Tag Archives: japanese fabric

Coin purse blitz!


Been making a lot of these too.


I ordered a bunch of frames in bulk and I worked to tweak a pattern I have used in the past with different shaped frames.  I did a few test runs and have come up with a pattern that works really well.

I’ve been posting them on my Instagram as I go along. I’m up to about a dozen now. I plan on adding them to my shop and seeing how it goes, competition on Etsy is tough for coin purses, pouches and purse like items.

I tend to sell this sort of items well in person, which is where I like to take them. Make people smile with the fabric choices and I get to talk to people about what I create.

Funny side note, my new favourite pj’s can be seen in the background of many of those Instagram shots.

Finally quilted my lap quilt!

My mom bought me a really nice fluffy soft blanket for my birthday a few years ago. It lives in a basket next to the couch. It’s cozy. However, when it’s not in the basket it’s wrapped around one of my children! I can’t get a turn with my own blankie!! So I decided to make my own.

I went with squares of Japanese fabrics and just tried to use a bunch of a favourites. It’s pretty busy.

For the top stitching I used free motion quilting. I’m *very* new at that so it’s quite wonky in places but that’s ok, it’s my blankie and I made it with love.

I just have to do some trimming and squaring up and then bind it. Off to cut the fabric for that now!

Pretty fabrics

I splurged and got myself some fun Japanese fabric scraps the other day from this shop, physician Beautiful Work.

They arrived ridiculously quick. All the way from Japan.

I love how I can mail a cup cozy to the US and it takes ages to arrive but fabric from Japan got to me in just under a week.

Silly postal mysteries.

Friday Create Along.

So you know what I should have been doing yesterday with my afternoon off, no not attending 3 appointments, I *should* have been photographing my finished bag!

I promise to snag some pics over the weekend.

Also I’m going to make this next.

You may be able to find it elsewhere but that’s where I bought it.

Fun Fabrics

I was asked recently by My Girl Thursday to share my sources for the fun fabrics I have. She says she has the bug now, if you kind of sort of like fabric I’d leave now because you’ll be totally addicted to hoarding it after this post. Almost all of mine comes from Etsy shops so I’ll share some of my favs with you. Sometimes I just do a search for scraps, but my brain gets confused with number crunching the prices and shipping combos and I usually head back to the stores I know.

I’m addicted to cutesy Japanese prints. Boqinana has great stuff. It’s so hard not to fill my cart with ribbon after ribbon after ribbon. This store is also full of some great fabrics.

This and That from Japan . . . well the store name says it all. Sadly on vacation at the time of posting this but check back, it’s totally worth it. They carry great fabrics, supplies and craft books. Pages and pages of awesome I tell you!

The Hey Day Shop has fun fabrics and usually has a selection of scrap packs to choose from.

I’ve ordered from The Dainty Squid’s destash store before, not sure if it’s still up and running.

The only place I’ve been able to find fun Japanese fabrics in person is at Quilt A Bag in Markham, which is only good to know if you live nearish to there. The ladies are lovely and they carry a lot of Japanese craft books and supplies for projects, coin purse frames, handles, cute ribbons, Japanese craft books. They attend the Creativ Festival in October and carry a lot of great kits with everything you need to finish the project.

I’ve ordered vintage fabrics from Pink Fawn Designs before. While it’s pretty easy to find vintage linens if you go thrifting you can expand your collection, handy if you have a certain project in mind, and not have to use the entire sheet you bought on the one project.

Starlit Nest has packs sorted by designers, themes and even offers a big ole flat rate box deal. Shop 4 Craft has some great wooden buttons, if I’m just in the mood for buttons I go there if I have a hankering for fabric I’ll hit one of the shops that carries fabric AND buttons and get all splurgey.

For snaps I go to Cowgirl Snaps. When I found this shop I thoguht that the pictures must be tweaked adn there’s not way the colours could be that vibrant but when they arrived they were amazing. The colours are great and there are options for mixing and matching.


On my wish list are these great fun scraps. Sometimes, being in Canada, it’s hard to find scraps worth purchasing because shipping can get ridiculous. Someday I’ll splurge on these teeny bits of loveliness.

I went with no pockets.

After the great inner debate I had I decided to go with no pockets at all.

I just thought it showed off the awesomeness of the fabric’s print better without pockets taking away from it. Plus I’m ridiculously indecisive and the votes seemed pretty split.

It was received well as my first day of school outfit.

Bigger scraps and non scraps.

I believe non-scrap bits of fabric are just called fabric.

I ordered some more fun stuff. Yeah, stomach I need to stop ordering and get sewing.

I do have a problem.

But I admit it.

Carry on.

I cracked the code

Well sort of. I have this fun Japanese sewing book.

I gave one of the patterns a shot, I figured it was simple enough, but I managed it!

I even had to do some tricky math to scale the pattern because my hardware was a different size from what the pattern called for . . . well I think it was.

I used my fun hippo fabric I’ve had lying around for a while with a scrap swap piece on the inside. I’m super happy with how it turned out.

I’m not sure about how I handled the openings where the snap frame slides in but it works and looks good. Time to try another pattern.

Wheee!

Ok, I got the most amazing scraps in one of my scrap swap packages. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome the pieces were and how great they fit with the fun fabrics I love! Not to mention she threw in some fun stuff left over from when she ran a Japanese store online.

Here’s some eye candy.

Some of these Japanese prints are amazing! I don’t know if I can bring myself to cut them up and actually sew with them.

This one is great but I’m totally baffled on what it’s about. Must be another strange Japanese fairy tale, seems to be a lot of people on fire in those.

Anyhow, I’m smitten with the contents of this package. And remember to store your strawberries in a DRAY place.

Lunch bag reveal.

I’m such a nut. So I sat down with the pattern I intended to use for my lunch bag loaded up on my iPad, read the materials, gathered them up and then read the finished size and said to myself “Oh that’s too small!” and wandered off to do my own thing. Welcome to the way I sew my friends. I’m a terrible pattern follower. The truth is out. I’ll share the dimensions I used soon.

So onto my awesome lunch bag.

I used some of that wonderful elephant print I had lying around and matched it up with some red $1 bargain cut from a quilting shop, and some aqua damask. I had a piece of handle bits that was just the right size.

I used iron in interfacing and recycled some fleece I had lying around for the padding.

It’s a big hit at school!