something will crop up that causes me to blow by that rule like I'm trying to beat a red light.  The fabric that forms the basis for this cuff was one of those pieces.

It started out as a very cute Ann Taylor Loft skirt, side invisible zip, stretch corduroy.  What got me was the unusual and yummy combination of dark chocolate brown and rich purple.  I looked at the colors and immediately something in the back of my brain started working.

What can I say?  It came home with me to find its place in the clothing bag, and recently, when I started working on a series of cuff bracelets, it was one of the first fabrics that came to mind.

I'm pairing it here with a silk dupioni remnant that I've been working off of for literally years, a great purple/golden brown combination, and embroidery threads in rich purple and amber.