Sweater Find!

The 1970's and 80's are calling adn they want their sweaters back!

Vintage orlon cardigan, fabulous 80's heart sweater and the best (I think) a Norwegian (made in Oslo)wool ski sweater with these beautiful metal buttons with flowers on them. All for a grand total of $5.27. I LOVE 1/2 off Sundays!! Sundays

Making things is Fun!!!!

So, if you do any sewing you guys know that fabric can be really expensive. Often at the thrift store I look for fabrics that I like. Maybe its on a shirt, a skirt, a sweater or something else, it doesn't matter the size because I am just buying it for the fabric. I got this book from the library Sew Me, Love Me: Best Stuffed Friends to Make by author Hsiu-Lan Kuei. The dolls are adorable and they are all made out of scrap materials. The patterns are super easy to follow. This is the perfect type of project if you are new to sewing or have some skill. You get to use all those fabrics that you thought were cool and they can be sewn by hand if you don't have a machine.

Man I Suck at the Whole Blogging Thing...

Boy, I haven't written anything in like 4 months. Actually in reality it has been a dry spell for me. I just haven't been motivated to thrift, it must be the weather. You got to get up early so you get all the best pickins' and its cold and dark and I'm lazy and tired and ________(insert another excuse here). Here in Maryland we got hammered with close to 60 inches of snow in 5 days. But I do have some stuff coming up, I have made some super cute toys with my thrifted fabrics and I did find a couple of cool vintage sweaters this past weekend. I'll post pics later in the week with all the details.
Oh yeah this was interesting. Today at the thrift store the guy in front of me in line tried to run one of those scams where they keep switching money around to confuse the cashier so they actually don't pay for anything and in reality make money. The girl was like "Sir you're gonna have to give me a second to get this straight.", and he got all attitudinal and was like in a mocking , and condescending voice," It's really not that confusing I gave you this 10 and now you blah, blah, blah...and he started to get real worked up. I was thisclose to calling the guy out on his scam but the girl kept it together and figured it out. How much of a douchebag do you have to be to pull that in a Goodwill Store for cripes sake!!!I guess there is no bottom for some people.

This Week's Finds

Vintage Boiled Wool Caplet
Cost=$4.50



Vintage Wool Herringbone Fur Collared Belted Coat ( Woo... that was a mouthful)
Cost=$4.50

This Weekend's Finds

Vintage 70's Leo Sign Necklace
Huge at 4.5 inches across
Cost=$2



Vintage Hush Puppies Ladies Oxford
Size 8.5
Cost= $5.24




Vintage Leather Ankle Boots
Size 8.5
Cost = $5.24

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN LOOKING AT WHAT’S WHAT


1. Shoes- Shoes either fit or they don’t they are not like clothes where there is more wiggle room for the most part. Another aspect to shoes is to remember these are worn on people’s feet. The material gets stretched to a particular person’s foot. And some people feel the need to donate there 5 years old, worn everyday used bedroom slippers. (?) Avoid these even if they have a giant yellow Big Bird on the toe. THEY ARE GROSS! Look for shoes with very little to no wear. If there is damage to the heel even on a really cool vintage pair avoid them unless you are some expert shoe repairer. The cost to have the heels fixed by a professional shoe repair will far out weight the value of the shoe.

2. Outerwear- Outerwear can be pretty expensive to buy new. That is one reason people hold onto coats and jackets longer .You will often be able to find vintage outerwear pieces, whether it be a cool, 50’s wool coat, a vintage fur, a Forecaster raincoat or any number of different styles. Coats seem to stay longer in the hallway closets than a lot of other attire before they end up donated. Take note!! Off season coats are an excellent bargaining item. Ask the clerk or manager if they can do any better on the price. They aren’t going to move any leather jackets, puffers or furs, in July. They go for it every time!


3. Bags/ Handbags- Bags are an interesting section. There are a ton of crappie made handbags. For me I need a nice quality, generally leather bag. So I find that handbags are a real hit or miss area. Also women will hang on to, much like outerwear, well made bags for a long time, though that doesn’t mean that they don’t show up at thrift stores. You just have to search a little harder. You may also be able to find a cool bag someone picked up overseas at Moroccan market.

4.Sweaters- If you don’t live in a climate that gets cold enough for sweaters skip this.
Things to look for when going through the sweater section:

Pilling- the little balls of sweater fabric that shoes up in areas were the sweater rubs like the underarms or other parts. A little pilling is OK but lots of it is sign that the sweater is made from synthetic fiber. Always check the tag if there is one and go for wool, wool blends, cashmere, cotton and other natural materials.

Pulls- Especially in heavy knits. These are almost impossible to hide and will lead to fraying. If they are small you might be able to weave it back through with little effort or disguise it with a brooch or decorative detail.

Stains- Some sweater are dry clean only so if you find one that is really awesome it may be worth it to try to have it removed professionally. But if you think you can’t get it out yourself pass on it.

5. Pants/Jeans- Good dress pants and or jeans can retail for $50 and go up in price from there so they are worth making the effort of finding a pair at a thrift store. Things to avoid:

Ripped seams (unless you think you can mend them)·

Stains- If the item is really worth it and it only cost a few bucks have a go at removal.

Holes-On jeans look at the cuffs often people wear jeans that are too long and they drag on the ground. Who cares if you find a pair of designer jeans if the cuffs are all ripped up and holey!!

Crotch- wear- Yeah, I said it and it's true. If you have thighs that touch such as myself the crotch area will wear out and become worn even if the rest of the pant is fine. Yes it is depressing but look out for this when you're looking in the pants section. I gonna go do my Thigh Master now and weep.........


6.Tops (Long sleeve, short sleeve, buttoned down whatever.)Look for:

Missing buttons- If a button is missing on the cuff you can probably get away with it, but if it is on the front you would have to find a match or replace all of the buttons so they match. Get out that handy sewing kit from the Best Western!!

Pit Stains- "Raise your hand if your Sure!"Oh so lovely and attractive aren't they. People sweat and due to that especially on whites you can find those lovely yellowish circles in the pit area. Newsflash! They don’t come out even with bleach!! AVOID, AVOID, AVOID and move on. Send me message or comment if you have some technique to remove these I like to have that info.

7. Brick Brack- Brick brack is all the glassware, old kitchen utensils, silk-like flower arrangements, baskets, plaster wall clowns, beautiful unicorn paintings done on mirrors that somebody won at the local carnival and all that OTHER tchotchke-ish stuff.
Look for:Chips on glassware. It may not matter but on that Fenton Vaseline glass hobnail vase it’s ruins the value. But if you want the Shabby Chic look who cares? Ask yourself this question. Is this going to be worth all the elbow grease it’s going to need to look good? If your answer is “No.” save your quarter. (I will go further into Brick Brack in a future posting.)

8. Furniture- There is all kinds of furniture from futons to butterfly chairs to solid wood dining room tables and love seats. If you are handy and can repair a wobbly leg or fix up a solid piece you can do very well. If the furniture is a sofa or chair that is upholstered take a good wiff....... strong odors such a smoke or pet odors can be difficult to remove. If the piece is stained you can always try to get it out or if it is a nice useful shape, purchase an inexpensive slip cover and viola! New-like chair!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF THRIFT STORES

Not for Profits/Donation Based- Goodwills, ARCs, and Salvation Army, Church run, etc.All item are donated by the public or local retailers

You’ll Find:
A hodge- podge group of clothes, house wears, accessories, furniture, jewelry, shoes.


What will be required of you:A keen eye and treasure hunters mindset

Church Charity/Consignment Shops
A lot of Church run shops also contain a higher end donation section or consignment section. This type of shop is typically located in the wealthier neighborhoods. But don’t be afraid there are finds to be had in these shops as well. When an item is consigned the owner still owns it but is using the shop to sell it for them for a percentage of the sales price. They know the item might have some value so they consign it.

You’ll Find:
Vintage, antique and contemporary items such as clothes, jewelry, ceramics, art, table wear, home décor etc.


Pay attention to:
The condition of items. Even the items in the thrift part of the store are generally pricier than the not-for-profit thrift stores so you want to make sure they are worth the price. These stores are excellent for haggling on prices. There is always a talkative little old lady or group of them to bargain with.

Straight Consignment Shops
Consigning an item means in simplest terms to use a shop to sell it for you. The shops will take a percentage of the sales price in turn for its service. People generally use these shops when they have an item that they know has value. Whether it be designer clothing or antiques and collectibles. Often these store work with a drop pricing technique that looks like this on the tags.

$132.00- May 31, 2009
$112.00- June 30, 2009
$98.00- July 31, 2009

The first price is the initial price, meaning the item just got in the store. That's the price of the item until the accompanying date. Then the price will be dropped for the next month to encourage a sale. And so on and so on until it reaches the bottom. Throw on your best most likeable personality and be willing to give it a go, offer the consigner the bottom price even before it reaches that date. They will often go for it. That way you don’t have to wait around for three months until it goes into a more favorable price range. Even still some shops are sticklers and you have to wait.

You’ll Find:Designer clothing, vintage clothing, antiques and collectibles, home decor, but in general higher end items.

Don’t be afraid to:NEGOTIATE!!!

BTW:The ring in the pic is an antique diamond ring I picked up at a church consignment shop!!!