Fabric Friday

Last weekend I went on a little trip up North to visit my dear friend Cherry. She lives in a village called Tickhill, just outside Doncaster, and is a fellow fabric addict! There is a lovely little shop in Tickhill called From Rags to Stitches and we made a pilgrimage there to pick up some inspiration. Needless to say, I came out with quite an addition to my fabric stash and a very light wallet!

Horse designs are popular and this one is pretty in pink and navy blue, with the odd white one scattered around. It will have a pink and white polka dot lining.

The swans are quite quirky and I loved the colour combination. They are going to have a hot pink lining to match the waves in the design.

Pineapple designs are still popular and I thought the lemon slice lining was a great match.

From Rags to Stitches has quite a selection of fabrics that I designed for Makower UK, including these two nautical inspired pieces - blue starfish on cream and cream shells on blue. Both prints will have a fun polka dot lining.

I love a lobster print and just had to have this one that I found at Doncaster market. He will have a red and white polka dot lining for a bit of fun.

The pandas below were also picked up at Doncaster market and I couldn't resist them! They are so sweet and will look fab with a black and white polka dot lining.

Watch this space for some new items to be landing in store soon!

Fabric Friday

Anyone who loves fabric, knows how therapeutic a fabric shopping trip can be and a few weeks ago I made a pilgrimage to Rolls & Rems in Lewisham to do just that. I often enter a fabric shop treating it like an Aladdin's cave. You never know what you're going to find and if you're even going to find anything suitable, but there's always something good to forage through. Rolls & Rems was no disappointment and I came out with four fab new fabrics to add to my stash!

I love these swallow silhouettes on a grey ground and am looking forward to giving it a nice bright lining to counteract the grey and to give it a flash of colour when the bag is opened.

Everyone loves a dog fabric and this one shows a variety of breeds in a white silhouette. I love the cream linen fabric it's printed onto and it will perfect for making sturdy tote bags.

I love a bold geo and this one comes in a vibrant orange and navy combination. It makes quite a statement!

I love the hit of bright green in this unisex bike fabric and I'm thinking of using a green polka dot for the lining. This fabric would make great gadget pouches to store puncture kit etc.

Fabric Friday

This Friday I'd like to mention some fabric pieces that I bought last weekend from a lovely new shop on Hill Rise in Richmond, owned by an American woman who has hand selected each piece of fabric. The shop is called Loving the Fabric and the woman behind it is Gay Appleby, who has had a life long passion with sewing, as well as a love of vintage textiles and fashion. On her website you can see examples of fabric for sale in her shop, along with a gallery showing pictures of her studio, examples of items she has been making, and photos of her collage work. You can see a small selection of fabrics on her website, but it's much better to go in and see and feel them in person!

This bright multi coloured Tana Lawn cotton is by Liberty and is beautifully soft. I love the use of colour and the scrolly, floral design. This will be used for clutch bags and purses.

I also homed in on a striking geometic fabric in red and cream. I think it will look lovely as a clutch bag and could even use the Tana Lawn fabric as a lining for a flash of colour on the inside.

This stunning gold woven fabric has a decorative floral motif and would be perfect for a clutch bag. It's a modern fabric, but would sit perfectly with the vintage Japanese obi fabrics in my store.

The red and cream geometric fabric could also be used as a lining for this gold bag.

Fabric Friday

Christmas is nearly here and Cheeky Leopard has shut up shop until 27th December, but I'm still playing with fabrics! This week's offering is a lovely little bunch of novelty cottons, ranging from cute penguins, to fun pineapples. I'm planning on making them up into tissue holders, card cases, cosmetic bags and coin purses and they should be available in store very soon.

Penguins have always been a popular fabric for my Cheeky Leopard items and this one is a great little addition. There's a black and white spotty fabric that will be the perfect complimentary lining.

I love this bicycle fabric and the black and grey colourway means that it's a great unisex design.

Pineapples are a fun motif and still a very popular image. These ones are so sweet and make me feel like summer is just around the corner.

Dog fabrics have done very well for me and these poodles are a slight change in style. I love their purple colouring and think a pink and white candy stripe will make a great lining for them.

Fabric Friday

Wherever I go, I seem to sniff out the local fabric shops! I'm currently on my way down to the south coast for a fab long weekend away with my lovely family. I decided to stop off in Chichester and came across a fabric shop selling many of the fabrics I designed for Makower UK. Amongst the mix was this fab French Bulldog/Boston Terrier fabric and I couldn't resist buying a piece.

It's a Japanese fabric produced by Studio Choco and comes in a fab acid green colour.

Who could resist these cute little fellas?!

I can't wait to make it up into a cosmetic bag with matching coin purse and card case....

Fabric Friday

Fabric Friday is back again and this week I'm highlighting a beautiful kimono from my collection. I have so many items in my fabric stash that I often forget what I've got. It's not until I have a customer come round to choose fabric for a bag and we have a rummage, that I remember items I have or see them in a new light. Last night a friend came round to my home studio as she is going to an event in June and needs a handbag to match her outfit which is red and grey. It didn't take long to find the perfect match - this stunning red, black and white kimono with touches of silver. We've decided to give it a red lining to match the outer fabric.

A lot of people ask me if it's painful to cut up my kimonos and yes, it can be! I've got used to it now though and know that it will be made into something equally stunning.

Fabric Friday

This Friday's fabric choice is an ikat fabric that I'm thinking of using in the spare room of my new home. I decided to use a fresh blue and white colour scheme for this room as I already had the blue bedside tables and quite liked them. Sometimes it's nice to have some sort of colour reference to start with and the blue of the bedside tables matched perfectly with an ikat-inspired bedding set that I found in John Lewis. 

I recently inherited a bed for the spare room from a friend of mine and it came with a padded bed head. The only trouble is that the bedhead is covered in a red fabric which doesn't match my new colour scheme!

After much foraging through my fabric stash, I came across a beautiful blue and white ikat fabric that would be perfect for the job! Now I just have to be brave and give it a go. If anyone has any tips on the best way to do it, please let me know......

Fabric Friday

I seem to be going through a green phase at the mo (check out the stunning green clutch bag from Wednesday's post) and I thought this Friday I would mention some fun and fresh green fabrics that I saw in John Lewis recently. They are all by Scion, a company that produces fashion-led modern fabrics and wallpapers. I often covet their prints and love their use of colour and fun images. I was drawn to the new hedgehog design on the vibrant green. Hedgehogs seem to be the new replacement for owls and foxes as the popular woodland theme.

You can find a rather fun hedgehog bag in my shop here.

Fabric Friday

The sun is out, the sky is blue and I fancy a bit of bling for this Friday's fabric choice. You can't get much blingier than this beauty. It's a fabulous gold woven Japanese obi fabric with touches of green, blue and burnt orange.

I've already made a custom handbag order from some of this fabric, but am now thinking of using the fabric to make a zipper clutch. I recently learnt how to sew a zipper and am so excited to have learnt something new! I can't wait to try it out on some of my obi fabrics, which would be perfect. I intend to add a bright tassel to the zipper pull for some extra bling and am heading into London today to visit some tassel shops.

Hopefully I will have some zipper clutches to sell at the International Bazaar in Tokyo in November.
Watch this space….