i love linen for sure. i seem to recall being unsure of it at some point, but it's way too pretty to avoid for long, so eventually i just went for it. i wonder if i can even remember when that was.... can someone do that wayne's world thing while i search my old flickr albums for a sec? you know, the
scooby doo ending thing.
oh... this is *way* more
embarrassing fun than i thought it would be. old pictures and blog posts? a little painful sometimes, amiright?
the first linen i found in my flickr albums is this skirt, which is pretty special as it was a commission from a very dear friend's husband for a first mothers' day present. the pictures are, admittedly, quite terrible, but the skirt was actually lovely and you can read more about it in this post:
godet reveal. note that i even made linen bias tape. also, i wonder if i have more of that somewhere?
i think that linen is just perfection for flowy skirts. it is light enough for comfort on a summer day, but the texture works well to pair with leggings in the colder months as well. here's another linen skirt i made, this one with a decorative trim (
read more about it here).
there's only a tiny bit of linen here, but i couldn't resist re-posting this pic from the beginning of last school year. (can you believe how much these girlies have grown in a year?!??!) for K's simple pocket skirt, i used some linen in a fabulous mustard color as an accent on the hem and for the pocket. i even left the raw edge of the fabric as the top of the pocket (have you noticed how beautiful the selvage of linen is?). these skirts were simple to make and i think the linen pocket dresses K's up a bit... more here:
weekend skirts for K.
here's a project that still gets a lot of use... a nook cover for Nick (
blogged here). the gray linen paired so well with the
echino and
maze & vale prints and made for a very handsome accessory.
and let's not forget that many of the gorgeous
kokka prints we all love are a linen substrate. they work well for clothing, like in this
sunki dress i made for K that you can
read more about here. (side-note: still haven't finished the hem in this. what is wrong with me??)
and those same kokka prints are perfect for mixing with more traditional linens, like this
yarn-dyed essex from Robert Kaufman that i'm sure you've been seeing pop up everywhere lately. i put them together in this bag i made from Rashida's
Zakka Style book, of which i have apparently neglected to show you finished photos (for shame!!), although i did share a bit about it in process here:
file under zakka style. i used the same mix of fabrics to create the bunches of hexies i've yet to do anything constructive with. oh, no... i'm sensing a theme here.
it would seem that i have way more to share and say about linen than will reasonably fit in one (or maybe even two) posts. what can i say? i love linen!! so stay tuned for more of my linen projects, and i just might even get together some of my favorites from others.
for now, make sure you check out
A Post on Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen from Brenda at
Pink Castle Fabrics. she shares a bit about how linen is different from traditional quilting cottons, gives some project ideas, and answers some common linen questions. worth a read for sure!
i'll be back with more linen-ey goodness soon.... until then, happy sewing!
