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August 2016

History of the sewing needle!

Hey there, fabric lovers!

I've always been curious about history. In fact, I LOVE history! As I told you before in one of my posts, what I love about history is that it keeps people thinking and it's a great subject to discuss with your friends. Today, I decided to research about where the sewing needles come from. Well, let me tell you that the history behind it is just incredible! Sewing needles, were one of humankind's first tools. They were used in the upper paleolithic period which began about 40,000 years ago.

Sewing needles were made of animal bones, antlers and tusks which made possible the extension of human settlement into cooler regions after the Ice age! This is so impressing! Imagine how smart humans were at that time that they figured out how to stitch pieces of animal fur together to protect themselves of the cold. It's very interesting how we keep changing and improving over the years! Sometimes, I ask myself what people will think about us in 200 years! 

Also, did you know that the nineteenth century was the golden age of needle production? At this time needles were cheap enough to be lost in great numbers! Before, people took care of the needles like if they were precious stones or even gold. Women used to protect the needles in special cases attached to their belts. Can you believe that? Oh! And something more incredible is that in 1906, 300 million needles were purchased in the United States alone! Can you believe how many needles are sold now?

Well, I made this info graphic to make this history more exciting and more easy to understand. Enjoy!

Infographic

Also, I got very curious about knowing on how sewing needles are made nowadays and I found this cool video that explains everything!

 

Now that you know more in depth about sewing needles. What are other things you would like to learn about the sewing world?

I hope you all enjoyed this post!

xoxo,

Caro


 

Just in case you want to know more about the history of needles, here are the pages I visited!

"A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SEWING NEEDLE." A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SEWING NEEDLE. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.
Dennell, Robin. "Needles and Spear-Throwers." Natural History 90, no. 10 (October 1986): 70-78.
"Antique Sewing Needle Cases". Collectors Weekly. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
How sewing needles are made. The history of sewing needles. (n.d.). Retrieved August 24, 2016.
 
 

 

 


AGF Quilt Block Collection: Dutchman's Puzzle Block featuring Observer

Hello Everyone,

Ready for another quilt block tutorial? This time we will be featuring fabric from Observer by April Rhodes. This collection is full of blues and earth tone shades mixed with the feel of hand dyed prints and rich textured graphics. The quilt block we will be sewing today is called the Dutchman’s Puzzle, which is made completely out of flying geese placed in different directions.

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View the video below and have fun making the second block of the AGF Quilt Block Collection.

 

 

If you missed the first quilt block featuring Hello Ollie, click here to watch the video! You are welcome to share your creations on Social Media using hashtag #AGFquiltblockcollection


Enjoy,

Melissa

 


Observer Fabrics: The Beauty of Textures & Surroundings

Hey, Everyone!

Lately, I’ve been thinking how in today’s society it’s so easy to live life on auto-pilot. We wake up, drink our coffee, get the ready for work, come back home, try to take five minutes to sew something (if possible), go to sleep, and then start all over again. Sometimes we get stuck in our routines and we don’t realize how beautiful our surroundings can be. We forget to admire the glistening morning dew on our gardens or how cute the buttons on our favorite shirts are.

I know it sounds silly, but we have to stop and “smell the flowers” because life is short and we should enjoy every bit of it. One of our designers, April Rhodes really put this into perspective with her new collection Observer. This fabric collection, is inspired by the many man-made and naturally occurring patterns that surround us. Whether it’s the chipped paint on a dingy wall or a birds eye view of the city at night, they are little details that make our world beautiful.

Observer_banner

What’s great is that you can incorporate this amazing world or textures and patterns into your sewing. Observer is filled with minimal prints combined with artistic motifs such as, subtle paint splatters and edgy tie-dyes. Some of my favorite projects that were made with this collection were trendy totes and bags because they reminded me of products you can find in stores like Anthropologie and Free People.

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The colors of this collection are also great for home décor! The warm mustard yellows combined with the dusty blues and navy are nice accents without being overpowering.

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If you’re loving these projects already, feel free to check out the look book. It’s filled with tons of garments, quilts, and home décor ideas. Plus, some of the projects have links to the patterns!

 

One project you have to download is this “Inward” FREE QUILT PATTERN! Its unique design combined with the muted color will look great in your home.

ArtGalleryFabrics_Observer_FreeQuilt_1

If you’re looking to mix and match a few blenders into your projects, we’ve prepared a curated selection of AGF elements that coordinate with this collection.

Observer blenders

Last but not least, don’t forget to enter our GIVEAWAY! Your stash is yearning for a bundle of this stylish collection!

GIVEAWAY GRAPHIC OBSERVER

To enter:

 Simply fill out the form below. 

Giveaway ends Monday August 29th at 3:00pm EST. Good luck!

We can’t wait to see all the beautiful projects you’ll make with Observer fabrics!

Till next time,

Stephanie

 

*****GIVEAWAY CLOSED*****

CONGRATULATIONS Linda Williamson , you've won the Observer fabric bundle! Check your email.

 
 

P.S. Here's a cute video that sums up the beauty of this collection. ;)


AGF Sewcialite Spotlight: The Stella Weekender Bag

Hello fabulous fabric friends!

I hope you all had a great week! Earlier this week I showed you two adorable outfits that our AGF Sewcialite, Mister Domestic made for his little girl Helena. Now just a few days later he’s back with another stunning project! Let me tell you, I think Mister Domestic has few clones of himself in his sewing room!

His newest creation is the Stella Weekender Bag by Swoon Patterns featuring Pandalicious by Katarina Roccella. What’s even more amazing about this project was that this was the first time he ever made a bag! I encourage everyone to check out his blog post and see his process.

Mister Domestic weekender bag

Visit his blog, misterdomestic.net to see close-ups and details.

As always, stay creative and thanks for inspiring!

Xoxo,

Stephanie


Sewing DO's and DON'Ts - Ola Makes a Clutch: Part 1

Sewing-dos-and-dontsHello AGF friends!

Do you remember last quilt market ? Who doesn't right? It was so much fun and there was tons of excitement around the new AGF collections. I spent most of my time in the AGF Studio booth where we presented gorgeous clutches among other cute projects sewn with AGF denim and a variety of collections. I have to admit, I could sit there all day long and admire the clutches. They were simply delightful! Meli - one of our product designers noticed how amazed I was and she kindly offered me a sewing lesson, so I could make one of the clutches I had been swooning about! Thank you Meli!

From that time I couldn't stop thinking about it! Recently Meli and I finally found some time to make my dream come true!

ArtGalleryFabrics_AGF-studio_18

I am going to share with you the process of sewing my very first clutch and all the sewing DO'S and DON'TS I have learned throughout the process.

 So here's how the story goes:

  1. Choosing the fabric

As you can read in one of my blog posts : "Fabric Prints inspired by birds",  I exceptionally like birds in fashion. I associate them with freedom and I feel like wearing prints with birds makes me feel like I'm flying through the day. ;) That's why my choice for the main print of the clutch was going to be no other than Aves Chatter Dim from Winged by Bonnie Christine. Meli liked the choice and she asked me to choose the fabric for lining.

Digging through the piles of AGF prints, I was looking for fabric that will just make me happy whenever I open the clutch. And there it was! Striped pink fabric known as Streakly Business Blush from Pat's Bravo Collection, Essentials II.

I was happily ran back to Meli to show her my choice but she was not enthused by my choice. This completely surprised me because in my head: 

  1. This print is simple and pretty.
  2. Only I was going to see the inside of the clutch so why did it need to match the outside? ;p

She explained to me why I should consider a different print for the lining, and these were her tips:

  • "Even if you don't see the lining because it's inside the bag, DO keep it cohesive with any element (color, design, texture, etc.) from the the outside of the bag."
  • "DON'T use busy prints for the outside and inside of your clutch because it will clash with the look of your project."

I was in awe when Meli told me this because I always underestimated the process of choosing fabrics. I reconsidered my choice and realized she was right. If I want to achieve beautiful aesthetics like professionally made clutches, I have to really find a good match for the lining!

So she helped me to choose the rest of my fabrics, and here are my choices:

 

Fabric-choice

from left to right:

a)Linen fabric -for front pocket (DEN-L-4000 Soft Sand from the Denim Studio by AGF)

b)Lightweight dark denim - for the handle (DEN-S-2001 Indigo Shadow from the Denim Studio by AGF)

c)Light brown solid fabric - for the lining (PE-440 Macchiatto from Pure Elements by AGF)

d)Textured dark denim - for the front pocket (DEN-T-3000 Bluebottle Field)

c)Birds fabric - for the front of the clutch (WNG-2026 Aves Chatter Dim)

 

2. Choosing the pattern

I really like the adjustments that Meli did to the Jessy clutch pattern from the Hello Ollie Lookbook. I love the front pocket with snaps and I knew that it was something that I wanted to go for! So I decided to make the exact same clutch.  

ArtGalleryFabrics_Hello,Ollie_Clutches_3
 

 3. Cutting the fabric

After I had chosen my fabrics and pattern, it was time to cut all the fabric pieces and prepare all supplies for the project.

Besides the pieces of fabric I needed:

  • 9" zipper
  • snaps for the front pocket
  • clasp for bag handle
  • zipper foot
  • blind stitch foot

All the dimensions (besides the front pocket) are in the clutch pattern. I marked the dimensions of the pocket on the picture below. 

Here is what I have learned when cutting my fabric and preparing supplies:

  • DON'T ever leave the rotary cutter blade exposed when you are done cutting the fabric.
  • DO iron your fabrics before cutting. 
  • DO measure your pieces very precisely before cutting because your projects depends on it.
  • DO align your rotary cutter to the ruler and press firmly to the mat to make sure that you cut the fabric correctly.

 

Supplies-for-clutch

Uff I've survived through all the prepping. Now its time to start sewing! Wish me luck!

I hope you're curious to see how the final result will look! I can't wait to show you my first clutch! Let me know in the comments if you have any DO's and DON'Ts of your own that I should follow. 

Stay tuned for the next part of my sewing DO'S and DON'TS :)

 

All the best

Ola


AGF Elements: Blenders You Will Love

Hey there, fabric lovers!

I would like to start this post by asking you a very simple but interesting question.

 

What do you know about the AGF Elements? 

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Today you will learn everything about the blenders a.k.a AGF elements. We have a huge variety of hues just for you to get the exact color you've been looking for! With our blenders you will be able to match and color coordinate your projects with ease! Lets get to know the seven different blender collections known as: round elements, squared elements, prisma elements, pure elements, floral elements, nature elements and oval elements

We know that sometimes it's hard to combine certain fabric prints or you just can't find the right color. That's when blenders come to save you from stress and fear! Blenders are perfect for any project whether you want to make it look bold or simple. Also, my favorite thing about blenders is that you can just use them on their own or in combination with a any collection. Either way your project will turn out perfect and beautiful!

Oh, oh! And before I forget, we have another collection of solid blenders in knit fabric! How awesome, right? Imagine combining printed knits with solid knits. WOW! just by thinking about it, I got the urge to run to the sewing room and make something for myself! 

Take a closer look at all the blenders AGF offers:

Round Elements Bolts

Round Elements

Get ready to make your world go 'round with our collection of Round Elements! A classic organic shape surrounded by different colors that will bring unique dimensions to each of your projects. You can use it by itself or combine it with your favorite collection! What's awesome about this blender is that some of the colors come in knits. Imagine a sash on a dress made with this blender or even the backing of a quilt.

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Prisma Elements

Let's talk about Prisma Elements! The Prismas are one of my favorite AGF blender collections because they are very simple yet elegant! If you love saturated jewel tone colors, these are the blenders for you. A fun fact about all the colors of this collection is that they are all named after precious stones. In addition, some of the prints have the triangles printed in metallic to add a little sheen to any project.

IMG_8375

Square Elements

If you're looking to add a little contrast to your projects or you're looking for a simple small scale fabric, Squared Elements are ideal. These elements will give any project visual depth because the print consists of squares in different sizes on white or colored backgrounds. I think this blender is awesome because it reminds of a funky gingham pattern. 


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Pure Elements 

Now, let's move on to our Pure Elements a.k.a Solids! Solids are the most common among everyone. They are perfect to mix and match with any kind of prints and they come in a variety of colors. No matter what mood you're in, Pure Elements will add that extra pop of color you might be looking for or will give your project subtle accents. Plus, they're so pretty look at! 

Nature_fabrics

Nature Elements

Nature Elements are funky, artsy, and bold! The design of these elements shows off the abstract idea of little leaves with a twist of stripes, hence the "nature" part of their name. They are perfect to use by themselves or as a unique accent. 


Floral elements with flower

Floral Elements

If you love incorporating florals in everything you make, Floral Elements will be your favorite blenders. They let you add the femininity and classiness of flowers without overpowering the design of your project. Like all of our other blenders, these elements come in a variety of colors for you to choose from. I simply love the pink ones because they look so girly.

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Oval Elements

And last but not least, these are the oval elements! The multi colored ovals in this blender give the print a unique take on dotted fabrics. What I love about this blender is that from a distance the ovals enhance the bold colors of the fabric but up close you can see the unique color combinations that make up the print. It's like having two different fabrics in one!


After playing with all of our blenders and looking at all these pictures, I'm craving to sew something! It's not only the colors or prints that are alluring, but the softness of our fabric is simply incredible! Every time I walk around the office and see a quilt I just want to snuggle in it!

To share my love for the AGF elements with you, I'm hosting a GIVEAWAY! Have a chance to win this beautiful bundle of blenders by filling out the form below.

Giveaway elemnts

Giveaway will run from August 17th - 24th. Winner will be chosen using random.org and will be announced on August 24th at 12:00pm EST.
 

Hope you all enjoyed learning about our blenders and good luck!

 

Lots of love,

Caro!

 

 

*****GIVEAWAY CLOSED*****

CONGRATULATIONS Rose Santuci-Sofranko , you've won the Elements fabric bundle! Check your email.