Daily Swatch: Birds Week
Unopened vintage feedsack, 36″ between selvages x 45″ in length after opening, $36.00 from DeWitt & Co.
Share your vintage bird prints in the True Up Flickr Group (tag: birds).
Sale Alert Sunday
Help me improve Sunday Sale Alerts!
- If you are a shop (even if you’re just brick-and-mortar) and want to be featured in these posts, please let me know.- I usually cover the chain store sales, but I’m unfamiliar with the regional chains outside of Texas. Which chains other than Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann, and Hancock Fabrics should I be covering?
Fabritopia has Sun Drop by Dena Fishbein on sale at $6/yard and remaining Oliver + S patterns reduced to $12.50. (end date unknown)Modern Fabrics is celebrating their one-year anniversary with a sale: 20% off all fabrics and free shipping on orders over $300 with coupon code MODFABONEYEAR. (through 7/31/08)
Make Me Fabrics is having their “last fabric sale” (before moving): 40% off all modern fabrics and furs; vintage fabric 20% off 1-10 yards, 30% off 11-16 yards, 40% off 17-25 yards, 45% off 26 yards and up. (through 7/25/08)
J.Caroline Creative has Sandi Henderson’s new line Farmers Market at 10% off with coupon code FARMERS (through 7/23/08)
Craftconn.com: 15% off all dot fabrics (through tonight, 7/20/08); 15% off all quilt backs (through 7/27/08)
Fabric.com
: 30% off Waverly, 60% off matte cotton jersey, 35% off flannel, 50% off baby rib knit, 45% off denim and dotted swiss, and linen (through 7/22/08)
eQuilter: Pirates, Skulls, Maps, and Ships10% off; clearance designer closeouts 35% off (through 7/27/08)
Bee Square Fabrics has the remaining prints from the Come Quilt With Me line by Pat Yamin at 50% off ($4.50/yard) till they’re gone.
The Virginia Quilter: select Kaufman and Moda fabrics $6.50/yard (through 7/26/08 midnight ET)
Volksfaden has some Amy Butler, Erin McMorris, Jennifer Paganelli, Joel Dewberry, Urban Chicks for Moda, and Japanese fabrics including My Folklore (Lecien) on clearance.
Jo-Ann Fabrics
: 50% off denim, knits, and corduroy prints/embroideries; 30% off suitings, brocades, and sari fabrics (through 8/9/08)
Hancock Fabrics: pretty good Home Sale coming up next weekend (7/24-7/27/08) and one-day sale (7/26/08); see sales flyer here
Free U.S. Shipping:Monkey Foot Designs: Free shipping on orders $50+.
Cia’s Palette: Also offers free shipping on orders $50+. Details here.
Daily Swatch: Not Polka Dots Week
From vintage LOVE on Flickr.
More Favorites
Huckleberry Friends loves the Japanese fabric red floral Olympus Soliel.
Ritacor loves these swallows from Sierra by Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics.
Jessica of Crabtree Studio loves Lecien’s My Folklore: Forest Wonderland.
Méri loves “buds” by Pippijoe.
What is your favorite?
The Dargate Book
Since we’re on the topic of antique swatchbooks, here’s another one: Reproduction Fabrics owner Margo Krager has one she calls the Dargate book:
In 1997, we acquired a truly amazing, early nineteenth Century fabric sample book. It contains 167 pages and approximately 2140 vintage fabric samples, which are glued onto hand made rag paper with paste made from horses’ hooves or fish glue (a process used at the time because that is all they had, but is now known as an effective conservation technique). The pages are bound in a ledger type binder. The book and its samples have been identified as c. 1830 French dressgoods by both a professor of costume and an independent textile historian.
…
Although the original purpose of the book is not known, there are three likely possibilities. It may have been used as a printing mill pattern book, a sample storage book by a subscriber to a swatch service (yes those existed back then), or a reference book for ideas by someone in the fabric industry. Glue marks, left behind on some pages where swatches have been removed, suggest that this was a working book.
From the Lavendar & Mint line
Some of the fabrics were reproduced by Baum/Windham Fabrics (archived here; scroll to “Dargate”). Lavendar & Mint is the most recent line. Reproduction Fabrics also still has Dargate Ribbons, Dargate Cheddars and Illuminations, and Dargate Prussian Blues.
Antique Swatchbook Online
The Powerhouse Museum of Sydney, Australia, has a virtual swatchbook on their website. The patterns, from 1849, 1893-4, and 1923, are in the public domain in Australia. You can download high resolution versions of your favorite swatches. Here are some examples.
Daily Swatch: Not Polka Dots Week
From Primrose Design on Flickr — see more of her dotty vintage fabrics too.
Spoonflower Reviews and Tips
Some folks have received their custom-printed fabric from Spoonflower and are posting reviews.
Jinjur was pleased with how her design and colors looked, but had some grain issues (due to the base fabric being skewed).
(left) Spoonflower’s print on 100% Kona cotton | (right) Michelle’s print on 100% Belgian linen
Michelle of Cicada Daydream wrote a thorough review from her expert standpoint. Her biggest issues were color and the choice of base fabric. I hope Spoonflower starts offering a chart of LAB colors like Michelle suggests — I would buy it!
Inside a Black Apple also had some color shifting issues with her extra-great designs, but they were fixed.
There is a GREAT discussion on color management in the Spoonflower Flickr group.
I’m very impressed by the responsiveness of the Spoonflower team — they’ve been offering replacements to those who have found problems. This is what “beta” is all about!
This deserves a special place in your bookmarks: Mama Made Designs is posting a FABULOUS tutorial series for aspiring fabric designers:
- Part 1: Thinking About and Creating Your Design
- Part 2: Computer Art Programs and What They Do
- Part 3: Getting to know Inkscape, a Vector Art Program
- Part 4: Finishing Your Design and Creating the Perfect Tile
- Part 5: Color Calibration Part A
Super Eggplant’s Unmentionables (-To-Be)
Mariko of Super Eggplant got some fabric to make underthings. Honestly I never gave much thought to the fabric content of my drawers or considered it possible to make my own until reading her post. Which doesn’t mean I will anytime soon, but I still feel my worldview has been expanded a little bit, and that’s always good.
The fabric is from Sew Sassy, who describe themselves thusly:
We specialize in tricot, lace, elastic and lingerie fabrics, bra making supplies, lycra® and speciality fabrics for swimwear, activewear and costumes, and stretch fabrics containing lycra® or spandex for outer wear.
Sew Sassy sells supplies wholesale too.
Sale Alerts: Midweek Edition
Sew Mama Sew: Birthday sale - 10% your entire order with coupon code BIRTHDAY08 (through 7/19/08)
Modern Fabrics is celebrating their one-year anniversary with a sale - 20% off all fabrics and free shipping on orders over $300 with coupon code MODFABONEYEAR. (through 7/31/08)
Fabric.com: 30% off Waverly, 60% off matte cotton jersey, 35% off flannel, 50% off baby rib knit, 45% off denim and dotted swiss, and linen (through 7/22/08)
Daily Swatch: Not Polka Dots Week
This one is from my collection. Red, yellow, turquoise, black, and white — sounds so ugly in writing but it’s is one of my absolute favorites.
Tina Givens: Chloe’s Imagination
I’m loving Tina Givens‘ new line Chloe’s Imagination for FreeSpirit, especially the Oberon Red colorway you see here. Get a look at the other colorways here.
Inspired by Tina’s childhood garden in Africa, with its enormous shady trees filled with exotic birds and noisy bumble bees, and a tint of fairyland magic.
You can also preview of her upcoming line Treetop Fancy. She writes on her blog that it’s due out in October.
Best Fabric Ever
Some readers have posted about their favorite contemporary fabric ever. What’s yours? Post about it on your blog or on Flickr. I love hearing how your favorites reflect who you are as a sewist and person.
!!blue loves Ume-Komachi - Blossom
CampFollowerBagLady loves this one from Amy Butler’s Ginger Bliss
californiaAMY loves these polka dots from Mag & Mim for Timeless Treasures
SomeArtFabric loves corn and artichokes from the Cultivated Cotton Line by Lonni Rossi
paperspirit loves Woodland Fungi & Critters
Daily Swatch: Not Polka Dots Week
1. Wacky Dots, 2. Confetti, 3. Cotton Bursts, 4. Easter Eggs, 5. Sand Dollars & Olives, 6. Strawberry or Apple?, 7. Loops, 8. Blue Bubbles, 9. Green Olives, 10. Farm Life
OK, swatches-plural today. Ms. candyconnection22 has the. most. incredible. collection of vintage fabric on Flickr, including all these dots. I couldn’t pick just one.
