A Small Stash

August 29, 2026

I think when most people start to sew, they start to collect fabric. I know I did. I got so excited by all of the possibilities that sewing offered. But I could only sew so fast and by that I mean things came off the machine pretty slowly. Buying fabric, on the other hand, was really easy and really fast and it satisfied the urge to dream but make the dream seem real.

And the collection started to grow. I know that when I explain things like this, it’s really obvious that the stash pile was growing exponentially faster than the finished pile but it took a little while to see that in real life. Once I did, I stopped collecting. I had to remind myself that there is always new and beautiful fabric coming out. There’s also the fact that sometimes when a certain piece of fabric that I loved and had to have sits and waits to be made into the perfect thing, I fall out of love with that fabric and really don’t want to use it anymore. So now I’m working my way through the stash pile while also buying project specific fabric when I don’t have the right thing in my stash. I don’t want to take all the fun out of sewing.

I first saw this image in 2019 on this website. I fell in love with these pants! I even had some fabric in my stash. It was green, crisp and lightweight. Just perfect for these pants. Every spring I would dream about making them. I would look up patterns and pull out the fabric. I would dream big. And every year, I would pack up the dream and the fabric convinced that next year would be the year. I did that seven times. But this time, the eighth time, was the time. I saw the Pinyon Pants Pattern by Sew Liberated and I became obsessed.

I thought of using a light colour for the top-stitching just like they did on the orange pair but once I put the dark green thread against the fabric all thoughts of a lighter colour faded away. I like that the details are in between dress pants and hard core jeans. There is a back dart instead of a yoke and the belt loops only have bar tacks at the top.

I was determined to use a button from my stash. This was the best option by far, I just wish it was a millimetre or two larger. I really like that it matches the top-stitching.

One of my favourite things about the inspiration photo, besides the giant front pockets, was the hefty hem. It’s five inches deep and it totally makes the pants.

I have been wearing them all day today and I cannot believe how comfortable they are. You can bet I’ll be making more in the future. Maybe I could buy some fabric and add it to my stash in anticipation…