Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

The Gizmo Wallet by AGF

So while I was on the hunt for the perfect handmade gift I came across a geek wallet that had some of the elements I was looking for but not yet the perfect gift.  So..  I added some very essential pockets and made it the perfect all-in-one wallet for the "hard to get" person on your list.

I decided to sew my very first ever handmade gift (and by first I mean first sucessful project that I finished 100% without too many tears and without throwing my hands up in defeat.) 

I am soooo happy with the outcome (well minues the #SewingFails) that I have created this tutorial for you.

This wallet was created to hold your phone, MP3 player, credit cards, USB's, money and anything else that meets your fancy.

 Materials Needed:

Download Personal Organizer pattern and assemble.

AGF Fabrics (large peices - Fat eighths of desired fabric;  Pockets - Large scraps of desired fabric)

Pellon Shape Flex Fusible

Pellon Fleece Fusible

Notions Needed

5 Buttons

1 Snap closure

Elastic

 

Cutting Directions

Inside and Outside Panels Cut 2 (we used 2 different fabrics)

 

Inside Pockets:

Big Pocket Cut 2

Phone Pocket Cut 2

Credit Card Pocket Cut 8 (we used two different pockets and cut 4 of each)

Mini Pockets Cut 4

 

Outside Pockets:

Large Credit Card Pocket Cut 4

Bill Pocket Cut 2

Interfacing 

Fuse Pellon Fleece Fusible to Inside and Outside Panels

Fuse Pellon Shape Flex Fusible to both wrong sides of Big Pocket and Phone Pocket

Fuse Pellon Shape Flex Fusible to only one wrong side of Bill Pocket and Large Credit Card Pocket

 

Sewing Instructions

Place Big Pockets right sides together and begin by sewing bottom edge with a ¼” seam allowance

Leave a 1” gap in bottom for turning

Sew around three remaining edges

Repeat same steps on phone pocket

Repeat same steps on bill pocket

Repeat same steps on large credit card pockets

Repeat same steps on mini pockets

Repeat same steps on credit card pockets

Clip all four corners on each and trim off excess fabric for turning

Turn all pockets right side out and poke out corners

Press turned pockets

Top stich top between 1/8”-1/4” along edge of each pocket depending on desired look

Make sure to backstitch or hand tie ends to prevent unraveling

Lay credit card pocket on big pocket

Measure 3” up from bottom edge and pin first pocket in place

 
Sew bottom edge of pocket being sure to pass through both
credit card and big pocket

Align bottom pocket with bottom of big pocket

Sew bottom edge of pocket being sure to pass through both
credit card and big pocket

Place final two pockets in between sewn pockets and sew
bottom edge of pocket one at a time

All pockets should be spaced evenly making sure to back-stitch or hand tie ends

Place and pin mini pockets to big pocket

Stitch bottom edge of mini pockets one at a time

Stitch sides of mini pockets one at a time making sure to backstitch or hand tie ends

Place and pin centered phone and big pocket 1 ½” from edge and 1” apart

Sew down sides of phone pocket one at a time making sure to back-stitch or hand tie ends

Sew bottom of phone pocket making sure to back-stitch or hand tie ends

Sew down sides of big pocket one at a time making sure to keep credit card pockets in place back-stitch or hand tie ends

Sew bottom of big pocket making sure to back-stitch or hand tie ends

Place and pin first credit card pockets on outside panel 1” down and 1” over from edge

Place and pin second credit card pocket 1” apart from first pocket

Place and pin bill pocket centered between credit card pockets and 1” up from bottom edge

Sew bottom of bill pocket making sure to back-stitch or hand
tie ends

Sew down sides of bill pocket one at a time making sure to
back-stitch or hand tie ends

Prepare buttons and optional notions

Cut elastic into two 3” strips and one 2” strip

Mark elastic placement on inside panel

Use clear tape to hold elastic ends together

Pin elastic onto inside panel

Place inside and outside panels right sides together and pin
all around

Sew bottom edge ½” seam allowance leaving a 2” opening for
turning

Make sure to back-stitch over elastic to reinforce seam

Sew sides of panels with ½” seam allowance

Sew top edge with 1/2” seam allowance making sure to backstitch over elastic to reinforce seam

Clip all four corners on each and trim off excess fabric for turning

Turn entire wallet right side out and press

Sew buttons on both sides of wallet 1” from edge and ½”-1”
down depending on button size

*Snaps inside pockets are options and can be hand sewn

Tip: For the LARGE pocket a snap closure will ensure that your electronics stay in place and for the smaller pocket I suggest using a string/ribbon to tie down your phone so it does not slip out.

This Gizmo wallet is great for just about anyone. It holds credit cards, USB's, your phone and MP3 player all in one spot. No more going through your purse or carrying all these items separately.

Hope you enjoyed my very first ever pattern and that if you do make it you share it with me. I love seeing how this works for everyone!

Leave me a comment below letting me know "Who is this gift perfect for?"

Happy Sewing!

- Anais

Cherry Autumn Quilt Kit

Hello friends,

I am excited to share with you our exclusive Cherry Autumn quilt kit designed especially for Fat Quarter Shop.

This quilt kit blends in various of Pat Bravo collections such as Modernology and Bohemian Soul with Art Gallery blenders like Lace Elements and Floral Elements. The warm tones of the fabrics used mimic the changing colors of nature during Autumn.

As Summer fades from view and Fall takes it's place make sure that the Cherry Autumn quilt is there to keep you warm.

Happy Sewing,

<3 The AGF Team

 

Fat Quarter Gang - Wellen Tank by luvinthemommyhood

Hi everyone! I'm Shannon from luvinthemommyhood and I'm here to inspire you to take some fun quilting techniques & add them into your wee ones wardrobe this summer!

 

 This adorable tank was inspired by the beautiful coast I am so lucky to live on. The gorgeous waves never cease to take my breath away and I thought it would be fun to try to replicate the feeling of the waves with the equally gorgeous line "Summerlove" from Pat Bravo.  A perfect combination - yummy summer tones reminiscent of sand and surf partnered with the swoops and curves of coastal waves.

The tank itself is simple in construction with a wide neckline & strap and an a-line cut allowing all the detail work of the curves to speak for themselves and to allow that lovely fabric to shine!  It's a fun project and a great way to dive head first into sewing with curves. I'm now hopelessly addicted and dying to make a quilt to match!

So join me....take a walk along the surf, smell the ocean breeze, feel the sand between your toes and get inspired to add The Wellen Tank to your kidlets summer wardrobe!

Let's get started...

MATERIALS : - 8 Fat Quarters of Quilting cotton. I used Summerlove by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. Prints used were from "Sunkissed": Beyond Bliss Ginger, Swept Away Serenity, Tokens of Love Pink, Passionate Spirit Teal, Malibu Kiss, Naivety Berry, Sweet Days Seashell, Retro Harmony Sugar. - Approximately 44" of  handmade bias tapeor 1 package pre-made. - Co-ordinating thread - Pins - Scissors/rotary cutter & mat.

PATTERN PIECE : - Download and print the "curves template" here:

 The Wellen Tank Curves Template

*Note: When printing please make sure your printer is set to "actual size" or set your page scaling to "none".  Be sure not to select "shrink to fit" or any other page scaling as this will result in your pattern pieces being the incorrect size. Pattern piece is sized to fit on a standard 8.5" x 11" page.

For the tank top pattern itself use a pre-existing garment to trace your pattern piece from.  There are a lot of great tutorials online that you can find that will show you how to use an existing piece of clothing to trace out a pattern template. Make sure when making a larger/smaller size than a 2T that you adjust the amount of  "curved" pieces needed. You can simply add another column of curves to increase the width and to increase the height you would add more curved pieces to the top of each column.  For more instructions on how to do this please see Step One below.  My tank top was a Size 2 Tank that I drafted from scratch.

*Note: The style of tank used to draft your pattern would need to  have a wide neckline to allow the tank to slip over the child's head without the use of buttons, zippers or a "v" neck.

 

INSTRUCTIONS :

*Copyright 2012. All rights reserved www.luvinthemommyhood.com  Personal use only unless prior permission has been given.

STEP ONE: PREP AND CUT YOUR FABRIC

*Note: Make sure to wash, dry and press your fabric before sewing.  This is very important when making garments.

- Print out your Curves Template Piece and cut (6) curves out of  all (8) of your prints for a total of (48) curved pieces.  I did this with my fabric folded so that I could cut doubles right off the bat.  Make sure that when you are cutting your curved pieces that your grain line (straight grain) is going vertically.  Your selvadges will be parallel to this.  When you tug the fabric you should feel some give/stretch from left to right.  If the give is from up/down you need to adjust your fabric.

Starting from bottom going upwards - #1 - Passionate Spirit Teal, #2 - Sweet Days Seashell, #3 - Naivety Berry, #4 - Malibu Kiss, #5 - Retro Harmony Sugar, #6 - Tokens of Love Pink, #7 - Beyond Bliss Ginger, #8 - Swept Away Serenity

-  Lay your curved pieces out and plan your layout for your "waves".  We will be assembling these in the next step in columns so it's easiest to plan your layout laying them out vertically first and then if you'd like to see the whole picture align more columns of curves beside your original column.  I used the following layout shown in the picture above. - I'm all about customizing great garments for your own style/taste.  The outline of the Wellen Tank is easy and quick to change. Based on the tank you are using for your pattern you can lower the neck, add a v, widen the a-line or elongate the hem  - it's up to you! That's the fun part of making your own clothes!  If you would like a larger/smaller size just adjust the number of curves used to make each column and the amount of rows of columns you use.  We are essentially going to be creating two large rectangles made of pieced curves that are made big enough to cut your tank pattern out of.  Ready to get sewing? Yay!  

STEP TWO: SEWING YOUR CURVES

- Lay your pieces out in order in separate piles for each soon to be sewn column.  Figure out what is your inner concave and what is your outer concave.  See the pic above for an example.

- Take your first curved piece and lay it right side facing up with your inner concave to your right.  Place your next curved piece wrong side facing up with the inner concave to the left taking care to align only your top point at this moment as shown in the image below.

*Note: Your top will overlap just a bit with the point not matching up with your bottom curve. This is fine.

- Now comes a bit of a tricky part.  It's going to feel weird to sew these two together but trust me - it will work out.  Use a 1/4" seam allowance using the outer edge of your presser foot as a guide to use as you move your curve while sewing.  I didn't use pins and you don't need to either.  Simply go slow while you get the hang of it.  I highly suggest doing a sample swatch to try it out before you do the real one.  Once you start sewing you simply slowly keep moving your top piece "only" to align it with your bottom one and voila! A sewn curve!  You don't even need to clip your seams!!!! That's right! Turn that bad boy right side out and press and you've started your column!  I pinked all of my seam allowances to prevent unraveling since this will be a worn garment.

- Continue on joining curve to curve building your column in this manner always starting with your curved pieces laid out as previously stated.  Once you have sewn (8) curves together you have finished your first column!  Make 5 more columns in this manner for a total of (6) columns. - Once you are done all your columns and pressed them all neatly line up (3) columns for your front rectangle.  Pin (2) columns together with right sides facing each other.  Pin along the left outer long edge.  Sew these columns together using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Trim your seam allowance with your pinking shears and press neatly.  Now attach your other column to the right side of the column with right sides facing each other.  Repeat the steps above.  You now have your front rectangle complete.  Repeat the steps in this paragraph to make your back rectangle.

- We're going to topstitch those pretty waves you created now :)  With your front rectangle topstitch along all of your seams (right side facing up) to add some detail and also so that those curves look nice and finished. I've got a thing for topstitching so following the waves with some pretty stitching was a lot of fun for me :)  Press.  Repeat for the back rectangle. Great job!

STEP THREE: SEWING YOUR TANK

- Get out your tank pattern pieces and cut them out of your newly created wave rectangles.  Place your front pattern piece on your front rectangle piece and cut it out.  Do the same for the back pattern piece placing it on your back rectangle. - Take your front and back tank pieces and place them right sides facing each other. Pin your side seams and sew them with a 1/2" seam allowance.  Zig zag stitch/pink or serge your seam allowances to finish your seams.  Press. - Pin your shoulder seams.  Sew them both with a 1/2" seam allowance.  Finish your seams in the same method as your side seams. - If possible try the tank on your wee one before finishing in case you need to make any adjustments and also to mark your hem length.

-  Press your bottom hem up 1/4" and press.  Press the hem up yet again 1/2" and pin in place.  Sew along the inside edge of your fold. I like to do two stitch lines on my hems for a nice professional finish.  I simply follow the first one and stitch about the size of the one of the teeth of the presser foot away from it.  It is also possible to sew the hem with just a double needle if you have the option on your sewing machine.  Press again.

STEP FOUR: FINISHING YOUR TANK

- We are now going to finish off your neckline and your armholes.  You can choose to either make your own bias tape or used pre-bought bias tape.  I used pre-bought single fold bias tape for my tank. Single fold bias tape is most commonly used for finishing garments when you don't want it to show.

- With your tank right sides facing out take the edge of your bias tape (wrong side facing up) and pin along your entire armhole.  Stitch down along the first crease of your bias tape.  Turn the tank inside out and fold the bias tape over and under pinning as you go.  You will not be able to see the bias tape from the outside now.  Stitch down close to your bias tape inner edge.  Repeat this for your other armhole and for your neckline.  Press.  Voila!  You now have your very own Wellen Tank (wellen is german for waves)!  You did awesome!  I can't wait to see it!

 

Happy sewing from my home to yours :) 

You in the mood to win some fabric?  Let's hear from Art Gallery Fabrics below on how to enter to win your very own bundle of Summerlove!!!!

Join the fun and sew along... join our Flickr group (it may or may not..but mostly may.. include random prizes).

Trying to keep up with all of AGF and what we have to offer..  well here are all the links to help you do just that :) Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, Pin us on Pinterest and check out our consumer website.

Now for the Giveaway Rules (dum dum dummm)

Forluvinthemommyhood:

Follow the instructions on luvinthemommyhood's blog.

For Art Gallery Fabrics

Follow us on Pinterest , Like us on Facebook, Subscribe to the blog and leave a comment letting us know you did. (wow!, we are a high maintenance bunch..lol. Honestly we want you all involved in all of AGF... you know we do cool things right!?)

(Picture that inspired the Wellen Tank)

Until next week, <3 The Fat Quarter Gang & AGF Team

Twisty quilt pattern

 

Hi my friends,

I would like to introduce to you Twisty. You know how much I love pink, right? Well, this time I decided to put it together with orange and add Pure Elements Linen White zig-zag stripes across the length of the quilt. So fun!

This quilt just calls me for a nice picnic out by a lake or in the middle of a grassy field and therefore the photography had to reflect that. I think spring is the best season!

 

The angular design plus the addition of white gives this quilt a youthful feel. Triangles made of thin strips allows to use each fabric bumper to bumper and not to have any waste.

Twisty is now a kit, available exclusively at Moona Fabrics website. I love Susan and Nicole's store (Check it out, it's great!) Finished size is 52" x 69". Kit includes pattern, instructions and all of this luscious fabric for quilt top and binding. You will receive both printed copy of the pattern and instructions as well as an emailed pdf file. 

Happy spring!

 

Pat

 

Indigo is here!

Hi friends!

I have designed this quilt some time ago and offered it to my friend Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quiltworks to be sold as a kit. She fell in love and jumped on board inmediately! The quilting motif was done by her, and after sending it back to me I thought the photography has to be done on a barn. We took pictures at the barn of a dear friend of mine in Davie. The result is PURE BLUE JOY! I'm madly in love with blue.... Are you?

The name I picked was Indigo and it goes perfectly with the design and the fabrics. 

I love how this design came out. It's really easy to piece!

Jackie blogged about this kit here.

The kit includes all the fabric as well as a downloadable PDF pattern for the instructions on how to piece this baby, and it's available EXCLUSIVELY at her shop

So, if you are madly in love with blue as me... check it out :)

Love,

Pat 

The BO PEEP SKIRT official promo + GIVEAWAY!

Hello my sweet friends! 

I must apologize for my looong absence on this blog! A lot has happened in the past few weeks, including my trip to my native Argentina, an expansion of our warehouse/offices, and the usual juggling between fabric design, pattern design, quilt design, you know the drill! 

So, I know the girls in the AGF team kept you guys posted on some of the stuff going on here, especially the thing I'm most excited about right now; the BO PEEP SKIRT PATTERN!

I love this pattern and I'm sure you will too!! Featuring double layers & gathering detail on the side, this flirty high-waisted skirt is as easy to wear as it is to make!

The skirt has a zipper on the back of the waist. I thought that because many of you could be a zipper first-timer, a very detailed section with many pictures it's included. Isn't that cool?

You know my CD patterns, they come in a CD containing more than 40-page PDF file with detailed diagrams and step by step hi-resolution pictures. And don't forget that the real size templates are included.

I'm so in love with this skirt! We shot this reaaally cool video promo and I wanna share it with all of you! 

What fabric combination do you like most? 

This pattern will be available at your local quilt shop next week... but... if you tell me which one is your fave right now you could be taking home THE BO PEEP PATTERN + the FABRIC to make it in your favorite combination free!!!! 

Other two winners will be taking the pattern as well (so, 3 winners!)... don't miss the chance! 

I'll close the giveaway this Friday this 16th, and will choose the winners randomly. 

Oh, and have you stopped by my Facebook Page?? "Like" it and let me know for a double chance on the giveaway, yay! 

Have a great week everyone and GOOD LUCK!!!!! 

 

Love, Pat

backstage action.

hey!

fab here. i'm extremely happy is finally friday! (bet I'm not the only one)

let me tell you a lil' bit about what we've been up to this week: so the thing is, Pat is coming up with this pattern. it's called the "Bo Peep skirt", and it's one of my personal favorites!

actually this pattern started loooong ago (like... a year and somethin'), when we first got the Modern Affair line. this was the first prototype:

then we decided to drop the scallops and make a few more changes. it transformed into this, which we presented for the first time in Houston 2010 as part of our Paradise dreamboard:

and finally, it morphed into this:

so now that is ready to hit the market, we shot this cool video as the promo, with me starring the whole thing, haha! here's a couple of backstage pics:

made with (my favorite) modernology fabric...

with the uber-girly coquette collection...

made with hyperreal garden's awesome "Lush Foliage" print...

and last but not least, with the super-cute bespoken line! 

we're all biting our nails here waiting for the video to be ready... which we WILL share as soon as it's done, take my word for it! 

hope you enjoyed these little sneek peak! til next time!

xo,

Fab. 

Photoshootin' around town.

Hey! 

As you saw in my last post, we presented this awesome quilt in Pat's showroom, and it got preeetty good reception... many requests for the pattern/kit, so we decided to basically go for it! The kit will be out soon, but the pattern is already available and guess what?? It's a FREEBIE! (yay!)

But yeah, every quilt deserves a great photshoot that does it justice. And since there's nothing I love more than photoshoots, I didn't complain when Pat asked me and the team to take some nice pics of the Modernology quilt; QUILTOLOGY.

I will reveal the final product soon, but here's a lil' behind-the-scenes shots so you can check out the quilt in all its glory, haha.

This time we headed to downtown Miami cause we wanted to give QUILTOLOGY a modern, urban look...

What do you guys think?? Makes you wanna quilt? Maybe this flat shot of the finished quilt right here will do the trick:

Don't you just L.O.V.E the colors?? I do!

Stay tuned for the final shots and the VIDEOOOO!

xo,

Fab.  

Art Gallery Fabrics presents: BESPOKEN.

Hey, how was the weekend everyone?

I took some nice R&R, even though the constant rain didn't really allow me to do anything outdoorsy...but oh well, staying at home, cuddling up with a good book and spending quality time with the family and the dogs it's just what I needed. Alex took the time to replenish my IPhone with fresh new music, and I'm loving his tunes :) 

Well it's that time of the year again when Houston's Quilt Market is right around the corner and it's time to present to everyone what I've been up to all these months. Yeah. Nerve-racking. Still looking forward to it though! I LOVE Houston Quilt Market. But before I start talking about the new lines for the upcoming show, there's still stuff you haven't seen (I'm very behind in announcements). Like for example, Art Gallery's latest in-house collection: BESPOKEN.

Bespoken is a colorful fusion of vintage florals and retro prints with an English flair...

This is the FRESH COUTURE palette... all about turquoise, mint green and luscious purples... 

And the LUSH COUTURE palette... with gorgeous pinks and coral tones... what do you think?

And now, a bunch of products we've been making at the studio:

Gotta love some pillows!

And how about this throw? 

I ADORE this dress! I could totally see it on a runway, don't you think?

That's the GODDESS DRESS... possible pattern (?) maybe!

This dress is just so much fun. How do you feel about the solid ruffles??

The Essential Tote made with the Fashion Mood and Sequins prints...

And finally an uber-cute pin cushion!

So as you can see this is a pretty versatile collection, very bold in color and strong enough to make a statement with your stitchery... any ideas yet? Like to know, like to know!!! :)

Hope you like this collection as much as we at AGF do!

Bespoken is out now at your favorite local store and online yayyyy!

Love,

Pat. 

Behind the scenes...

It wasn't long ago when I presented my new sewing pattern on DVD The Boho Dress. If you bought it, you can see the nice and professional side of it: great edition, beautiful transitions, me explaining all chapters in detail...

But I also want to show you the other side. Now it's time for you to have fun looking at the "behind the scenes" pictures we took, knowing that would make you laugh to see all the oops and ohhhs that happened during filming. I laughed a lot choosing them because each one has a little story to tell... 

Enjoy!

Lovely Angie choosing decoration to make the set look its best

I couldn't resist to put many quilts and pillows in my favorite colors... The flower didn't want to stay straight, so Angie was making it behave

Two lovely ladies, Fabiana and Daisy! Fab was in charge of the sound and even if we persuaded Daisy to go to another room, she kept coming back. Looks like she's interested in all the buzz...

But also Fab was my hairdresser... I was so concentrated trying to remember everything

Angie couldn't stop laughing because we had to repeat the scene so many times

Going over some notes on my IPad. I was really fearful to make mistakes... 

This is one of the scenes taken from one side. Silence was paramount!

Does Angie look tired? Well, she really was!

My son Alex retrieving one file. Do I look worried? Just look at my face!

Checking light and sound

At the end, she was also tired...

Talking about some details with my lovely assistant Victoria, who is a Fashion Designer and helped me with the technical writing of the pattern I designed.

Having a break and chatting with the girls. This DVD video was so much fun to make!

A still image of one of the scenes

It was an incredible amount of work mixed with an incredible amount of love...

My big thanks to all my team including the sweet Kathy, that even if you didn't see her in these pictures was in charge of all the edition and animation!!

It is a very flattering and easy dress to make, and it has had a warm welcome among the sewing community (happy designer here). The Boho Dress pattern is now available nationwide at your local quilt shop and online. 

 

Love,

Pat