Another 'Tapa Cloth' Story

Did you know I had a 'sewing passion' BQ?

That's 'Before Quilting'.

I sewed clothes for my Barbie dolls when I was about 7 years old. Then made most of my own clothes, then outfits for my children.

When I found quilting and began teaching quilting I combined patchwork with clothing for a while and then left the garment sewing behind to concentrate on designing quilts, writing books and patterns and teaching quilting workshops.

I made this jacket for my daughter.
It will soon be 'passed down' to my granddaughter.

The first things I wanted to make when I received my 'sample yardage' for my upcoming Banyan Batiks fabric collection (Tapa Cloth) were clothes. Perhaps it is because I am Grannie to 3 special little girls and I wanted them to have something unique and made just for them by me.

You may know that I have Brooklyn and Alice but there has been a new addition to our family too! 

This is Summer, now 6 weeks old and growing and changing quickly.She wasn't born when my fabric arrived and I still owe her an outfit.

So, what clothing and projects did I make?

A dress for Brooklyn and a pants/top outfit for Alice. 

I commissioned my friend Peggy to make a lovely handbag for me and I also dived into 'home dec' for a cushion.

Brooklyn's dress is by Vanilla HousePoppy's Easy Dress

Alice's outfit:
Sandpiper Capri and Top by Clever Charlotte.

This is the handbag - it is the Breckland Bag by Charlie'sAunt.
I picked up this pattern last year at Quilt Canada in Vancouver.

I also made a 'Jelly Roll Rug' cushion. I used the Jelly Roll Rug² pattern.
If you do a 'search' online you'll find lots of places to buy the pattern.

Want to see the entire collection? It won't be shipping to stores until December but you can tell your local Quilt Shop that it is available to order NOW. See the collection here.