pond_ripple's Fabric Blog

This is the first belt pouch that I made to fit my phone. It's made from these faux leather fabric samples that were in my fabric stash. The sizes are pretty small which meant piecing them together to make the patterns work. This smaller bag is made from 3 separate swatches.  The main part is just a rectangle folded in half and an added strip on one side to make it the correct width. The loop is made very simply by trimming around the raised pattern, folding in half, and sewing firmly to the back half of the main piece. The pockets were done by cutting a swatch in 3 pieces and sewing them one on top of the other in a staggered fashion to the front half on the main piece. Then it was finished by sewing a seam along the side and bottom and turned right side out. The swatches had a soft knit backing so I kept that unlined. The Hydra pin was a gift from my brother :) The second pouch was a design as you go scenario. It's mostly a box with a flap that fits the dimen...

This is the first in a series of posts about my latest project, a fancy steampunk inspired coat. The pattern is loosely based on a Simplicity pattern, 2172, that I have been slowly altering as I go along. Here are a few sketches to show the basic idea for the coat. The Simplicity pattern I'm using; all the new pattern pieces made moving everything to an empty tin box necessary. This is my first sketch when I had simple dreams of adding a hood and maybe changing the neckline. This is a much later sketch showing how I've chopped off the patterned skirt in favor of a pleated and much more dramatic one. This also shows the fancier detachable sleeve option. I honestly don't know how many sleeves I will make. The plan at first was to do the pattern with a few small touches thrown in to make it my own. Adding a removable hood and changing the neckline slightly were quickly followed with making detachable sleeves, and adding a high collar in the back. The pockets b...

Unicorns & Rainbows 2 Red Steampunk Top Hats & Ravens Red Steampunk Top Hats & Ravens Gold Steampunk Top Hats & Ravens Gold Steampunk Top Hats & Ravens Stone Waterfall Garden Scroll Flowers Scroll Flowers Fancy Tile Mason Jar Pendant Lights Leaves on the Wind Gold Yellow Squash on the Vine Ink Splatter II. Gold and White

We're in the home stretch of our Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge! Are you hanging in there? Today's #SFDesignADay comes to you from 2014 Spoonflower Staff Challenge Winner,  Allie Tate , head of marketing at Spoonflower in Berlin. Allie knows better than most that you needn't look further than the contents of your junk drawer at home to create an award-winning surface pattern.  Allie:  Surface design doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as using everyday objects laying around your home to create a compelling textile design. Find inspiration in items you use every day or test your creativity by incorporating unusual items into your fabric design. To create this design, I used materials purchased at a local hardware store as a part of Spoonflower's 2014 Staff Design Challenge. By restricting the tools available (and with just 1 hour to create and upload our designs from start to finish!), we had to really get creative in h...

Inspired by her love of the super cute, today's Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge is brought to you by  Heidi Kenney . Today Heidi gives us a rundown of the history behind this fabulously fun design style along with pointers on the various ways you can make it your own. Ranging from her love of pizza to drawing nuns, she shows us just how versatile kawaii truly is. Be sure to check out more of Heidi's kawaii designs over in the  Spoonflower Marketplace ! Heidi:  Kawaii is a Japanese word that means the quality of being cute or items that are cute. Kawaii began in the 1970s in Japan, when teenage girls began using a cute informal style of writing. It included hearts, smiling faces, and doodles and was seen as a rise against traditional Japanese culture. Kawaii has grown from a small teenage rebellion into an huge part of Japanese culture. In Japan today, you can see the kawaii influence everywhere, from adorable items you might expect ...