Turning Down the Volume!

There are times in our fabric shopping moments when our exuberance takes control of our sensibilities and we purchase something that is not in our normal wheelhouse. Perhaps the texture or weave of the fabric is different from what we traditionally pick, but we want to step out a little...take a risk.  Or perhaps the color is not in our tried and true shades, but we love the idea of a new color (we can always wear a different shade or lipstick or dye our hair, after all!) Or perhaps we are so drawn to a wild print in the store we can't put it back - we have to have 5 yards - we'll think of something we can make!

These colorful knits that I picked up on my last buying trip were irresistible.  I knew that we have Stonemountain customers who would just go ga-ga over their beautiful coloring.

I don't usually wear fabrics this colorful, but rather than "just say no", I decided to pair it with another fabric in some sort of color blocked pattern. My seamstress Laurel felt the same way - she wanted that bright pink version, but when we held it up in a mirror, we could tell that we were going to need to tone it down by adding another "less busy" print.

We're making up the turquoise print in the Sandra Betzina Vogue 1336. We love the way you can mix fabrics in so many combinations.

Laurel's red and pink version of this knit will be made up in one of our new patterns from Tilly and the Buttons, the "Coco" t-shirt/dress. We love the patch pocket details!

One of the most fun parts of collaborating with my talented staff and Laurel is that we can use each others' ideas and often interject perhaps a new direction for a garment.  In this case, we all loved the idea of pairing this bright print with a black and white polka dot knit to turn down the volume of the pinks and reds a little. After all, it helps to keep things funky during these dark winter months!

Let's put those polka dots around the neckline...

And of course, polka-dot patch pockets! The soft jersey knit creates a slouchy, casual look.

And DUH! Polka dot sleeves too!

In the end, it's still a little bright for some tastes, but the important thing for Laurel was to break up the bright pink and red colors by toning it down with black. A solid black knit would have worked just as well, but we like to mix it up and Laurel is a "Take No Prisoners" kinda seamstress!

Laurel's Mini-Me Colette likes it!

 Take a look in your stash and see if you have a piece of fabric that has been languishing too long. Bring it to the store and let's try to pair it with another fabric. We have a great staff of gifted sales associates who are great at helping choose every detail of a project, whether it's fabric, a pattern, buttons or even thread. We're here to help!

 

 Creatively Yours,

Suzan
Owner, Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
2518 Shattuck Ave. @ Dwight Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-845-6106
Open M-F: 10 - 6:30; Sat: 10 - 6; Sun: 11 - 5:30
Stop by and say Hi!