2023 Fabric Usage

It was a good year, working through my fabric stash, while still enjoying the freedom to thoughtfully purchase now and again as the need - real or imagined - arose. It seems that several times in 2023, I purchased fabric for very specific project requirements - the QuiltCon Fabric Challenge, the Pantone quilt challenge, the upcoming Cozy sew along, bee blocks, etc. And I included fabric intake from gifts, which is debatable, but I chose to include it. At the same time, if I gifted, donated, or recycled fabric, I included that too. So I feel like I kept a pretty accurate account of the ins and outs.

So in December, I made just one purchase - the 4 yards of jersey knit suggested for the Cozy sew along. Having zero familiarity with this project or jersey knit, I thought it wise to purchase directly from the sew along host, Alison Glass. The color I chose was Amber, and I still need to prewash it and create an inner layer for my quilt.

So here's my December stats:

December Fabric Usage

Used up: 10.66 yards
Brought in: 4.5 yards 
Net: -6.16 yards

And (drumroll....) for the year:

2023 Fabric Usage Totals
2023 Used up: 178.22 yards [vs. 191.147 yards in 2022]

2023 Brought in: 92.275 yards [vs. 99.75 in 2022]  

2023 Net: -85.945 yards [vs. -91.397 yards in 2022]

The stats show I both brought in and used less fabric in 2023 than in 2022. And that makes sense to me, considering I've been working mostly on the liturgical calendar project this last quarter of the year. Those stats are being kept separately, and I'll share more about them when the project is complete. 

In retrospect, I'm surprised at the amount of fabric I brought in, as I feel like I was very thoughtful about that all year. I think I might keep separate tallies of the 'gift' and maybe even the 'recycled/donated/gifted' fabric categories next year, and see how those things really factor in. At any rate, the net of nearly -86 yards is satisfying, so all's good for now.