Since the beginning of this year the fabric manufacturer Free Spirit publishes look books every quarter. These look books feature their new fabric lines, but also offer a lot of inspiration and quite a few free patterns. Flip throug the look books and free patterns they’ve published so far. This is a pretty long blog, so take a seat :).… Read the rest
Category: Inspiration
International FreeForm Fiberarts Guild 2013 Challenge
The International FreeForm Fiberarts Guild is hosting an online challenge every year. This year the theme was Mother Earth.
Click here to see all the entries. You can click each picture to read about the artist’s idea and to leave a comment.
You can also check the galleries from the previous annual challenges;
- 2012 theme: Music and Art in Fiber
- 2011 theme: Mythologies, Stories and Fairy Tales
- 2010 theme: Somewhere in My World
- 2009 theme: Four Seasons
- 2008 theme: Through Our Eyes
- 2007 theme: Earth Air Fire Water
- 2006 theme: 60 odd / A fire Odyssey
… Read the rest
Studio Faro
Jami sent me a link to the Studio Faro blog. Anita from Studio Faro is active in the fashion industry as a designer, pattern maker, educator and trend forecaster, and has over 30 years experience in these fields. Based in the Inner West of Sydney, Studio Faro is a design and pattern-making studio that offers Design and Technical Services to the Fashion Industry and a Professional Development Program of pattern and design workshops.… Read the rest
Thread Cult
Sheryl sent me the link to the Thread Cult podcasts made by sewing blogger Christine Cyr Clisset:
“I recently bumped into a podcast that I really love called Thread Cult. It can be downloaded on iTunes and has great segments. She talks with all sorts of sewists – couture, weaving, sewing machine experts, etc. … Read the rest
Using Photoshop or Gimp to visualize fabric and patterns
Markita sent me this cool tutorial on how to use Photoshop or Gimp (free alternative to Photoshop) to visualize fabric and patterns. It involves a bit of technology but it gives you a good idea of what your outfit will look like. You can even use your personal croquis to really dress yourself virtually!… Read the rest
Dressing down a culture for refusing to dress up
Markita sent me this article by Nancy Giles about the dressing down culture. Make sure to watch the video as well!
(CBS News) Dressing elegantly for the most routine matters is a tradition from a distant past — and our Nancy Giles thinks that’s a shame (see the orginal CBS article here)
“There’s got to be a happy medium between wearing a burka and running around half-naked,” said Przybyszewski.… Read the rest
Great British Sewing Bee
In April of this year BBC2 aired the show Great British Sewing Bee. This show features eight amateur sewers who are tested on their sewing and dressmaking skills as they compete to be crowned Britain’s best home sewer.
The judges, May Martin from the Women’s Institute and Savile Row’s Patrick Grant, scrutinise every stitch as they look out for puckering seam lines and perfect top stitching.… Read the rest
V&A Museum Patchwork Pattern Maker
Try the Victoria & Albert Museum online Patchwork Pattern Maker to convert personal images into quilt patterns. The tool lets you choose how many colors you’d like your pattern to have (up to 20) and the level of difficulty. After choosing between all options, you can download the complete pattern.
Check the gallery to see what other people have made.… Read the rest
Child’s Own Studio
A few years back Wendy Tsao began her business in making softies based on children’s drawings: Child’s Own Studio. Since then, she has custom made around 400 soft toys based on children’s drawings, each one as unique as the child who drew it.
Below are some images of her work, but her own website and Flickr Photostream are truly inspirational and worth looking at.… Read the rest
Indie Pattern Designers
Looking for a different pattern than one from ‘the Big Four’? Here’s a good list of smaller pattern designers.
Here’s part of the list:
- Colette – There’s little that I could say about Colette that hasn’t already been said – vintage inspired designs with excellent community support.
- Sewaholic – From Vancouver, Tasia designs for pear shaped women but these classic patterns would look good on many shapes and sizes.
Fabric printing
Fabric printing is one of my latest interests. I’ve never done it before, not sure if I will in 2013. The problem is, my crafting wishlist is never ending ;). I’m sure that sounds familiar!
I found 3 fabric printing Pinterests boards and it can’t hurt to satisfy the craft appetite with some inspiration, can it?… Read the rest
Favorite place
Check out this wonderful music video by the band Black Books. The video explores the world of sewing. “The aim was to create an energetic, fun and at the same time warm and intimate music video to illustrate the track. Cloth is very symbolic, warm, personal, and of course colorful, so, I chose to explore the world of sewing and play with material and tools.”… Read the rest