Nerd Corner with Rhonda Archives - Right Sides Together

Industry Spotlight – Kokka Fabric Japan

Kokka Fabric is a lifestyle brand one of the most iconic Japanese textile companies in the industry. Japanese import fabrics used to be difficult to find and had a sort of cult following. Their fabric is getting more accessible and they have some fabulous substrates to sew with to get outside of the quilt cotton box. Here is a glimpse of what they have to offer and a peek at their awesome and unique aesthetic (it goes way beyond Hello Kitty, but yes, they have that too!).

Double Gauze

Double gauze is two fine layers of lightweight cotton, woven on a loom at the same time (double weave), with individual threads that join together at intervals to form a two ply cloth. The finished fabric is lightweight and drapey, but still substantial enough to incorporate into quilts, garments and fashion accessories. Lauren has a great post on sewing with double gauze here.

Nani Iro is a Japanese label for Kokka designed by Naomi Ito. Her prints have a beautiful watercolor quality that look like pieces of artwork that don’t need to be assembled into a finished sewing project. They lend well to simple design and minimal structure, which means easy sewing with a lot of gratification!

Nani Iro Double Gauze (All photos via Kokka Japan)

Cotton/Linen Canvas

Cotton/Linen Canvas is another substrate that Kokka has mastered. Cotton is easy to work with and the addition of linen adds texture and makes for a sturdy fabric. This blend is great for bags and home decor projects.

The Echino label by Etsuko Furuya features vibrant colors and graphic natural elements. Her aesthetic is very modern and artsy. Her prints also work well together in each consecutive line making Echino a great stash fabric for enthusiastic bag sewists!

Cotton Sateen

Cotton sateen is one of the newest substrates I have worked with from Kokka. Sateen has a silky polished surface that is created in the weaving process. It is a smooth, drapey fabric that sews like quilt cotton but looks absolutely delicious sewn into special garments.

The Echino label has a large selection of cotton sateen prints. I can’t wait to see what comes out next with this fabric!

Seeing Red – The Houston International Quilt Festival Ruby Jubilee Quilts

This year The Houston International Quilt Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special exhibit “The Ruby Jubilee”. Rubies are a traditional anniversary gift celebrating forty years of marriage. The strong textile tradition of red and white quilts made this years exhibition a fitting and awe inspiring choice.

Red and white quilts became popular in the 1850s because of an expensive but colorfast and bleed proof fabric dyed with madder that came to be known as turkey red. The cloth was not of Turkish origin but was named so because of its origins in the East. The reds held their color and stood the test of time with wear and tear.

The popularity of red and white quilts, and the fact that they still retained their color over time, has made them highly collectable quilts. A prolific collector, Joanna Rose, shared her collection of 651 red and white quilts in an exhibition, “Infinite Variety,Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts” with the American Folk Art Museum in 2011. This exhibition served as the inspiration for the Ruby Jubilee.

Infinite Variety, March 2011 Photo credit - Gavin Ashworth / Courtesy of American Folk Art Museum. — Infinite Variety, March 2011
Photo credit – Gavin Ashworth / Courtesy of American Folk Art Museum.

The collection of quilts hung in Houston mirrored the same format at Rose’s collection. The Ruby Jubilee quilts span from 1974 to the present and encompass traditional quilts like the iconic Dear Jane all the way to more contemporary pieces with asymmetry and text. The juxtaposition of the two, side by side, made it feel like a wide community of quilters had come together and spoken the same language.

Lauren and I were lucky enough to get to see the exhibition while we were at Quilt Market, which always happens the weekend before festival. Market is a hustle and bustle of work and activity. It is exciting, overwhelming, exhilarating, and stressful all at the same time. Walking through the Market floor is a sensory overload and then you can just step over to the exhibition and it is almost as if time stands still. Voices are hushed. The frantic pace of running from booth to booth, appointment to appointment, is replaced by a slower steps to take in one of the most significant quilt exhibitions in the world.

It is really hard for me to see such a dramatic display and it not have an impact on my own work. The Infinite Variety exhibition spawned an interest in red and white quilts to the point that it inspired entire fabric lines devoted to reproduction turkey red prints. Some of those lines are still being produced. It will be interesting to see what effect this exhibition has on modern quilting.

So, now to dig out some reds in my stash.

Sewing Machines: Choosing the Right One

Ask any serious sewist or quilter for advice on buying a new sewing machine and you will get some serious opinions. A sewing machine is not just a tool to get a job done, it is almost like a mechanical sewing buddy. Whether you are a newbie getting your first machine or an experienced sewist looking to upgrade, there are a few things to consider before you go shopping.

Do a little research.

Ask you friends what they have. Pay attention to what they do and don’t like about their machine. Go online and look at brand websites. Check out customer reviews for machines you might be interested in. If you are researching a machine online and the owner’s manual is available, read it! You don’t have to take the whole manual in like a novel but you will get some good info on what comes with the machine, ease of use, and what it is capable of,

What do you like to sew?

If you are a garment sewist, quilter or crafter, your needs will be different. A quilter might simply need a straight stitch machine. A garment sewist does not need 200 decorative stitches but a great selection of utility stitches. A crafter might want a wide choice of stitches. Think about how you are going to use your machine to narrow down choices.

What is your skill set?

If your are new to sewing you might not want all the bells and whistles but you may want something you won’t outgrow at you learn new skills. If you aren’t computer savvy, don’t pick a machine that is overwhelming with a big learning curve. Like to take things slow? Make sure the machine you are looking at has speed control!

Budget

A simple hobby machine can cost as little as $100 – $200 but don’t expect much. A really good machine will be between $400 – $1000. A serious sewist can spend anywhere from $1000 – the price of your first car. Decide on what you truly want to spend. If you shop online, no worries. If you shop with a dealer, don’t let them talk you into something you are not comfortable with.

Online, Sewing Machine Dealer, Big Box Store? Where do I look?

If you have a local sewing machine dealer you should start there. A good dealer will have a repair tech on-site, offer a lesson on your machine with your purchase, and will be there to answer questions if you have them. If you do not have someone local, look online for a machine dealer that sells online but also has a brick-and-mortar presence. They will be able to answer your questions easily by phone and tend to be more customer service oriented. Even if you order from them online, call them! Ask them the same questions you would if you shop in person. Back-up support for a machine is very, very important.

I have very definite opinions on purchasing machines from big box stores. Big box stores like Walmart do carry low end brand name sewing machines for a low price. These machines are not the same quality (they were probably not even made in the same country) as the brands offerings at a dealer. They also do not carry a range of accessories like specialty presser feet. A Brother sewing machine on the shelf at Walmart will not be one of the models you will find at a Brother dealer. The same goes for other brands. If you get your machine home and need tech support or a sewing lesson, you are out of luck or you are going to have to spend some more money. That defeats the whole purpose of saving money in the first place. It also cracks me up that I can buy baby food and toilet paper within twenty feet of a sewing machine.

Shops will have very different return policies, make sure you know before you fork over dough!

Maintenance and Repairs

The ideal situation is to buy a machine from a shop that also has a certified tech for that brand. If you have to drive five hours to get a repair on a fancy-pants machine, are you going to be happy? Machines also need a little maintenance every 1-2 years depending on how you use your machine.

Do brands matter?

Well, yes and no. The major names in the sewing machine all have great products. If you are leaning toward a particular brand analyze why. Does the brand have a great product or it is a luxury item? Don’t buy a machine for the logo, get what is right for you and your budget! If the brand also makes toaster, vacuum cleaners and irons, move on!

Have fun and take your time!

Take a sewing buddy shopping with you. Test drive every machine you would possibly consider. Don’t feel pressure from anyone to make a decision on the spot. Have a great time!

Sewing Thread: Choosing the Right One

Sewing thread may seem like an afterthought when getting ready to start a project. Maybe all of the choices are a bit perplexing. The right thread for your project will make a big difference in the integrity of your sewing, the life of your sewing machine, and the happiness of the sewist. Here are some common questions.

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Creating a Repeat Pattern for Spoonflower

This week, Right Sides Together is celebrating the fabric design website Spoonflower. Spoonflower is an awesome marketplace for designers looking to sell their prints on fabric and wallpaper, sewists and crafters looking to buy those prints, and people wanting to design and print their own. Each day, we’ll look at a different way that Spoonflower offers fresh, modern design to makers everywhere — all followed up with a giveaway on Friday!

Designing and drawing your own repeat pattern can seem like a mesmerizing and intimidating task, but don’t let it scare you! You do not need any sophisticated Photoshop skills; a pencil and paper plus a couple of quilty tools are all you really need to get started.

You will need a ruler, tape, rotary cutter, and marking tool of your choice. Your sheet of paper should be 8″ x 8″. (more…)