Joann's Haul and a Rant

So I went looking for patterns and I got 4 that were on my list.  Mostly a bunch of tops that I saw made up on Pattern Review and really liked:

M6513 - From the latest McCall's collection

V8670 - This past December I decided I need a turtleneck for next December.

V8699 - I saw this on PR and it looked so much better than the drawing.

And my pretty:

V1154 - It caught my eye and followed me home.

As expected, no new Vogue patterns as of yet.  Maybe in time for the next sale, but I won't plan on finding those for at least another month.

I any case, I also got a few other things while I was there...

Button possibilites for the raincoat.

Pretty sequin fabric!

So, I did spend a bit more than I intended to, but that blue fabric is gorgeous!  I am happy it came home with me, and now I have to weigh whether it will be used for a skating costume or a party dress.  Decisions, decisions...

So that was the happy part of my day.  Now for the rant...

One thing I went looking for at Joann's was a 3-bar belt slider (2" long), and I couldn't find any!  I thought for sure this would be an easy find at Joann's, but no.  So, like any modern seamstress, I turned to the internets for help... and again I was failed!  I searched for "tri-glide slider" and "plastic belt buckle" and was pretty darned disappointed.  I mean, if you want to order 10,000 from China you can get cool things like this:

Fun sparkly belt buckles

But when you are looking for individual units your options are the rather utilitarian:

Meh.

The options I have been left with are: (1) try to find a vintage shop that still sells those 80s t-shirt buckles (remember when we could pick these things up for $0.25 at the mall?) or (2) look for vintage buckles on Etsy and Ebay.  If anyone else has an good ideas please feel free to comment - several hours on the internet has left me at my wit's end!  Actually, to be fair, I spent way more than a "few" hours searching and let's just say last night's sleep totals to about 2 hours.  Yeah.  I do tend to get obsessively fixated on things, especially when they are related to sewing.  And I know these things must exist - I did find a few options at Fashion Fabrics Club and my other online sources, but they all were full of rhinestones or looked like carved wood which is not the look I am going for.  I am really hoping for something plastic, since this will be a raincoat and I don't want the water to damage the buckle.  In any case, if you have any good ideas please help!

I suppose it depends on the buckle I find, but any opinions on my button choices are welcome:

Right now I am digging the swirly buttons on the left - they are clear plastic, so they pick up a bit of the fabric color and look like they match perfectly!  However, I am also liking the green/blue circle buttons too.  Originally I had thought I would find a gold belt buckle, but now that that is turning into such a hassel I am glad I got some alternative choices, and I doubt the gold buttons will end up on this project.

Also, another thought - I am debating about the closure method on this raincoat.  The pattern (muslin is in progress at the moment), has a hidden button placket, which I might be ok using with the blue/green circle buttons (3 will be visible when closed), but I wouldn't want to waste the cool swirly buttons if you can't see them.  However, I am also pondering going with my original plan of fabric covered snaps, and just sewing the buttons to the outside for decorative purposes.  I suppose I should test out a buttonhole on the rubber fabric before I make any real decisions on this front (heck, I should just finish the muslin!), but I like to plan ahead with the sewing projects to I know what I am doing.

In any case, feel free to chime in about buttons, buckles, or thoughts about the jacket closure.  Or any other sewing things that have been bothering you lately.  What sewing notions do you have a hard time finding?