Tips for making quilt blocks with yarn-dyed textured wovens

The #100Days100Blocks2019 Kinship sew-along that I'm participating in began July 1. The fabrics I chose for this project are yarn-dyed textured cottons from Diamond Textiles. Momentum hit and with less than a week into the project, I've got 28 blocks pieced... and 4 more cut and ready to be sewn. In the process of making my blocks, I've learned some things about working with yarn-dyed wovens.

Block #15 from the Kinship sampler made with yarn-dyed cotton fabrics from Diamond Textiles. 

Characteristics of yarn-dyed cottons
Yarn-dyed wovens are cotton fabrics that can be used for patchwork, quiltmaking, accessories (bags, pouches, pillows, etc.) and garment sewing. Some unique characteristics of these fabrics are:

• a yarn-dyed fabric has color on both sides of the fabric. So, when you purchase and use a yarn-dyed woven, you get the "right side" and the "other right side." Use whichever you prefer!
• some yarn-dyed woven fabrics might have a softer drape and feel compared to printed quilting cottons—this makes them so lovely for sewing garments as well as in quilts.
• the patterns, or textures, in the fabrics are created during the weaving process. You can see the "floats" in the photo below that create the pattern designs in the cloth. Some designs are created with a contrasting colored yarn or even a thicker/heavier weight yarn. 
• some yarn-dyed cottons use one color of yarn for the warp and a contrasting color for the weft. These are often referred to as "shot cottons." The combination of two colored yarns woven together creates a new, rich and more complex color with more depth than a plain solid fabric.

Examples of various yarn-dyed cottons (by Diamond Textiles).
Textures and patterns are created in the weaving process.

The yarn-dyed fabrics I'm using for the Kinship sampler are Diamond Textiles' Tweed Thicket and Nikko III. Tweed Thicket has a flatter surface while Nikko III has a raised diamond pattern and a slight more drape.

Tweed Thicket (top) and Nikko III yarn-dyed cottons.

After piecing several blocks, I've become more familiar with working with yarn-dyed wovens and learned some tips for easier and more accurate patchwork.

Blocks for the Kinship sampler quilt made with yarn-dyed wovens.

Tips and Tools for better patchwork
As with any patchwork—especially small blocks or those with many small pieces—good workmanship is paramount to accuracy and success. The blocks in the Kinship sampler quilt finish at 8" square and 4" x 8". Some of the units within the blocks are cut 1", 1.5" and 2.5". The tools and processes I've discovered to improve success when working with these fabrics are:

• starch the fabric before cutting. I use spray sizing (it's what I keep on hand).
• put a new cutting blade in the rotary cutter. (A good practice for any project!)
• account for the "turn of cloth" [the amount of fabric taken up when fabric is folded]. The turn of cloth seems to be 1-2 mm larger for these yarn-dyed wovens.
• spin the seam allowances when possible to minimize bulk. (A good practice for any patchwork.)
• and, as with any patchwork and small pieces, a consistent and accurate 1/4" seam allowance is important.

Block #10 (front).

Block #10 (back) showing spinning the seam allowances at the intersections.

The Bloc_Loc ruler has expedited the trimming and improved accuracy of HST [half-square triangles]. Many of the Kinship blocks incorporate 1.5" and 2" triangle units. 

Bloc_Loc ruler is helpful for trimming half-square triangle units.

I'm also finding that I like the blocks that have a mixture of Tweed Thicket and Nikko III. The variations in texture make them more interesting to me.

Block #7 (left) and Block #5 of the Kinship sampler quilt.

Design principles: variety and texture.

Textured wovens + garment sewing—a hot topic at Spring Quilt Market

Modern garments featuring textured wovens from
Diamond Textiles.  Photo credit: The Sewing Workshop

Plenty of excitement and enthusiasm for sewing and quilting with textured wovens and yarn-dyed cottons emerged from the Diamond Textiles booth at Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City last weekend!

I assisted in the Diamond Textiles booth where Rohni Sandu, owner and President of Diamond Textiles, and her staff entertained a steady stream of quilt shop and fabric shop owners right up to the Market's closing bell! In addition to ordering yarn-dyed cottons, ikats and textured wovens to meet their shop’s demand for quilting, applique, stitching, embroidery, wool and needle punch projects and classes, the store owners were interested in fabrics for garment sewing!

Quilting cottons are doing
dual duty!

Diamond Textiles was right on trend sponsoring a pre-market educational Schoolhouse session with Linda Lee, a nationally known sewing instructor, author, pattern designer and owner of The Sewing Workshop.

Garment sewing is back and on the rise. The significant response to and attendance at the Schoolhouse session was evidence of this! Shop owners were looking for ideas, inspiration, tips and resources for classes and sewing projects and they wanted quilting fabrics that were also appropriate for garment sewing.  

MixIt top and Six Sense skirt.
Photo credit: The Sewing Workshop

The schoolhouse presentation focused on choosing fabrics and textured wovens for various garment types. Linda's trunk show showcased garments using patterns from The Sewing Workshop—tops, dresses, skirts, pants and jackets—and fabrics from Diamond Textiles—yarn-dyed solids, textured wovens, pintuck cottons and embossed cotton fabrics.

The array of garments reflected both classic and current styles and included fun details such as visible “big stitching” and improv piecing—techniques quite familiar to quilters. Linda discussed fabric and garment pattern pairings for today’s sewers and quilters and how fabrics found in quilts shops are not exclusive to just one discipline. 

Shown left is an ensemble using Diamond Textiles embossed cottons. The top is the MixIt Tee paired with the Six Sense wrap skirt with an assymetrical pocket.

Below are photos of the garment samples that found their way back to the Diamond Textiles booth after the schoolhouse session. 

The Cottage Shirt is shown in a yarn-dyed solid fabric from the Diamond Textiles Manchester collection. 

Cottage Shirt featuring a Manchester yarn-dyed solid.

Visible "big stitch" hand stitching accents a wide hem and the button holes up the front.

Hand stitching details on the Cottage Shirt.

The Six Sense asymmetrical skirt with a pocket is made with Diamond Textiles unique cotton embossed fabric. Also in a cotton embossed, is the MixIt top. The complementary color scheme of this ensemble is quite eye-catching.

This graphic, black-and-white top is the Hugo Top made with PT 3218, from the Diamond Textiles pintuck line. You can't have too many white shirts in your wardrobe, in my opinion!

Hugo Top with Pintuck cotton.

The Picasso Pants is a new pattern from The Sewing Workshop. It has the lantern style pant legs with front, side and back panels. This version was made with a popular textured woven from the Nikko Geo collection. Don't you love the contrast top stitching detail??

The Picasso pants made with Nikko Geo.

One of my favorite Sewing Workshop patterns is the Siena and Cortona which offers two styles of button down tops. Here is the Cortona top made with a textured woven (Nikko 3775) from one of the Nikko collections.

Cortona Top in Nikko 3775 textured yarn-dyed woven.

And this is my Siena Shirt using Tweed Thicket  a new yarn-dyed woven from Diamond Textiles (collar, sides, sleeves and back) and an Australian aboriginal print from M&S Textiles for the front panels.

Siena Shirt with Tweed Thicket.

I also got to wear my new Diamond Textiles patchwork jacket that was completed just in time for Market (nothing like a deadline, right?). It uses a variety of textured wovens from several Diamond Textiles collections. I love to mix and match the colors and textures from this company's fabric lines. This jacket is one of my #MakeNine projects.

Patchwork Jacket showcasing a variety of textured wovens from Diamond Textiles.

Amid the quilts hanging in the Diamond Textiles booth were additional garments from patterns by Tina Givens, Wiksten and In the Folds. 

Diamond Textiles booth at Spring Market featured yarn-dyed textured wovens,
ikats and embossed cottons in quilts and garments.

Diamond Textiles ikats and textured wovens are fabulous for handbags, totes, home decor items and other accessories.

Box Bottom Slide Clasp Purse from Reets Rags to Stitches.

Diamond Textiles booth at Spring Quilt Market.

So next time you visit your local quilt shop, don't stop at using those beautiful fabrics for only quilts. Open up the possibilities to yarn-dyed wovens, textures cottons, embossed cotton and ikats for tops, skirts, jackets, pants and other garments.

Diamond Textiles has an extensive collection of weights, colors, textures, and solid fabrics in 44"/45" and wider. They pair perfectly with sewing patterns from The Sewing Workshop. Ask your local quilt shop for both!

Make Nine Challenge 2019: progress check

About a month ago, I pledged the Make Nine Challenge. This is the progress on two of my projects—a knitted vest and a jacket.

Lolita Vest. Make Nine Challenge 2019.

Lolita Knitted Vest
After a setback on the Lolita Vest (I was photographing it and found a mistake; decided to frog 3-4 inches), I've gotten past the second armhole, and the neck and shoulder shaping. Knitting the left front remains.

Yarn-dyed woven Jacket
Another Make Nine project is a jacket made with yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles. I'm incorporating leftover bits (the 4-patch diamonds) into this piece to fulfill the recycle and repurpose goal I've set.

Yarn-dyed woven Jacket back. Make Nine Challenge 2019.

These are the two jacket fronts. For the pockets, I'm thinking side seam pockets is a better option over patch pockets.

Yarn-dyed woven Jacket front. Make Nine Challenge 2019.

I've seen a few beautiful finishes from others participating in the Make Nine Challenge and was feeling behind. But stepping back and evaluating these two projects, I feel good about my progress. These pieces were both UFOs [unfinished objects] and they've been revitalized and are now back on track.

Fabric inspiration at YLQS

With the start of a new year and the cold winter weather encouraging more indoor activities, quilt shops and sewing centers have been busy creating fabulous things with fabric! In my recent travels, I saw many inspiring projects that shops have in the works for upcoming classes, kits and samples.

Art Gallery's Color Masters bundle combined with a background fabric
at Stitcher's Playhouse.

The classic Jacob's Ladder block with Art Gallery fabrics
Jeanne at Stitcher's Playhouse paired a box of Art Gallery Color Masters fat quarters with a background fabric. She used the classic Jacob's Ladder quilt block—a combo or 4-patches and half-square triangles—in a solid setting. An interesting positive/negative effect.

Jacob's Ladder block made with Art Gallery fabrics.

Mixing yarn-dyed textured wovens with printed cottons
Go ahead... mix yarn-dyed wovens, printed cottons and even batiks... in the same quilt block! Margaret at Quilt Connection is assembling 14" sampler quilt blocks with Diamond Textiles' yarn-dyed wovens and printed cottons. One block even combines a yarn-dyed plaid and a batik!

Combining yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles with printed quilting cottons
at Quilt Connection.

The randomness of the stripes in this yarn-dyed woven keeps your eye bouncing around this block.

14" sampler block at Quilt Connection.

In this block, the Primitive Stars fabric in the sashing complements the Ohio Star units.

14" Ohio Star sampler block.

This is probably my fav. It combines Primitive Stars (the sashing) and a black striped woven. The rotation of the 'butterfly' units cause the stripe to go in vertical and horizontal directions.

This block features two yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles.

Australian aboriginal designs are perfect for an Expedition
Debbie at Calico Rose is making the Swoon Expedition Travel Tote using M&S Textiles Australia. It's got at least two zippers and a bunch of pockets. This is going to be a stunning bag when she finishes!

Swoon Expedition Travel Tote with M&S Textiles Australia fabrics
at Calico Rose Fabrics.

Calico Rose has a great selection of M&S Textiles fabrics and pre-cuts—with many more on the way. Debbie chose this M&S Textiles print—Bush Plum—for the lining. Bright, colorful and exciting!

Bush Plum design from M&S Textiles Australia.

Love Letters for a SignAge Quilt
I caught one of the Sew Special sessions at Sew Many Ideas where Juls announced the shop is offering fabrics, kits and a class on this SignAge quilt from Art Gallery Fabrics. The XOXOXO fabric on the back is an Art Gallery fabric from the Letters Capsule collection. Perfect for Valentine's Day—or any day when you need to spread a little LOVE.

Sign Age Quilt at Sew Many Ideas.

Coordinating fabrics in the quilt from the Art Gallery Denim Studio are also available at Sew Many Ideas.

Letters Capsule collection from Art Gallery Fabrics at Sew Many Ideas.

What's inspiring you? 
As for me and my projects... I'm plugging along on my Make Nine 2019 list and the Farmer's Wife sampler blocks. And the inspiration I saw at these quilt shops gets me excited and charged up about making!

What project are you excited about today??? Contact any of these quilt shops or visit YLQS [your local quilt shop] and take a class, pick out a new project, and get excited about creating something beautiful and fun with fabric.

Threadwork and bobbin drawing with heavy weight threads

Free-motion bobbin work with Eleganza pearl cotton
by WonderFil Specialty Threads on a yarn-dyed
textured cotton fabric from Diamond Textiles. 

My mom's favorite color was blue.
My grandma's favorite color was yellow.
My mother-in-law's favorite color is green.

Me? I like all the colors.

Sometimes, when I'm immersed in a particular color palette in my work, it reminds me of a special person in my life. Does the same happen to you?

If color and stitch tickles your fancy, feeds your creativity or elicits a special memory, there is an abundance of new threads on the market these days in colors that span the rainbow. The heavier weight threads are the ones catching my eye and I enjoy using them for both hand and machine stitching.

Experiments with bobbinwork
Here are some experiments with decorative stitches and free-motion bobbin work using Eleganza perle cotton from WonderFil Specialty Threads. Eleganza comes in weights: #3, #5 and #8.

The perle cotton thread is loaded in the bobbin and I use a 50 wt. cotton thread in a coordinating color for the top thread. Try stitching with the feed dogs up... or down.

Free-motion bobbin work with perle cotton threads.

French knots and a few lazy daisy stitches were added by hand.

French knots were added by hand.

Decorative machine stitching
Next up are 4-patch quilt blocks highlighted with decorative machine stitches in a 12 wt. cotton thread [Spaghetti from WonderFil]. The fabrics I am stitching with are yarn-dyed cottons from Diamond Textiles. These fabrics are easy to stitch with and serve as the perfect canvas to show off these fat, colorful threads.

Decorative stitching with 12 wt. cotton threads.

Remember to use a larger needle to accommodate a 12 wt. thread.

Yarn-dyed woven fabrics are a perfect partner for decorative stitching.

Heavier threads beg to be the center of attention... and I indulge them. They challenge me to draw with them—by machine and by hand.

About a month ago, I decided to gather up my threadwork experiments and combine them into a quilt top. The alternate squares, setting triangles and the outer border are from the Indie Folk fabric collection from Art Gallery Fabrics. The inside narrow border are more textured yarn-dyed fabrics from Diamond Textiles.

Threadwork experiments quilt top.

I think my Gram would like this quilt because it has a lot of yellow in it. A Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmoms, moms-in-law and anyone else that cares, nurtures, loves and encourages us to do and be the best we can.

Talking "Fabric" with the Madison Station Quilters

The room was filled with nearly 70 guild members and visitors that attended my “From Field to Fabric” lecture and a trunk show at the Madison Station Quilters guild meeting last week. It was a lively evening! An enthusiastic and inquisitve group of quiltmakers and several garment sewers asked thoughtful questions about the fabric manufacturing processes as well as the fabric samples that I brought for Show and Tell.

English paper pieced hexagons with aboriginal fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia.

A Trunk Show of WIPs
What’s fun about presenting to a group of "quilty" kindred spirits is that they “get it” if you show a WIP (work in progress). I passed around a handful of English paper pieced hexagon blocks (above), two in-progress kantha embroidery pieces ...

Kantha hand emboirdery on yarn-dyed textured woven from Diamond Textiles.

and did a show and tell of four unquilted quilt tops.

Charm square quilt top combining Australian aboriginal designs from
M&S Textiles and batiks from Majestic Batiks.

Q and A
After the presentation, the Q&A part of the evening covered discussion about:

Ikat sample.

• The differences between yarn-dyed and printed fabrics,
• Ikat fabrics [from Diamond Textiles],
• Keeping a print design on grain,
• Using the “right side” or the “other right side” of a yarn-dyed fabric,
• Sewing patterns for my jackets,
• Digital fabric printing,
• Machine trapunto.

More info about my projects that illustrate these topics can be found in these blog posts:

• Australian aboriginal fabrics and EPP
• Kantha stitching
• Primitive Stars jacket with ikat: Part 1, and Part 2
• White jacket: mixing vintage and yarn-dyed fabrics 
• Decorative stitching on yarn-dyed wovens
• Travels with Ben Taphouse from Lewis and Irene

I did have two completed quilts that featured fabrics from Lewis and Irene, a UK fabric company that just established its USA division in October 2017. This little quilt has machine trapunto and mixes fabrics from Lewis and Irene, Art Gallery, and the border is an aboriginal print from M&S Textiles.

Machine trapunto "Enchanted" quilt featuring Lewis and Irene fabrics.

Fabric Samples and Feedback
Attendees were kind enough to provide feedback on their favorite fabrics from the samples that were on display. Favorites included:

• From Diamond Textiles: Woven Elements, Primitive Rustic, and Primitive Stars were the top vote-getters followed by Embossed Cottons, Kalamkari, Nikko Earth, Picket Fence. The wildly popular ikat fabrics got write-in votes!
• From M&S Textiles Australia: all the prints were well received with specific requests for Spiritual Woman, Kingfisher, Wild Bush Flower, Spirit Place, Rebirth Butterfly Spirits and Dancing Flowers.
• From Lewis and Irene: Bumbleberries, Geometrix, Lindos, and Celtic Reflections were top favorites followed closely by Water Meadow, Fairy Lights (glow-in-the-dark), and City Nights.

Thank you!
Thanks again to Susan Yell, the guild's current President for the invitation, the two lovely volunteers that modeled my jackets, the quilt angels that held up the quilts and tops, the leadership team members that swooped in to help set up and then pack up my sample bags at the end of the evening, and to everyone who came out to spend the evening talking about quilting fabrics with me. Your excitement and overwhelmingly positive reception to the yarn-dyed textured wovens and hand printed kalamkari fabrics from Diamond Textiles, the bold colorful aboriginal designs from M&S Textiles Australia, and the contemporary “sophisticated cute” fabric collections from Lewis and Irene is contagious! I am pumped with a renewed interest in creating more quilts, garments and other projects with these fabrics and I hope you are, too.

Cast your Votes
Please tell your local quilt shops [YLQS] that you are interested in these fabrics! You are the fabric influencers for the quilt shops and independent sewing centers that you support.

A vintage and yarn-dyed fabric mix jacket—part 2

Vintage improv jacket.

On this last day of April, I'm listing this jacket in the "Finished in 2017" column. Yay! Here is Part 2 of the process for making this vintage and yarn-dyed fabric jacket. Read about the inspiration and fabric prep in Part 1.

-------
As a quilter, I often incorporate quilting in my garments. Jackets especially lend themselves to this process. I learned this "quilted garment" concept from a fabulous folk artist, instructor and friend, Rachel Clark. Check out Rachel's work and patterns on her website, "Clothing for the Body and Soul," and social media sites for inspiration. She makes amazing pieces!

Three Layers
This jacket is "quilted." It has three layers with stitching to keep the layers together. It has (1) a pieced front, (2) a piece of flannel in the middle, and (3) a silk lining fabric—all sandwiched together. It is machine quilted with straight lines using a walking foot. Stitch length = 2.8mm - 3mm.

Choosing Threads
For the style of this jacket, I thought a cotton thread with a matte finish was appropriate. I wanted a little color and contrast to the creamy yarn-dyed woven [PRF-715 from the Primitive collection by Diamond Textiles] and a color palette that would complement the colors in the patchwork.

I chose a WonderFil 50 wt. variegated cotton (Tutti #TU14) with a soft color palette of grey, lavender, yellow and moss green. (This is one of my all-time favorite variegated thread color combos and one of the things that drew me to the WonderFil line of threads.) The bobbin was also a 50wt. cotton (WonderFil Konfetti #KT306) in a soft blush color that blended nicely with the color of the jacket's silk lining.

Auditioning threads for quilting.

Quilting and Assembly
Because of the woven windowpane pattern in the fabric, it was easy to keep the quilting lines straight and parallel (no marking!). I've been told that the fabric looks like a pinstripe from a distance.

Straight line quilting with the walking foot.

The jacket pieces—left and right fronts, back, sleeves—were quilted before jacket assembly. When I brought this piece to a recent quilt guild meeting, one of my guild friends asked if I cut out the pattern pieces larger to accommodate the shrinkage from quilting. This is a good idea! 

When I plan to quilt a garment, cutting the pieces slightly oversize, quilting them, and then trimming the quilted pieces to the pattern piece is my process. This project started off with another direction in mind, so were not cut oversize. However, the parallel lines of quilting did not cause the pieces to shrink excessively, so it was fine. The flannel (middle layer) and the silk lining (back layer) were cut larger than the front pieces. The larger layers can be seen in the photo below.

Quilted jacket fronts.

Here is the jacket back with straight line quilting. The parallel lines were randomly spaced (again, no marking!). A large zigzag design was quilted on the patchwork insert.

Quilted jacket back with patchwork insert.

The collar was interfaced, faced and turned, but not quilted. The outside edges were top stitched.

Patchwork collar with vintage fabrics.

Here is a view of the quilting from the jacket's inside. The silk lining fabric makes is easy to slip the jacket on and off.

Quilted jacket lining.

Neck and front facings were cut from the yarn-dyed woven. They were tacked down by hand to the lining.

Improv patchwork collar with vintage and modern fabrics.

This jacket is going to Spring Quilt Market with me this year. I'll be meeting with the President of Diamond Textiles and hope to find Mary Kerr on the show floor to show them both how I was inspired by them, their product and techniques.

Vintage Improv Jacket. 

A 2017 finish! Hope you enjoyed reading about the process.