“Around the Bend” is Anna Graham’s newest collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics and we have stocked two of its prints today. Let’s take a closer look at the designer, the substrate, and them!
Who Is Anna Graham?
If you have been around the sewing and quilting scene for a while, Noodlehead is pretty much an institution at this point. Anna Graham’s forte are unbelievably beautiful bag patterns, but she throws in pouches etc., and the occasional quilt as well.
In the past years, she has utilised her own fabrics designed for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in the projects, but other designers are still featured as well. A couple of well-known names are Ruby Star Society (for Moda Fabrics), and Sharon Holland (for Art Gallery Fabrics), whose beautiful Kismet collection was featured.
Noodlehead Patterns
Anna Graham releases patterns in her own webshop in both paper and digital formats, and on her blog as free tutorials.
She also has a book, Handmade Style, published through Lucky Spool Media, which was founded as an alternative to the big publishing houses without much time for proper marketing of all their craft books. If you are in Finland, at least Helmet, the capital-area library system, has this book available.
Anna Graham Print Fabrics
And now the exciting part of this blog post, Anna’s fabrics! While Around the Bend is hitting shops as we speak, and her previous collection Quarry Trail is available in many shops still, you may be able to source even older collections somewhere around the globe.
Stylewise these prints mix and match beautifully, because the aesthetic is similar across collections. More importantly, the substrate is the same: various Essex linen-cotton blends (55 % and 45 %) onto which the patterns have been printed.
Inspiration
On the Noodlehead website you find two blog posts by Anna in which she presents the Around the Bend collection.
The first, New! Around the Bend Fabric Collection, was written in October 2021, whereas the second one, Around the Bend Inspiration, is a recent addition from July.
See also the Around the Bend lookbook on the Robert Kaufman Fabrics website. There are some stunning projects to admire and be inspired by!
Essex Collections
Robert Kaufman Fabrics make an assortment of Essex fabrics of which these are the most frequently used:
Colour names correspond to the names of their Kona solids range of quilting cottons.
Projects With Essex And Around The Bend
Essex fabrics work wonderfully in sewing, quilting and embroidery projects. If you plan to quilt with them by mixing with quilting cottons, Essex shrinks differently so prewashing is recommended.
The thickness of the Around the Bend collection means that fabrics are perfect in bags, wallets and the like, which paired with interfacing give a lovely sturdiness to your project.
Due to the weight of this fabric type, they also create really nice curtains. A few years ago we picked a stunning, now discontinued linen-cotton blend by Kokka for my sister’s kitchen window. Both of us warmly recommend this fabric blend for the purpose. Back then our mother, who as the primary curtain maker sewed them up, thought exactly the same.
You can probably come up with even more ideas on how to use these versatile fabric though!
Fabrics In Our Shop
You can find the lovely Natural from Around the Bend here:
And the equally stunning Graphite from Around the Bend is here:
Currently our Essex selection is limited to a blue option, Delft, of Essex Yarn Dyed Homespun, and a dark grey, Charcoal, of Essex Yarn Dyed. The latter pairs particularly well with Graphite from Around the Bend. Here we have Charcoal:
As for fabrics for linings to your bags, pouches etc., I suggest Shitake by Carolyn Friedlander:
In fact it isn’t uncommon to see these two designers paired in projects, because they both have rather minimalist and graphic styles, which in their own ways incorporate nature elements as well.
Wrapping Up
So, bags, bags, bags? Pouches, wallets and coasters? I have some projects cooking in the back of my head as we speak.
Show us on hashtag #senttijatuuma on Instagram what you create with these beauties!
Vastaa