Tag Archives: diy clothes

Meet the Designer – De-Anne Strange

Get ready to meet our next talented designer in the spotlight – De-Anne Strange! In this feature, we’ll delve into the creative world of our upcoming designer, showcasing De-Anne’s unique style and inspirations. Join us as we uncover the stories behind her designs and the passion that drives her artistic vision. Keep on reading to find out more!

De-Anne Strange

A change in creative careers brought a lifetime of experience and skills, to help make pattern designs unique and true to me.

Work in Progress Painting

I have always been inspired by people who are their true self and create their own unique path through life, whatever that may be. From a young age I have been able to see the beauty in all things, the tiny detail that is often missed and had a great sense of appreciation for this beautiful world we live in, and this now helps in my design process.

Colour Matching Designs

I’ve been fortunate to be a creative entrepreneur in various industries and share my art with others. Years of hairdressing showed me how much I love to help bring joy through my art and creating hair styles that helped make others feel good about themselves. Many Years in my Photography business brings the ability to look at any situation or subject, through a creative lens where anything is possible and problem-solving techniques to make that anything come to life! Completing a Diploma in Visual Arts with an amazing teacher has given me the courage to step even further from my comfort zone and give anything a go, you never know where it may take you. Also helps calm perfectionism without compromising best practices and quality.

Wheat Crops Inspiration

When I first discovered the surface pattern design industry, I was so intrigued and just felt so strongly that this was the direction I needed to go. I found that the professionals in the industry were the most welcoming and supportive I’ve ever known and just love to help others reach their goals. The saying ‘there is room for us all’ is used often and I’ve seen so many new designers flourish in this supportive environment. I love being a part of it too and helping others. I have participated in lots of different education and mentor groups worldwide, which has shown me how many talented artists are creating the life they want and supporting their families from their art businesses.

Collection Colour Palettes

When I am in the first stage of a new collection creative process, I use a mix of all the skills I’ve learnt and work in mixed mediums including Photography, painting, drawing and digital artwork on my iPad Pro. When creating art on paper or canvas, I love to work with Acrylic and water colour paints, inks, charcoal, calligraphy pens, pencil and more. I use my camera to photograph anything for inspiration, create my own textures and capture my finished.

Work in Progress Painting

artworks, rather than scanning them onto my computer. I use my professional photography skills to photograph my work with good lighting and keep the digital quality high. Once I have imported my original art works, I mainly use Adobe illustrator to create my designs but also lightroom and photoshop depending on what style I’m creating.

Photographing Inspiration

Currently I have released 6 design collections, all very different and I have my next 3 already in progress. I love showcasing beauty in nature and feel my style is unique, elegant and intriguing due to abstract composition. It suits most industries but looks great on fabric, clothing and accessories, wallpaper and homewares.

I hope to keep creating my art and finding companies who wish to licence my designs, so I can help inspire others to follow their dreams too.

De xx

Love of the Land, embracing Australian Agricultural Farming and Grain Crops. Living in the Central Wheatbelt Western Australia and jointly running a farming business, De wanted to showcase this industry in a new modern light, to show its beauty. This collection is full of life, texture and interest, with an abstract feel. Using her professional photographs taken on their farm of various crop varieties at different stages of their growing processes, she has created these unique illustration patterns. Colours are pulled directly from her photos and each pattern has its own unique story and meaning to her family.

Alive – a collection bursting with life! Bold, beautiful and striking, filled with stunning colours, layers and textures. This collection is timeless and will bring life to any project. Each design is a thoughtfully made, piece of art. Every hero design has her signature hidden butterfly.

She hopes to give an insight into this profession through her art and also show its possible to be a Farmer and an Artist at the same time! Through the constant support of her Husband Leigh and their 3 sons, she has been able to bring her dreams to life and they have always been there helping along the way. Head to our Fabric Shop online to view the whole collection and shop now!

‘Blooms & Bakes’ Textile Collection by Jenni Rogers

We’re super excited to be bringing The Designer Project back for 2024 and can’t wait to share all of this year’s fantastic artists and their incredible work! To kick things off for the year we’re introducing you all to the ultra-talented artist and designer Jenni Rogers and her ‘Blooms & Bakes’ Collection!

Jenni is an Australian artist, surface pattern designer and chef, who is based in the beautiful Byron Bay Hinterland and delights in creating paintings that combine two of her favourite things – cooking and art. She bought her first cafe when she was just 16 years old – The Chelsea Teahouse in Avalon. It was only later in life that she discovered her love for painting. This love is what lead Jenni to go on to create artworks depicting beautifully presented food. Jenni is in her element whilst baking beautiful cakes, biscuits, pastries and turning them into works of art.

Below we’ve shared a bit about each of Jenni’s incredible designs from her ‘Blooms & Bakes’ Collection and the different types of projects we think they’d be perfect for!

Brunch is a fun colourful hand painted watercolour. This design has everything you need to bake lamingtons from the butter, vanilla , eggs and cocoa powder to the Kenwood chef mixer and not to mention my favourite Falcon oven.

Brunch would be perfect for any kitchen homewares such as aprons, tea towels and oven mits!

Sunset Poppy is a warm floral print with hand-painted watercolour golden poppies cascading over a deep rich earth red watercolour background.

Sunset Poppy would work great for table linen! Think Table Runners, Table Cloths and Napkins.

Sunshine Poppies, a floral print that has hand painted water colour poppies in various shades of red scattered over a golden yellow splashed water colour background. This multi-directional pattern is bursting with sunshine.

Sunshine Poppies is the sweetest print for any bedding or blankets!

Whisk & Spoon is a checkerboard style print with alternating hand painted whisk & spoons. Soft shades of pale yellow and blue make up this delightful kitchen print complete with a spotty background.

Whisk & Spoon would be perfect for any kitchen homewares such as aprons or tea towels!

High Tea is a hand painted pastel watercolour on a white background. Eclectic pink and blue tables & chairs fill this checker style print, with everything for a High Tea, complete with teapot, cups and lamingtons. This is a soft and delicate print.

High Tea would look wonderful as some sweet pyjamas!

Cream Tea is a hand painted pastel watercolour on a light blue pin stripe background. Eclectic pink and blue tables & chairs fill this checker style print, with everything for a High Tea, complete with teapot, cups and lamingtons. This is a soft and delicate print.

Cream Tea is the most perfect print for lounge wear garment projects!

Honeycomb is a patchwork style design with a delicate golden thread weaving in and around the honeycomb pattern. This is a multi-directional pattern with soft and delicate pinks and yellows.

Honeycomb is a fantastic print for any fashion project! We’re thinking a lovely springtime dress.

Let Your Light Shine is an abstract pattern created from one of Jenni’s oil paintings, “Red Table” and pieced back together with a delicate gold thread. Vibrant bold colours of deep reds, burgundy, yellow ochre, white and gold.

Let Your Light Shine is another amazing print for any fashion project!

Sunshine is a hand painted watercolour floral print in warm yellows, rich ochres and a touch of purple. Fun, bold and inviting is how I would describe the feel for this pattern.

Sunshine is also a perfect print for some custom bedding and blankets!

We truly hope you love this beautiful collection as much as we have, and can’t wait to see what you create- the ideas are endless! Each of Jenni’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.

‘Delightful Patterns’ Textile Collection by Diane Quee

For our latest installment of The Designer Project, we’ll be featuring the wonderful work of artist Diane Quee!

Diane is a freelance graphic designer, who is passionate about designing logos and brand identity, drawing, painting and creating surface pattern designs. In her leisure time, she loves to create artworks using different media such as pencils, oil, watercolour and pastel.

Her goal with her ‘Delightful Patterns’ collection is to create simple, fun, vibrant and versatile patterns that convey positive feelings to viewers.

What’s more fantastic is that the whole collection has been made available in our Fabric Shop online, meaning each of the designs can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Below we’ve shared a bit about each of the designs and the types of projects we think they’d be great for so keep reading!

‘Northern Territory Eucalyptus Flowers’ features Eucalyptus flowers and was inspired by Dianes trip to the Northern Territory a few years ago. The olive green background of the pattern reflects the colour of nature and ties in with the bright colours of the Eucalyptus flowers.

‘Northern Territory Eucalyptus Flowers’ would be super cute as a statement garment! A fun dress or pants? Perhaps a luscious long skirt!

‘Summer Leaves’ was inspired by the plants growing in Dianes back garden. The colour palette of lime green and aqua blue, symbolise the blue sky, swimming pools, bright green leaves and the heat in summer.

We think ‘Summer Leaves’ is the perfect design for any women’s fashion garments such a sweet summer dress

‘Spring Leaves’ is another design inspired by Dianes garden. It features a vibrant green and subtle pink which symbolise the wonderful start of new life during the season of Spring.

‘Spring Leaves’ is utterly perfect for any and all Home and Interior projects! Think Cushion Covers and Tea Towels.

‘Starfish and Shells’ is a fresh and relaxing print, full of blue, green and yellowish green shades that you always associate with the beach, the sea and objects found in this environment.

We think ‘Starfish and Shells’ would be amazing as a summer kaftan or sarong, perhaps some outdoor cushions by the pool.

‘Starfish and Shells 3’ features a wonderful colour palette of blue and green with a touch of orange that compliments the other colours beautifully. You can also see little patterns inside each motif that adds an extra element of texture to this design.

‘Starfish and Shells 3’ is the perfect print for any beach project! Think beach towels, beach bags or swimmers!

‘Dinosaurs’ is a funky multicoloured Dinosaur print, featuring orange, blue, pink and green. You can also see some black patterns on the inside of each dinosaur motif which really helps to make each one pop!

‘Dinosaurs’ is such a great print for kidswear projects, whether it be pyjamas and shirts or even a little custom pencil case!

The possibilities are truly endless with Diane’s ‘Delightful Patterns’ collection. Our ideas above are suggestions only and we hope they’ve gotten your creative wheels turning! Each of Diane’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.

‘Funky and Fruity’ Textile Collection by Katrina Potter

For our latest installment of The Designer Project, we’ll be featuring the work of surface pattern designer Katrina Potter from Little Black Kat creative!

Kat’s “Funky and Fruity” collection is inspired by everyday little things, happy memories and family adventures with her children. Most of which involve pets, animals and the outdoors, which you can no doubt see in her work. She is a digital artist, who loves to use bright, happy colours. Her work includes illustrations of animals, abstract shapes and florals, drawn in a style that’s quite flat, minimalistic and a little bit quirky.

‘She’ll be Apples’ is a bright, yet vintage feeling design, featuring overlapping digital apple graphics in the most wonderful shades of red and pink.

We think ‘She’ll be Apple’ would be perfect for some fun fashion accessories such as tote bags!

‘Aussie Animals’ is a bright and fun feeling design, that was inspired by family day trips to the country. The blue colour palette pairs perfectly with some of our favourite native animals such as Koalas, Kangaroos and your classic Cockatoo!

‘Aussie Animals’ is such a great print for kid’s room projects, whether it be a decorative cushion or a custom toy!

The ‘What a Galah’ print is a bright and happy design, inspired by the Galah’s you see every day in your backyard or on your afternoon walk with the dogs. We love the mix of peach pink tones with the minty green to make those Galahs pop!

‘What a Galah’ would be super cute for kids wear like a sweet little romper or leggings!

‘Fruity Possums’ features everyone’s favourite house guest, the possum! Paired with some delicious Dragon fruit, Kiwi and Passionfruit motifs! We love the colour palette of this design. The green, pink and yellow mixed together with the splash of great from the cute possums.

We think ‘Fruity Possums’ is a perfect pattern for funky fashion accessories such as bucket hats and scarves!

‘Eat Your Veggies’ makes you think of your dream veggie patch! It features a range of yummy vegetables in tones of blue and pink against a dark background (which definitely brings those veggies to life!)

‘Eat Your Veggies’ would be so perfect for homewares such as Tea Towels and Cushion Covers!

‘Look at the Bears’ features the cutest little bear motifs, paired with some adorable mushrooms! The earthy colour palette of this design makes it feel so warm and cozy; the grey-brown tones with pops of green and orange.

The cozy vibes of ‘Look at the Bears’ make it perfect for kids garments like pyjamas!

‘Arctic Animals’ is an adorable frosty print, full of sweetest arctic animals! This design features a wonderful cool toned colour palette, that gives a soft, delicate feel to the print.

We think ‘Arctic Animals’ is another design that would be great for babies and kids projects. Think baby swaddles, little beanies and blankets!

The possibilities are truly endless with Kat’s “Funky and Fruity” collection. Our ideas above are suggestions only and we hope they’ve gotten your creative wheels turning! Each of Kat’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.

Marie Schmitt – The Designer Project

We’ve absolutely adored sharing the beautifully detailed work of Sydney-based designer Marie Schmitt and hope you’ve loved her designs as much as we have! Maries designs are modern and elegant creations that are sure to delight. To coincide with Marie’s ‘Natural Wonder’ collection being made available to all of our customers through our Fabric Shop online, the artist herself has put together a guest blog which we’ve shared below! The blog takes a closer look at Marie’s creative process, detailing every step from initial sketch to final design. The blog also includes gorgeous photographs and process images which really help tell the story of Marie’s work and the ‘Natural Wonder’ collection. Keep reading to find out more about Marie Schmitt and her stunning designs!

Marie Schmitt

Hi,

My name is Marie Maignan. Since I was a child, I loved to draw and I love nature. I developed my own style, drawing floral motifs with lines in different thickness and shape creating movement and elegance.

I am born in France where I spend all my childhood. After a while living in Germany, I moved to Australia in Sydney with my family. The surrounding nature is fantastic source of inspiration.

As an adult I really enjoyed again the pleasure of creation and drawing. It is such a magical moment.

Marie’s Workspace

Marie’s Nature Inspiration

My designs start as hand drawn illustrations, line by line, first with pencil, then with my beloved Waterman ink pen. This way of using the lines create elegant motives, all in finesse, simple but with its own movement. Modern, graphic and somehow fascinating.

These were then scanned using a printer to create a digital version. Once I had the scans, I then opened them up in photoshop and got started on cleaning up the background. Pretty much just removing everything in the file except the drawn motifs.

Finesse Original Sketches

Once everything was nice and cleaned up, I started working on the layout, copying and rearranging the motifs to create a nice flowing design. Once I had a layout that worked and that I liked, I cropped it so that each side joined up to the other so that it would be seamless when you repeated the tile.

From here, I made all my colour edits, changing the background colour and colour of my illustrations.

Illustration Sketches

I am very happy to be given the opportunity to valorize my drawings and patterns with Digital Fabrics. I was so delighted by the first design project I did which was a wonderful cushion, that I thought it was maybe time to do more with my drawings and share them through the Designer Project by Digital Fabric.

Thank you!

Monstera Work in Progress Sketch

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you would like to be part of this initiative, and we will be in touch!

Carly Westbye -The Designer Project

We have absolutely loved sharing all of the amazing floral prints by artist Carly Westbye, and hope that you’ve enjoyed them as much as we have!

To coincide with Carly’s ‘Spring in Bloom’ collection being made available to all of our customers through our Fabric Shop online, the artist herself has put together a guest blog which further explains her self-taught design process, what inspires her designs as well as bit more about herself.

Keep reading to find out more about Carly Westbye and her wonderful floral designs!

‘Carly Westbye’

I am honoured to share my art through Digital Fabrics and look forward to bringing more designs to this unique network of talented designers.

‘Carly in her studio’

I am a Canberra-based designer and founder/owner of FinBok Publishing. I commenced my business as a Graphic Artist/Desktop Publisher and have spent the last eighteen years expanding on my design skills. My surface designs for interiors and fashion launched in 2016 and my designs have branched from collaborations, prints for personal use and expanding through to creators abroad in the textile industry.

‘Flame Pea Moodboard’

We are often asked what drives our passion to create and generally speaking for myself, I gain much satisfaction viewing the appreciation of those who support my work. Sharing the love of art and bringing a smile is what speaks to me. I have been creative since I was a child and have also been fortunate to explore a number of art shows where I have been able to sell my paintings.

‘Carly’s Design Workspace’

Most of my inspiration is drawn from nature and more recently I have spent some time observing my history and culture. I enjoy exploring nature’s contours, textures and colour palette. Together, I like to combine this with a variety of mediums, as I continue to explore new techniques and learn to work with organic materials sourced from Australian suppliers. I am currently working on many new designs to be released this year, all of which have been created using a unique self-taught technique. This method combines natural pigments that I mix with inks and gel mediums. I find this to be a rewarding process to see my illustrations and paintings brought together, as I continue to develop on my seamless signature style.

‘Whimsical Sketches’

The process in developing my designs will vary, depending on where I draw my inspiration from. Sometimes it begins with a walk in nature; other times a colour I am drawn to, a memory, or experience. My sketchbook is a big part of my life, and I never leave home without it. This is a journal that I hope will be treasured in my family for the years to come.

‘Ruby Blomst Sketches’

Each design is taken through a process that I have constructed over time. This process enables me to keep my designs on track during my creative thought process. My designs are structured with sketches, both initial and final stages, a colour selection process and consideration of purpose for print. All of my final designs are then imported to Adobe Creative Suite, where I then clean my files and prepare the layout for print production.

‘Singapore Butterfly Sketches’

Krystal-Anne Knafl – The Designer Project

It’s been an absolute pleasure starting off this year’s series of The Designer Project with the ultra-talented designer Krystal-Anne Knafl and have adored sharing her funky and colourful textiles designs with you. Krystal has made a range of her designs available as print ready artwork in our Fabric Shop online, which can be printed onto any of our stock fabric base cloths. To provide some more insight into each of Krystal’s designs, the artist herself has put together a guest blog which details her process behind creating her designs as well as what inspired the prints in her collection.

Keep reading to find out more about Krystal-Anne Knafl and her surface designs!

‘Krystal-Anne Knafl’

Hi everyone, Krystal Knafl here from @missappledesigns. I am very excited to announce that some of my designs are now up for sale in the Digital Fabrics fabric shop! Exciting times for all of us, because you get to have some fun creating some amazing products and I get to enjoy hearing about the awesome things you make, which inspires me to design more. I’m looking forward to you all sharing some of the works you were inspired to create. When I was initially designing, I envisioned my designs on curtains, bedding, tea towels, pillows, dresses, skirts, maybe even some cheeky pencil cases and make up bags. There are some great ideas throughout the website and all over the great wide web.

‘Krystals Design Studio’

I thought it would be fun to share my inspiration and process behind my final designs including some photos of my main design space as well as stimulus images. The majority of my works are hand-drawn on my ipad pro using Adobe Fresco and an Apple pencil. I am a big fan of fun, funky and whimsy designs, but I do like to occasionally find balance through use of warm, more neutral tones.
I am a storyteller at heart and most of my works started from either an experience, feeling or observation. I have found that when an experience captures my imagination, I can put more heart into the final product.

‘Work in progress design’

Chickens With Hats was inspired by one of my lessons as a Secondary Teacher in 2021 when a student brought in a chicken that he had found on the way to school. This chicken became a big conversation point in the class which lead to me being inspired to explore what this chicken could look like with a hat on (much to the excitement of my students.) Sarah’s Orchard Garden was inspired by my friend Sarah’s growing orchard collection. I was obsessed with the colours and would get even more inspiration every time she added another one to her collection. Crazy Plant Lady was inspired by another friend of mine that developed a deep love/obsession with building a plant collection. She would share all these amazing photos of the plants like they were her own children. There were such beautiful design elements in the plants she shared which inspired me even more.

‘Work in progress design’

When designing, I’ll typically search for stimulus through images and particularly look at colours and lines that can work well together. From there, I’ll work towards creating motifs outlines and start experimenting with different colour palettes until I find one that works. Creating motifs can take anywhere from an hour to two weeks depending on how much work and experimenting I need to do.
I do have a ‘dedicated design space’ but I do love designing in spaces where I can relax and stretch my legs. Three of my favourite spaces to design are my couch while listening to music, my bed on a Saturday morning after a big week of work and on occasion down The Strand where I take in some sunshine and sea breeze.

Below are some images that inspired Sarah’s Orchard Garden some of the initial motifs I created before collaging them (Thank you, Sarah Risdale, for allowing me to use these beautiful images):

‘Orchard Motifs’

‘Orchard inspiration photos’

Below is an example of how Sarah’s Orchard Garden can be used. I found a super cute and easy baby doll dress no-pattern dress on Youtube and create this. It prints beautifully on fashion fabrics such as bamboo or fabric but would look incredible on some bedding fabrics. Get in touch with the team at Digital Fabrics about which fabric base would be suit your project.

‘Krystals Baby Dolly dress’

As a fan of fresh and delicious produce, I was inspired to create Summer Salad. A super cute and colourful design that brings out the natural fun and beauty of vegetables which would look amazing as a tote bag, tea towel or even some funky cushions! Or why not make a statement in the kitchen and create a fun apron. This print can also be ordered here in a wide variety of fabrics to meet your sewing needs.

Here’s a cute mock up of Summer Salad as a funky cushion to get you inspired:

‘Summer Salad Cushion Mockup’

I hope you enjoyed hearing about what inspires my designs, the process I undertake and some cool ways you can bring these all to life! You can view more of my designs in the fabric shop. The epic thing is you can choose a fabric base to suit your sewing needs, and the minimum purchase is only 1m! Don’t forget too that if you’re needing support to chose the right fabrics and get started, get in touch with the Digital Fabrics team and they will gladly help you out.

‘Krystal in her studio’

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I hope I have inspired you to bring out some inner fun and creativity. Don’t forget to tag both @missappledesigns and Digital Fabrics in any projects you undertake with these designs!

If you want more fun and colour in your world, give me a follow on Instagram or Facebook.
Lots of love and inspiration,
Krystal Knafl

Summer DIY Dress from Unique Designer Fabric!

Recently, one of our wonderful team members Ella, took on the project of creating the most stunning party dress out of our newest natural fabric, Poppy!

Ella is our Studio & Production assistant here at Digital Fabrics and also works very closely with The Designer Project. Constantly seeing all of the amazing designs from our Aussie Designers, she decided to feature one of the prints for her dress. Ella has put together a blog post for you all, showcasing the behind the scenes of her latest project as well as her thought process and why she was inspired by The Designer Project.

Keep on reading to find out more!

When I first found out we would be stocking our new Poppy fabric, I knew I just had to make something from it. Organic Cotton Sateen…? Yes please!

I love to work on my own textile designs for my projects but this time, I decided to have a little scroll through our Fabric Shop online. Through working closely with The Designer Project designers, seeing all of their amazing collections in our Fabric Shop and knowing all the love that goes into them, I knew I wanted to order some prints to support our local artists for my next project.

Once I saw the design ‘Maggie May’ by Madeline Hawkins, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

‘Maggie May by Madeline Hawkins’

‘Maggie May digitally printed on Poppy organic cotton sateen fabric’

I then went on a hunt for the perfect dress pattern to match the vibes of the design. I came across DIY Daisy on Instagram and scrolled through her website and discovered her ‘Gathered Rectangle Dress’ tutorial.

I don’t tend to use patterns as I love to make up custom pieces that are perfected to my body shape, or just using clothes that I currently own and loved the shape and fit of to base my new garment on. For this project though, I wanted to find a pattern to work with so that none of this gorgeous custom fabric went to waste.

I love the shape and fit of Daisy’s dress, and how easy it was to put together! I ended up making a mini dress version to create a more ‘party dress’ vibe though. I ended up ordering 2 metres of Madeline’s print, but only need about 1 metre of fabric to create the dress (I’m a size 8/10 or S/M for reference)

Since I had another metre spare and a few off-cuts, I also used Daisy’s ‘Trapezoid Skirt’ tutorial to create another wonderful piece with the ‘Maggie May’ print and also a little bandana for my cat Luna (which she sadly did not want to wear for photos) !

‘Ella and her cat Luna’

Poppy was such a great fabric to work it, it was smooth and easy to sew and to gather as well! The print also turned out so beautifully on the fabric and the sateen sheen paired perfectly with the style of the design. It also happens to wash super well, even after a few washes it still looks lovely and bright!

‘Poppy fabric being sewn’

‘Poppy fabric washed and unwashed’

The dress feels so special to me, knowing I’ve helped support one of our Australian Designers.

Working at Digital Fabrics, I see so many wonderful prints come through our studio doors and am always wondering what amazing projects people are working on and what the fabric will be turned into. It’s always a pleasure working on my own projects using custom fabrics from my place of work. I feel very lucky being able to see the behind the scenes of it all as well as being able to create the finished piece.

– Ella x

Party in patchwork style this festive season!

We’ve adored Carly B from the first time we landed on her Instagram, and to our delight she has made her signature patchwork dress entirely of Digital Fabrics Designer prints! With party season fast approaching, creating a staple summer piece has been on Carly’s mind, and she’s created this stunning pastel dress, perfect for twirling in. As if we could love her anymore, for bonus points, she took the leftover fabric scraps and made a pair of shorts too! Truly a kindred spirit of the DF way. Come along and sew your party dress with Carly, here is her amazing DIY dress tutorial!

With party season fast approaching, creating a staple summer piece has been on my mind! To my delight, Digital Fabrics reached out to help make my dream dress a reality & let me reassure you, the process from start to finish was simply divine.

I started with the most difficult task. Choosing my fabrics! I decided to browse through the unique range of Australian designer/artist designed prints, looking for five (or so) prints that would tell a summer story (Click Fabric Shop, Designer Fabrics for this storefront). I immediately fell in love with a print by Sue Michael called ‘The Shack’. My family have visited a rundown, wholesome beach shack on the Gold Coast for most of my childhood, and this heartwarming art reminded me of my childhood filled with sandy days, pink zinc on my nose & sweet summer days spent in the ocean. Basing my design around this print, I then selected 4 other prints that felt complimentary and ordered!

I got 5m of Cotton Poplin in total, which was 1m of each print to make my patchwork style dress. Please know that you have the option of ordering samples of fabrics to see what the fabric is like before you place your order, if that’s something you like! You can also get your own designs printed on their fabric (in a huge variety of fabric kinds too), so if you’re artistically inclined & want to order your very own fabric – you can!

As everything is printed in Sydney, Australia they arrived at my doorstep in Brisbane/Meanjin quickly. The quality of the fabric was delightful to see (the Cotton Poplin is reminds me of the cleanest, crunchiest hotel sheets) and it was so cool to see all 5 of my designs printed on one single 5m length of fabric. Love seeing that low waste production! I hand washed each print separately, letting them dry on the line & giving them a good press.

What I used

– 5m of cotton poplin from Digital Fabrics

1M JOAN MEADOW ( designer MADELINE HAWKIN)

1M DILLY DAISY

1M BEACH SHACK GREEN FIELDS ( designer SUE MICHAEL)

1M MRAMOR ICE

1M MY HEARTS GARDEN ( designer SUSANNA APRIL)

– matching thread

– elastic for arms

– self drafted pattern ( you can find similar patterns on Etsy 1. 2. 3. )

Make time: 5 hours (ish)

Level: Beginner

Let’s make it!

To begin I played with fabric placement until I was happy & then cut out a front and back bodice piece as well as front and back facings. At patchwork seams I overlocked them together & then sewed a straight stitch beside it to secure. (If you don’t have an overlocker you can use a zig zag stitch to finish edges, no problems.) You could topstitch this seam down too if you’re feeling fancy!

I then cut out two straps, testing them on myself to see what length they needed to be. You could definitely do bow straps if you’re wanting a sleeveless dress.

To attach the straps, I sandwiched them between the facing & bodice pieces. This part is a little tricky as you need to sandwich the straps at the front and back of the bodice – it will create a burrito like shape. Then I sewed all along the top of the bodice, securing everything. Turn right side out & give it a good press. Optional topstitch along the neckline if desired.

Next, I added puff sleeves! I made each sleeve different, with one sleeve featuring two different fabrics spliced together for that patchwork effect.

I cut two sleeves and sewed the side seam with fabric right sides together.

After pressing that seam, I turned up the bottom edge 1.5cm and sewed, and then turned it up again but this time leaving space for elastic to go through. (Leave a gap for that elastic to be threaded through as well! We’ll close it up later.)

I then sewed two parallel lines in my longest stitch along the top of the sleeve & gathered it so it fit perfectly in my garment. I pinned the sleeve right sides together and stitched between the two stitches but this time in my regular stitch length. I overlocked this edge, removed my basting (or gathering) stitches and voila!

This is when I like to add the elastic which I just using a safety pin & threading it through. After the little opening is closed up the sleeve is DONE! YIPEE!! Revel in your sweet puff sleeves friend!

Side note: I later decided I wanted little ties threaded through the elastic channel of each sleeve. I cut thin strips of scrap fabric, folded in edges & then folded in half (like bias tape) and sewed them closed. I snipped tiny openings on the right side of the sleeve & threaded them through. There’s probably a better way to do this but that’s just how I did it.

Skirt time!! I am a sucker for a very gathered skirt, so I went a little overboard with the gathers in this one. I wanted a two-tier skirt with pockets and lots of volume, and boy is that what I got.

Basically, the process for the first tier and second tier were exactly the same, except the first tier has pockets, & the second tier has a hem & needs more fabric than the first.

For the first tier I cut strips of fabric from all of the different prints out to create two 170cm long panels that were 26cm wide. I also cut out 4 pockets.

I sewed and overlocked all of the patchwork pieces together so I had these

long strips. Then, I attached my pocket pieces (with edges overlocked) right sides together on my panels about 1.5 inches down. I overlocked the pockets on and pressed the seams towards the pockets and also did a lovely little topstitch to keep that looking flush and tidy. Then I attached the two skirt pieces together with right sides facing to make one big loops with pockets.

Woohoo!

To gather the skirt I sewed two parallel lines in the longest stitch length (sound familiar? hehe!) along the top edge of the skirt & pulled those stitches very gently until the skirt became the length of the bodice. I then pinned the skirt to the bodice, sewed it on, overlocked and removed the visible basting stitch.

The 2nd tier is almost an identical process except it just requires a lot more fabric. I proceeded to cut out many more strips of fabric (this time at a longer width of about 32cm) and attach them all together to make a long strip. I didn’t measure this tier but it should be the top tier length x 1.5 at the very least. I estimate mine was about double the length. I sewed the gathering stitches again, gathered it up with upmost patience, pinned it to the 1st tier and sewed it on! I had to do the pinning a few times to ensure the pattern placement was as ideal as possible, as sometimes the fabrics would all end up matching & I really wanted there to be a difference between each section of the dress.

After a little playing I finally got the right balance however. The final step them was hemming it which I wizzed through & gave it a good press for a sweet crisp edge. And then she was done in all of her twirly, full skirt glory!!

From an array of divine fabrics to a sweet patchwork summertime party dress.

All in all, I adored bringing this piece to life. It was so inspiring to work with prints designed by such excellent artists & it felt like an honour to piece them together. The quality of the fabric and printing kept astounding me & I know I will be treasuring this piece for summers to come. From the swirls of the ocean, to the happy flowers that remind me of the sun & pink zinc & of course the centre piece of the dress which was The Shack print, I truly feel transported back to my favourite holiday destination – the beach.

Bonus Scrap Busting Shorts!

At the end of this project, I was blessed with a small treasure trove of delightful scraps & I knew I had to push myself to make them into something! I had to, not only because I love working with scraps, but because Digital Fabrics are no wastage and employ sustainable production methods themselves! Had to match that energy.

Digital Fabrics are print-to-order which means that every fabric that they print is used. They print ethically using non-toxic water-based inks & they boast of efficiency, quality & consistency with their product – which I have seen with my own eyes!

So, feeling inspired, I had to get to work on reducing my fabric waste with a scrappy pair of high waisted play shorts!

A great point of inspiration and reference for these shorts can be found at HalfSoyBean’s youtube channel! which I will link below!

I was able to make enough patchwork fabric from my Digital Fabrics scraps & was able to reduce my own fabric waste to a small pile of white selvage & some very small pieces. A huge success!

Thank you so much to Digital Fabrics for supplying this gorgeous, Australian designed & printed fabric. If you sewed along, please feel free to tag us @digitfalfabrics & @fromcarlyb & share your creations with us!

‘Aussie Cuties’ Textile Collection by Meredith Simpson

We’re super excited to announce that our next featured artist from The Designer Project will be ever so talented, Meredith Simpson!

The ‘Aussie Cuties’ collection was inspired by our beautifully unique Australian native animals. Meredith feels that we are so lucky to have such wonderful creatures that are native to our home and finds them so gorgeous to draw. Created from pastel pencils and that she finds to be the perfect medium for capturing the texture and softness of animal fur.

Keep reading to find out more about Meredith Simpson and her adorable animal designs!

‘Walter Wombat’ is a fluffball full of fun. Paired with our beautiful native gum blossoms, this print is pretty and playful.

‘Walter Wombat’ would be such an adorable design for kitchen homewares and garments such as aprons!

‘Native Cuties’ is a super cute print that features four of our iconic native animals: koala, echidna, platypus and wombat. The natural colours of the animals and the green gum leaves against the bright white background make the colours shine!

We love ‘Native Cuties’ for some fun fashion accessories like tote bags or even some kidswear!

‘Keeley Koala’ is the most gorgeous green print that features the cute Keeley koala together with her favourite eucalyptus leaves!

‘Keeley Koala’ is the perfect print for sweet accessories such as pouches and bags!

‘Quinn Quokka’, this cheerful, adorable print features the always smiling Quokka! The watercolour flower detail and warm colour palette make this such a joyful print that will make you want to smile too.

We think ‘Quinn Quokka’ would be an amazing design for home and interior projects such as Cushions!

‘Titch the Tasmanian Devil’ is a celebration of all things Tasmanian! This lovely print features Titch the Tasmanian Devil together with the beautiful Tasmanian Blue Gum.

‘Titch the Tasmanian Devil’ is a super fun print that would be perfect for projects such as a DIY laptop case or homewares such as Tea Towels!

‘Native Cuties 2’ is a sweet print featuring three of our unique native animals: dingo, quokka and Tasmanian devil together with our beautiful blue gum leaves. The natural colours of the animals and the native foliage against the bright white background make the print come to life!

‘Native Cuties 2’ would work perfect for some cute fashion garments like an adorable skirt or even some kidswear!

All of our project ideas above are suggestions only as the sky’s truly the limit with Meredith’s adorable animal collection! Each of Meredith’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop, so head on over to be inspired for your next DIY project!

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