Fall Quilt Market Recap, part 1: Garment sewing

Fall Quilt Market 2019 is now down in the books. Here's my photo capsule of things you'll be seeing in YLQS [your local quilt shops] and independent fabric stores in the months ahead.

A view of the Market floor at the George R. Brown convention center.

Garment sewing going strong!
The vendor booths illustrated that quilting cottons aren't just for quilting—but also for sewing. The Diamond Textiles booth had a mini "garment district" display featuring tops, jackets, dresses and childrenswear made from their yarn-dyed textured wovens, World Fabrics, and their curated collections of ikats, embossed cottons and pintuck cottons.

A mini Garment District at the Diamond Textiles booth.

I wore my navy Nine Lives top [The Sewing Workshop pattern] made from Diamond Textiles' pintuck fabric collection on the second day of Market.

My Nine Lives Top [The Sewing Workshop pattern] in a Diamond Textiles navy pintuck.

The Australian aboriginal designs from M&S Textiles Australia are eye-catching in apparel. This Classic Caftan [pattern from Indygo Junction]—featuring two aboriginal fabric prints—is an easy, breezy top that can be worn alone or over a long sleeve tee.

Classic Caftan in aboriginal fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia. 

Have you considered batiks for garment sewing? 
Why not?! This zippered hooded jacket (below, left) showcases a Banyan Batik from the Kilts & Quilts / Addicted to Plaid collection by Patience Griffin. I sooo love that there are pockets on this jacket!

For warmer temps, consider the sleeveless Hannah Dress [Victory patterns] in rayon or cotton fabrics from After the Rain by Sara Boccaccini Meadows for FIGO. Contrasting fabrics highlight the Hannah's angled side seams and front pockets. The neckline is finished with a double fold binding—a technique quite familiar to quiltmakers.

Zippered hooded jacket with Banyan Batiks (left)
and sleeveless Hannah shift dress with FIGO rayon fabrics.

Another FIGO display vignette showed garments alongside quilts. Check out FIGO lookbooks for additional garment, accessory and quilt inspiration.

The Glasshouse collection comes in two colorways and includes
four 53"/54" rayon prints.

P&B Textiles borrowed my new favorite Siena Shirt for their booth at Market (unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the booth). This shirt showcases a fabulous digital print from the P&B Off the Grid 45 collection (Off the Grid is also available in 108" wide backings). You can read about my making process for this shirt in this blog post.

Off the Grid Siena Shirt. Digital fabric print from P&B Textiles.
Pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

In one of the Northcott booths, new designer, Brett Lewis, had this man's shirt on display. It features a print from the Stag and Thistle collection for Northcott.

Stag and Thistle print from Northcott.

Are you a garment maker? Re-use your patterns for efficiency and economics.
Before leaving for Market, I was able to get two pairs of pants and a new top made. I reused my Collins Top pattern [from In the Folds] and paired it with my yardage from the green colorway of Off the Grid by P&B Textiles. It was fun to wear this top to the P&B sales meeting.

The Collins Top was my first 2019 Make Nine finish, so I was already familiar with this top's construction. Re-using garment patterns makes efficient use of your time because:

• the pattern pieces are already cut out, making the pattern piece layout quick and easy, and 
• the muslin-making steps were completed on the first make. 

When there's a time crunch, it's so nice to have a go-to pattern that is familiar and already fitted to your body!

The Collins Top from In the Folds. Fabric is Off the Grid from P&B Textiles.

Be sure to make notes on your pattern so you'll be reminded of any helpful tips for the next make—another time-saver! And, with the second... and all subsequent makes... that $20 pattern is also FREE to use! We all like that. 

Bank that savings and apply it to great buttons, a useful tool or new fabric! 

Finishing a cotton embossed 9 Lives top by machine

Next week I'm going to Fall Quilt Market, so my travel schedule is pushing me to finish final details—buttonholes, buttons, hems—on what will be packed in the suitcase. On this plum-colored cotton embossed Nine Lives top, the finishing steps are mostly done by machine.

Nine Lives top from The Sewing Workshop in cotton embossed fabric by Diamond Textiles.

Since the buttons I chose for this top had 4 holes (instead of two), I decided to use the X stitch to attach the buttons by machine. I just have to tie off the thread tails.

Machine sewn buttons and buttonholes.

With my experience making other tops with quilting cottons, I opted to omit interfacing on the front facings. It didn't seem to affect making the machine buttonholes. I'll monitor the success after several wears and washes, to see how it holds up.

Both the sleeve and bottom hems were completed on the machine—quick and easy. The only hand sewing on this top was on the collar seam at the neck on the inside.

Machine hems.

With the cooler weather and change of season, the color of my wardrobe has turned to an autumnal palette. Although this top is made from a lighter weight cotton, this plum colored cotton embossed fabric from Diamond Textiles reminds me of the colors of changing leaves and a fall harvest.

Kinship Sampler layout: kin to a Hot Hash square dance

The layout of my 100 Days Kinship Fusion Sampler blocks has been like a hot hash square dance with the blocks turning, sliding, passing and do-si-do-ing on the design wall. The plan is to get a graduated flow of color and value across the quilt top while working with the two different size blocks. It's been an ongoing process of auditioning, arranging and rearranging...

Tentative layout of my 00 Days 100 Blocks Kinship Fusion sampler blocks.

I've been working on a 49 block layout with the lightest blocks in the center. Since I didn't devise a master color plan for the blocks at the onset, I now have the task of making all the pieces to this puzzle fit into a cohesive composition—or at least one with an organized randomness.

The sashing I chose is a creamy beige Monks Colonial solid from Diamond Textiles.

4-block unit from my Kinship Sampler.

Between the "dance" sets, I pulled fabrics to make blocks for my guild's charity quilt project...

Cuddle Quilt blocks.

and ironed a bag of crumbs to use for leaders and enders.

Crumb blocks.

Now and then, it's good to take a breather from the dance floor... and the design wall.

Going Off the Grid with the Siena Shirt

It was love at first sight! 
Everything about this fabric—the colors, the gritty, industrial-like texture, the energetic, painterly design—came together gloriously in a digitally printed cotton, called Off the Grid. I just had to get a piece of this fabric!

My new Siena Shirt [from The Sewing Workshop] made with Off the Grid from P&B Textiles.

Actually, I got two pieces from the Off the Grid collection by P&B Textiles—because I couldn't decide which colorway I liked best. (It's always a dilemma... so just get them both, I say.)

Off the Grid from P&B Textiles: GR45 109GL (left) and GR45 109DB (right).

Siena Shirt pattern
I considered a few pattern options, but in the end, went with my tried-and-true (already fitted to me) Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop. This is my 5th make from this pattern.

The Siena shirt in Off the Grid (dark blue colorway).

Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

Process of [button] Elimination
The only perplexing part of this make was auditioning and making the choice of buttons. I dumped out the green and the blue ones from my inventory. (Don't giggle, I'm not the only one with an extensive button collection.)

Auditioning the buttons for the shirt.

Dismissed the ones that were:

• too big or too small for a shirt (the pattern suggests 1/2" buttons)
• obviously not the right color
• less than the quantity needed (the pattern suggests 8)
• inappropriate for the look (stars, anchors, the ones with gold, etc.)

Dismissing the buttons that don't meet the criteria.

Narrowed the choice to four...

Auditioning buttons.

and ultimately chose the hexagon shaped buttons. They were a complimentary color with a slight iridescence property... and there were eight.

Set-up for a practice buttonhole.

I always make a test buttonhole or two on a fabric scrap. The thread—a variegated 40 wt cotton from YLI—was a perfect match. The color combination included navy, turquoise, medium blue and even a touch of lavender.

A YLI variegated cotton thread for the buttonholes.

After the handwork finishing processes (hand sewing the inside neck band, sewing on the buttons, burying thread tails) my new Off the Grid Siena shirt was complete!

Back view: Siena shirt [The Sewing Workshop] with Off the Grid [P&B Textiles].

The detail I added to this garment was a side vent at the lower hem... just something to make it a little different.

Siena shirt side vent.

Quilting cottons and digital prints for garment sewing and quilting
If you're a sewer or garment maker, don't be hesitant about using quilting cottons or a digitally printed fabric in your next garment or sewing project. This Off the Grid cotton print machine washed, machine dried and sewed very nicely.

If you're a quilter and know the wonderful advantages of wide backings, Off the Grid also comes in a 108" wide back. Ask YLQS [your local quilt shop] or independent sewing center that carries fabric for Off the Grid. Remember, if you can't decide which colorway you like best, get them all (there are five)!

Like a newly painted canvas, I'm looking forward to wearing and showing off my Off the Grid Siena. I think it's an illustration of a symbiotic relationship between digital printing technology, street art and wearables. What's not to love?!