I’m rounding up my favourite reasons to shop on Etsy and sharing a few of my favourite shops in the process.
Pick up OOP or Vintage Sewing Patterns
There are some amazing bargains and splurges to enjoy when it comes to vintage sewing patterns on Etsy. Whether you’re after a £5 Oscar De La Renta design, a rare Butterick ballgown, or something frothy and fun. You can also generally find modern patterns that have recently gone out of print that you can’t pick up in the shops anymore.
Check the bust size of the pattern as most vintage patterns are single sized. Check the reputation of the seller with their star ratings and reviews to make sure they sell good quality vintage patterns (intact and complete with all pieces and instructions). And look out for digitised copies of original designs – these usually aren’t done legally and if they’ve messed up the sizing or instructions they may try and pass it off as the original pattern’s problem.
Find vintage notions
I like browsing shops like Ever Sew Vintage for unique buttons (aren’t these faux pearl buttons so fun!?), vintage belt buckles (especially self cover buckle kits!) and vintage storage tins. I love vintage trims like bias binding which is nicer quality than modern polycotton bias tape.
Shop OOP or Unique Fabrics
Sometimes it can feel like everyone in the sewing world is wearing the same fabrics. It can be nice to stand out from the crowd with something sourced overseas or fall in love with a one of a kind vintage fabric.
It’s easy to shop from international sellers on Etsy with peace of mind and one of my favourites is MissMatatabi. I also recently had to hunt down some out of print Liberty fabric and there’s PLENTY of designs on Etsy – I treated myself to this chambray Carline print to resize an old dress made years ago. I’m also hooked to saving images of dresses and tops made from block print fabrics and Etsy is a great place to find beautiful designs (Who thinks I should get this teal floral design?).
So there we have it… hopefully I’ve piqued your interest! Will I buy that CUTE vintage Vogue pattern? Probably, unless you snap it up first.