Inspiration file54
Double gauze Tote Bag

A droopy bag which breathes an almost lifelike presence is made by Kimie Shimizu, a fabric “zakka” creator. The fabric she chose is “Sitting Geese” from “Frame work”, a 2014 collection by Ellen Baker.
The photo below shows her half–finished creation. Firstly she tried out the look of a leather handle using weights.

Juxtaposing a soft double gauze with a hard leather could be cool.
“If I chose a leather handle, I would use a rivet button or with tread’(Shimizu)
She temporarily went with the leather handle, but coming up with an alternative idea: a line tape in the same color as the fabric. The photo below shows the result.

After spending much time to consider the best option, Shimizu finally decided on linen tape. The finished bag can be seen in the first photo.
“If I had had a tanned leather, I would have chosen it. The color of the leather I had was slightly different from what I had in mind. So I finally decided on line tape. The color combination works perfectly, I think.” (shimizu)

Abstracting from the brazen use of color, a unified grayish tone seems stylish and fresh. It would go nicely with a simple camisole dress and tunic of cotton or linen.

You can see the website of Kimie Shimizu at http://www.ilestyle.com/

Inspiration file 53
Peewee spring pouch, petit Pakupo’

Do you remember an accessory pouch made by Mioko Sugino, aka. komihinata, in our Craft & Sewing column? Having followed her blog devotedly sometimes, I discovered she had made a tiny pouch of a same fabric which was cutely named ‘petit pakupo’! Let me introduce to you here. I’m going to include little snippets of her writing as well as photos.

‘Today ‘s creation is “petit Pakupo”.’

It features a combination of red and light green.
One fabric is red dot with a hint of green, the other is green with a hint of red.

It contains a spread of various shapes in red and green.

D-shaped ring is connected by a green stripe ribbon.

A red and white polka dot button makes an accent.

‘Petit Pakupo’ can fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.
In Irome, various patches are brought together in lovely harmony. Red creates a sharp accent within a background of faint green. Adding a red button makes a pouch much more cute!

In Sugino’s blog ‘komihinata’s handmade＊fabric craft’, you can find so many fabric crafts. Don’t miss out as she uploads new item everyday.

You can enjoy her various crafts at her blog ‘komihinata’s handmade＊fabric craft:　http://blog.goo.ne.jp/komihinata

comfy animals

A lineup of cute animal motifs is here

A perfect fabric for a fun fall/winter clothing project, popular animals like sheep, elephants and polar bears line up like stamped motifs. With tweeds and houndstooth check in the woven pattern, this cotton/linen canvas with brushed surface creates a feel of a warm material. Combining with boa, why not creating an extremely cute children’s dress?

Sheep　P29400-400 Cotton Linen Canvas (brushed)

A fluffy looking sheep design spreads over a grandrelle style pattern to create the feel of a wool fabric. It will be cute to make clothes for children with a matching hat.

Continue reading →

【EVENT】International Quilt Market Houston 2014

October 25_27,2014
International Quilt Market Houston 2014

Place：George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas USA
Please visit us at booth no.656, 756 (Seven Islands, Inc.)

We introduce brand-new fabrics. Especially echino’s special fabrics will be featured to honor the 10th anniversary.

*Trade show only. Not open to the general public.
You will find more detail at http://www.quilts.com/

Large Square Bag

Size: 30cm (l) x 40cm (w) x 14cm (d) 　

Today’s project is a large size bag in canvas fabric. With side gussets made of the same fabric, the bag is solid and can sit stable. Matching the color of the zipper with the yellow of the calendar design adds a sharp accent to this creation.

Design & work：KOKKA Fabric

Fabric shown for this sample:
P29500-500 (B)

Materials:
□ Fabric (with pattern): 95cm (110cm wide)
□ Fabric (solid color): 75cm (110cm wide)
□ Fusible interfacing (middle thickness): 75cm (95cm wide)
□ Zipper: One piece (length – 50cm)