Back To School
Buying new stationary, getting a new diary and making the years timetable look so colourful and pretty, and of course, wrapping 30 year old textbooks in fun paper to try and hold them together through the year!
So the September boxes were a no-brainer in terms of the theme and most of the goodies I had in mind for ages. The fabric was a little harder to choose though. What would represent back to school without being too “uniform-y”? I hope you like what I went for…
There are two different fabrics that went into the Luxury boxes, both from Indigo Fabric’s Shibori range. Shibori or tie-dyeing is a Japanese method of tying or folding fabric in different ways and then placing the fabric in fabric dye. The parts that are folded or tied will resist the dye, giving various beautiful results each time.
There has been a recent popularity rise in using shibori fabric in both garments and home wears such as cushion covers, but I remember first learning how to tie-dye fabric in an art lesson at the age of 9 and then again when I did textiles in secondary school. This then resulted in me buying loads of plain white t-shirts and experimenting at home at 15… I was banished to the garden for this particular experiment! If you fancy experimenting yourself check out this post by Seamwork
These two cotton fabrics are quite different, but both are equally gorgeous and will look fabulous made into all sorts of garments but for a fun yet smart new dress for the office this months pattern is a great match. The Shift Dress by The Avid Seamstress has a fitted bodice, sleeves and a pencil skirt. Finished with an invisible zip, I love the low back neck scoop for an extra sexy detail.
For the Classic and Mini boxes I went with a beautiful yellow gingham fabric. I know gingham can look a little too little school dress but I think the yellow counteracts that. Yellow has been a really popular colour, partly thanks to THAT dress worn by Emma Stone in La La Land! Plus, it brings a little extra bit of sunshine in these transitional days. I think this fabric would look so fantastic in a 50s style shirt dress or paired with high-waisted capri’s as little tie-waisted blouse to channel your inner Audrey!
Let’s take a minute to appreciate how utterly adorable the fat quarters are… those little owls?!?! The collection is called Owl School, too good! Perfect of course for pencil cases but I think I’m going to practice my quilting skills and make a couple of cushion covers with a few of them this month.
In every Luxury and Classic box was also a fantastic sewing journal from Sew Crafty featuring one of three different front covers. Inside there are spaces to write about each project you are planning including possible fabric swatches and then a space to review the project. This is so helpful if, like me, you alter a pattern and then when you come to make it a year later you have no idea what alterations you made. Learn from me you guys!
To continue along the organisational theme each box contained some SewHayleyJane fabric tags, oh yes, I even included my own little product! When you bring your new fabrics home you can fill in the cards so that you know the exact measurement and tick to say whether or not you have already pre-washed it and then just attach it to your fabric with a pin. So organised!
Finally each box also had a wheel of pretty heart headed pins. These are particularly great as you definitely won’t loose them when they fall onto the carpet mid project. As always there is also a 100m reel of matching Gutermann thread.
There was also a little treat in the boxes this month in the shape of a swizzles drumstick lolly, but for some odd reason there didn’t seem to be any left when it came time for me to take these photos. Very mysterious!
I cannot wait to see what you make from the goodies in your box this month. You can share them on the Facebook page or post them to Instagram using the hashtag #sewhayleyjanemakes and I may use them in a roundup of all your gorgeous makes on the blog.