Joielinne2

the more you use it, the softer it gets.

The Joielinne series of fabric is here again. With a variety of materials, this is a fabric that can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. Today we are featuring a yarn-dyed chambray double gauze fabric. Gauze is perfect for garments as it becomes softer and softer as you use it. With same base colors, these four different designs can be enjoyed by combining and pairing pieces together.

random dot　P27000-700 Chambray double gauze

The hand-drawn style random polka dots in various sizes cover this fabric. The gradation of pale color tones creates a beautiful look. Hair accessories like a scrunchy will look cute in this fabric.

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Irome Quilt : Red Pepper Quilts for Kokka

Hello, my name is Rita Hodge. I am a quilter and blogger with a fascination for all things fabric ~ especially quilting cottons. You can see all of my work here: Red Pepper Quilts.

When I was asked to preview the Irome collection for Kokka Fabric I jumped at the chance. The colors are delightful, and several of the designs are wonderfully delicate. I love that the collection consists of fabrics for all of the seasons, and I was immediately drawn to the soft and gentle color palette, mixed with some highlights of bolder/brighter color.

The quilt design is simple (large scale Half Rectangle Triangles) which allows the fabric and the colors to feature. I have quilted the quilt with an all over 1 inch grid of intersecting lines, which adds interest and compliments both the design and the fabrics.

Irome for Kokka Fabric – Scrappy Binding

I have made the binding for the quilt from some of the scrappy left over fabric pieces. Scrappy binding is a favorite and I love to see all of the different patterns and colors playing alongside one another so very nicely.

With thanks to Kokka Fabric for providing all of the fabrics for me to work with, and for inviting me to share my quilt here today. I have enjoyed working with the Irome range and look forward to it’s release as well as seeing many more of the projects that will be made with this collection.

Thank you!
Rita

Red Pepper Quilts
Red Pepper Quilts Online Store on Etsy

This post was written by Rita Hodge for the Irome collection series, coordinated by Frances Arikawa for Kokka.
Irome is a quilting cotton collection that will be officially released at Quilt Market in Pittsburgh on May 16th 2014. If you would like to be able to purchase prints from the Irome collection locally, please be sure to let your favourite fabric store know. If you are a store owner planning to visit Quilt Market do come and say hi at booth no. 2045 2145.

Inspiration file 46
An eye-catching backpack with echino fabric

Etsuko Furuya’s “echino” fabric collection has fascinated you with its evocative patterns and dramatic color combinations including purple, orange, blue and vibrant tints. This is the 10th year since echino came on the textile scene, and the long-selling fabric line is still amongst the most popular fabrics produced by Kokka.
The echino fabrics, which are available at any fabric stores, are surprisingly used for handcraft projects and then posted on Flickr by a lot of sewing lovers.

The backpack in the above picture was made by Kayo Shimizu who is a big fan of echino prints. As she used to be a fashion pattern maker, Shimizu is an expert at sewing. She sewed this backpack at the request of her friend. Shimizu says, “I was fond of this fabric’s remarkable coloration. Red hydrangea-like flower with a beige background was very likable. Blue color was laid on just next to the red flower. The contrast of those colors was just striking for me.”

Animals are seen throughout in the “echino forest”. Such a playful fabric allows you to be creative on how to arrange animal patterns. In fact, Shimizu showed an okapi at the front pocket which is the most imposing part of the backpack.

She continues, “A front pocket was one of my friend’s demands for the bag. I thought that a design with animal looking up would be perfect for the front pocket. That is the reason I used this fabric. I shaped the pocket to make the okapi appear more effectively. I could place the pattern of leopard on the back, too.”

Shimizu, who had never made a backpack before, designed this one by comparing and investigating various kinds of backpack. She looks back at the production process, “Since I didn’t want to make a cheap-looking bag, I sandwiched a heavyweight fabric in between outer fabric and lining fabric for stabilization and perfect finish. The padded back and bottom were sewn on the machine. For the shoulder straps, I looked for a filling material. While many backpacks’ strap pads are made with lightweight fillers, I used a cushion with the thickness of 2.3 centimeters. As you guessed, I had a lot of trouble to sew such a super thick stuff on a machine. Through trial and error, I found that one of my machine’s features, “basting stitch”, would help me. By basting, it could be thinner so it was enough to be sewn by lockstitch. Of course I didn’t forget removing the basting thread after then.”

What gives the backpack snap is the pink zipper. But she expresses discontent, “I can hardly find brightly-colored zippers in regular fabric stores. I wish I could buy colorful zippers at directly-managed shops of Kokka.” Quite so. It must not be easy at all to find suitable supplies for echino fabric with bright and saturated contemporary colors. Wouldn’t it be nice if more handicraft supplies including zippers and buttons could be available at Kokka?

Anyway, the backpack with the eye-catching print is perfect for the coming season.

Four Seasons : miss matatabi for Kokka

Hello! I’m Frances from Miss Matatabi and I’m thrilled to be here to show you some things I made with Kokka’s new fabric collection, Irome.

Irome is made up of six lovely prints in four colorways, with each colorway representing one of the four seasons. I’m pretty indecisive by nature and usually take forever to choose fabrics for a project so when I received the collection, with so many beautiful options, I couldn’t decide which prints to use and ended up sewing with almost all of them.

I started with the autumn colorway and made a simple but pretty scalloped bunting using this tutorial on Sew Mama Sew. It’s such a satisfying and quick project and a great way to show off your favourite fabric prints. The bunting trend may be over but I’m enjoying having these prints on my studio wall to look at every day.

I then made Olive using the spring colours. Olive is part of the Olive & Archie doll pattern from Wee Wonderfuls and she was so much fun to make. She actually started off as Archie, and you may notice she has Archie’s hair, but somewhere along the way he decided to don a dress and become Olive. I really love this minty colorway, especially the scallop lace print on Olive’s bow.

Olive needed something to snuggle under on chilly nights so I made her a little quilt in the winter colorway. It’s a teeny Disappearing Nine Patch quilt and is a fun one to try if perhaps, like me, you don’t consider yourself a quilter but want to give quilting a go. The Cottage Mama has a nice tutorial for a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt. The quilt binding is double gauze and I had some issues with the corners but it was too beautiful not to use. It’s a Fuwari fuwari print from the 2006 nani IRO collection and I’ve been hoarding it for way too long. Silly to keep it hidden away in a drawer, right? Seeing all these subtle winter prints together warms my grey-loving heart.

Finally, summer! I dread the summer months here in Japan and find these cooling blues and greens really soothing. I only used one summer print this time but definitely have plans for the others. Once summer hits I’m sure I’ll turn to these prints as a mental escape from the sweltering heat. Anything to keep the sanity!

I didn’t use a pattern for this shirred summer dress but Caila Made has a lovely tutorial you may want to check out. Jorth also has a tutorial with sizing in centimetres for those amongst us who don’t naturally think in inches.

Smooch! I can’t wait to see what you all make with Irome!

Thank you Kokka for these gorgeous fabrics and for the chance to be here today.

This post was written by Frances Arikawa for Kokka.
Irome is a quilting cotton collection that will be officially released at Quilt Market in Pittsburgh on May 16th 2014. If you would like to be able to purchase prints from the Irome collection locally, please be sure to let your favourite fabric store know. If you are a store owner planning to visit Quilt Market do come and say hi at booth no. 2045 2145.

Slip Dress made with Finlayson fabric

Finished Measurement：43cm (front chest), 83cm (dress length)

Today’s Craft & Sewing project features a slip dress made with KEISARI fabric from Finland’s popular textile brand, Finlayson. It is a sateen fabric characterized with beautiful glossy look and smooth texture. Since it is soft and almost feels like a silk fabric, it is very suitable for a slip dress that is worn directly against your skin.

Materials
□ Fabric: 110cm (160cm width) (Use the design motif in one direction)
□ Sateen bias binding tape: 170cm (1.1cm width)

Fabric shown for this sample：Finlayson JG43200-1 (A)