Have you ever begun a sewing project only to find yourself running to the store to pick up the one additional button you don't have, or the extra yard of elastic you ran out of? Dragging the kids to the store at the last minute to grab these little necessities shouldn't be part of the fun sewing experience. One of the best ways to sew efficiently and economically is to have a ready supply of notions and fabric at home, so you can whip up a garment for yourself or your little ones with as little inconvenience as possible.

Sure, this sounds like a green light to blowing the monthly budget, but the reverse is actually true. By having everything you will need for a sewing project on hand, you eliminate costly additional trips to the fabric store, wasting precious time, energy and gas. And when you find great bargains on the notions you need and stock up, the savings stretch out over a period of time and over several projects.

Flexibility in the creative process is another big plus to having a stash. That length of knit fabric you bought at a bargain price can end up as a shirt for you or as a romper for your baby, depending on your current needs and desires. The stash is most convenient when you find yourself having to sew up a last minute gift for a friend or a costume for your child's school play. Another advantage to having a stash is the time it saves you when you actually start sewing. Sewing while taking care of children is an on-again, off-again endeavor, riddled with constant interruptions. The stash allows you to plan, cut, sew, and finish several projects at a time without having to go to the store for each individual project to get your supplies.

Following are a few tips to get you started. To build a comprehensive stash without breaking the bank, keep an eye out for notions at great prices. Check out the clearance bins and ask the sales clerks about upcoming sales or soon-to-be discontinued items. Our own Elizabeth Parry suggests the following: "If stores go out of business or close out their sewing stuff, pick up all the buttons and zippers and odds and ends you can at bargain prices. Once I got buttons for a nickel a card. I was able to get over $500.00 worth of buttons for about $30.00. I almost never have to buy buttons because I can just go to my stash and pick them out! Even if I never use all of them, every time I use one card, I more than pay for 20-30 other cards! Another great idea for buttons comes from my sister, Mary Lillico in Amarillo, Texas. Sometimes she will frequent second hand stores and look for gorgeous designer buttons. She will often buy an item and just cut off the buttons. The other thing I want to mention is just to have lots of thread on hand. If you have a serger, try to buy 5 spools in every color. Four for the serger and one for your machine."

Chain fabric stores offer discounts on thread on a regular basis, usually offering 40% off regular price. To save even more on serger thread, you can stick to colors that tend to blend the best, such as black, white, gray, rose, cream, and smoky blue to name a few; and of course the basics, red, green, blue and yellow, if you know you will sew with those colors. Also, keep in mind that the needle thread on a serger is the one to match, since it's the one most likely to show on a serged seam when pulled apart. Watch out for thread at yard sales and thrift stores, sometimes you can get a good value, but be aware that old thread tends to fray and break more easily.

Interfacing is also good to have on hand, in both fusible and non-fusible, and even better, in black as well. Varying widths of elastic, Velcro, and a basic set of snaps are also very handy to have around, especially if you're sewing for children.

You won't get very far without needles. Make sure you have the types of needles recommended for the type of fabric in your stash. These go on sale often at the major chain fabric stores, sometimes for 50% off. Lessen the frustration of having broken needles in the midst of a sewing frenzy by making sure you have plenty of extra needles for replacements and new projects.

As for fabric, be discriminating. Check the quality before buying, by testing its stretch and wrinkling tendencies. There are great bargains out there, but you will only get a real bargain if you know what you are buying, and what you are going to do with the fabric once you get it home. Have a mental plan of the projects you want to sew up, then when you do find that perfect length of fabric at a great price, you will know what you can use it for. Some moms keep a small notebook in their purse with a list of the patterns and yardages they use most, which comes in handy for those times when they unexpectedly end up going to the hardware store that happens to be right next door to the fabric shop.

Yard sales are a treasure trove of sewing supplies for rock-bottom prices. It's not uncommon to come across a bin-full of buttons, remnants, fabric yardage, zippers, appliqués, batting, thimbles, thread, yarn, hem gauges, and assorted odds and ends. Finds include everything from full bolts of gingham to lengths of drapey wool for a coat, all for less than a dollar each. You can also ask how old the items are before purchasing, to assure you're not getting ancient thread that won't hold your stitching together. And if you're lucky, you might hit upon a yard sale where the homeowner is liquidating her stash, in which case, buy the whole lot and swap what you don't need on the NMSL list's monthly Swap Day.

Remember to shop your local independent fabric shop as well. Often-times they will offer incredible deals and honor competitor's coupons. They are also apt to be more open to special ordering that obscure sewing notion the people at the chain stores have never heard about. Shopping on-line is a great resource when building your stash. Many sites out there have great sections featuring $1.00 a yard fabrics and many others have notions and sewing gadgets galore. Browsing through fabric in your jammies at three in the morning with your nursling on your lap can't be beat. Of course, testing a fabric's quality can be difficult to do through a computer monitor. Check the return policy on on-line sites, and keep in mind you will be paying shipping when calculating the real cost of the item. It's a good idea to pre-wash your fabric as soon as you get it home, to ensure that it has indeed been washed prior to cutting, lest you forget.

Another great tip for when you have built your stash; keep a notebook with swatches of the fabric you have, along with information on each piece, such as length and width, price, care instructions, your plans for the fabric, and when and where it was bought. This will facilitate the planning and dreaming process and enable you to mix and coordinate your fabric without having to wrestle with the actual yardage.

Most of all, remember that sewing is an art. What you thought you absolutely needed may not be necessary at all when something else you have will do just as well. To have materials on hand so you can sew efficiently and on a moment's notice is the purpose of the stash. Try not to get lost in your stash as you "shop" through it, dreaming of all the wonderful things you can make. Have fun expressing your creativity, and reward yourself by turning those visions into reality by giving yourself time to sew.

Part II: Mary Lillico brings you even more great ideas! A very insightful article about how she developed her own stash and why it is important to her! Don't miss it!