Roberta Doylend sits among some of the donated fabric and trim that will be up for sale on Aug. 23 and 24. All funds raised from the fabric sale go to the Marlene Moser Memorial Scholarship Fund.

It’s supposed to be a costume shop, but right now, Roberta Doylend’s office looks like an overstocked fabric store.

Like one in which someone could get lost.

For a really long time.

Bolts of fabric are piled high in all corners. A large worktable is a sea of trim. It’s a sewer’s utopia, if you can find the sewing machine.

Roberta, head of wardrobe for the Department of Dramatic Arts, came into the piles of paisleys, stripes, solids, tassels and lace after friend and costumer Audrey Turner recently decided to hang up her sewing shears and call it a career.

Audrey, who once worked with and mentored Roberta, decided to donate the remnants of her career, including her costume collection, to Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts.

But Roberta knows she’ll never need all the fabric to work her magic making costumes for student productions, so she’s offering it up for sale later this month.

Some of it also isn’t suited for stage garb but is perfect for interior decorating, she noted.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the Marlene Moser Memorial Scholarship Fund, named for the former Dramatic Arts chair, who died of breast cancer in 2010.

The fund provides financial help to drama students.

“I said we’re never going to need all this, so I thought I could have a garage sale and have the money go to the scholarship fund, and (Audrey) said ‘Go for it,'” Roberta said.

The fabrics are priced to sell, too. A grocery store bag full of smaller pieces – good for quilting – will go for $20. Bolt prices will run $2 to $10 a metre.

“There are some fabrics that (would normally sell) for $30 to $50 a metre,” Roberta said.

Sewers and crafters with their own stockpiles of materials are also welcome to offer up their wares for sale. Tables at the fabric sale can be rented for $30, with rental proceeds also going to the scholarship fund.

The fabric sale happens Aug. 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day in Thistle 141.

For more information or to inquire about renting a table, email Roberta at rdoylend@brocku.ca.