It's so luxurious to feel the year stretching out ahead: twelve months of birthdays, anniversaries, costumes, parties, and quiet days with pots of tea, all occasions to sit and stitch. Here are the new products I'm most excited about, from thread to patterns to photographic dye…
- From the renowned French thread company Sajou comes this exquisite metallic thread, suitable for hand- and machine-sewing. It's available from Purl SoHo in Copper, Gold, and Old Gold.
- I know that knitting and crocheting are not the same as sewing, but in the spirit of the needle arts, here's Brooklyn Tweed's incredible pattern for making the Wool Leaves Blanket, also available from Purl SoHo.
- Glow-in-the-dark embroidery floss would be especially handy for keeping kids visible in their Halloween costumes- but why wait? Maybe a sweet pillow embroidered with this thread could act as a child's comforting night light.
- It's rare I see patterned fabric that appeals to me- most of it seems to have a bit too much going on. But black-and-white Chicken Wire yardage from Moda (sold by Purl SoHo) appeals to both the minimalist and the country girl in me.
- You're going to need something cute to wear while you tackle the year's sewing projects- perhaps a sewing smock made of Suzuko Koseki's Sewing Lessons fabric from Superbuzzy? You'll look as darling as your projects.
- I'm most intrigued by Lumi's Inkodye Light Sensitive Paint, which can be used to dye fabrics, wood, and more, using only light. Wired's review is here, and you can purchase the dye here.
- If you're lucky enough to have both an iPhone and embroidery skills, the new sewable iPhone cases were made just for you. Amazon carries these silicone cases with teeny holes, but Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching (who made the lovely example above) recommends the Griffin Flex Grip Punch case. It's not intended for stitching, but she says it works great.
- Finally, if your budget doesn't allow for new fabric or new clothes, just bling-up what you've got with Sublime Stitching's new Bling Pattern. It comes free with a pack of Carbon Transfer Paper!
Images as credited above.
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I love this post - thanks!
I'm really excited to read an article on here about new sewing notions. Those Inkodyes are super cool. But, I'd like to see different sources for all of these items. It kind of seems more like a Purl Soho Marketplace article when 5 out of 8 of the products are from Purl.
I have no experience with the metallic thread featured here but such smooth shiny threads usually do not work too well with sewing machines (at least not mine). I think it's the smoothness that makes them too slippery (for lack of a better word).
Hannahpanda- that is a very good point. My sewing experience (& therefore sewing supply-buying experience) is pretty limited. I embroider pretty seriously, but so far have only found a couple of sources I like/trust, and some of those are local, website-free, or random ebay sellers (this one lady has the best Irish linen!). I would love to hear your favorite resources, and promise to keep looking for more- thanks! -Tess
LOVE Sublime Stitching - just finished my half of the embroidered quilt (idea for which I picked up on here last year - thanks for that!) using her Forest Friends patterns - the cuteness is unstoppable!
Tess of Myrna May - I don't really embroider (just sometimes here or there), but I do sew a lot. For cotton fabric I like Fabricworm.com. And http://thimbleblossoms.bigcartel.com/ has some really cute quilt patterns. http://www.colettepatterns.com/ has great vintage inspired clothing patterns. I really like to do English Paper Piecing, but you don't have to have a pattern for that. Sometimes I can find some great stuff on Etsy, too. Good luck! -Hannah