Thrift Store Craft Supplies

I love thrift stores. Glassware I don’t need, holiday decorations I don’t have room to store, and vintage costume jewelry pieces that simply do not match my preferred Farm & Fleet jeans. It’s just the best.

Yesterday, I visited Agrace Thrift Store, one of my favorite stops. I like supporting their mission, and their stores are clean and tidy. Sometimes it’s fun to go to a thrift/antique/junk shop that reeks of cigarettes and has three inch wide aisles, but sometimes you just want a simple shopping experience where you don’t feel like you need to take a shower before continuing your day.

Patterns

Whenever I go to thrift shops, I look for vintage pattern books. Anything before the 1980s is on my list. I’ve found some super cool booklets over the years, my favorite being mod ’60s styles, but I have pattern books going back all the way to the 1910s.

On this trip, I found three pattern books from the ’60s and ’70s.

Fun, right? Do I need a men’s sweater vest pattern? Probably not. Am I ever going to knit myself a matching red skirted suit? Most definitely no. But they’re fun to look at. Plus, there are practical patterns for modern crafters throughout.

Supplies

It’s also worth looking through the oftentimes random assortment of craft supplies and holiday decorations to see if there’s anything you can use or repurpose. For example, I found a bag of Christmas tree baubles for less than $2. You’ll see these in an upcoming tutorial. 🙂

I’ve found brand new rolls of ribbon, unopened needlework kits, quilting kits, patterns for every craft imaginable, and yarn of various vintages, from old school Kmart yarn to contemporary styles and colors. If my shopping experience is anything to go by, many, many people have abandoned macrame over the years, so if you’re thinking of trying it, I’d check a thrift store to see if you can score the materials for much less than full retail.

So, if you enjoy thrifting, don’t forget to check out the craft supplies and holiday decorations to see if there’s anything you can repurpose or upcycle into a new piece.

Do you like thrift stores? Garage sales? Let me know the best thing you’ve found in the comments!