LOVE is all you need

You don't exactly have to struggle for a blog post title when the word "love" is written all over your fabric.

Though I don't know if it's all (the Beatles made me say it) you need, it's certainly a good start. I've added a bunch of love to my store today both in bundles and in a variety of individual lengths up to two yard lengths! Can you say "love" skirt or top? 

I know you didn't ask, but, if I was going to make a top or skirt with this pattern, I'd pick either the Gemma tank from Made by Rae or the Beignet skirt from Colette Patterns. 

Now comes the hard part.

Which color way to choose?

LOVE in White and Grey

LOVE in Pale Blue and Raspberry

Love in White and Indigo

Getting the Skinny on Skinny Stripe Grids

Confession time: I'm a selfish designer. 

Some people are selfish sewers, primarily sewing for themselves or because they want to try a particular pattern and, frankly, I'm one of those too, but my design interests are pretty self-focused as well. 

I assume there are folks who ask themselves questions regarding what their customers want to see them create or what trends appear to be on the upswing, but I'm motivated by what I want to try in terms of patterning and color.

I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing, but it's a thing and it's why I designed this pattern, skinny stripe grids.

Skinny Stripe Grids in indigo and white.

It's very simple really; I'd been patterning with simple horizontal lines and wanted to create a freehand drawn grid as well and to create that gird in a variety of color combos.

Skinny Stripe Grids in Pale Blue and Grey

Skinny Stripe Grids in Coral and Raspberry

Skinny Stripes Grids in Lemon and Amber

Since I selfishly wanted the fabric, so much so that I designed and created it, it's probably no surprise that I've already sewn several items with it.

A wee quilt.

A version of Purl Soho's City Gym Shorts (love this pattern!)

The Kenedy dress from Seamwork Magazine in hand dyed rayon.

Like most of you, I love sewing; that's why I'm writing and you're reading. But, there's just something more when the sewing is done with really special fabric. I'll sew no matter what, but give me a length of hand dyed fabric, and I'll sew with a slightly bigger smile on my face.

A quick note about the rayon: I'm gearing up to offer all the Skinny Stripe Grid color combos listed in my shop as well as the Bubbles and Wasabi Peas color combos in rayon as well as quilting cotton. At least initially the rayon will be on a custom order basis. If you're interested, email me at malka@stitchindye.com and request swatches of those fabrics. 

Champagne Bubbles for Everyone!

Maybe not exactly champagne. Especially because (A) these fabrics are not created in the Champagne region of France and (B) this is fabric. 

If you ignore those two minor facts, then you can help me and Lawrence Welk (remember Lawrence?) introduce my newest pattern, Bubbles.

Available in three different bundles, neutral, warm, and cool, as well as a build-your-own fat quarter or half yard bundle, these fabrics, like all my prints, are hand stamped and vat dyed to achieve that hand made intensity of color.

Warm bundle features shades of orange, red, pomegranate, and fuchsia.

The cool bundle includes turquoise, grass green, grey, and indigo.

Shades of ecru, amber, and marigold make the neutral bundle great blenders.

This design represents a bit of a change for me. Lately, I've experimented with varying the stamping quality across the fabric surface so that, although made with the same stamping tool and at regular intervals, the design seems to fade in and out.

Some of the circles are super crisp and dark while others are a lot more wispy. Because of the nature of the stamping process, the variety of circles and their placement changes for each length of fabric that's created.

Currently this pattern is available in fat quarter and half yard bundles, but look for it in single and multi yard increments as well as on-demand on rayon for those of you who's interest runs more to apparel than patchwork.

Makes for a super-cute dress, wouldn't you agree?

The LOVE frock...and friend

Confession: This dress is not totally new. It was made in July (of 2016), but I've already worn it several times. 

What is new about it is that it's made in a new fiber for me, rayon. 

I've dyed all manner of cotton, but lately I've been experimenting with patterning and dyeing rayon with an eye toward using it for garments. 

The LOVE frock is my first attempt and, yay, first success.

The dress pattern is for Lotta Jansdotter's book, Everyday Style. I've waxed semi-poetic here about how much I love this book. This particular pattern is the Esme, just like my previously featured ombre dyed top. I modified the tunic length a bit to add belt loops and a belt, included patch pockets, and adjusted the seam allowances to get a closer fit.

I tested my adjustments on another hand dyed version first, this time in a much-loved cotton lawn.

The colors are a little off here because the dress is patterned in shades of orange and raspberry, not brown. 

Considering the temperatures lately, both these dresses are ideal for the hot weather, but the rayon version feels particularly wonderful. It drapes so beautifully and feels so light, I can almost forget that the humidity is making it stick to my skin.

I'm so excited about the possibilities of patterning and sewing with this rayon that I already have a second length of fabric, patterned in a new pattern waiting to be cut and sewn.

Also, I'm going to start offering this rayon in limited patterns in my store starting in September, but more about that in another post.

For now, I'll just repeat how much LOVE I'm feeling for this fabric and the finished dress.