Friday, December 8, 2017

Hawaiian Souvenir Fabric

The recent visit to Oahu featured lots of typical tourist activity: hotel luau, pineapple plantation tour, beach time, and souvenir shopping!



A top recommended souvenir shopping location is the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, which features hundreds of vendors, both the imported mass-produced variety and handcrafted local artisan fare.  Hawaiian print fabric was seen everywhere.  I picked up some off-cuts of fabric from a booth with aprons, hats, bags and potholders.  It made me happy to find bundles of Hawaiian print scraps, but I really had no idea what to expect inside each one.


The squares were about 3 1/2", so not quite charm size.  Each fabric appeared about a dozen times, and there were 20 different fabrics.  They were all heavier home-dec weight.  I was able to make a bundle of fabric squares for each of my co-workers at the shop.  I hope they like working with scraps as much as I do.


The oblong bundle contained similar fabrics as the squares, but in varying quantities.  Each print appears in several colorways, plus maybe a dozen different black-and-white prints.  I'm envisioning a patchwork tote bag, maybe an oven mitt, and definitely a microwave bowl cozy (I like this tutorial from Happy Hour Stitches)

I got to escape touristy Waikiki and go to a fabric store at one point, and I might've gone a little nuts.  Fabric Mart has 4 retail locations and specializes in all things Hawaiian print: apparel, home dec, quilting and batiks.


My favorite purchase: 3 1/2 yards of black rayon with a large chrysanthemum print.  Although the flowers are large, their placement in vertical rows with plenty of surrounding black background means that I can envision this looking pretty and formal, given the right silhouette.


Two other rayons and a barkcloth, all with classic Hawaiian floral motifs.  The rainbow floral in the center will be a challenge, but the blue & green prints seem more wearable--Hawaiian print shirts, anyone?


Finally, some bargain fabrics.  The red and pink were each less than $5 per yard.  I will use one of them as a bag lining, and maybe make a pop-up basket from the other.

Whew!  Twelve yards of fabric--but someone in one of my fabric stashbusting groups said that souvenir fabrics don't count.  Don't you agree?

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

No comments:

Post a Comment