Huge Sale!!

That's right! 20% off our entire website for a limited time!

Spoils from L.A.'s Fashion District

"New fabric Ladies..."

Vintage Green Strapless Dress... What's old is new again!

Interesting idea for the fur. That's why we love seeing what you guys do. Always new ideas out there.

European patchwork tote

We love seeing what you made!

Rayon Challis

As promised we just put up a beautiful pallet of Rayon Challis. I know it's still pretty cold in some parts of the country, but here in Los Angeles, a rayon dress with tights and boots is all we need to "rough" the winter.



Last week one of the buyers delivered over a dozen pieces of this Rayon Challis to me. I immediately knew I loved to look and feel of it, but I needed to know more about what I was photographing. What I have learned is Rayon is both natural, fibers taken from wood pulp, and man made, the process that happens to get it to look the way it does. The weight of Rayon, which is a bit heavier than a really light weight fabric, like voile, is perfect for dresses, skirts and blouse. Because it has some weight to it, it hangs and drapes beautifully on the body.  There are a few types of Rayon, one being Viscose Rayon, which is dry clean only and has more of a sheen to it. Challis, which refers to the soft nature and it's just barely brushed look, is the Rayon we have.  It is not shiny, has a super soft hand, and is washable. All these qualities that make is great for a wide range of sewers.



As I was reading up on this Rayon Challis, I came across a lot of discussion about pre-washing. Especially since some people called it a natural firer and others feel it is synthetic. The post from Lilacs & Lace put it best. "The idea is to be as hard on the material as I ever will be.  Because I am going to hand wash the finished product, it should be perfectly safe since it has already been through a machine cycle."



As we love Amy Butler, when I came across this post from  Whip Up, via Amy Butler, I felt we were in good hands. Amy says, "Choose the right pattern when working with Rayon Challis, it is an extremely versatile fabric and can be used for many different sewing and craft projects but some will turn out better than others. Rayon Challis has a soft drape that is perfect for dresses, skirts, blouses and other garments. Projects that have a lot of intricate details and tailoring are often better suited to other fabrics."

Anna Maria Horner has made some beautiful pieces from Rayon Challis. Here are a few.




Here are a few other articles I came across...

How to Sew with Rayon

Know your Rayon

If you buy our Rayon Challis and make something please share it here or on our Facebook page. Enjoy!

Echino is online....

We've had Echino in the retail store for awhile now, but I was so happy when I heard I was getting stock and able to put it online. It's beautiful, modern, and fun. Echino is a line of fabrics designed by Etsuko Furuya. She graduated from Department of Textile Design Textile Kyoto Art College. On her website you can see more of her works, including ceramics, bags, and of course her full line of fabric.

Here are just a few of the prints we have...

Honestly it is hard for me to pick which one I like the best. The colors of the Echino are so vivid and the prints are so quirky, it really has a great range, and for me that always make a fabric appealing.

While I can imagine this fabric looking amazing in a frame on my wall (really I may be doing that this week), there are many other projects people have come up with. Here are a few...



Check out this web site for some inspiration. I love the peasant dress style. The first year it makes a lovely dress, but what I love even more is the second year, when they have a growth spurt, and the dress turns into the perfect tunic top over simple leggings.

Check out this Messenger Bag....



While the directions are in Japanese I have been told most sewers can figure it out.

Here are just a few pictures to get you inspired to buy a piece, or two, of this great fabric.




Need the purse hardware, buy it here.




We have both these patterns, as well as many others, that would work great for these prints. Enjoy!