Fox Hollow now in stock

I'm excited to say that Monaluna's latest collection Fox Hollow is now in stock! You can find it here.

I'm very excited to see the return of Foxy and his friends - which is your favourite?

Dear Hazel...

So now Hazel is here, I have a decision to make about fabric and have selected a few favourites. I'm thinking this will be a Summer/holiday dress and am imagining wafting around in the sunshine. So I have picked out linen blends, especially these extra wide Kokka linens that I have been thinking about making something with since they arrived. I really love this Luluca floral fabric, it's so pretty - I've draped it sideways because of the way it was rolled, hopefully I wouldn't make it like this.  It's hard to picture what it would look like against my sun deprived skin, my mannequin has rather a healthy tan.

This Echino Madrigal fabric is another fabric I have been longing to make something from. Like the Kokka linens, it is a perfect weight and has beautiful drape. I would have to be careful with the placement of the big pink flowers, in my head I am imagining accidentally placing them on the bust and trying it on when finished to find I have created the effect of a pink flower bikini top. Yikes. The birds go in all directions so I would have to be careful to avoid a very obvious upside down one like I have in this photo.

Another Kokka Luluca fabric, this time in black. It's a bit like a block print and I could have some fun playing around with the pattern and geometry.

Firmly within my comfort zone (and dependance on denim) is this linen blend which would be perfect, but maybe a bit safe?

And in black, I love the black version as the white coming through on the weave almost gives it a shot effect.

I adore this Nani Iro brushed cotton,  it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. It feels gorgeous and again I could have fun with the print on the bodice. I wonder if it may be a little warm for the summer though.

What do you think?

New fabric in this week...

New in this week and with perfect timing if you are thinking about sewing for spring or summer, Sunshine linen by Dena Designs. I think this fabric would make a perfect dress, maybe a Crepe or a Peony.

Also, with several more prints to come from the 'Get Together' collection by David Walker there is this super cute birds print.

There are also some lovely retro prints (with more to come) from the To Market to Market collection by Marie Perkins from the Print and Pattern blog.

And the very springlike Modern Whimsy by Laurie Wisbrun, I think the rabbit print is perfect for Easter sewing.

I have a lot of collections coming soon to M is for make, you can find them here. One that is imminent though is Curious Nature by Parson Gray. The man behind this fabric is David Butler (husband of Amy Butler) these earthy neutral prints are really gorgeous.

Taali by Monaluna is here!

So excited to share this new collection with you, Anika was extremely popular, and I think the prints in Taali are just as wonderful - which is your favourite? I think mine might be Hill and Dale, but it is hard to choose.

 hill and dale

 mixed apples

 chevron

 trees

 bah bah black sheep

busy city

Fairground cushion

I quite often find myself choosing fabric for the shop because I want to make something with it, and this fairground fabric is a prime example. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for a giant cushion, I loved the retro feel of the design and the colour of the purple which isn't too sugary.

So last weekend, I finally got round to making the cushion which was fairly straight-forward. Due to the size of the cushion (it's 76cm x 76cm) I had to buy some continuous zip as normal ones don't come long enough and the longer ones are really expensive. I used about 2m of continuous zip before for the cushion for my daybed, and struggled for ages trying to get the slider onto the zip. I managed it in the end after much cursing. Again, with this cushion, I wasted a good 10 minutes trying to do it before consulting the oracle that is; You Tube.

So if you have ever tried to do this, then have a look at this video first which shows you how to put a slider on a zip in seconds. Love.the.internet.

The cushion is of course for my daughter, although it does make this chair way more comfy, I will leave it there as long as I can get away with it.

Don't let this scene of domestic bliss fool you, her little brother was screaming in the corner while I tried to take this photo (having been told off for standing on her hair) her teeth are probably gritted if you look closely, I know mine were.

Books for Christmas

Simple Sewing, Kokka and Kiyohara fabrics

I think books are a great present for anyone who loves sewing and crafting and there are so many amazing ones to chose from. Here is a selection of books that I have given or been given and a few I wouldn't mind adding to my bookshelf too.

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing (above) is beautifully laid out with straight-forward projects that you would actually want to make, (rather than just look at). I have this book and have made loads from it including several doorstops, a draft excluder and door tidy.

Meet Me at Mike's and the new and nearly available Sew La Tea Do are by Pip Lincolne from the brilliant blog Meet me at Mike's who has without doubt the best about page ever. These would make very cool gifts. I love any book that is spiral bound, and this book is not just about sewing, it shows you a number of different crafts.

Meet Me at Mike's and Sew La Tea Do

If you or someone you know loves all things Japanese and Zakka, then have a look at Zakka Sewing. You will be pleased to hear that the instructions are IN ENGLISH! I bought this book a few years ago, and still enjoy looking through the gorgeous projects and planning what I will make. I even have some felt for the teacosy on the cover (despite the fact I don't ever use a teapot).

Zakka Sewing and Denyse Schmidt fabrics

Anna Maria Horner has several books out. As you would expect they are beautiful, Seams to Me  would make a lovely present for someone new to sewing or Handmade Beginnings would be perfect for a new mum.

Seams to Me, Handmade Beginnings and voiles

If you fancy designing your own fabric by printing at home, then I recommend Printing by Hand book (which I mentioned before here). It comes with some beautiful stencils to use and covers stamping, screenprinting, stenciling.

Or if you plan to have a go at printing your own fabrics through Spoonflower, then here are some great reference books.

I use Pattern and Palette Sourcebook all the time, I can't recommend it enough if you struggle to find colours that go together.

Pattern and Palette

I have mentioned this book before too (I was given it for Christmas last year!), if you are a fan of 1950's fabrics and Lucienne Day you will love The Fifties by the V & A.

The Fifties

The Petit Pattern series of books has been on my Amazon wishlist, FOREVER. They are quite pricey but maybe worth the investment if you are a fan of a particular style. The  Scandinavian and Japanese ones are my favourites of course.

Scandinavian and Japanese petit pattern

And finally if you or a friend are thinking of doing your crafty thing for a living then I also recommend Craft, Inc (there is a brand new sequel Creative, Inc too). They are written for the American market, but the advice and ideas are relevant elsewhere in the world. Also it's a really pretty book, I'm a sucker for the curved edges on the pages.

Craft, Inc and Creative, Inc

Honestly I could probably carry on all day suggesting books, I have had to stop myself from suggesting a hundred pretty kids books and coffee table books. But if there are any good sewing books you would recommend, please do share with a comment.

Anna Maria Horner wrap top from Autumn / Winter wear for women

Last night I finished this wrap top from Autumn / Winter wear for women using Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile fabric. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and am wearing it now (although with others layers because it is freezing today).

 

My hesitation about the bias binding on the arms was misplaced as it hangs just fine when its on. I ended up doing french seams all over, so the raw edges are safely encased. It certainly made it more complicated though, and I got in a complete muddle when joining the wrap top to the main part of the top. I sewed it on the wrong way round first after taking great care to match them up properly and pinning them. Then when I did get it right, I sewed too far away from the gather which ruined the affect and turned it into a number of messy pleats rather than a gentle gather. Finally I got it right and I'm glad I did enclose the raw edges as they frayed quite easily.

It has highlighted a problem with my style of sewing though. I really love sewing, but between the chaos and disorder of everyday life I only have small pockets of time in which to do it. Sometimes I'll do it while the kids are around and behaving themselves in which case I'll be distracted, often I will do it when they have gone to bed and the light it bad and I'm tired. Usually though it's in a rush, the result it that I can see mistakes I have made which affects the quality of the end result. The next thing I make I will take my time with and not be in such a desperate rush to get it finished and worn. Well, that's the idea anyway! Ahead of me I have 2 ideas, one a present for a friend, and another will be something for Spring for my daughter from this book, maybe a pretty top using more of this lovely Anna Maria Horner fabric.

Trip to the V & A

This week I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London with a friend. This is the view of an amazing chandelier hanging above an information desk on the ground floor. It was huge and went much higher than this, I thought it was plastic, but apparently it was glass, the people working underneath must have nerves of steel.

My main reason for going was to get some ideas for my dress for college and I got a few, in the fashion section where there were a couple of dresses that caught my eye.


This dress by David Hopwood was beautiful, it had a low back and quite high front, loads of layers. The blurb said this...

'Twelve layers of gathered tulle give David Hopwood's extra long dress its shape. He demonstrates meticulous attention to detail, cutting each rectangular pattern piece just millimetres larger than the previous one.'



These dresses are by Lea Carreno, I just liked the stripes and the shape.

I also really liked this dress, it was a costume for A Midsummer Night's Dream, I think. It's just so beautiful, its quite simple style , but the gathering, fabric, embellishments, string belt, love it. I shall imagine myself floating through a forest in it, Hermia-style.

As for the rest of the museum, there were a couple of highlights, the new Maharaja exhibition was good, also the Telling Tales exhibition. Imagine a lovely rug of 2 interlocking circles intended to look like 2 red pools created by the actual volume of blood in 2 human bodies. Nice. Scary rooms, all kinds of spookiness. It was an excellent source of material for any nightmares I am planning to have soon.

Other than that, there were lots of pretty things, in a beautiful extremely well maintained museum. I went to the Natural History Museum in the summer and the V and A seemed quite immaculate in comparison. The cafe and gardens were beautiful, as were the cakes in the cafe.

We made a quick stop at Liberty's to look at fabric on the way back, but I was left a little disappointed. They didn't have their new stock even though it's on the website, and I wanted to have a look at it to see if would do for my college project.


They do stock Amy Butler and Anna-Maria Horner fabric there now, but it's the very bright colours and I was looking for something more muted as I am planning to make this for me in the coming weeks after I have made the 'little' version for my daughter. We shall not be matching.

First of all I have to make the rough cut of my pattern this weekend for college, more to follow on that one.