Japanese Fabric of the Week: Hokkoh
One of my favorite new discoveries at the Fall 2009 Quilt Market was the Japanese manufacturer Hokkoh. Hawthorne Threads just got in their shipment of two Hokkoh collections, Asagohan (above) and Market Fresh (below), each in three colorways. From what I recall from Quilt Market, the basecloth, though they’re calling it canvas, has a really lovely texture and is a weight and drape suitable for crafts, apparel, or quilting.
I was telling everyone I saw about Hokkoh and begging them to buy their stuff for their shops, so please snatch this up … I have a reputation to maintain!
Oh and hey, Hawthorne Threads is actually giving away a fat quarter bundle of Asagohan this week! See details here.
Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – One-Way
Sometimes prints are layered, and one of the motifs or layers will have one direction and the other(s) will have another. Think of tossed flowers over a plaid background. The final determination, though, is based on the most restrictive directionality. In this print from the collection of mannagryn design on Flickr, the hearts are pointed in two directions but the windows, people, and everything is one-way. So, this would be considered a one-way design.
Modern Fabrics: New Arrivals
I’ve received quite a few emails asking where to find cool upholstery fabric. The first place I always send people is Modern Fabrics. I’ve posted about them before but their recent newsletter containing an impressive array of new arrivals has prompted me to post again.
Owners James and Ewa reclaim fabrics from the high-end modern furniture companies and offer them for sale at 50-75% off list price. So not only do you get some of the highest quality fabrics and best-looking out there, you’re saving them from the landfill. Win win.
Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – One-Way
The Daily Swatch features a piece of vintage fabric (almost) every day. Themes change periodically. Please add your own examples of the theme to the True Up and/or Vintage Fabric Flickr pools.
In a continuing series on pattern types, this week the Daily Swatch will feature one-way prints. These are prints in which the motifs are all oriented in one direction. They are common for furnishing fabrics (especially drapery fabrics), but are also found in quilting cotton collections and apparel. When sewing clothing using one-way prints, you must be careful to orient and cut your sewing pattern pieces the same way. In patchwork projects, though, you can cut a portion of the pieces the “wrong” way and sprinkle them in with the right-way pieces so your quilt can lay or hang in more than one direction.
Above: A Waverly floral barkcloth from ingemnuity on Flickr.
Sale Alert Sunday: International Edition
Mad About Patchwork (Canada): all Bubblegum Basics by Barbara Jones for Henry Glass 20% off. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
FabHub (Japan): Last 10 days of the Super Opening Sale – 30% off all items. (through 2/10/10)
Pink Panda Fabrics (Canada): Free fat quarter with every $35 spent in store — our choice, but we promise it will be a good one! (through 2/15/10) Free shipping in Canada, no minimum required; free shipping to USA on orders $99+.
Retro Age Vintage Fabrics (Australia): 15% off everything storewide with coupon code Panton. (through 2/3/10)
Sale Alert Sunday: North American Edition
Banberry Place: All bag & tote patterns 15% off (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Aunt Bea’s Fabric: Red Rooster fabric clearance — all prints $3-5 per yard. All Northcott prints 15% off (through tonight only, 1/31/10). 10% off Marcus Fabrics (through 2/14/10).
Bunte Fabrics: Westfalen fabrics on clearance. $5 domestic flat rate shipping (international and Canadian customers receive a 10% discount via paypal). (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Contemporary Cloth: Clearance fabrics as low as $3.75/yard; Gallery in Red category 20% off for your Valentine’s Day projects! (end date unknown)
Denver Fabrics: Linen; cotton pique, gauze, and sateen; tropical weight wool, stretch lace on sale from $3.95-7.95/yard. (through 2/8/10)
Fabric Depot: Online: 35% off marbelized cottons, Moda, Clothworks, and flannel. Free sewing kit with orders $50+. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Fabric Fairy: Free Valentine’s heart charm bracelet beading kit with orders $35+. (through 2/14/10)
Fabric Flair: Clearance sale with many prints from Art Gallery, Studio e, Riley Blake priced at just $5.99. (while supplies last)
Fabric Shack: 20% off all Christmas fabrics. (end date unknown)
Fabricworm is raising money for Haiti earthquake relief — 3% of all proceeds through 2/5/10 will go to Doctors Without Borders. Also, 10% off Wonderland by MoMo. (through 2/5/2010)
Fabritopia: Rouenneries by French General 20% off, Woodland Delight by Paula Prass $7/yard. (through 2/7/10) All Jennifer Paganelli now $7/yard or less, and lots of new fabrics in the $5/yard section. (while supplies last)
Fabric.com: Newly stocked clearance — 20% off with code CLEARANCE26. 20% off Valentine’s fabric & gifts (no code needed). (through tomorrow only, 2/01/10). Free shipping on orders $35+.
Fat Quarter Shop: 50% off Bonnie Blue Neutrals by Paula Barnes for Marcus Brothers Fabrics, and tons more in the clearance section. (while supplies last)
Gorgeous Fabrics: 15% off select clearance and misc. fabrics. (through tomorrow only, 2/1/10)
Hawthorne Threads: Erin McMorris’ Wildwood $4.99/yd; Alice Kennedy’s Lily $5.99/yard. (while supplies last)
Marie Madeline Studio: Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, Ava Rose by Tanya Whelan, and Garden Party by Anna Maria are all 25% off. (through 2/5/10)
Mod Green Pod: 15% off fabric, wallpaper, and totes with coupon code LOVE15 at checkout. (end date unknown)
Pink Panda Fabrics: Free fat quarter with every $35 spent in store — our choice, but we promise it will be a good one! (through 2/15/10) Free shipping in Canada, no minimum required; free shipping to USA on orders $99+.
Reprodepot: 20% off all holiday themed fabrics with coupon code HOLIDAY20. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Sew L.A.: 15% off all organic and sustainable fabrics with code TRUEUPJAN10. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Sew, Mama, Sew!: Flat rate $5 shipping on all U.S. orders. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
So Fun Fabrics: Tula Pink’s Hushabye $7/yard. (through 2/4/10)
The Sproutz Store: Wheels by Riley Blake for My Mind’s Eye $7.25/yard. (through 2/2/10)
Z&S Fabrics: 20% off throughout the site. (through tonight only, 1/31/10)
Guest Post/Giveaway: Patty Young on Flora & Fauna
This winter was a flurry of activity for fabric designers; it saw the releases of dozens of new collections, including Patty Young’s Flora & Fauna for Michael Miller Fabrics. We invited Patty to stop by the True Up, um, “virtual offices” (have a seat on the virtual couch! There’s room for virtually everybody!) to share a little bit about her latest fabric line. Stay tuned for a special Flora & Fauna giveaway at the close of the post!
Well, thanks a bunch to the True Up girls for inviting me back into their cozy little corner of the world to talk about none other than my favorite topic … fabric! I think I’ll just make myself comfortable on this Eames chair in the corner and, OH WOW, you gals got me an Iced Grande Peppermint Mocha? You really shouldn’t have, but thanks!!! How did you know that was my favorite?
So, last time I came over we chatted about Mezzanine and I mentioned how my next collection (Flora & Fauna) was so different from the last two and a bit out of my comfort zone. It’s funny for me to think about it in those terms now that it’s out and about because, believe it or not, I’m quite comfortable with it now, haha.
I fall more in love with Flora & Fauna every time I look at it and I always wonder why I have such a strong bond with it, even more than with my prior two collections. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Andalucia and Mezzanine. The whole experience has been a dream come true, really. But when I look at my F&F bolts all lined up on my shelves and arranged in order by colorway, I get filled with an intense joy that I cannot begin to describe. I think it may be because of the variety of colors within this collection. I never had that before… and also because it pretty much got printed exactly like I turned it in. Anyone who designs fabric will tell you that it is really a crazy process in which you don’t really know what will come back from the mill until you actually have those strike-offs in hand. There are always some color-variances and entire colorways or designs may be dropped for one reason or the other.
With Flora & Fauna, I was utterly surprised that exactly what I originally pitched is what came back from the mill. We didn’t have to adjust any colors or fix any elements of the collection. Nothing got dropped or re-colored or re-pitched. Plus, I purposely pitched some lime greens and pinks that were an exact match to the greens and pinks in Mezzanine so sewists out there could mix & match the two collections and by golly… they ARE a perfect match!! (I was a tad worried about that one! haha)
Birdie Damask — Andalucia
So, you wanted to hear about the inspiration and process that led up to Flora & Fauna? Well, like I’ve said so many times before, I really just wanted to do something different. My first two collections, Andalucia and Mezzanine, were architecturally and travel-inspired. They both have a very structured, graphic & linear quality to the designs. So I wanted to step away from this look and try something else. I also wanted to draw animals, since the closest I ever came to it before was the lovebirds in Birdie Damask.
Luna Moth in Mustard
The first design I drew up was the Luna Moths. I thoroughly researched this beautiful creature online and downloaded tons of photos of it. I decided I wanted to stylize the shape and make it sort of Art Deco-ish (blame a recent trip to South Beach, Miami). I got to drawing on Adobe Illustrator with my Wacom tablet. I drew the left side of the moth, tweaked it a little, then grouped it and mirrored it. I couldn’t believe what I saw! It was just like I envisioned it in my mind. Next it was just a matter of adding color and a background texture and VOILA!
Hive in Raspberry
The next creature I drew was the bees. Boy, did I have fun with this one! They were just a pleasure to play with. Once I drew the honeycomb shapes for the bee hive it was a matter of sprinkling and grouping them here and there to form a visually pleasing arrangement.
I stepped back from my designs at that point and I realized that even though I had two animals, I still had a very “structured” feel to the collection. Both of those designs had geometric backgrounds… the moths had skinny stripes and the bees had hexagons. Ahhhh… I needed to force myself to break away from that mindframe and draw something totally organic and free-flowing!
That’s when the Dandelions came into existence. I forced myself not to use any guides or lines and just drew some freestyle shapes with my Wacom stylus. The whole process was so freeing. It was like being a kid again… no boundaries or rules! I just kept drawing and drawing, then I would throw in some dots here and there. I must’ve drawn hundreds of Dandies! I chose the ones I liked best, pitched the rest, and a design was born.
Hummingbirds came next. More free-flowing, organic drawing from my part… and so much fun!
The Blossoms were plucked right out of the Hummingbird print to have a life of their own. And they do! Seriously one of my favorites of the collection.
I printed everything out and taped it to my studio wall. My hubby, Jon, walked in, took one look at it and said… “you need another floral.” It’s funny how you can be so immersed in something and so close to it that you cannot see something as obvious as that. I frantically started pacing around the house, looking, grasping for anything, any source of inspiration. All of a sudden I spotted these huge fake Gerbera daisies I had bought at IKEA recently and that was IT! Back to the drawing board.
Daisy Dot in turquoise
When I started drawing the Daisy Dot design, I was seriously squealing like a little kid. I couldn’t believe this wasn’t already part of the collection. It was like it came out of me with a fury because I had almost left it out. The Daisies had to be! They are so happy and colorful they make me smile every time.
I can’t take credit for the Double Border Daisy. That was Kathy Miller’s idea as soon as she saw the Daisy Dots, and I am so glad she suggested it because they are so super cool! I have made quilts, pillows, dresses and even a skirt for myself with it. And now, I love looking online to see what other people are making with it. I adore that print.
So, how about that little peek into my crazy world? Hope you enjoyed it and thanks so much again for having me. I always enjoy visiting with the True Up gals. 
– patty
…
Thanks for the peek, Patty! And now, as promised: Leave a comment naming your favorite colorway or your favorite designs from Flora & Fauna and Patty will send one winner a 1/2 yd. bundle with five different prints. Comments will close and a winner will be chosen randomly next Friday, February 5, at 2pm Central U.S. time.
The Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – Tossed
Wrapping up this week of tossed prints, here’s a prototypical tossed novelty print — and a super sweet valentine-y one at that, from the collection of kimmymade (blog | shop) on Flickr.
Preview: Heather Ross – Far Far Away II
Hooray! Heather Ross just announced that this spring we will see a second installment of her Far Far Away collection for Kokka. Same color palette (and still on double gauze, I assume on a cotton-linen blend instead of double gauze) but a “different cast of characters.” These are just little snippets to give you clues, as the designs still have to be finalized. This is great news for those of us who feared that this announcement meant the end of new Heather Ross fabric.
Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – Tossed
I was looking around for a tossed print that has uneven coverage — areas where the motifs are packed together in areas but dispersed in others — this almost fits the bill, but not quite! I still love it though. It’s from the collection of knittingiris on Flickr.
Robert Kaufman Giveaway Winners
Congratulations to the winners! I will be emailing you shortly, but feel free to beat me to it.
CLASSIC
Brianna – 01/20/2010 – 139
Kona cottons are a quilter’s best friend and standby. I’m torn between the Dark and the Classic Palette – but I think the Classic palette would win out in the end.
DUSTY
Posted by: Christy K. – 01/20/2010 – 27
I love the dusty palette. The colours are super gorgeous!
PASTEL
Posted by: Emilia – 01/21/2010 – 267
Hum, so hard to choose, they’re all so beautiful! But i think the pastel palette is my favorite!
BRIGHT
Rosemary – 01/21/2010 – 308
Classic and bright for this girl! What a great addition to the stash!
DARK
ChrisDavis – 01/23/2010 – 499
Dusty is my favorite, followed closely by the Darks.
Textile Stew: 1/27/10
Congratulations Mary Beth!
The Fat Quarter Shop’s Helping Haiti auction is up to 26 incredible quilts and other other items.
Jesse Breytenbach of Jezzeprints has started a new blog, PrintSpecs, dedicated to the printmaking supplies and processes.
Vote in the Poppies for your favorite handmade textiles! (poll closes January 29th, 11:59 pm)
Ayumi at Pink Penguin loves fabric with text on it — but it’s hard for her to find, so she started silk-screening her own. Now, by popular demand, she’s offering some for sale.
Pink Chalk Fabrics‘ new space-to-be looks gorgeous. Likewise for Lupine (from Bolt in Portland)’s new sewing lounge, Modern Domestic. Oh, and Heather Ross is teaching fabric design this summer in Portland too. Why oh why did I ever leave the Pacific Northwest?
Liberty of London will launch a collection at Target this spring. I might have to stalk the stores like I did for the Orla Kiely stuff …
Liesl of oliver+s will posting on BurdaStyle about fabric. “Topics will range from how to select appropriate cotton prints for your projects, to the different types of fabrics available for garment sewing, to how designers create a collection of printed fabrics.”
Jenny of Home Sweet is an environmental scientist, a certified crop advisor, and a textile block printer. She’s writing a series called “Organic Cotton: A Reality Check” … here’s Part I and Part II.
True up your fabric after applying interfacing, says Keyka Lou.
The Dos and Don’ts of fire retarding fabric, on the J&O Fabrics blog.
I loved this article on “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” on Unclutterer … not at all about fabric but oh so applicable to our craft.
And I’ll leave you today with a question: Do any of you U.S. fabric shops offer certificates of origin for int’l customers? A reader is having trouble with German bureaucracy.
Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – Tossed
1950s stylized floral fabric, from Donna Flower. £12 per half meter, two available. Isn’t it gorgeous?
Preview: Jessica Gonacha Swift — Giselle
The gorgeous designs you are gazing upon are the work of Jessica Gonacha Swift. I’ve been following her blog for some time now so it’s exciting to see that her patterns are going to be put on fabric. Her debut quilting collection Giselle is from Red Rooster — but not till this June. See the whole collection here.
Daily Swatch: Pattern Types – Tossed
A couple geometric tossed patterns for you today. Up top, a closely packed design of interlocked leaf-like triangles, a feedsack from Antique Fabric, that still shows some background color. Then below, an example of a densely packed design. This mod 60s cotton is from Niesz Vintage Fabric (shop) on Flickr.
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