Spirited Look Book - The Garments

Spirited Look Book - The Garments

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Just over a week ago Art Gallery Fabrics published the Spirited virtual Look Book full of beautiful projects made from my new Spirited fabric collection. If you missed it, view the Spirited Look Book here.

I contributed a lot of sewing projects to the Spirited Look Book that to be able to give you more images and project information, I’m splitting up my blog post coverage into categories. Last week it was all about The Quilts. This week will be all about The Garments and next week will be The Sundries.

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View the entire Spirited Look Book HERE and then come back to see extra photos and learn more about each project.

The Garments

Boundless Spirit rayon by Sharon Holland

Boundless Spirit rayon by Sharon Holland

Art Gallery Fabrics is known for their fine quilting cotton that feels like percale but did you know they offer other substrates besides? Spirited offers two rayons and three knits—both incredibly soft.

Spirited by Sharon Holland - Art Gallery Fabrics rayon and knit substrates

Spirited by Sharon Holland - Art Gallery Fabrics rayon and knit substrates

My absolute favorite is the rayon. The drape is superb in garments, it’s comfortable and breathable like cotton, and even though it’s silky and lightweight, it’s very easy to sew with.

Sew House Seven Burnside Bibs and Burda Style Viscose Bouse

Sew House Seven Burnside Bibs and Burda Style Viscose Bouse

I wouldn’t consider myself a garment sewer but I may need to adjust my thinking because I sure have made quite a few pieces this year. I did a quick count and think the number comes in at 16 garments! That’s more than I’ve sewn in total over the last 10 years!

The big difference now a days over the past is Indie clothing designers/patterns. I find the fit of the Indie patterns truer to size and on trend and one successful sew makes you braver to try more.

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When I started planning what I wanted to make for the Spirited Look Book I had a specific mood I wanted to capture. After seeing Sew House Seven’s Burnside Bib garments on Instagram I knew I wanted to sew these overalls. I made them in AGF natural linen for a chic farmhouse look and pulled the look together with the Viscose Blouse by Burda Style made with my Boundless Spirit Sorrel (horses) print in rayon. I think this has a 40s-vibe to it and love the current trend of wide-legged, cropped pants. That’s my beautiful daughter modeling the look, by the way.

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We took the majority of our garment shots in Kentucky on a very cold and dreary day. Hopefully we don’t look like we’re freezing.

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Here’s another look at the Burda Style blouse on me and the Cleo Skirt by Made by Rae on my daughter. I like that we can still share each others clothing!

Cleo Skirt by Made by Rae in AGF Spirited fabrics

Cleo Skirt by Made by Rae in AGF Spirited fabrics

I combined view A and B on the Cleo Skirt to have the longer length skirt with the big side pockets. This skirt is super flattering in rayon and was the easiest of all the adult garment patterns to make!

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The most challenging garment I stitched for my Spirited Look Book was the Button-up Button-down shirt. It was challenging only because there were so many pieces and steps to making it. The pattern by Oliver + S was an excellent pattern and they expertly talk and illustrate you through every step. It went together perfectly but just took time to get it done.

Button-up Button-down shirt by Oliver + S in Spirited cotton

Button-up Button-down shirt by Oliver + S in Spirited cotton

I used the Lore and Legend print in quilting cotton with accents of Bright Star Washed quilting cotton on the inside yoke, neckline, and sleeve plackets. Instead of buttons I attached Dritz Pearl Snap Fasteners and and love how it turned out. Unfortunately it was too large for my grandson as the smallest this pattern comes in is a 3T. But, he’ll soon grow into it.

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The same Spirited Lore and Legend print comes in a knit. AGF knits are buttery soft, cozy, and have just the perfect stretch for garments. My daughter has been sewing pajamas for her kids and as gifts from my beautiful knits.

The original plan was for my grandson to wear his cotton button-up shirt and matching Lore and Legend knit ear flap hat but since the shirt didn’t fit—he just modeled the hat.

Ear Flap Hat by Delia Creates in Spirited knit

Ear Flap Hat by Delia Creates in Spirited knit

Oh, my goodness, the kid rocked modeling his hat! I mean, come on, just look at those baby-blues! This print and the fit are perfect on him. I used the free Ear Flap Hat pattern from Delia Creates and this was another fast and rewarding item to make.

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I love this sweet snuggles photo from our day out in the cold.

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If you’ve never sewn with knits before they really are an easy material to work with and quite forgiving. You don’t need to worry about edges unraveling and the stretch makes the garments hang nicely and fit comfortably. Yes, there are some consideration for sewing with knits but nothing to stop you from tying them and garments can be made just with a domestic sewing machine—no need for sergers, if you don’t have one. There’s many books, sites, and videos available with expect advice for working with knits. I know I could stand to learn more about it but my little dip into sewing with knits has given me confidence to try more!

Tatum Dress by Violette Field Threads in Spirited Knit

Tatum Dress by Violette Field Threads in Spirited Knit

A really good beginner pattern for first time working with knits is this Tatum Dress by Violette Field Threads. I think this only took about 3 hours from start to finish to make. That includes cutting out the pattern from the printout, cutting the pieces, and assembly. The fit on my 4 year old granddaughter was perfect and I love the lavender Calico Days knit on her—so cute! This sort of dress would be great any time of year and can be worn with leggings or shorts.

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My last make was stitched after the Look Book and purely for no other reason than I wanted to make it for myself. I used the Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater pattern and Spirited Delicate Balance Terra knit.

Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater in Spirited knit

Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater in Spirited knit

I took this with me to Thanksgiving in Iowa with hopes of having a chance to get a photo of me wearing it but the timing and weather just didn’t cooperate at all! Another great pattern by Sew House Seven and it comes in two views. I plan to make more of these (in each view) but will add a little length the the torso next time for the A view. I love how the neckline, cuffs, and waist band are folded over so there’s no hemming!

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I hope you’ve gotten inspired by my Spirited garment makes and that you give some of these patterns a try!

Spirited quilting cottons, knits, and rayons are shipping to quilt shops everywhere. I’ve started a stock lists of online shops for this collection on my FABRICS page and will continue to add links as more shops get their listings up. If your local quilt shop hasn’t ordered it yet, let them know you’d like to sew with these prints and feel the AGF difference for yourself at your favorite shop.

When you do make a project with my fabrics, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns because I love to see what you’re sewing! And tag the Spirited collection as well with #AGFSpirited.

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Giveaway Alert!

This week I’ll be hosing another Spirited fabrics giveaway on my Instagram account @sharonhollanddesigns in collaboration with Linli Boyd of @lambandloomfabrics starting on Friday, December 13 with the drawing on the 16th for a 10-piece fat quarter bundle for you and a tagged friend. You’ve heard it here first so be sure to stop by IG on Friday and enter on this Friday’s Instagram giveaway post.

—Happy sewing!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post. Thank you!

Asheville and Outfits

Asheville and Outfits

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This August marked my husband and my 35th wedding anniversary. I suggested we take a long weekend and visit Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC.

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This blog post is going to be uncomfortable for me because I’m not used to being the subject of so many pictures but I’ve no choice if I want to show you the pretty garments I made from my prints. Hopefully the stunning location will distract a bit—hehe.

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I’ve been wanting to make myself some rayon dress for ages now but never seem to find the time or the perfect dress pattern—I’m super picky about what style of garments I like and what looks good on my frame.

Simplicity patterns

Simplicity patterns

I found these two patterns online and loved the simple, yet interesting cut of the dress. For the two dresses I wore and modeled at Biltmore I used the Simplicity 8231 pattern by Sew House Seven in the two sleeve options of the knee-length cuts. On the Sew House Seven website, this dress is called the Mississippi Avenue Dress and Top and doesn’t have the cap-sleeve option.

Sew House Seven Simplicity 8231 pattern

Sew House Seven Simplicity 8231 pattern

My first make I went with the sleeveless version in my Flower Keeper - Everlasting rayon for Art Gallery Fabrics. When I designed this print I envisioned it to be made into dresses and I just had to make one for myself! I realize now that the photo of the dress above was taken before I added the shoulder ties to you can look for that fun detail in the following photos.

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Maybe August isn’t the most spectacular month for the gardens at Biltmore but they were no less beautiful. The walled garden was my favorite—I could’ve spent all day there.

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I felt absolutely transported as we visited the garden first thing in the morning and had it practically to ourselves. I tried to imagine how the Vanderbilt family would have relaxed and enjoyed these grounds everyday as a matter of their everyday life.

Walled Garden Biltmore Estates

Walled Garden Biltmore Estates

Here’s just a few photos because I don’t want to ruin your experience if you go and if I shared all my shots this post would never have an end!

Walled Garden Biltmore Estates

Walled Garden Biltmore Estates

Conservatory Biltmore Estates

Conservatory Biltmore Estates

Sew House Seven Simplicity 8231 pattern

Sew House Seven Simplicity 8231 pattern

The cap-sleeve version is made from my Tiny Dancer - Bachelorette Fusion rayon that has a champaign-gold metallic ink on the seed puffs. The smokey teal-green is a great color for any time of the year.

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A rayon dress was so comfy to wear in the North Carolina in August!

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For this make I hacked in side pockets which I absolutely love! My daughter liked this dress so much she requested one just like it and I stitched one for her (with pockets, of course) as soon as we got back home.

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

So, enough about me in the pictures, whew! I have just a few more photos of the house I’d like to share and then a knit dress make done after our trip that I’ve not had a chance to photograph me wearing yet because I’ve gotten busy painting and using photos from our trip as subjects. I am planning a Part 2 post in a couple weeks to talk about my personal painting challenge and finding inspiration.

Winter Garden inside Biltmore Estates

Winter Garden inside Biltmore Estates

Right off the main foyer of Biltmore is the glass domed conservatory called the Winter Garden and is in my top picks of favorite rooms in the house. But, that list would be a long one because there’s so many beautiful rooms!

Oak Sitting Room at Biltmore Estates

Oak Sitting Room at Biltmore Estates

I believe this is Mrs. Vanderbilts family sitting room. Even though this is a grand home, each room felt intimate and inviting.

Gun Room at Biltmore Estates

Gun Room at Biltmore Estates

Room after room was exquisite and I particularly loved the colors used throughout the house. It is all very much to my tastes, especially when the furnishings were less formal like here in the Gun Room.

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I highly recommend you get the audio tour when you purchase tickets to view the house. It allows you to listen at your own pace as you do a self guided tour of the rooms. There’s an incredible amount to see and learn about the house and family!

Rooftop of Biltmore Estate

Rooftop of Biltmore Estate

As well as the house tour we also took the Rooftop tour. This was an experience and we learned so much about the architecture of Biltmore as well as witnessed amazing scenes like these photos I took from the roof.

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Yup, you bet I petted the gargoyles!

Grounds at Biltmore Estate

Grounds at Biltmore Estate

We had a wonderful trip and when normally it’s hard to get back to reality after an experience like that, I was instead energized and ready to get creative and hit the ground running as soon as we got home.

Simplicity New Look N6626 pattern

Simplicity New Look N6626 pattern

I hadn’t time to finish my knit dress before we left so once back I got right to work making a dress for my daughter from Tiny Dancer rayon and then the New Look 6626 knit dress from Art Gallery Fabrics Cherished Wishes - Everlasting for myself. There’s enough material left over I plan to make my granddaughter a dress too.

I hope you enjoyed this tiny, tiny tour of Biltmore—there’s so much more than what I’ve shown here including the winery, shops, more gardens, and beautiful grounds designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted who also designed a little park called Central Park in NY. I hope I’ve inspired you to do some garment sewing for yourself or skip the garment sewing and maybe some traveling! I’ve been very pleased with these patterns and feel both were great beginner-level dresses that look, feel, and fit great.

Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 2 Recap + Giveaway

Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 2 Recap + Giveaway

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The Everlasting Blog Tour has been a tour de force of incredible talent and this week’s makers brought their A-game! Every day I swoon over the newest blog post—I hope you’ve been following along but in case you missed a day, here’s the week’s recap.

Art Gallery Fabrics released my Everlasting fabric line this spring in May. The summer-inspired prints make sewing easy with a classic palette of navy, red, turquoise, and blush and what better way to show off sewing with Everlasting than with a blog tour. So, to keep those summer vibes going, I invited the industries finest to make beautiful things with Everlasting fabrics and blog about their projects.

Take a look at the Everlasting Blog Tour Week 1 Recap, here.

EVERLASTING BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Friday, July 12 - Sharon Holland

Monday, July 15 - Marija Vujcic

Tuesday, July 16 - Carolina Moore

Wednesday, July 17 - Dana Willard

Thursday, July 18 - Lisa Ruble

Friday, July 19 - Dritz Sewing

Monday, July 22 - Eleri Kerian

Tuesday, July 23 - Marisa Wilhelmi

Wednesday, July 24 - Sharon McConnell

Thursday, July 25 - Modernly Morgan

Friday, July 26 - Alexis Wright

Monday, July 29 - Priscilla Geissler

Tuesday, July 30 - Maureen Cracknell

Wednesday, July 31 - Elina Temmes

Everlasting has been a huge success and is available in shops everywhere. See FABRICS page for stock listings of online shops.

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Week 2 Recap

Day 6 started our second week with the multi-talented Eleri Kerian and her astonishing Seafarer quilt (pattern by Simple Life Patterns) and adorable garments for her daughters. Eleri excels at a challenge and this relatively new-to-quilting quilter masterfully pieced a stunning Mariner’s Compass-style quilt. I love her placement of Everlasting fabrics to get maximum contrast of the pieced elements. Hop over to Eleri’s blog and learn more about this quilt and the sweet romper and dress makes for her youngest daughters.

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Eleri Kerian

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Eleri Kerian

Day 7 was a day of many first for Marisa Wilhelmi. If you follow me on Instagram you’d know that I’d held an Everlasting fabrics giveaway this spring for 1/2 yard of each print from the collection for a winner and their tagged friend. Marisa was the tagged friend and was so excited about her bundle of Everlasting fabrics I invited her to be part of this tour. This was really an unknown for me as to what Marisa would create and she even went the extra mile and started a blog in preparations for the tour. Her passion for sewing (again, she’s new to quilting) is apparent in her exciting and creative pieces. I was blown away by all the beautiful quilt projects she made for the tour. Check them out yourself and give her a big hand for all she’s accomplished in such a short time.

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Marisa Wilhelmi

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Marisa Wilhelmi

Day 8 was Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts day to wow everyone with her stunning new quilt pattern. I met Sharon through Instagram with my first Art Gallery Fabrics collection, Gossamer. We’ve been friends ever since and even traveled and roomed together at Quilt Markets. Sharon has an eye for mixing prints and playing with color and she certainly shined brightly during the Everlasting tour. All ten Everlasting prints were used in her quilt plus the addition of the green FE-527 Lettuce Floral Element from AGF. Find out more about her rulers and the soon to be released star pattern on her blog.

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Sharon McConnell

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Sharon McConnell

Day 9 comes to us from the UK where Morgan of Modernly Morgan is stationed with her husband. Morgan designs beautifully modern quilts and has a great eye for color. This was my first time collaborating with Morgan on a tour and I was so excited when she could take part. Morgan’s Tropical Storm quilt is absolutely sublime with Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids and Bouquet Muse large floral spinning around the central eye of the block. Be sure to take a peek at the back of her quilt that uses primarily Something Blue print with a splash of Crossed Paths. I’m also enjoying her #QuiltsInTheWasher hashtag and images on Instagram!

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Modernly Morgan

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Modernly Morgan

Day 10 closed out the second week with my dear friend Alexis Wright. I met Alexis through her sewing for Art Gallery Fabrics Look Books and in person at Quilt Market. I knew right away we were kindred spirits and although I’m almost old enough to be her mother, you’ll see in our Instagram comments we call each other Little and Big Sis (sisters) because she feels like the little sister I never had. Alexis can design clothing (Blake dress pattern Violette Field Threads), professionally sew, and I’m insanely jealous (sibling rivalry) of her photography! The garments Alexis made with Everlasting prints are easy, breezy, and summer-time perfection! In fact, I’m hoping next week to do a little garment sewing myself with the Flower Keeper rayon!

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Alexis Wright

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Alexis Wright

WEEK 2 Giveaway

That’s two out of the three weeks of Everlasting blog tour and the only way to make it even better is to have a giveaway to keep this party hopping.

The week 2 sponsored giveaway comes to you from:
Bloc_Loc Ruler.

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If you remember on my opening blog post for the tour I posted about my Pineapple Block pillows and BlocLoc Pineapple ruler. These rulers have been game-changers for my patchwork and I seriously don’t know how I ever lived without them! Bloc_Loc has instructional videos to accompany all their rulers.

Bloc_Loc has been a sponsor for this blog since the Community Sampler sew along days and I love being able to introduce you to their company and product line. Bloc_Loc was created by husband and wife team, Paul and Janna. Paul, an Australian, was an aircraft maintenance engineer and Janna, and American, is a quilt designer and author of Courtship Quilts; Inspired by the Victorian Language of Flowers, published by Martingale & Co 2005. Now based in Loveland, Colorado, Bloc_Loc manufacturers, distributes, and sells their own patent pending products which are new and innovative. Their rulers are made of the highest quality materials by the old-fashioned standard of making products and are built tough enough to last from one generation to the next!

 Shop Rulers * Follow on Facebook * Follow on Instagram 

Bloc_Loc is generously giving away a 3” Kite in Square (KIS) ruler set for making 9” finished blocks and the new KIS ME book so you can make beautiful quilt variations from this one ruler set! You could have a lot of fun with this—see entry rules below.


Giveaway Now Closed. Congratulations to Barb K!

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment--you can't win if I can't get a hold of you!

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (First comment entry).

2. Follow Bloc_Loc on Facebook and/or Instagram. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - second entry). 

3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow via subscribing to my posts, through Bloglovin (or other service), or on Instagram, just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - third entry). Note: I'm no longer on Facebook.

4. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Spread the word about the Everlasting Blog Tour on YOUR instagram, facebook, tweet, pin, blog post, etc... (separate comment - fourth entry). 

That’s four possible entries! Enter now through Tuesday, July 30. The winner will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this blog post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Don’t forget you have a second chance to win this same prize by reposting any of the the Everlasting Blog Tour makers projects on Instagram. Simply tag the project’s maker with their IG account, #ArtGalleryFabrics, and use the #EverlastingBlogTour hashtag on a public Instagram account and you’ll automatically be entered into all the IG giveaway drawings for this tour! Enter as many times as you’d like by reposting blog tour images—just be sure to give tour makers proper credit and tag them in your repost.

Happy sewing,

Sharon