I have been anticipating for months sewing with the upcoming Poppie Cotton collection called Nature Sings. Finally the time arrived, I completed 3 out of 4 of my project ideas for it, and today I'm going to share them all for my slot on the blog tour!
The fabric was so pretty, I had a hard time narrowing it down to what I did make. Such dreamy florals and a pretty color scheme. It's not quite my usual style, but when I had it in my hands I was struck by how pretty it was.
One thing I knew was that I was going to do a dress for my 4 year old in the purple bird print, and I ended up making it in time for her to wear for Easter.
I used a more modern (but still classic) McCall's pattern, and did a contrasting bodice in the gingham. I couldn't figure out how to do the collar since I didn't have enough bird fabric for it, and more gingham didn't look right on top of the gingham bodice. I feared adding yet another print would make it too busy, but I think it works for a little girl's dress! I was able to squeeze the collar out of one of my fat quarter pieces.
It's such a cute sailor collar style. I really like how it looks with the square back and tapered fronts.
I added a touch of bird fabric to the sleeves to tie that in, and then when she tried it on I realized the skirt was pretty short, so I ended up lengthening it with a strip of the gingham since I was out of bird fabric. It all worked together quite well, and she loves it!
You can see how cute her Easter outfit was, with the little pink vintage bonnet. :-)
As usual, when I make a garment, I want to also make something quilty so I can play with all the rest of the fabrics I didn't use. This time I was struck by a photo of a kit by Shabby Fabrics for a rag quilt. I had never seen a rag quilt that wasn't just basic squares or strips, and was quite intrigued by the fact that you can also do this with basic patchwork, in a slightly more elaborate design.
I made up my own pattern, inspired by the photo, and scaling it to fit with the fabric I had to work with.
I used a floral flannel from JoAnn for the backing, and a pink solid flannel for the center layer. The last time I made a rag quilt I used batting for the center, and I really liked using flannel instead. It still has quite a nice drape and weight like a regular batted quilt does, but the triple layers fringe better, and they were easier to stack and stitch.
It was very nice to finish the piecing and then go straight to binding with a nice finished back - no basting or quilting an unwieldy quilt sandwich! I usually gravitate toward traditional quilt making, but when I do a quilt-as-you-go project like this it's refreshing for a change.
It makes such a pretty, sturdy, spring-colored throw blanket!
My 3rd and final project with this fabric was an apron. The large scale floral in blue just begged to be made into an apron, so I made up my own pattern, using 1/2 yard of the blue, trimmed with lavender gingham.
The gathered top is so flattering! I was very pleased with how it turned out, especially when paired with the wide waistband.
A gathered pocket with a wide gingham band pulls it all together. I will probably try this idea again with some tweaks, but for not having a pattern I quite like the finished product.
So there are my 3 most recent projects - I was sewing up quite a storm there for a few weeks!
I hope you've been following along with all the other gorgeous projects made from this fabric! It never ceases to amaze me how many different looks can be created from the same fabric, depending on the individual taste of the creator. There's always so much inspiration in these blog tours, and I'm delighted to be a part of it.
