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July 2016

12 AGF fabric prints inspired by birds !!!

Hello dear makers!

One of the biggest humans desire is the ability to fly. We associate flying with freedom. That’s why we will always be captivated by birds! We get fascinated not only by their abilities to glide above the earth but also by their wide spread wings, amazing colors, and the beautiful songs they sing. :) Birds are so different from us but are a part of our everyday lives.

I personally always loved birds in fashion and I am really smitten by all the AGF fabric prints with birds. There are so many prints with birds in our collections but today I'm going to show you some of my favorites. Feel free to browse through all fabric collections to find your favorite!


"Birds are wherever we are. They are our companions. Birds are mediators between heaven and earth."

Terry Tempest Williams, Author, When Women Were Birds

 
Fabric-prints-birds


 

 This selection of bird fabric prints features the following collections:

 

  1. Winged by Bonnie Christine (WNG-2026 Aves Chatter Dim )
  2. Wonderland by Katarina Rocella (WND-2531 Owly Boo)
  3. Hello Ollie by Bonnie Christine (HOL-46652 Feathered Fellow Lush)
  4. Petal and Plume by Bari J. (PEP-58202 Illusionist Vine Jay)
  5. Tapestry by Sharon Holland (TAP-82495 Eternal Elan)
  6. Utopia by Frances Newcombe (UT-24504 Orni Incandescence)
  7. Sketchbook by Sharon Holland (SBK-47201 Air Brush Fancy)
  8. Coastline by Sharon Holland (CTL-49907 Beachcomber Nocturnal)
  9. Joie de Vivre by Bari J. (JOI-89127 C'est la Vie Winter)
  10. Petal and Plume by Bari J. (PEP-58209 Peacock Waltz Gala)
  11. Sweet as Honey by Bonnie Christine (SAH-1607 Fly by Day)
  12. Hello Ollie by Bonnie Christine (HOL-36650 Swanlings Bevy Nightfall)

 

Are you delighted with this selection, as much as I am? I especially love the (#1) burgundy fabric with the flock of birds from Bonnie Christine's Winged collection. This print is available also in voile. I think i'm going to plan a special project with this print. Stay tuned!;)

Also the swallow fabric print from Utopia (#6) is another one of my favorites ( I like the one from Sketchbook too (#7). It's so hard to just pick one!). Swallows have a soft spot in my heart. When I was a kid living in Poland I remember observing swallows flying around and singing so beautifully! It was such a magical moment from my childhood.

What I love about birds is that they are so accessible to us. We can meet them everywhere from backyards to seashores. And the ones you can meet at a seashore are of course seagulls! Sharon Holland captured all the wonders of seashore in her Coastline collection but in this specific seagull fabric print (#8) she showed us how seagulls are a vital and beautiful element of the coastline.

Peackock

We couldn’t miss the peacock fabric print (#10) in this selection. Peacock's feathers are simply captivating and they became inspiration for many artists. Bari J. mixed their feathers with flowers creating this gorgeous fabric print in her Petal and Plume collection. 

Owl

I recently asked my 12 year old niece what she would like to get as a gift. She replied “Anything that has owl on it.” :) I am sure she would love a dress made with this owl fabric print from the Wonderland Collection (#2) by Katarina Roccella. Owls became so popular in fashion and as you know here at AGF HQ we keep up with trends. We are going release shortly 2 new collections that feature owl fabric prints : Nightfall by Maureen Cracknell and Heartland by Pat Bravo. Trust me, you're going to love them.  

Swans

Last but not least we want to show you a closeup of the swan fabric print from our upcoming collection Hello,Ollie by Bonnie Christine . As you remember this is the first AGF organic collection and we are so excited about introducing it to the market! The fabric is so soft that it's hard to resist petting it! Take a look at the all the prints from Bonnie Christine's organic fabric collection. There is more amazing swans prints!

Birds-fabric-prints

 I hope you liked the selection of fabrics and that you are inspired to use beautiful birds prints in your next sewing project! :)

Do you have any favorite birds or any interesting stories involving birds? Let us know your stories in the comments! 

 

I wish you a high-flying sewing journey!

 

-Ola


All about AGF Voile Fabric

Hello hello creative makers!

I must admit, ever since I started working at AGF I've been obsessed with our voile fabric. This is why I have to tell you about all AGF Voile and will show you some of the projects we have done here at the studio! Voile fabric is characterized by it's softness and natural drape which makes it ideal for chic fashion pieces.

The name of this substrate originates from the French word for veil because of it's lightweight sheer consistency. In addition, our contemporary designs definitely make this fabric stand out! Here at the studio we love using Voile for dresses and blouses because it's great to wear in the hot South Florida weather.

But don't assume Voile is only for garments! You can make cozy quilts, fluffy pillows, and elegant curtains! Just imagine how soft a these home decor items would be. The possibilities are endless and all you need is a little voile and your sewing machine. To get you inspired, here are a few of my favorite projects. I love how this fabric moves when it's used in dresses or skirts, it looks so chic!

Voile blog

What are your favorite things to sew with Voile?

If you have any projects you have made with our voile fabric feel free to share them and tag us on Instagram using @artgalleryfabrics  and #AGFvoile.

I hope you love AGF voile as much as I do!

 

Best,

Caro


100% Premiun cotton voile | 52- 53 wide 

Fabric care: Machine Wash Warm. Use non-chlorine bleach. Tumble dry medium. Use warm iron.

 


The Art of Mutual Learning: Piecing the Quilt

Hey Everyone!

I hope everyone is having an awesome day! I’m back to tell you all about my sewing journey! If you haven’t been able to keep up, check out my posts about the inspiration behind my project and my struggles with the quarter inch seam allowance. Today, I finally get to tell you about how I put my mini quilt together.

Once I had all my 2.5” by 2.5” squares cut, I began to place them on our giant batting wall to visualize how the mini was going to look. It seems silly, but I was so fascinated at how the fabrics stick to the batting!

Placing fabrics

Then the real fun started… I finally started sewing together the pieces of my quilt! At first, putting the little squares together wasn’t so difficult until I started piecing the bigger blocks. That’s when my frustrations began because I just couldn’t get matching seams. It drove me crazy!

In some cases I had to redo the seams like ten times. Honestly, it took me a few days to just piece the top because I kept redoing everything. I thought I was never going to finish…but that battle was fought and my quilt began looking more like my initial sketch.

IMG_8815

Once the top was done, I put together my quilt sandwich and got ready to quilt it. For the backing, I chose Solid Smooth Denim from the Denim Studio by AGF in Afternoon Sail and decided to quilt it with wide diagonal lines so that the design could stand out.

Quilting was probably one of the easier things I’ve done during this process. It was actually kind of relaxing because I just followed the movement of the machine as I reflected about the project and other things could make.

Quilting

Last but not least, I had reached the final step…BINDING! I was so excited when I reached this step because I was a few stitches away from finishing my quilt. That afternoon, I measured my strips, sewed the binding, and that was it. I had succeeded in learning how to sew a mini quilt!

Binding

The journey may be over but you still haven’t seen my completed quilt! Stay tuned to see the full reveal of my mini quilt along, with the one Lauv (my teacher) made!

Thanks for following my journey!

 

Till next time,

Stephanie

 






AGF Stitched Featuring Pandalicious Fabrics

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Hey there quilting enthusiasts!

As we all know, it’s always fun to try new patterns and grow your quilt collection. Especially when the patterns are FREE! This is why today, I’m going to give you a little dose of inspiration with the latest episode of AGF Stitched with Kimberly!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with AGF Stitched, it’s a Youtube tutorial series hosted by Kimberly from Fat Quarter Shop. In every episode she teaches you how to make a beautiful modern quilt with some of our newly released collections. What’s great about the series is that Fat Quarter Shop provides a free pattern to follow along the tutorial and if you want to re-create the exact quilt from the video, you can buy a kit. It’s a great way for beginner quilters to dive into the craft without feeling intimidated!

Palisades1

In the newest episode, Kimberly will teach you how to make the Palisades Quilt with Katarina Roccella’s latest collection, Pandalicious fabrics. Feel free to download the FREE PATTERN to this quilt and follow the video tutorial!

If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out the list of makers. You’ll love their creative versions of the quilt made with other AGF collections.

 

Here are a few of our favorites. ;)

AGF stitched graphic

We hope you enjoyed this episode of AGF Stitched! Share this project with all your quilting friends and don’t forget to post your version of the #PalisadesQuilt on social media. Stay tuned for the next video tutorial.  As always, stay creative and thanks for inspiring!

 

Xoxo,

Stephanie

 

P.S. To view other episodes, check out the AGF Stitched playlist on Fat Quarter Shop’s Youtube channel.


5 Patterns that look great in teal fabric!

Hi, all sewists!

We hope you're having a fantastic summer so far and that you've gotten inspired with our July ColorFUN blog post! Have you made any beautiful projects with our teal fabrics? If yes, please let us know what you made! If you haven't made anything yet, here are some projects made with AGF teal fabric prints that you'll love to make yourself! And the good news is it's all so easy!

Here are the steps:

-Buy the fabric in your favorite online store or local fabric shop.

  1. Pet and stare at the fabric for couple days and then stare some more. ;)
  2. Download one of the patterns we recommend below.
  3. Sew your dream garment.
  4. Let us know in comments how everything turned out. :)

Tealgraphicblog1


1.Gathered Top

You can never have enough tanks and flowy tops for hot summer days! They're that piece in our wardrobe that we always feel comfortable in and we always look good wearing them! The Palm tree fabric print  also known as "Tropical Breeze" from Sharon's Holland's collection Coastline, exceptionally matches this pattern.

2.Kaisla Blazer

How about those summer days that are slightly cooler? We need to sew something for those days too! This plaid fabric print from Pat Bravo's Dare Collection is perfect to make this blazer. We are sure everyone will admire it once you wear it. :)

3.Matilda dress

There is never enough dresses in your girl’s wardrobe, right? How about sewing this fun dress in one of the teal fabric prints from Katarina Roccella’s Imprint collection? What’s great about the pattern it that it has three sleeve options!

4.HP 1170 Fast & Fabulous Blouse

If you are looking to sew something casual, there is no better choice than this blouse - perfect for work or weekend getaway with the family. What we especially like about the pattern is the narrow-hemmed shirt-tail on the back of the shirt. Just grab teal knit fabric from Katarina Roccella's collection - Lavish, and sew it for yourself!

5.Emma Rose dress

We fell in love with this picture the second we saw it! Isn’t Pat’s Bravo's floral fabric print from the Essentials II collection a wonderful choice for a girl's summer dress? That dress will make your little one feel like a fairy in a flowery meadow!

Teal-fabrics



We hope you liked all the featured patterns and that we inspired you to sew with teal fabrics! Oh, and one more tip - all the featured teal fabrics match great with all the prints from our recently released Pandalicious collection. Perhaps, you are in a mood for a teal quilt? Regardless of what you plan to make, don't be afraid to mix and match prints and simply have lots of fun!!

 

Till next time,

Alex


History of Sewing!

Hello hello!

Today is a good day! The sun is shining, the weather is warm, and it's a great day to learn! This is why i'm excited to tell you all about the history of sewing! Some of us know how to sew, but we don't really know the beautiful history behind the craft. Since I am history lover, I wanted to share all the things I've learned with you. I'm always questioning things and if I don't know something in detail, I'm the kind of girl that does research just to make sure I know.

I personally find sewing very interesting. What has impressed me the most is that it's something that has existed since the Paleolithic Era. It's incredible how intelligent and crafty humans were since the beginning of time. While I was reading about the history of sewing, I found out there was a time where Barthelemy Thimonnier a french tailor opened the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company in the world. But this factory was burned down by its employees because they feared to lose their jobs. What caught my attention is that in the end these machines had to be operated by someone, so basically their job actually became easier and more efficient. Nowadays, sewing machines won't make your project automatically, yet they have a few features that can make you work faster. For example custom stitches, a variety of foots, digital displays, etc. 

Here are some other facts that I found interesting about the history of sewing. The history of sewing is lengthy and definitely worth reading about, but for now here is a glimpse. ;) 

History of sewing infographic

Sewing is an art and it's definitely great to be surrounded by wonderful makers like yourselves! 

 

I hope you enjoyed the history of sewing!

 

Xoxo,

Caro

 

PS: If you are interested in reading about the history of sewing, here are the sources I used!

References:

  • Anawalt, Patricia Rieff (2007).The Worldwide History of Dress. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51363-7.
  • Barber, Elizabeth Wayland (1994).Women's Work:The First 20,000 Years. W. W. Norton.
  • Huxley, Susan (1999).Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry: Proven Methods to Help You Sew Like the Pros. New York: Rodale Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87596-980-0.
  • Meyrich, Elisaa (2006).RIP IT!: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams. New York: Fireside. ISBN 978-0-7432-6899-8.
  • Meyrich, Elissa (2002).Sew Fast Sew Easy: All You Need to Know When You Start to Sew. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-26909-9.
  • Reader's Digest (1976).Complete Guide to Sewing. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. ISBN 0-89577-026-1.
  • Picken, Mary Brooks(1957). The Fashion Dictionary. Funk and Wagnalls.
  • Singer: The New Sewing Essentialsby The Editors of Creative Publishing International ISBN 0-86573-308-2
  • "Origin of Sewing – Sewing History | Sewing Mantra." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2016.
  • "Who Invented Sewing?" Clothing History. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 July 2016.
  • "The Middle Ages -- Clothing." The Middle Ages -- Clothing. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2016.