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)

Click here for Sewing Instructions (PDF format / A4 size)

keltainen pöllö

A yellow owl that brings happiness

“keltainen pöllö” – this enigmatic sounding name is actually made up of Finnish words. It means a yellow owl. This name was chosen for the series to represent the simple and design-oriented appeal of Scandinavian fabrics. Owls are said to bring good luck and are a popular motif in Europe. Through this fabric, we wish happiness is brought to those who come in contact.
Smooth sateen, versatile broadcloth, slightly thick Oxford (OX) and soft double gauze line up the series with different design motifs. We hope you will enjoy paring the different textures and designs in your projects.

Apple Dots　P27200-200　　　60 Sateen

In this graphical design fabric, apples made of dots are regularly lined. Its bicolor tones remind you of a simple Scandinavian design. With small repetitive motifs covering the entire fabric, wherever you cut it you will have the same pattern and it is perfect for making small goods. Culinary items like oven mitts or place mats will look great in this apple motif fabric. It is of course ideal for making small cases or coin purses.

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Irome patchwork pillow : imagine gnats for kokka

hi, I’m Rachael Gander, and you can find my blog and original patterns at imagine gnats. I’m excited to be sharing the patchwork pillow I made with Irome, the fabulous new line of quilting cottons from Kokka.

there are so many great prints and colors in this line that I honestly wasn’t sure where to start, but when I saw Ellen Luckett Baker’s version of this project from Quilting Happiness, I felt inspired to pick a few of my favorite prints and give it a go.

possibly because I’m still in recovery from the winter that felt like it would never end… I found myself drawn to the deep navy, bright greens, and vibrant shades of the summer colorway. paired with one of the low volume prints of the winter colorway, they really pop in this design.

I quilted the pillow with a lime green 40wt thread from aurifil, echoing the herringbone pattern of the patchwork. at 18″ square, this pillow is larger than the pattern in the book. I mean, who can stop at 12″ when these prints are so darned lovely?

I finished the back of the pillow with a zipper, and I’m thinking I might make up similar pillows with the fall and spring colorways too. then I can switch them out depending on which season I’m missing! and all of the prints in this line are so lovely that I’ll end with something pretty to look at no matter which one I choose.

This post was written by Rachael Gander 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.