fabric Archives - Try Handmade

LarimeLoom

October 25, 2019 by Erika Jurney 3 Comments

It’s been a couple of years since I last posted about LarimeLoom, so I thought I’d give an update: still awesome!

I’m Maria Lucia Squillari, I’m 23, I live in italy, and I’ve always loved sewing and crafting, of any kind… basket making, crochet, knitting, beadworking, sewing, spinning…. My etsy shop has become my full time job, and everything involved is done by me with some help form my family… My mother, Melissa, takes the photos. Me and my sister Lidia alternate in doing the modelling of the pieces, and she also helps a lot with packaging when I am in a pinch. Everything here I make myself, usually without patterns, so one or few of a kind… The design evolves from the fabric it’s self, from my mood, the weather, the particular idea I am developing at that moment.

Mademoiselle d'Ange

September 29, 2019 by Erika Jurney 1 Comment

Check out these sweet fabric pendants by Mademoiselle d’Ange.

I was unable to choose just a few, so you get to overdose on them!

As an artist, Mademoiselle d’Ange paints, sticks, cuts, sculpts. One day, seeing her grandmother, needlewoman of profession, and her mother, to handle the magic sewing machine, Mademoiselle decides to steal in the workshop of these Ladies some ends of cloth…an angel passes!

Little Blue Pretties

September 26, 2019 by Valerie Williams 4 Comments

When I came upon Maria’s booth at the Fenton Street Market, I nearly had chest pains. Her lovely little space was brimming with so much prettiness, I didn’t know where to look first! As a sewer, I am always drawn to lovely things made with fabric, and Maria’s creations were the prettiest fabric things I’d seen in a long time.

Maria makes a variety of jewelry and fashion accessories for her shop, called Little Blue Studio. She uses fabric, crystals, semi precious stones, wire, and even sea shells. Every item is a little bit different from the last, because she’s always looking for something new to make, and new ways to interpret old favorites.

In addition to her gorgeous flowers that become hair accessories, brooches, and necklaces, I was particularly impressed by her mermaid lures, jewelry pieces that are created from found sea shell fragments and pearls.

Not only did I find the concept of a mermaid lure undeniably seductive (like living in a fantasy novel!), I completely fell in love with her modern and unusual presentation of pearls. It’s so easy to dismiss pearls as old fashioned, but that would be impossible with Maria’s creations.

The imperfections in the found shell fragments are what inspire Maria to turn them into something gorgeous…to force viewers to see the beauty in something that was discarded and overlooked.

Maria comes from a family of makers. Sewing, cooking, gardening, carpentry, and many other creative pursuits made up her home life. Although she started her creative career as a painter, making jewelry became more practical as her family grew, and she needed to be more flexible with time. She was drawn to using fabric, because of her mother’s skill as a sewer, but is looking forward to incorporating more metalsmithing into her creations.

Maria’s favorite thing to make is always the item she’s working on at the moment! “When you make something, it carries an intangible to your customer,” she says. “The only way to do that, is to love what you are doing.” Maria believes that when you are no longer in love with the thing you are making, it’s time to move on.

You can find Maria’s work in her online shop, and visit her Facebook page to find out where to find her at local markets and craft shows.

Pretty Penny

August 30, 2019 by Erika Jurney Leave a Comment

Hello, my name is Kelly Massey and this is my line of handmade wearables, Pretty Penny.
I live in West Hollywood with my husband and fantastic, fun, little girl who is seven. They put up with my piles and piles of fabric and leaning towers of ink jars relatively cheerfully because they are often busy making things too.
Lately, I have been screen printing and sewing scarves and clothing out of bright and soft bamboo and cotton knits.
enjoy

Illustrations by Alli Coate

July 23, 2019 by Kim O'Brien 1 Comment

As I feverishly prepare for Bazaar Bizarre, amongst the many other holiday shows I will be in, I have been taking a break to read about fellow crafters partaking in these fairs. I was excited to learn that Alli Coate will be at Bazaar Bizarre, her etsy shop has long been a favorite of mine.

Her illustrations are interesting in that they are a mix of materials. Vintage fabrics are used to give patterns and color to her drawings. In the image above, she used a vintage print to start, then added clouds with applique techniques. I wonder is this boy is taking all the clouds away, or placing them in the sky. Does he want to dream on puffy clouds or keep the rain away?

Alli’s palette and technique are diverse, making for unique illustrations. These flat images are brought to life as Alli layers her skills. Sketched lines overlap fabric allowing for depth and energy. The flower pattern on the birds takes place of shading, giving them life and dimension.

Her attention to detail is amazing. I love how the fabric is cut to represent the turtle’s shell. It takes on the same pattern of shapes as we know his shell should look, but she abstracts the details with floral prints. Alli blends line and shading with blocks of patterns perfectly to create her images.

Of all her work I adore the winter illustrations the most. Maybe it is the delicate lace making up the snow covered trees, or the red birds who stayed for the winter. I love how Alli captures the fragile nature of the season. The horizon is grey and the sky the palest of blue making for a nice contrast to the bright white snow in the foreground.

Maybe it’s just that this palette allows us to best see the artist’s technique. Her lines are minimal, yet just right. Her use of lace is accentuated by the blue water. And the red dress catches our eye and draws us in for a closer look. The hues are subtle, gentle and comforting, just like a wintery day on the ice.