April at Village Haberdashery

I have so many choices for my visit to Village Haberdashery this month.  Let's start with Flight, now available in voile, interlock knit and canvas and flying out of the shop at speed- do you see what I did there ;) ?

I have been waiting for the Flight in a knit and voile to arrive and ordered both straightaway.  The knit was slightly different than I imagined.   You can see the reverse of the fabric is off white (this is the 'Dusk' colourway- a dark slate grey with a hint of navy.  It is an interlock knit and these are usually less stretchy than jersey and this interlock has less stretch or softness than I had anticipated even for an interlock so it would not be my first choice for a fitted long sleeved T shirt like a Renfrew. However, the plus side of an interlock like this is that it behaves more like a woven fabric when you cut and sew it- it has greater stability than a single jersey knit which tends to curl up at every opportunity and can be tricky to cut.  So although this won't work for very stretchy shapes, it is perfect for jersey clothing that needs a little more structure- Tilly's Coco  as a dress or top would be a great pattern for this fabric. I plan to make a little light summer jacket from a new Lisette pattern, Round Trip Simplicity 1419.

I also ordered this in Juniper and it is totally and utterly lovely. 

It is another jersey interlock but much softer and with more stretch, although both are 100% organic cotton.  The colour is amazing and the quality is sublime.  Simply the best knit I have ever ordered!  I have 1 ½ metres of this- its 160cm wide, and I know from previous experience than I can squeeze a long sleeved fitted T and some sort of short sleeved Briar top or similar.  Tops like that are my everyday basics so I could not be happier and there are so many colours- stripes and solids- to choose from, I will definitely be back for more.

Fabric manufacturers have finally realised that decent knit/jersey fabrics are hard to find and what many home sewers are looking for and so have included them in their new ranges.  Art Gallery are leading the way with knits and voiles featuring alongside the silky quilting cottons in their new Limited Edition fabric collections- Sara Lawson's Jungle Avenue (coming in July) for example.

Back to what's available now, and just in today, the new knit patterns from Colette.  Mabel, an easy pull on panelled skirt:

And Moneta, a simple dress with lots of customisation possibilities and a free download booklet for different neck line options. 

Colette has made a giant step with both these patterns to cover a far greater range of sizes (from XS to 3XL) and it is truly wonderful to see a leading independent company embracing what women want and who they really are.  I especially like the Curvy Collective Blog Tour.  I did notice with both these patterns  jersey lining is part of the construction so you need to factor that in when you buy your fabrics and consider the type of jersey recommended for each pattern-there is a handy guide to different jersey/knit fabrics on Tilly and the Buttons.  The striped and solid colour interlock knits have great potential for these patterns.

Remember to always prewash knits and use the cycle that you would expect to wash the finished garment on.  Sometimes I wash knits twice as there can be quite a lot of shrinkage. Dry flat if you can and avoid hanging over radiators to finish the drying off- the fabric overhanging at the radiator corners distorts leaving strange bulges in your fabric- I speak from experience on this!

Back to quilting cottons,  there are three wonderful fabrics from Tula Pink's new Fox Field range and very appropriate for Easter weekend, Hoppy Dot in Sunrise, Shade and Dusk.

I am very impressed with the fabrics Cloud 9 have been producing recently, the Grey Abbey collection designed by Elizabeth Olwen is stunning- such pretty colours!  You can build a bundle here.

Thinking ahead for warmer weather, there are some new voiles which are wide at 142cm/56" and great value at only £10 a metre- perfect for the dress patterns that require 3 metres of fabric!  My favourite is this blue tulip print.

If you prefer a more geometric print, suitable for menswear too (shirts?)  there is this triangle based navy voile.

You can see the other prints here.

Wanting a quick fabric fix?  April Showers by Bonnie and Camille charm pack for Moda might just be what you are looking for?

And for the cuteness, I could not resist the new Oliver and S Lullaby layette Set- adorable and great for making new baby gifts.

The layette outfits in the picture are made from the Cloud 9 Palos Verde voile collection.

So much to choose from and I didn't even show these sweatshirt knits, this purple Olfa cutting mat, or these Emily Peacock needlepoint kits… maybe next time x