Linen substrate is one of my favorite textile substrates and ever since designing fabrics, I wanted to make a simple print with simple design on raw linen. And after 20+ collections, I finally did it.
Making a bag or a pillow seemed just a bit "straight forward" as a project, so I was looking to find a wearable project that would use more of the fabric. I searched for different kimono types and this one really draw my attention. So I started looking for the available patterns and found this Dolman coat that is not like a real pattern, but the instructions are clear and it's really such an easy project, so it doesn't require a really cut and collate pattern.
Another very useful video tutorial is this one and after absorbing all the provided info, I finally made mine.
I used 3 1/2 yds of the my Sensescape Linen fabric that is 56/57" wide, and that width is the most important thing that defines the kimono's length. If using fabrics that are 42-44" wide you will obtain the kimono that will be barely knee length (for adults).
Cutting was extremely easy to do and sewing was consisting of only shoulder-upper arm seam.
The other 2 things to do are: wrist finishing (arm opening holes) and neckline/front opening.
I finished both of them with the selvage that I cut from the fabric itself, because I loved it so much, especially the fringe edge. I used it as a trim with adding the piping cord in dark purple as contrasting accent.
Another thing that I did was sewing a simple belt, so that it could be gathered more easily.
I hope that feel inspired and will make it for yourself or someone special in your ife. I think that using some sort of silky material, like rayon or similar would look even more luscious and could be great for hot summer days.
Seedling is my first designer essentials-blender collection with Art Gallery Fabricsand I just can't be happier of how it looks.
It features 10 prints in mineralshades from white, sandy beige neutrals and mauve to deepest gray and steely blue. It's printed on regular poplin cotton, just like any other AGF collection, but has a subtle designed texture that gives a feeling like it's a woven substrate (when it's not). It provides limitless possibilities of mixing and matching, whether used as a collection on it's own or as a blender/companion print to other textiles.
The design element-little seeds are spread on the textile surface, like little dots, but if you look closer, you may notice that these are all like little seeds and sprouts.
Some are closed in little pods, which are giving an optional and additional pop of design and color.
These little seeds, almost like planted on the surface are like little dashes of hope, and hence the name of the collection-Seedling.
This simple print was originally printed as part of my Twenty fabric collection last year in two colors: white -Gridded seeds in Pure and and green/blue: Gridded seeds in Mineral. These two prints don't have the textured design-background, so that's the main difference with their sibling prints from Seedling.
Not only that it goes beautifully with Mindscape, but it works perfectly well with so many prints from my previous fabric collections, as well with many other prints and collections by other designers.
Here is pictured together with Eclectic Intuition, my Tribute fabric collection.
Here are some more pictures....
I am so excited about the possibilities and looking forward to the look book, coming out soon!
The Mindscape collection was inspired with treasured memories spent along the Adriatic coast, enriched with some Easter traditions. When I was a little girl, until my teen age, I used to spend Easter Holidays with my family in a little house that we used to have in Croatia by the sea. That was my favorite place and holds such a special space in my heart. Even if we don't have a house there anymore, we like to visit that place and my friends that live there, often.
And whenever I feel like I need an escape from a busy daily routine or some problems, I like to evoke those moments and feelings of pure serendipity and happiness, caused by simplest things, like feelings of sand beneath the feet and sounds of waves crashing on rocks.
Also, when I started working on this collection, the war in Ukraine started and it reminded me of a war that happened here, where I live, in Belgrade in 1999. So I felt absolutely heartbroken and terrified and my mindset was completely there, with hopes that Easter that was coming will bring peace. That was probably the main reason for having the color palette a bit more neutral, restricted, soft and subdued. Actually, the working title of the collection was "Dove" and here are some of the initial sketches.
Starting with doves, I then added some small animals that symbolize Easter along with some flowers and twigs, that would embody this Holiday as well- starting with Palm Sunday.
Rabbits are featured in not just Foraged Fauna print, but also in Abundance prints (in Nectar and Cloud), and I wasn't t even aware that this year is the Year of the rabbit when I created these drawings and prints, so I can only call it a happy coincidence;).
Easter usually occurs towards the beginning of spring, as a season when plants bloom and animals give birth. andeggsin particular are a clear symbol of rebirth and fertility. So it may not seem surprising that Easter eggs are often associated with Easter.
Here, in Serbia where I live, we celebrate Easter with very important family tradition: dyeing eggs in onion skins bath with different herbs and flowers that in the dyeing process will leave the non colored spots, which is very similar to dyeing the batik and other fabrics.
So, the prints called Sensescape (in sky, sand and raw linen-below) can be associated with this tradition of picking beautiful leaves and flowers to be used in this process.
And finally the moment of gathering the family around the table to celebrate this beautiful Holiday could be celebrated with the Seaside tiles print-that can not only be a recollection of that retro tiles in a grandma kitchen, but also a beautiful tablecloth that would also have some treasured embroidery motifs along the borders....
Apricot print was the final print that was added to the collection, but I thought that it would nicely contribute to the Fruitfulness aspect of the group, and to serve as another main print that would provide great sewing usage and possibilities.
Also, another amazing thing is that my first ever collection of blenders is also just launched and available!
It's called Seedling, and it's going beautifully together with Mindscape.
It actually complements it in a magical way, adding more neutral tones and possibilities that are just perfect for quilts and quilt related projects, but not only....
But it certainly deserves to have a post on it's own, so it's already in the works;)
I hope that Mindscape can take you to carefree escape from everyday life, with heartfelt feelings of unity, vitality and serendipity.
My Origami Hearts quilt pattern is finally here and I couldn't wait to post about it.
I challenged myself with making a very simple, heart shape quilt block created with one intact piece of main fabric and Origami Heart quilt block is born.
The possibilities are endless, but there is one special feature: there is like a hidden space within the central triangle (Prairie point) to insert something small (like a small, Valentine message maybe?).
This brilliant idea was suggested by my amazing quilty friend Barbara Opett and I felt immediately obsessed brainstorming about some very romantic possibilities 💌
I always like to have an exclusive Instagram quilt pattern giveaway when releasing new quilt pattern and this one is no exception.
It's open till Monday, so it's a nice possibility for getting the pattern 😊
This pattern includes 2 options regarding quilt block sizes: 8.5”x 8.5” or 10" x 10"
and includes fabric requirements and instructions for different quilt sizes:
- baby : 32.5” x 40.5” or 38.5" x 48" - throw : 48.5” x 56.5" or 57.5" x 67" - bed: 80.5” x 96.5” or 95.5" x 114.5"
There is also the You Tube video link available within the pattern, which is always making me a bit intimidated regarding my English accent, but I hope that the visual is worth understanding the process. You can watch it HERE.
I am also so excited to see that my newest fabric collections: Mindscape and Seedling are shipping to stores! I am eagerly waiting for my yardage to arrive and start sewing with these new fabrics!
Patchwork hoodie, as a sort of quilted coat or jacket was something that I always wanted to make.
And ever since I created this coat 13 years ago (how is that possible?), I had a desire to make something similar, even because that coat was over-worn and loved so much that the fabrics started to show many signs of that. And that was the period when I didn't know anything about patchwork and quilting, so I used the fabrics that had that collaged vibe.
So, back to the actual hoodie - I searched for a pattern that was featuring raglan sleeve (a sleeve that extends in one piece fully to the collar, leaving a diagonal seam from underarm to collarbone) and Burda's 6718 pattern was just what I needed. I think that even this free pattern can be great, but the sleeve type just wasn't the one I wanted to do for this particular patchwork style and I think that raglan sleeves are really even beginner friendly.
I used my "Stamped Grove" flannel as a base to sew my patchwork pieces to it. I was planning to use a matching "Woodlandia" flannel from the same, Botanist collection as the rest of my fabrics, but shipping problems just didn't allow that.
And yet, as that backing or inner part of the hoodie isn't visible, it really doesn't matter. You can use even any kind of plain flannel or even cotton batting (or both to add an extra level of coziness).
Beside fabrics for patchwork and flannel for the base or lining, (calculate at least 2-3 yds in total for the patchwork-outer part and the same for the lining) you will need around 1.5-2 yds of the trimming for wrist cuffs and waistline or some kind of jersey fabric that can be cut in strip, folded and used as ribbing. You can also add the eyelets and a cord within the hoodie part- as the pattern provides.
The first thing to do is to decide on the fabrics you will use, in my case it was easy as I had my collection that was already curated like that so I just added a few pure solids to add some colorful accents and a bit of whimsy. This hoodie was planned for my son, who's modeling it, but I think that I will find a way to steal it :)
As this all started as an experiment (it was the first time to use this pattern and also this method), so I really wasn't sure what I will get and how satisfied I will be with the result. But I can say that I am very excited about it, loved the process and I am already looking forward to the next one.
What I have learnt is that the pattern itself (all Burda patterns don't have the seam allowance calculated, so you need to add them) can run a bit small but only due to the fact that the materials used for this project aren't stretchy like usual knit fabrics that are used for hoodies. So, even if this is the Men's pattern and my 18 yrs old son (almost 180 cm height) is wearing an M, I used the last available size marked lines to cut all my fabrics - I believe it would be like an XL. Next time, I will add just a tiny bit to it, except to the hoodie-head part itself. And I will round it a bit better. But everything fitted nicely and I absolutely didn't have any issues, so I can highly recommend it!
I was driven by the quilt as you go method to assemble the strip sets that I organized in rows.
From all the fabrics I wanted to use, I have cut 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5" and 4" wide strips. At least 2 strips of each of 16 fabrics + around 10 solids.
So I think that a fat quarter bundle of a collection that has at least 10 assorted prints would be fine for one hoodie-for the external, or top part.
With the fabric strips I made the random strip sets, combining fabrics in no particular way. Some strip sets were longer, some narrower, some shorter, so really just upon liking. I also had some leftovers from my previous project: Winterflake quilt and it was great to use them too. So I think that any patchwork or quilt bock leftovers can be great for this type of hoodie.
After making the strip sets, I have cut them into same 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5" and 4" increments-strips (on the 90° from the pieced seams).
I started from the bottom parts of the cut flannel pieces, adding strips in rows, going up, trying to maintain good alignment. I draw a few horizontal lines to guide me additionally. Flannel was very good option for this as it would nicely adhere quilting cotton strips, so I didn't have to press my rows with iron frequently.
The first thing I did was the smallest - the front pocket. After finishing the exposed, patchwork side of the pocket, I have lined the pocket with another plain piece of fabric, as I thought that it would be better and cleaner than just sewing the pocket to the front hoodie part over folded edges.
I started to sew the patchwork strips on the front hoodie part according to the same pocket strip order, as I wanted to have "invisible" transition.
Here are all the hoodie pieces before final assembling.
I made a video where I tried to gather some small video clips and pics that I took during the sewing and assembling, as it may be easier to understand.
I really hope that you may find this inspiring and I really think that this is amazing way to use some loved fabric scraps and quilt blocks and leftovers! And I think that it's easier than making a jacket or coat, so maybe worth trying before sewing something a bit more delicate.
My son loves it so much and I am sure it will be a show stopper 😎
(I am missing so much the period when my kids were small and actually wanted to wear some mommy made clothes, so this was such a wonderful request and honor for me to make🤟)
Hi! I'm proud mama of 3 gorgeous kids that are true inspiration for my work. I love to create and express myself through many forms of art: collages, drawings, illustrations, calligraphy, graphic design, textile and surface design, printing, photography, sewing.....
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