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Category: Art Gallery Fabrics
Hello fabric friends!
I am thrilled to be included in another one of Sharon Holland’s fabulous blog tours. I promise you that you are in for a textile treat if you stop and visit the other makers. I love the fabulous banner tutorial Dritz shared with us last Friday, and I’m happy to be the first maker on the tour this week.
Make sure you visit Sharon Holland on Instagram as she is hosting very cool weekly giveaways featuring the tour’s sponsors: Dritz Sewing, BlocLoc Rulers, and Fat Quarter Shop. She is also hosting a similar giveaway on the weekly recap blog post.
When a big box of knits arrives at my house (not very frequently if my husband is reading this), two of my daughters immediately start claiming fabrics and asking for dresses. To be honest, they have been a bit “mama-made” starved the past several months. I am nearly 30 weeks pregnant now and have taken a bit of a pregnancy and long winter-related hiatus from doing a lot of girls’ sewing, blogging, and shooting. The new Skyler dress pattern was perfect to get my “sewjo” back and also take advantage of utilizing some fabric cuts that I loved but had been sitting for several months. And if you haven’t seen the news on Instagram, I am having another girl, so I promise more girls’ sewing is coming!
I love sewing with knits, particularly high-quality cotton lycra/spandex. I made this version in one of my favorite Art Gallery Fabrics prints by Sharon Holland Designs.
I chose to do the large bow back view for this version and had just enough fabric for the circle skirt. This is a straight size 4.
One of the variations of Skyler’s top and dress includes small side bows. I made 3 sets of hairbows to coordinate with her favorite Skyler dresses as you can see in this picture. Just follow the tutorial to make the bows and hot glue to your favorite clip of choice. Due to the thickness of her hair, I used french barrettes so they would not slip out.
For my next Skyler, I combined one of my favorite fabrics, Art Gallery Yellow Stripes, with a large remnant I had leftover from sewing for the Printemps Fusions Lookbook earlier this spring. I just cut the fabric to length to the width of fold due to the limited yardage I had. Luckily, with knits you can get away with removing a few inches on gathered skirts. This pattern is also suitable for using woven fabric for the SKIRT ONLY but I prefer to make all-knit dresses for ease of washing and comfortable wear.
For this version, I chose the simple square back. The instructions were clear to make a fully-lined and unique bodice.
I also used my time during testing to get Little Miss’s 4th of July outfit created! Doesn’t she look like a little firecracker? I did another large center bow for her and used the circle skirt for maximum twirl! The fabric is a custom print I picked up last summer that is no longer available. I’m glad I saved it for the right pattern!
During testing this Little Miss also had a 4th birthday! I pulled every gorgeous floral and every whimsical print I had out of my stash to let her choose! She kept saying, “Nope. Not enough colors.” Until we arrived at this stripe which is still in stock here! Momfession: I tried one more time to get her to choose a tossed print so I could do the speedy circle skirt. But, seriously, even if you use all the options, my first Skyler took me less than 2 hours even with careful stripe matching and needing to follow the instructions step by step.
She wore this to her birthday party and got soooo many compliments!
Finally, I want to share my very favorite Skyler!
My nearly ten-year-old daughter helped me find these beautiful fabrics in my stash. I combined Art Gallery sleek mint stripes with another older AGF print from the Geometric Bliss collection. My daughter wanted a circle skirt and simple square back done on the modest cut line with short sleeves for summer events. The pattern also includes full-length sleeves so I know it will transition well for back to school. I sewed her a straight size 10 bodice and lengthened the skirt to a 12 due to her height.
The dress had the tween-friendly, retro look we were both going for. I usually avoid cutting a circle skirt on directional fabric, but since these were vertical stripes in short bursts, I thought it would be fun to play with the print’s orientation within the circle skirt. It kind of looks like a colorful disco ball to me!
Last but not least, I have a bonus Skyler to share! 3 of us 4 over at Sew and Tell Project participated in testing the Skyler. We all loved it! Here is Emily’s beautiful version in a size 7/8L on her little girl. I love the colorful use of chevrons to showcase the pattern.
I hope one or two of these beautiful dresses has inspired you to add the Skyler’s Square Back Top and Dress to your pattern stash and more importantly, get sewing! Tell us what you think below!
Happy day, everyone! I am so excited for it to be my stop on The Tallinn Fabrics Blog Tour hosted by Art Gallery Fabrics designer Jessica Swift! I’ve been so lucky that I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the gorgeous Tallinn fabrics since Quilt Market prep last fall. If you check out some of my past posts on Instagram you can see a few of the four garments I made for Jessica’s debut booth.
When Jessica invited me to be a part of her blog tour, I knew I wanted to make a quilt for my big girls. We are preparing to move our older daughters into their own room downstairs this summer, and quilts are a beautiful way to infuse a bedroom with whimsical color. One of my daughters’ favorite activities to do after school is to curl up under a blanket and listen to audiobooks. I love watching them transported to faraway lands through literature and adventure.
For me, having the opportunity to work with the gorgeous prints of Tallinn reminded me of my own trip to Eastern Europe when I was a teenager. To be honest, I don’t remember a lot of the specifics of the trip (in fact I borrowed the above picture from my mom since I couldn’t find my own album)! I remember a whirlwind of color and new experiences. I remember the feeling of unusual adventure. The colors and motifs of Tallinn fabrics brought up many fond memories that I hope to pass down to my own children as they grow.
For the quilt pattern, I chose to use a pattern I found at my LQS: The Villa Rose Designs Movie Star Quilt. It featured enough prints that I was able to use all the prints in the Fairytale colorway. I also used some of the cool Pure Elements turquoise colors I picked up in a bundle at quilt market. I decided to be adventurous and use AGF Pure Elements Smooth Pebble for a rich background so the bold prints of Tallinn would shine. My quilt top finished at 53″ x 68″.
The entire pattern went together quickly and was made with HSTs. I spent probably as much time deciding on color and print placement as I did on piecing the quilt top. I wanted to balance the large scales, the lights and darks, and also play with the direction of two of my favorite prints: Tigris Lollipop and Baltic Swans Sand. I was assisted in making sure I cut my HSTs the correct way by rewatching the Art Gallery Fabric Quilt Block Collection Easter Lily Quilt Block video for tips on cutting my fabrics just right!
I used the large scale print Odessa Dream as my backing for the quilt and had it quilted by a local longarmer with bamboo batting. I love just how much drape the bamboo has for a nice snuggly quilt!
One of the initial reasons I was drawn to this particular quilt pattern was the piano key border. I loved having just one more opportunity to showcase each print. I then binded the quilt in another one of my favorite prints: Lore Cobblestone.
I hope you enjoyed stopping by my corner of the web today. Make sure you visit again soon as I share some more Tallinn projects with you.
Make sure you follow along and visit the other makers on the Tallinn Fabrics Blog Tour!
Thursday April 19 – Mathew Boudreaux | Mister Domestic (Puffer Vest Outfit)
Friday April 20 – Katie Skoog | The Simple Life Company (Girl’s dress, Girl’s romper)
Monday April 23 – Sharon Holland (Kantha-style Duffel Bag)
Tuesday April 24 – Eleri | Sew and Tell Project
Wednesday April 25 – Paola Baker | Love of Fabrics
Thursday April 26 –
Maureen Cracknell
You can buy the baby Saylor here! And you can grab the girls’ Saylor here!
The Saylor is a versatile, sleeveless dress and top with several backview variations and optional cap sleeves. One of my favorite features is the accent bows for the dress with bonus hairbow tutorial.
Alisha and I both sewed the SAME back view! Don’t you love it when you share similar tastes with a friend? It makes helping each other choose fabric and patterns so much more fun!
I love how sweet Miss M looks with her beautiful square back and romper bottom outfit!
I think Miss M likes her outfit, too! Now, let me share what my own Miss M thinks of her Saylor dress!
My little miss has been on a serious growth spurt as we approach her 4th birthday! I made her a straight size 5, so even with the deep 2″ hem in the pattern instructions, her dress hits below the knees. I’m okay with this since it will mean it should fit most of the summer. But if she grows, Saylor is a very quick and enjoyable sew! I think many more of these will be in her closet this summer!
To make her look I used some of the gorgeous new Tallinn Fabrics collection by Jessica Swift! This gorgeous red print is Odessa Traditionale and it is one of my favorite prints from the collection. I actually just backed an entire quilt that I will share with you at the end of the month in the alternate colorway!
Once I made my first Saylor and realized how quick it was, I decided that my big girls needed their own Saylor dresses. I used one of my favorite prints from Maureen Cracknell’s Soulful collection. I realized last week when we had a fancy family dinner outing, that my big girls have grown A LOT over this winter. I made Miss E the size 10 and added 0.5″ to the bodice length and 2″ to the skirt. Saylor is designed to fall just above the knee, but with how quickly the girls are growing these days (and with snow still on the ground) I wanted to make sure this was long enough through the summer.
One of my favorite things about the Saylor is the classic silhouette. It is a wonderful beginner sew that has several details so you can make Saylor many times without making the same design twice! I can’t wait to share more Saylors with you through this summer.
I was very excited to be invited to sew-a-long because I have been keeping a secret: I’m expecting a new baby at the end of this summer and my ability to sew has been limited. It was wonderful to start this Hideaway Quilt and finish it as I was transitioning into the second trimester.
One of the features of the Hideaway Quilt is the large blocks which make this a quick sew. The feature blocks are from Art Gallery Fabrics beautiful Capsules: Nest collection. Nest is the perfect collection for the modern nursery. The Hideaway Quilt Kit available HERE at Fat Quarter Shop utilizes Nest fabrics and coordinating AGF Pure Elements fabrics. You can also order the recommended Creative Grids ruler at the same time as the kit.
I was very glad I picked up a Creative Grids 12.5″ ruler for fussy cutting the Nest Panel set and making quicker cuts for the 12.5″ blocks. I debated adding another ruler to my collection but I was so impressed with the non-slip functionality of the Creative Grids ruler, that I also replaced my 6×24″ ruler with a 6.5″ x 24.5″ ruler from Creative Grids.
For the quiltalong, I of course featured the Nest Fabrics Panel set, and a few of the main prints from the collection. I really wanted to showcase how well all the Art Gallery Capsules collections coordinate with one another, so I pulled favorite prints from Le Vintage Chic Fabrics to mix with Prisma Elements for the contrast fabric in my blocks. You can also find a splash of the Denim Studio in my quilt blocks.
I had a hard time deciding what fabric to use for my background. Ultimately, I decided to go with PE-471 Sweet Macadamia for my quilt background. I wanted to have a warm neutral to stand out against the modern grays and whites and baby pinks and blues throughout the quilt.
I used Amy Sinibaldi’s Playground Fabrics for my quilt’s background. I actually picked this backing up during a Fat Quarter Shop 24 Hour Flash Sale. Make sure you sign up for their newsletter to get great offers!
Finally, I decided after working with such a geometric quilt, that I wanted something circular for my quilting. I tend to gravitate toward traditional quilting patterns when it is time to finish a quilt, but wanted to celebrate the modern look of the Hideaway Quilt. I had my quilt longarmed locally and she had just the right pebbles/bubbles pattern to achieve the look I wanted!
Make sure you head on over the Fat Quarter Shop blog on 3/15 to check out the other Hideaway Quilts in the quiltalong and search #hideawayquilt and #fqsquiltalong on social media for more inspiration!
Hello, dear readers! Thank you for joining me on my stop on the book tour celebrating “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” by Sharon Holland. It is an honor to be included in this line-up of makers with quilting experience ranging from beginner (like yours truly!) to the very experienced such as Cindy Wiens who shared her quilt yesterday at Live a Colorful Life. You can see the entire line-up of bloggers in Sharon’s kick-off post or visit the schedule I include at the bottom of the page. Hint: Read all the way to the end to find out how to WIN your OWN COPY!
I have been looking forward to publishing this post since I met Sharon Holland in person at Quilt Market and I received a copy of her beautiful debut quilt book: “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living.” You can also purchase the SIGNED book from Sharon’s blog right here. My own signed copy means a lot to me since Sharon has been instrumental over this past year in inspiring my own passion to quilt. If you want to start piecing your own utility-style quilt today, Sharon has a free pattern available for you! You can download Roman Stripe, a perfect pattern for 2.5″ strips.
When I met Sharon in Houston she invited me to be on this tour. I tried to play it cool but I’m pretty sure I just gushed out a, “Yes, I worship you” or something like that. I spent much of my two flights home reading the tips and tricks for quilting and perusing the patterns. I also had a suitcase FULL of fabric in the overhead bin that I was eager to cut into.
After a few days’ deliberation, I decided that the “Night & Day” pattern was perfect for the Art Gallery fabrics I desired to use. The pattern is written to finish the quilt at 87″ x 87″ and even though I am a beginner I decided I wanted a special quilt for my husband and I to enjoy in our master bedroom.
Sharon encourages makers to reach into their stashes and “experiment with color, print, and block orientation, and embrace the quirkiness that comes from working with scrap and stash materials.” I carried this thought in my creative heart through my entire planning, cutting, piecing, and final layout of my quilt.
Because my extended interest in quilting has only come about in the past 18 months, I actually do not have a very deep quilting cotton stash. I decided nearly immediately that my quilt top would be made entirely from Art Gallery Fabrics both from my scrap bin and from the four half-yard bundles I picked up in Houston.
I chose to feature Indie Folk Fabrics by Pat Bravo Design as the main collection for my quilt. I had picked up half-yard cuts of the entire collection at Quilt Market. Since “Night & Day” requires a decent mix of light and dark prints to create the striking layout. I pulled a few lighter prints from Soulful fabrics by Maureen Cracknell that I also purchased in half-yard bundles at Quilt Market.
One of Sharon’s helpful tips in the book is to take a black & white photo of your fabric pull to ensure enough contrast for your quilt. I initially cut just one test block to make sure I enjoyed the process of piecing this log cabin block, and to check my test block for accuracy. As a new quilter, I always do this to make sure that my blocks are accurate – I would rather catch a mistake on one block than on 49 of them! After my test block, I quickly cut my remaining yardage. Since I had 1/2 yard bundles, I did not have enough yardage of my “light” prints to complete the quilt as written. At several points throughout the book Sharon tells us to abandon the idea of perfection and reach into our stashes for beautiful, one-of-a-kind quilts. I also reached a bit into Katie’s scrap bin, too, since I was set on including this Indie Boheme print that I did not have quite enough of to complete a block!
After I completed several blocks, I laid out my blocks a few times to ruminate on which prints I should pull from my Art Gallery scraps and yardage. Ultimately, while Indie Folk is the feature of this quilt, I also used prints from Pure Elements, AGF Studio Capsules Lower Volume, AGF Studio Le Vintage Chic, Tapestry, and Indie Boheme fabrics. For some of the prints, I only had enough scrap fabric to make one block – this was a benefit and not a detriment to the quilt. Many times throughout the whole process I would catch a glimpse of one block and remember the particular dress I made for a lookbook or appreciate a memory about working with the fabric previously.
If you want to learn to quilt or enjoy a fresh take on quilting projects, you will want to add (affiliate) “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” to your bookshelf. There were a few points in the project where I had a general quilting question – I found all the information I needed within the pages of this book without being overwhelmed. Everything from color value, to properly cutting your fabric, to binding my quilt. While I did not quilt my top myself due to its size, I have applied the machine quilting tips I learned to other projects as I prepare for Christmas giving in my home.
Because the quilt finishes at 87″ x 87″ I wanted some extra width to it to serve as a coverlet on our California king bed. I wanted to celebrate the asymmetry of Sharon’s design as well as feature one of my favorite prints so I did break the rules and ordered yardage from Hawthorne Threads . I then added a modern asymmetrical border to bring my quilt to 98″ x 98.” This allowed me to back my quilt with 108″ wideback fabric.
I brought my quilt top to Quilter’s Eden to be long-armed with a modern poppy pantograph. I was able to see my quilt get set-up on the machine and learn more about that process as well! I chose wool batting for extra warmth since it can be quite chilly here in the winter. I also enjoyed working with Amy from Quilter’s Eden who showed me thread options and spacing/repeat options to get the look I wanted with my quilt.
I spent a few nights binding my quilt by hand after I got it back. I can’t even sum up the internal wow that climbed up my throat when I finally unfolded my finished quilt onto our bed. Just two years ago if you asked me if I was a quilter I would say, “No, I just sew.” I can’t believe I’ve now made a quilt large enough for our bed! 2018 will surely feature more finished projects from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living for me here at Sew and Tell Project.
Thank you for coming by and taking a peek at my finished quilt. I hope you are inspired to reach into your stashes and make something that brings you as much joy as this project has brought me.
Do you feel lucky? Head on over to my Instagram feed and enter the giveaway to win your own copy of the book from Landauer Publishing! (Contest open to U.S. Residents Only).
Don’t forget to visit all the other makers on the tour! I can’t wait to see what Anjeannette shares with us tomorrow!
Monday 12/4 Heidi Staples – Fabric Mutt
Tuesday 12/5 Amy Friend – During Quiet Time
For this mash up, you need all the Gloria pattern pieces for the play dress, as well as the front, back, and leg bands of the EMMM. Take the bodice piece of the Gloria along with the front of the EMMM. Line the pattern pieces up at the armscye and draw a dotted line across the bottom of the Gloria piece.
Since you will be using the bottom of the EMMM piece, you need to account for seam allowance. Since the Gloria has a 1/2″ seam allowance, I then drew a line 1/2″ closer to the top of the EMMM as shown in this picture. Your pattern pieces are different widths, but the EMMM and Gloria have different seam allowances. I promise it will work in the end!
The solid line is where you will cut your bottom piece of the onesie. I just fold the part of the pattern I don’t need out of the way while cutting. Repeat these steps for the back as well. When you are finished cutting, you will have these pieces from the EMMM: the bottom front, bottom back, and leg bands.
From the Gloria, you will have the following pieces: bodice front, back, sleeves, neckband, and skirt (either gathered or circle).
At this point, you will assemble each part. I first assembled the EMMM bottom making sure to use the 1/4″ seam allowance as noted in that pattern. Then assemble the top of the Gloria using the 1/2″ seam allowance noted in that pattern.
Finally pin your skirt to your bodice. Then turn the onesie bottom inside out, and slip it over the bodice/skirt. Make sure you align the back of the onesie to the back of the bodice. Trust me, I had to seam rip my first one because I assembled it backwards.
Sew these together using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Flip everything right side out. Add snaps to your onesie, hem the sleeves and skirt, and you’re done!
I found this mash up also works well paired with the Lollipop Leggings to keep those chubby thighs warm 🙂
For one final pic, I’m sharing my daughter’s Wonder Woman costume which I made using this same combination (as well as red and royal blue solid cotton/lycra from PAB).
After a grand silence here on the blog by little old me, I have an exciting new pattern to share with our dear readers!
Tami from Love Notions Sewing Patterns has updated and extended the size range on her popular Ladies’ Sloane Sweater Pattern AND also released a brand new girls’ Sloane Sweater! You can buy both of them in a bundle right here!
Why do I love Love Notions Sewing Patterns? Size range of 2T-16 for girls, line drawings to showcase the different options/views, and excellent fit advice! I also love the no-trim pages and layered printing to take me from computer to sewing machine quickly!
Why do I love the Love Notions Sloane Sweater? My Middle Miss, Queen of Dresses and Leggings, has worn her Sloane Sweater 4 times since I made it last week. It’s the first thing she pulls out of the clean laundry. She has since asked if we can buy more french terry and if I can make her “a hundred more.”
I guess I can see her point.
The slimmer fit View A is fitted, but still cozy in this deep merlot heathered french terry from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I used Bari J’s Garden Rocket print from the Bachelorette Fusions by Art Gallery Fabrics. I always have beautiful scraps of Art Gallery leftover that I can’t bear to part with you!
Even with taking the time to include details like the contrast yoke and of course blending sizes for my slim daughters, the Sloane Sweater is a quick sew. After making a muslin to check armscyes and length for my tall daughters, I was able to make this beautiful version in under an hour.
The subtle curved hem looks great with skinny jeans and will definitely become a wardrobe staple in our house. I can’t wait to make many more Sloane sweaters – including one for me!
What is your favorite option on the new Sloane Sweater?
A couple months ago the fabulous Caroline Hulse of Sew Caroline invited me to participate in her Weekend Style blog tour! Of course I agreed! I had already received my pre-ordered book and fallen in love with the projects! The book is just beautiful to spend an afternoon reading through and planning. Within a few hours of receiving my copy I had my first pattern printed, taped, and sewn.
Because I ordered a copy, I am giving away the copy I received for participating in the tour to one lucky reader! Make sure you read my post and enter.
Did you catch my first two projects from the book in this post and this post? I didn’t think making a pile of Tilly Tees would do the book justice although it is one of my favorite patterns in the book. Katie loved hers, too!
For the blog tour, beautiful Caroline sent me some of her gorgeous Art Gallery voile print from Happy Home. Big confession: I am very picky about woven tops. I prefer knits most days. Trying the Larchmont was stretching my style preferences in a VERY awesome way.
The Larchmont is a relaxed fit woven tee with dolman flutter sleeves and a locket closure in the back. It is a VERY simple sew with flattering results. I added 1.5″ of length to the pattern for my height but I probably didn’t need to if I choose to style it with a skirt or shorts.
I had my supplies out to make the simple locket closure in the back, but before I attached the bias neckbinding, I slipped it on over my head. Because I had no difficulty getting it over my head, I skipped the locket closure making this a lightning fast sew! Don’t you just love the subtle shape of the sleeves?
Next confession: Sewing bags has always been intimidating for me. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use some of Art Gallery Fabrics gorgeous canvas though to make a Pool Tote. I will definitely be making more of these totes in the future. The technique for making this bag was fully-finished with minimal fuss. I consider myself a beginner at bag making. Because we usually just swim at home and live about as far away from the beach as you can and still live in North America…. I skipped the clear vinyl pocket and mesh interior pockets and made this an every day tote. A girl needs a cute bag to take to Quilt Market right?
My only suggestion for this project is to lengthen the straps 6-10″ depending on how big of a handle drop you want. As you can see, I can still wear it over my shoulder. I might pick apart the lining at the side seams and insert tabs and D-rings to make a removable cross body strap before my trip. I also did not purchase enough interfacing for this bag so it only has 1 layer of interfacing which is why it is a little slouchier than the sample in the book.
Finally, I loved my Larchmont SO much that I just had to experiment to see if I could make it in knit as well. I sized down one size and gave it a go. I think it turned out pretty well and will look great this summer for hanging out and transition well to fall with cozy leggings and a sweater.
I used a beautiful print from Katarina Roccella’s Lavish that has been in my stash for about a year.
I definitely recommend this book. With 15 beautiful patterns that you can print and sew as many times as you want, it is an excellent value for both beginner and experienced sewists. I had a lot of fun choosing and sewing patterns to fit my style and my figure.
Make sure you enter below to win your own copy OR head right on over to Amazon here to buy one today!
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When the Spellbound released a few months ago, I noticed that it had the perfect silhouette and options that I was looking for to make everyday dresses for summer. I live in knit dresses – and as a taller women with a fluctuating bust and waistline, I have a very difficult time finding dresses that fit me correctly in all the places. I want my dresses to be modern and flirty, but provide enough coverage so I’m not flashing cleavage or back side every time I bend over to pick up my three-year-old.
Spellbound Features: