How to put fabrics together!

One question I get asked a lot is how to put fabrics together, especially for patchwork.

I always suggest that you start with your 'showstopper', the fabric you know you just have to use - it helps if it has more than 3 colours in it, preferably more, but you must love it!

I have had my eye on this beautiful fabric from Lewis and Irene since it arrived a few weeks ago, I love the detail and the colours but I knew that I would want to put it together with some more vibrant colours to lift the grey tones, this is Butterfly Bright after all!

So, how many colours do you think are in this print, you might guess at a glance perhaps 5 or maybe 6.

In actual fact there are 14 individual colours - and how do you know this? By looking at the selvedge..

Fabrics have dots of colour (or sometimes shapes, such as the butterflies on this print) repeated along the selvedge, these show an equal representation of each of the colours used in the print. It makes it easier to identify the colours which may only have a tiny impact on the fabric but are there, even in the smallest detail.

 This is the perfect tool for colour matching fabrics from different quilting collections to use in a project. Always try to keep selvedges attached to a fabric until you actually use them, this not only protects the fabric, it helps you identify the warp and weft and of course gives you the colour spots.

I soon got to work identifying other fabrics from my shop to put together with this glorious piece. I used another Lewis and Irene fabric with the cowslips on to match with the grey but brought in some vibrant turquoise and lime fabrics too.

What do you think? I like using a mixture of geometric and natural prints and also mixing pattern size for interest. I just need a project to put them into now...

Shall we try another one

How many colours do you think are in this print...

An amazing 16 colours

here is the selvedge with the more traditional circles of colour.

There are so many options with this fabric you could pick out the pinks, the yellows, oranges or the blues and greens.

I went with orange, mint and lime green as I try to break out of my pink and blue/green habit!

I'm not totally convinced with this combination yet so I might play with it in the next few days and see what else I can come up with. When I am happy with my mini collections I will add them as bundles to the webshop to save you some time!

What colours do you love to put together?

Enjoy!

Ali

Shop for Lewis and Irene Fabrics here

If you like my choice of fabric and would like to get an amazing delivery each month you might be interested in the Butterfly Bright Monthly Fabric Subscription Service.

Riley Blake canvas road map play mat

I finally got round to making one of these panels which arrived from Riley Blake

I love the heavier weight cotton canvas material which will be a bit more durable than the usual quilting weight cottons and yet still quite portable if you want to take it anywhere.

All the panel needed was an edging (although you could add a backing if you wanted to) and I chose a bright red bias binding to pick out one of the colours in the pattern.

It gave me the chance to use my new binding clips which I have to say were a lot quicker and easier than using pins.

A lovely neat finish!

There is so much detail on this panel

and even a parking lot for kids to match up different coloured cars

All in all it was a quick and easy project

 and would make a lovely gift for a little person who loves their cars!

The finished mat is 114cm by 90cm and you can buy the panel on our website here.

Enjoy

Ali

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A simple zipper pouch in pretty butterfly fabric

Sometimes a collection of fabric arrives and I just have to make something! I didn't have much spare time yesterday between workshops but I was determined to sew this purse which only took about half an hour in total to make.

First I cut the fabric pieces

there are two butterfly fabric pieces  11" by 6.5" 

and two pink fabric pieces 11"by 3.5"

later you will need two pieces of fabric for the lining which are 11" by 9.5"

and of course a zip

I stitched the butterfly fabric to the pink fabric using my new quarter inch foot (a great new gadget - I have no idea why I didn't get one before now!) Then I anchored the fabric panel to a piece of wadding with a line of stitching just below the join to add detail. Repeat for the other side.

I trimmed the pieces down so that the wadding was the same size as the fabric (there are two identical pieces at this point)

I referred to a great tutorial by Melly Sews on how to sew in a zip (there is a link to this tutorial later in this post)

attaching both outer pieces and the lining pieces

Finally there is a line of stitching around the outer and lining pieces (with that all important gap to pull it all through) to sew the whole purse together and you are done!

You can find the tutorial by Melly Sews here my purse dimensions are different and of course I used wadding to pad it out but it is useful to show you how to sew in the zip

I used a fabrics from the Whisper collection by Windham Fabrics which you can buy in my online shop.

Enjoy!

Ali

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Dashwood Studio - Streetlife Bag

I am a huge fan of Dashwood Studio fabric and the new "Streetlife" Collection really inspired me to get the sewing machine out.

I had to pick two fabrics to go together so I went with the phonebox fabric and the red trees to match

I always use an iron-on interfacing for bags to make the fabric a bit tougher and more durable and this bag has a drawstring top inside the bag so I know that I won't lose anything carting it around from home to the shop each day which is great.

I wanted to make an oversized bag to keep my various knitting and crochet projects in,

and as you can see this is a super size project bag!

I hang it up as soon as I get to work and it matches my sewing trolley perfectly!

You can shop this collection of Dashwood Studio Streetlife fabrics in the Butterfly Bright webshop

and you can learn to make a bag similar to this in our workshop on  14th April 2016.

See you soon

Ali

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Bunny Garden from Lewis and Irene

This pretty new collection of fabrics has just arrived from Lewis and Irene and would be perfect for an Easter project this year.

"Bunny Garden" was inspired by a fluffy white bunny called Leo, a family pet in the Lewis and Irene household. 

You can just imagine Leo hopping around a sunny garden in the Spring sunshine pausing for a rest and a quick snooze in the lap of one of children and snacking lazily on carrots and dandelion leaves - I know he would have had plenty to eat in my garden!

This fabric would be wonderful in a quilt for a new baby or bunny loving toddler of which I know a few.

Butterflies are the perfect accompaniment to this collection and of course for us an easy choice..

This is Leo - isn't he the cutest!

Would you like to design a fabric based on your favourite pet?!

This pretty floral print is the perfect mixer for a patchwork using this collection.

You can shop this collection in the Lewis and Irene section of our webshop here

What would you make with this Bunny Garden collection? Do let me know!

Ali
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Fabric for my Valentine

What greater gift for a Valentines present than fabric?!

We have put together some beautiful coordinating gift bundles which we can send gift wrapped to your loved ones for Valentines Day.

Moda's Canyon collection has some amazing rich plum, pink and orange prints which together with the greys make a fabulous combination.

Then we have some pretty and bright pinks from the Sketchbook collection for Free Spirit Fabrics

If the Valentine in your life is a little person who loves to sew - why not pick this Little Princess - Valentines bundle including pink unicorns and glittery princesses - it is guaranteed to impress!

Of course any traditionalist would say roses are a must for Valentines Day - and we won't disappoint you with these amazing blooms in the Roses Bundle- which will last a lot longer than any boring old fresh flowers (but we would accept those too!)

This was a fun post to shoot and also to write although working with edible props is always too tempting! nomnom....

Happy Valentines everyone...

Ali

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Fabric Subscriptions

What do you do with all the those craft magazines that arrive every month?

Do you treasure them forever or keep them for a while and then just recycle them? I know I do!

Just imagine receiving the gift of fabric every month instead, whether you use it straight away or add it to your stash for that perfect project you will use it one day!

With our monthly fabric subscriptions we will send you fabric each month in the post - you don't even have to leave the house!

Choose from Gold, Silver or Bronze and receive either 6, 7 or 8 fat quarters a month. The fabrics will always co-ordinate and of course if you love a particular selection you can always top up your order from our webshop.

I think we all have a long "making" wish list and adding ideas to it wont get the projects done, my Pinterest board has over 1000 pins and those are just the ones you can see - not the ones hidden away on secret boards. If I just dedicated the time to making rather than browsing for more ideas I would be so much happier...

Is someone you know approaching a special birthday or perhaps their retirement?

One of our fabric subscriptions would make an awesome present for someone who loves to sew or do patchwork, why not club together with your friends or workmates to give them an amazing gift that lasts and lasts..

Stuart Hillard book signing!

We have been chosen to host an event with BBC2's Great British Sewing Bee finalist Stuart Hillard.

Sherborne's leading haberdashery and making shop, Butterfly Bright, has been chosen from hundreds of applicants to host a visit from Stuart Hillard - one of the most popular semi-finalists from BBC2's Great British Sewing Bee 2013. Stuart's appearance coincides with the launch of his new book 'Sew Fabulous', signed copies of which will be available for those lucky enough to come along to Butterfly Bright in Digby Road between 3.30pm - 5.00pm on Friday 3rd October.

"We are delighted that Stuart is coming to Butterfly Bright as part of his national book tour" says Founder Alison Nurton, "Many of our customers have thoroughly enjoyed the Great British Sewing Bee programmes and we have seen a huge resurgence in the popularity of sewing and other creative crafts. In the 3 and a half years since opening we have taught in excess of 500 people new skills with our extensive range of workshops including patchwork, crochet, knitting, sewing, embroidery and needle felting."

Before he appeared on BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee, Stuart Hillard had sewn and quilted professionally for over 15 years.  He writes, teaches and hosts quilting retreats and workshops and designs and creates patterns for quilts, wall hangings, bags and home décor projects.  On 3rd October he will present a short sewing demonstration as well as talk about his book which explains how to decorate and embellish every room in the house - even the garden!  'Sew Fabulous' features over 40 fun and fabulous patterns for everything from covered headboards, bolster cushions, tablecloths, napkins, aprons, pretty coat hangers and bunting.

Everyone who loves sewing, or who would like to find out more about learning to sew, is invited to come along to Stuart's demonstration and book signing - alongside which Butterfly Bright is staging a workshop exhibition, discounts on Coats' fabrics (for which Stuart is an ambassador) and offers on workshops booked on the day.

Due to the anticipated popularity of this event, numbers will be limited and guests are invited to book their FREE ticket in advance.

You can also PRE ORDER your copy of Stuart's book on our website - every pre-ordered copy will be signed by Stuart and will include a £5 voucher valid until 24 Dec 2014 on any purchase of £50 or more at Butterfly Bright.

A hexi pincushion using paper piecing

we never throw away any "scraps"!

Even the smallest piece of fabric can be used for something at Butterfly Bright and as I needed a new pin cushion for my new sewing room at home I went straight to the fabric scrap basket to pick out some coordinating pieces..

 

I printed and then cut out my hexi templates, I always pin them to the fabric and cut around the template leaving a small allowance

 

 

Then I fold and tack the excess fabric around the paper template trapping the paper inside but not sewing directly through the paper so they are easy to pull out and reuse.

 

Once the hexi's are all tacked you can start to sew them together using an overstitch

 

 

soon mini flowers start forming..

 

 

I machine stitched my flower onto some backing fabric (again from the scrap box), stuffed with toy stuffing and hey presto a new pin cushion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our beautiful Gutermann fabrics have arrived!

We might have got a bit carried away with the new collection of fabrics by Gutermann but we simply had to have them all!

Gutermann have also supplied several free patterns with ideas from appliqued tea towels and cushions to table cloths and clothing.

 

The fabrics are all 145cm wide (57") which make them great for dressmaking as well as quilting, the weight is 145g/sqm.

 

 

Have a look at the Gutermann website for the free patterns which you can download.

 

All the fabrics are available to purchase in our webshop