Things I Love: Polka Dotted Fabric

Polka dotted Fabric: It's simple, at the moment its easy to come by, and it is nothing new. But I still love it. Always have and probably always will. I have a lot of it and I use it often. Some of my favorites are discontinued, but they are always new variations of dots  on new fabrics. Over the last five years, dots are so common almost every designer has a version and every fabric store has a section.

My polka-dot obsession is apparent in my doll clothes, my own clothes and my house. My kids now choose out their own clothes and have escaped the dots.

For doll clothes dots are perfect. There's a range of scales that work and the pattern is the same horizontally and vertically, so laying out your pattern on small pieces of fabric is easier. 

I own a lot of polka dot fabric. But these fabrics varie a lot once you start really looking and I'll explain why. Here are some of my favorites:

First and most obvious is color. Often polka dots are just two colors, foreground and background and this graphic simplicity is what is appealing. Sometimes they are more than one color dots which changes the look and feel--it amps up the playfulness. The dots can be colorful, the background can be colorful, or both, which is a bit much unless the tones are similar.

Colorful Dotted fabric

1. Sarah Jane Fabric by Michael Miller, swoon for everything she does

2. Bonnie and Camille from the Calliope Collection from Moda, most of their stuff has a retro but colorful feel

3. Amy Butler Lotus Collection, available everywhere. This dot pattern shows up all over the handmade world. I love how close together the dots are and that it is cream not white or off-white.

4. Aunt Grace by Marcus Brothers. This particular one is discontinued, but they still make a lot of retro polka dot fabric.

5. Funky Monkey Dots by Moda. Still available.

6. Calliope again. Several of you have Phoebe smocked dresses from this one.

7. American Jane fabric. These dots are discontinued but they often have dots in their newer lines.

Not so colorful, a different look

The lack of color gives a different look and feel.

1. and 3.  Michael Miller Ta Dot. Available everywhere in a zillion colors.

2 and 4 . American Jane again.

Size of dot and how close together the dots are changes the look too.

I like big dots.

1. American Jane

2. Michael Miller Ta Dot

3. Ta Dot again

4. Amy Butler Lotus

5. My new favorite (and organic) Jay-Cyn from Birch fabrics

where is the best place for cute Polka dots:

Here are a few of my favorites (clicking through will bring you straight to the dot section):

Fabric Worm

Cias Palette

Hawthorne Threads

Fabric.com (warning over 1000 but not all cute)

Coming next. Polka Dot Style--some polka dotty clothing combinations. 

PS. there is no clear explanation for why they are called "polka" dots except that the polka was popular the first time they were trending.

How useful is the Internet if you sew?

I have been sewing for longer than the internet. In the 1990s when the Internet first became a part of many of our lives, it had little impact on my sewing life. I loved both things, but they were quite separate.

Twenty years later, and these two worlds definitely overlap. Not as much as knitting and the lovely world of Ravelry, but the sewing community is starting to gather.

I was quite interested when someone from my online sewing community took a closer look at the online world of sewing. Amanda Lerum Faulkner of the SewPandiPatterns blog used Facebook and other social media to do a survey for a business class about who sews, why and their use of their use of the internet for sewing.

She received about 100 replies and from those replies, she saw some patterns. Some things despite the internet have not changed. The large majority of those who responded were women, most were between the ages of 25-44 and most had starting sewing before the age of twenty.

What I found interesting was what most people were sewing. From what I see online I would have thought quilts would have been hands down the winner, but although quilts are popular we are producing far more costumes and clothing than quilts. Amanda said since she sews historical costumes, the survey could be biased towards her peers. My guess is more of us enjoy photographing our quilts, so we see more of them. We are a little more shy about photographing our garments.

Amanda also quantified why we sew. Although economics and environmental reasons play a role, many found a more personal satisfaction from the craft.

Amanda also asked which sites do those who sew search for information and community. Pinterest was a clear number one with Etsy and Facebook close behind (this is my experience too)

One thing that surprised Amanda (and me once she pointed it out),  "I think the thing that surprised me the most is how many responders said they use YouTube in relation to sewing. I have not really done that, it isn't the way I think about learning sewing. It is particularly popular among those in the 20's just learning to sew, these sewers essentially grew up with the internet and may not have someone to teach them the sewing techniques they want to learn" 

How do people use the internet for sewing. Below are some of the more common reasons. I see myself in two of these. I love the inspiration, but also have to tune out the noise. 

Thank you Amanda. This was a cool peak into how the community has evolved and is still evolving. 

New Dolls, New Clothes all on Etsy

It's take me awhile to sew, photograph and list. Each step is fun, but I'm not the quickest at any of them. But almost everything is up on Etsy now.  Click on any of the photos and it will bring you to the shop.

Sneak Peek: More dolls and clothes

I've been bust sewing dolls and clothes. I am in the process of revamping my Etsy shop. I'm going to try a different set-up so there are more options for dolls,  clothing and price ranges. Here's a sneak peek at some of the dolls and clothes that are in the works.

Handmade Toy Makers: Willowynn Textile Art

First in a Series about Toy Makers

Foxes made from an upcycled cotton curtain, photos courtesy of Margeaux Davis

Bringing Nature into the Playroom

As a toy-maker, I love following the art and career paths of other toy makers. I covet glimpses into their studios and creative process. Each of our journeys is unique, yet we also often share similarities, too. My career background is an unusual mix of years as a graphic designer,  years of environmental protection and doll-making. An unusual mix, I know.

This is why I was especially drawn to Willowynn Textile Arts. Owner Margeaux Davis transforms the beauty of the natural world into cloth toys that are as captivating as the real thing. Her toy collection ranges from the more traditional owls and foxes, to blue and killer whales to species rarely made into toys such as moths, snails and mushrooms. Her depictions of these fauna (and one flora) are sweet but not unrealistically cute. The toys range from soft sculpture for gentle play to bunnies that can withstand the abuse of more intense play. These toys would be perfect for children already interested in wildlife. Or they could be used to spark an interest.

Custom Killer Whale

The Willowynn Label

The Work Environment

Margeaux lives with her family in rural Australia among macadamia nut farms and cow paddocks. Before starting Willowynn Textile Art, she worked as a park ranger and environmental educator. She has always sewn, but through Willowyn she has been able to recreate the creatures that fascinate her. “Owls, snails, moths, foxes, rabbits and whales have such a gentle, serene beauty and I love trying to create that mood or feeling in them.”

Margeaux has been sewing since she was a child, “I have honed my skills through trial, error and persistence. Each design has come about after countless hours spent stitching, unpicking and stitching again.’ When she was a child she made shorts, skirts and drawstring bags for her treasures. Her designs for Willowynn are made out of repurposed materials, linen remnants, second hand fiberfill, cotton napkins, vintage blankets, upholstery remnants,  Margeaux is drawn to reuse for environmental reasons and because she enjoys the story and romance of the repurposed materials.

Her boys sewing in the studio

Bringing all of her Passions Together

Although Margeaux loved her job as a ranger, she created Willowyn so that she could stay home with her two young sons while working with her favorite things--nature and cloth.

Willowynn Textile Art can be found:

On Margeaux’s Website

Facebook

and in her Etsy Shop.

And this past week at FinderKeepers in Brisbane

Bunnies for more active playtimes

A new custom boy doll

A new custom boy doll with his own set of fun summer clothes, Vineyard Vines style. More details and photos soon.

Teaching a Child to Sew: Cutting and Scissor Choice

This past week, I worked with two adorable second grade graduates who wanted to make American girl Doll dresses for their dolls. We started with the wrap dress. Watching them helped me better understand what makes cutting fabric difficult for them.

The first is cutting. Since small people have small hands, the obvious choice seems to be small scissors. But that is not the best choice. Small scissors make it difficult to cut a long smooth even line. They end up leaving choppy crooked lines. So try to have your child work with the larger scissors...

Which might bring you to your second problem, larger scissors tend be used around the house more often and can be dull. It is difficult cutting fabric with dull scissors and adult sized hands,and it is even harder with small hands. Dull scissors require greater strength. Dull scissors leave very messy edges.

1. Too short, will create choppy edges.

2. Bigger and sharper is better.

3. Old household scissors can be dull.

So sharper larger scissors, with supervision, may be better. 

My favorite sewing scissors are Ginghers. They are $21 from Amazon, but in the long run, a very worthwhile investment. 

See examples below.

Small scissors leave small choppy cutting lines.

Dull household scissors are the worst and hardest for kids to cut with.

Sharper larger scissors makes cutting easier and more accurate.

A bit about the name of my company

Who are Phoebe and Egg? Where did this name come from?

The short answer is Phoebe is the big sister and Egg is the baby sister.  

The longer answer is they began years ago with a drawing, sketched on a whim on a date. When I was dating my husband, I drew our future children--Phoebe, Ging and Egg. Fortunately, the presumption of the sketch did not scare him because we went on to have Phoebe and Ging and adopt our sweet Egg from China. Phoebe, Ging and Egg became an incredible reality, in that exact order, but with different names.

Over the last few months I have had a few boy doll requests. The name is still just Phoebe and Egg, but Ging is definitely part of the collection.

The original Phoebe, Ging and Egg from long ago.

Here are Phoebe, Ging and Egg (not their real names and not in order) in a slightly more recent shot:

Resort wear: Item #1: A Bathing Suit

Finished up a resort wear wardrobe. Just need to block a cotton sweater, But here's the bathing suit on the model.

Three more beloved handmade doll dresses:

"I just love to see a doll dressed in a party dress. This dress uses some of my favorite party dress elements. Tulle, satin, organza and silk roses. There are also Czech glass beads and sequins." Alex

"I made this handmade doll dress for a dearly beloved doll who is a sweet Princess. This dress and it's soft color palette captures that innocence and sweetness of the doll."  Susan

"Another #beloveddolldress photo! My mom made this set for my American Girl doll. We studied the catalog photos and tried to copy the real set exactly so my friends would think I got the real deal " jessica of SweetBriarSisters Patterns

More beloved dresses

More About the Contest