Kimono fabric love

When I lived in Japan I collected a lot of amazing kimonos and kimono fabric pieces. They come in such stunning colours and are great for using in sewing projects, or just for looking at and enjoying. I now sell these fabric pieces as a selection of scrap fabric bags and each bag contains a selection of fabrics that are similar in colour.

This kimono scrap bag contains fabrics in a selection of reds, pinks, oranges and browns. There is a variety of sizes and weights of fabric, but they are all vintage kimono pieces.

This is one of the larger pieces of fabric in the collection and uses a pretty ikat-style design on a brown background.

I love this bold geometric design that is often seen in Japanese motifs. The bold red and white colour palette is very pleasing.

It's great to include softer colours too and this fabric is very fine, taken from the lining of a kimono. I love the soft pink watercolour-effect.

I love this bright orange colour and the 1930s style flowers randomly scattered on it. It has a very painterly feel and the colour makes it very bold and modern.

Stunning flower on a bright red background. This kimono fabric is cotton and includes a small geometric print around the flower.

Stunning chrysanthemum in a painterly feel. I love the antique cream ground colour.

This is such a sweet stork print, almost abstract in feel. It's a very small piece of silk but adorable! It would make a great piece in a small crafting project and I love the antique pink and cream colour palette. Some customers have used these fabrics to make doll's dresses.

Often the lining fabrics are more interesting than the outer kimono fabrics. This orange and cream fabric was taken from the lining of a kimono.

Pretty ombre flowers on a pink and yellow background. Although this fabric is obviously a vintage piece, it has touches of modernity with the bright green leaves and I love that injection of bright orangey red in the background.

 

Spoonflower design challenge

 Last week's Spoonflower design challenge was 'passementerie' which means an ornamental edging or trimming made of braid, cord, beading or metallic thread. I decided to do a brightly coloured version of this, including pompom trim, tassels and braided trim, hand-drawn and in a stripe layout.

I decided to match the colour palette to my pompom design.

These prints could be used as wallpaper in a craft room.

Big bold designs that add colour to any space.

Sewing addict

I've been creating some fun, bright sewing-inspired designs for my Spoonflower shop and think they will appeal to any sewing addict! I love sewing and spend a lot of time creating items on the sewing machine, so I tapped into my love of that and all things haberdashery to create these fun bright prints.

This sewing machine design was the first one I created and I included a turquoise blue sewing machine, fabric swatches, scissors and thread as well as a mug of tea and a chocolate chip cookie - essential fuel for a keen sewer!

The main design inspired me to create some co-ordinates to go with it. The first one was a needle and thread design which also includes pins and buttons.

The scissor print has been designed in a set layout and includes a variety of shapes and sizes in the same bright colour palette as the other two designs.

Shop Sewing Fabric Now

Fabric Friday

Anyone who loves fabric, knows how therapeutic it can be. There is something very pleasing about choosing a selection of fabrics and piecing them together to create something new. A year ago I was going through a difficult time in my life. My parents were very supportive and I was staying their house at the time. After dinner, mum and I would sit in front of the TV (with a glass of wine of course!) and the sewing would come out. My mum was in the process of making fabric hexagon squares and so I decided to do the same, using fabric pieces I had in my stash.

Paper hexagons are cut out, and then the fabric hexagon is tacked onto the paper one, to give it shape. The hexagons are then whip-stitched together in batches of seven, to create a bigger hexagon.

From the back, it looks pretty messy! But the paper is a great way of keeping the shape of the hexagons as you sew them all together, and the paper, and tacked stitches will be taken out at the end of the process, for the grand reveal!

Once you have a good amount of larger hexagons, you can start sewing them together, which is what I am now doing.... a year later! I love the fact that sewing projects can be left for a while, but you can always come back to them and start where you left off.

The fabric selection includes, polka dots, bright solids, and a mandolin design! Now I just need to decide what to make my lovely hexagon project into. A funky clutch? Or a fun tote bag? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.