Happy Monday! As I mentioned last week, I wanted to take some time to share a little more about the prints in Dreamin' Vintage before it hits shops in April! Today I want to chat about what went into making the focal print of the collection, Lazy Daisy.
The entire collection is inspired by vintage bedsheets from the 50s and 60s, and this print is no different. As soon as I started working on this collection, I knew there had to be a daisy print. There are literally hundreds of different daisy sheet prints out there. A quick Etsy search brings up quite a few! The daisy sheets in my stash are some of my favorites, I just can't seem to resist their charm. Simple and sweet!
Another theme seen in vintage sheets is the separation of warm and cool colors. Warm colors are red (pink), orange and yellow. Cool colors are green, blue, and purple. I love playing with the contrast of warm and cool colors, and that's where the color inspiration came in for this collection. The Tickled Pink colorway is primarily warm colors and the Merry Berry colorway is primarily cool colors. They can easily be mixed, and together deliver a full rainbow of colors!
The actual story behind how this print came to be is a bit funny. Knowing my skill level of drawing realistic things, I knew I was going to need to get creative when it came to creating this print. I decided to take advantage of a function in Illustrator that allows you to turn a photograph into a graphic that can then be recolored, resized and manipulated. I started searching through my photos, but wasn't finding a whole lot that would work for this print.
So, I grabbed my camera and went on a field trip. I headed to a local garden store and took about a million photos of flowers. I got a lot of good shots, but still needed some daises. Then I remembered a vacant lot near a Home Depot in town. Lucky me, the landscaping was overrun with daises. I was able to get everything I needed, all while being watched by the hoards of shoppers. I'm sure they thought I was nuts!
In the end, it was 100% worth it. The print came out better than I could have imagined when I started. And honestly, it makes for a pretty good story if you ask me! Can you spot the flowers from the photos above in the final prints? :)
Lazy Daisy in Plum.
Lazy Daisy in Raspberry.
I can't wait to stitch up projects using these prints! I know for sure I'd like a vintage style dress made out of the cool print! Maybe Christine Haynes' Emery Dress Pattern?
If you're a shop interested in carrying Dreamin' Vintage, it can be ordered through Art Gallery Fabrics. Find your sales rep here, or call toll-free (888) 420-5399.
Your fabrics look great together--congrats!
ReplyDeleteI love vintage fabrics! I think this is going to have to be a must have to my collection!
ReplyDeleteYes! Love this story. Hearing it makes the fabric really come alive.
ReplyDeleteI love love love your new fabric line. I'm in love with vintage sheets especially from the 70's since I was a Baby Boomer and had so much of that stuff. Thanks so much for recreating it for us!! I'm so excited!
ReplyDeleteHow neat! I've been thinking one of these prints might make a fun backing for my "fly home" quilt :) the Lazy Daisy is precious!
ReplyDeleteI love those designs! It totally takes me back to my childhood bed sheets in the 1970's!
ReplyDeleteI love learning how you came up with the design. It worked perfectly!
ReplyDeleteGenius!!
ReplyDeleteLove this print and the story behind it! It fits in perfectly with your vintage daisy sheets!
ReplyDeleteLovely prints! They remind me of 1970s housedresses.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking forward to Dreamin Vintage coming out. Love the story and will now have to play with this function in Illustrator. Sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteI love vintage sheets also! What a gorgeous collection, Jeni! I can't wait to sew with these fabrics!
ReplyDeleteJeni,
ReplyDeleteWould love to know if an Aussie Fabric Company buys any of your line. I'm in love with it so I can contact them to buy some or can you help me with a USA fabric store that can ship to australia! www.julie714@adam.com.au
These prints are my favorites and can't wait to buy yardage! I used the same trick to design a daisy postcard for my book. I took tons of daisy photos!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Makes me feel like summer is on it's way! And I love your column in Love Patchwork & Quilting. I've never quilted before but just planning my first quilt it's so exciting!
ReplyDeleteThese are so beautiful, I can't wait for them to get to the UK!
ReplyDeleteThanks to you Jeni, I can't pass a thrift store without checking to see if I might stumble across some vintage beauties! It's hard to find color, a lot of white with different patterns, but I am not discouraged, I will continue the hunt...and feel the thrill when I find a sheet or pillow case to add to my stash. Your new collection is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI think my daughter needs several rompers from these prints! dresses too. I love how the warm colors are bright and fresh and summery and not muted. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool. I just went through some boxes of things that came from my grandmother and guess what I found. Vintage sheet. I wanted to scream. I am going to have to make a quilt with them and buy some of your fabric to help fill in. This will be great! I have loved your vintage sheet ideas!
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