Splendid sari fabrics

I sell a wide selection of fabric scraps in my Etsy shop, mostly consisting of vintage Japanese kimono fabrics and vintage Indian sari fabrics and I love it when I get feedback from a happy customer. These gorgeous sari fabrics were bought from a customer in Enfield, London recently and this is what she had to say:

"Exactly as seen, lovely colours and in mint condition.

Arrived safely and well packaged. Thank you."

With each of my fabric scraps packs, I carefully choose the colours and combinations so that they complement each other. In this pack I combined vintage sari fabrics in tones of pink and purple. Each one has a bold design and a decorative border. 

I'm loving this bold purple sari with a contrasting orange border. It could be used for craft projects such as quilting and patchwork or for making into cushion covers.

This pink sari uses a geometric motif made up of dots. The green border adds a lovely contrast to the pink of the main design.

This hot pink is a fabulous colour. Some of my customers have used these fabric scraps to make into dolls dresses.

Each collection of fabrics is sent in a plastic envelope and gift wrapped in pink tissue paper. It would make a great gift for a crafter of for someone who loves sewing.

You can find more fabric scraps in my Etsy shop here.

 

Happy Monday

What a beautiful weekend it was here in the UK! After days of grey skies and rainy weather, the sun came out and all was forgiven! I spent the weekend catching up with good friends, cooked good food and hung out in the garden. I also got busy with some sewing and came up with these three stunning gems, made from one of the saris that I bought from Bazaar a while ago.

Bazaar is run by my good friend Joanna Hall, who travels to India several times a year to source beautiful fabrics, jewellery, clothing etc to adorn yourself and your home. I went to one of her barn shows a while ago which you can read about here. While I was there, I stocked up on stunning fabrics, including an array of brightly coloured saris. I have finally started using them and this is the first attempt which I'm really happy with.

These three beauties are all made from the same sari. What I love about the saris, apart from the vibrant colours, is the fact that each one is about 5 yards long, so you get a lot of fabric to play with. They are all vintage saris, so have a story to tell. They have been carefully hand washed, and then cut out by me, incorporating the beautiful woven design into each clutch bag. You can find all three clutches in my store here.

The sari I used was mostly magenta pink, but had a green section at one end and this drew me to it.

I loved the teal green design against the pink so decided to give this clutch bag a teal lining.

The green of this clutch bag really makes me smile!

I couldn't resist adding a hot pink lining for a juicy flash of colour.

The original sari had a border edge to it, so I decided to incorporate that border into this clutch bag.

I carefully cut along each edge and then pieced it together with other magenta sections of the sari.

Fabric Friday

Last Friday I had the pleasure of going to my friend Subashini's house for dinner where she cooked me a scrumptious Indian meal. Subashini is of Indian background, but grew up in South Africa and now lives in the UK, via ten years in Australia!

While I was at her home, she took me through her amazing collection of saris.

We strew them all out on her bed and had a bit of a fabric fest! The colours were amazing and many of the saris are very sentimental to Subashini.

This stunning gold sari was the one that Subashini's mother wore on her wedding day!

When you look closely, you can see that the gold threads create a little scene of foliage and houses.

I can't resist the colour purple and this one was stunning, with a woven multi colour border.

I love the combination of teal and orange in this sari.

Of course I couldn't resist trying one on, so Subashini showed me how it was done. She carefully wrapped the sari around me and made a concertina at one end of the sari to create a skirt effect before tucking it into my waistband to secure it. The other end of the sari is then wrapped around the body and slung over the shoulder. This part of the sari often has a decorative border. The sari is usually 5 yards long, so there is a lot of fabric to play with.

I love it!

Indian beauties

Here's a sneak peek at some Indian beauties I finished last Friday.

They are three large clutch bags made from stunning Indian sari fabrics that I bought in Pune a while ago when we went there for a friend's wedding. I was drawn to the vibrant colours and metallic motifs and, in true Cheeky Leopard fashion, each clutch has a vibrant lining for a flash of colour when the bag is opened.

I'm afraid this is just a preview. The bags will be uploaded onto my store in the next few days.

Please contact me if you are interested in any of the bags before then.

You can see the bags on my stall at the Summer Shopping event below.

Fabric Friday

This Friday's fabric choice is a rather special one as it features fabrics that I bought from Joanna Hall, a dear friend of mine who I've known since college.

She runs a business called Bazaar which sells a range of women's clothing, textiles, jewellery, gifts and home furnishings sourced mostly from Rajasthan, India. Jo is from Kent, but has been working alongside crafts people in India for more than 19 years, and travels there twice a year to work closely with the artisans to create a beautiful range of items that she sells at her extravagant shows held in various locations in the UK.

The event I went to today was the Summer Chapel Sale held in a beautiful chapel in West Malling in Kent and will be open until Sunday 7th June. It's not to be missed!

Needless to say, I came back with a wide variety of beautiful fabrics, mostly stunning sari fabrics in shades of hot pink, purple and emerald. I can't wait to get creative with them....

Jo and her team spend four days decorating the chapel with stunning sari fabrics and wall hangings.

The fabrics below are a sample of what I bought.

French turquoise

My recent trip to the South of France was fab and a wonderfully relaxing time. I was inspired by the colours used there, especially on the shutters. My favourites were the varying shades of turquoise and blue and they were the inspiration for my latest clutch bag design. It is made from a teal and gold Indian sari fabric pieced together with a blue Japanese obi fabric, which is then trimmed with a turquoise French ribbon - you can't get more international than that!

You can find the clutch in my store here.

Fave fabric Friday

Oops, I almost forgot, it's Friday! This week I am favouriting a stunning sari fabric that I picked up when I was in India last year. It is a gorgeous iridescent olive green colour with a gold paisley motif woven into it. I'm thinking of combining it with a gold obi fabric to make a clutch.