The combination of a pattern from An of Straightgrain and a dress made by Polly from My Petite Sophie has me doing happy dances all over the place!
THE PATTERN:
I first came across An’s beautiful patterns years before I even dipped my toes into the world of Instagram. Looking to make a gift for a little girl, a Straightgrain tutorial turned up in my search. And despite having two little boys, I have been a subscriber ever since.
An’s patterns are simple with stunning attention to detail – be it a honeycomb pleat, a beautifully proportioned flutter sleeve, deep pockets for collecting little treasures or a perfectly placed patchwork triangle.
Straightgrain patterns are also known for their mind blowing versatility. It is such fun to see all the different makes that come from one pattern alone.
THE DRESS:
When I eventually discovered the amazing sewing community on Instagram, Polly’s stunning makes, breathtaking photography, and her great sense of styling caught my eye instantly. Her ability to hack a pattern is so inspiring and her account is definitely one of my favourites to follow! You can see even more of this beautiful make over on her Instagram feed now.
Polly tells me that the Tinny pattern is her go-to pattern for woven fabrics. This time she altered it by pleating the front bodice, which beautifully compliments the fabric.
She used the whole width of the fabric for each skirt piece making a lovely gather. The skirt is lined for a fuller look, with buttons in the back and a fine detail with thin ribbon on the waist to finish the whole look.
THE FABRIC:
The fabric is ‘Kakurenbo’ by Nocogou, which translates to Hide and Seek.
The Sugiura’s are the husband and wife team behind the design house Nocogou. They live the slow life in the countryside of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. All of their fabric designs are inspired by their day to day life amongst the mountains.
This design was inspired by their cat! They describe it as “A cat is playing hide and seek in the woods. But it can’t help but peek out.”
Every piece of fabric by Nocogou is hand printed using a traditional method called ‘katazome’. Every colour in each design is printed separately.
They pour their hearts into each design and their fabrics can only be produced in small quantities. The end result being a beautifully unique textile to start creating with!
As you can tell I admire both An from Straightgrain and Polly from My Petite Sophie so much – I am so excited to have their powers of creativity combine into such a gorgeous garment using my fabric!
But there is even more to be excited about! I’m running a giveaway on my Instagram at the moment and An has generously contributed one Tinny PDF pattern and one more of the winner’s choice. There are Nocogou fabrics in the giveaway prizes and more, so pop over to the giveaway post on my account and enter if you haven’t already!!
