When I go into Hobby Lobby, I rarely come out empty-handed. I don’t break the bank and try to carefully stick to a budget, but their clearance section gets me every time.
I try to shop intentionally, buying only things I’m sure I’ll use. I have beads, buttons, yarn and other items from times I didn’t shop quite as carefully. I’ll use the items, but in the meantime it’s a lot of clutter as I figure out what project to use it for. Now, I try to more carefully plan what to use them for and use them more quickly.
Monday’s trip was (mostly) a success. I went in to find stretchy knit remnants to make more baby/toddler underwear but they had only three remnants available, and none of them were knit. Oh, well…. I guess I’ll have to go back. 😉
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I made the three pairs above very quickly, then made the ones below.
I’m trying to switch up the designs up my toddler’s underwear since I think it’ll be more fun for her (and hopefully lead to even better potty-training success), so while I still have some fabric left, I’d like to pair it with a couple of new knits to create different options. I want to find fabric with dinosaurs, dogs or ducks– they’re her favorites!
While Hobby Lobby didn’t have any new knits, they did have a couple of good clearance items AND their marvelous Simplicity pattern sale. I LOVE when their patterns are on sale!
Hobby Lobby haul
I spent a total of $13.24 and got wide stretchy crochet ribbon, nearly two feet of pre-shirred cotton print, a seam ripper and six patterns. The seam ripper wasn’t on clearance, but mine disappeared and I needed one when making underwear for my toddler.
- Pre-shirred elastic top floral-print cotton (21″x35″): $2.92 (normally $16.51)
- Royal blue stretchy crochet ribbon from The Ribbon Boutique: $1.25 (normally $4.99)
- Seam ripper: $2.29
- Simplicity pattern 1303: $0.99 (normally $17.95, though Hobby Lobby generally has a reduced price on their patterns)
- Simplicity pattern 1472: $0.99 (normally $15.95)
- Simplicity pattern 8347: $0.99 (normally $17.95)
- Simplicity pattern 8099: $0.99 (normally $16.95)
- Simplicity pattern 8192: $0.99 (normally $22.95)
- Simplicity pattern 8196: $0.99 (normally $21.95)
Total without any discounts (not including tax):Â $137.49
My total: $13.24
Saving money
I rarely pay full price for anything at Hobby Lobby. The seam ripper was the only item that I paid full price for, and I had already checked that there wasn’t one in clearance. I get the crochet stretchy ribbon from clearance when I can (and very occasionally pay full price if I need it for a project) every little bit. It’s a LOT cheaper to buy it buy the spool and make headbands than it is to buy headbands individually.
The pre-shirred fabric will make a quick, easy dress for my daughter– and I won’t even need a pattern!
I’ve been wanting to get some cute patterns to sew more clothes for my daughter, but haven’t been able to make myself buy the fabric AND the pattern when I can get an inexpensive, pretty dress at consignment for just a few dollars. But even though I’m not an expert seamstress, I love making clothes for my toddler and picking out prints I think she’ll like.
So I’ve been patiently waiting for the $0.99 Simplicity pattern sale to stock up on patterns! Four of the patterns are for clothes for my toddler, one is a fun one I might try for a comic-con and one is for four different American Girl doll outfits. I have a Kirsten doll I don’t let my daughter play with right now, but one day I’ll get her one of her own American Girl dolls. Toddlers are pretty destructive, though, and those dolls are expensive. Right now, she has Baby, an inexpensive, soft baby doll she received for her first birthday from my grandmother. I plan to buy her an 18″ doll similar to the American Girl dolls soon, and she can dress it up with clothes from these American Girl doll patterns!
The good news is that even if you need a pattern before they have their $0.99 sale again, you may still be able to get them at a discount. Hobby Lobby often offers a percentage off on their patterns continuously– I generally see it for about 30%– so a pattern that would cost $20 from the manufacturer may only cost you $14.
You can also use Hobby Lobby’s 40% weekly coupons to save money. I wanted to use mine when I made my purchases to make my total even lower, but my phone died before I could pull it up. Boo.
Tracing patterns: Another way to save
I invested in some Swedish tracing paper that has saved me a ton of money since I can preserve the original patterns while making as many of each size/style as I need. Then, cutting out a size 2 dress pattern won’t keep me from making a size 4 when my daughter gets bigger– I just trace each pattern out and use that durable copy over and over. I can use that same $17.95 (or $0.99!) pattern over and over and over!
I’m not concerned about getting bored with a particular pattern since most patterns come with variations, and you can also use different fabrics, buttons, ribbons and other embellishments to keep the outfits new and fresh.
That tracing paper, my rotary cutter
I can’t wait to pick out some fabric and start sewing some new clothes for my daughter! She loves seeing the patterns at Hobby Lobby, and is rapidly growing out of most of the larger clothes I have for her.
Time to sew!
Have you used any of those patterns? What did you think? What has been your best Hobby Lobby or other craft store haul?
