Look! Holiday fabric! Because, you know, sewists are the only people who are sweating it out behind an iron and sewing machine in the dog days of humid August heat while staring at snowmen, icicles and mistletoe. It’s just a cruel truth.
Sadly, these aren’t for me (though they do have me thinking I should get a jump-start on holiday sewing). Every once in a while I get to stitch up sample products for Cloud9 Fabrics with their upcoming fabric lines. I’m so, so lucky to live only 20 minutes away from this amazing company. Most recently, they asked me to make cloth napkins, potholders and an apron from their Festive fabric line which just shipped out to stores. As you can see it’s Christmas / Wintertime themed but because it is designed by Jo Clark for Cloud 9 so the prints are cute, subtle and classy instead of tacky CHRISTMAS-in-your-face!
Aren’t they sweet!? The snowmen have earmuffs and red scarfs for goodness sake. For the potholders I used this tutorial from A Pretty Cool Life, which was easy and straightforward. To make them heat-resistant I used Insul-Bright and when I ran out of that I used a combination of quilt batting and felted wool. Both will do the trick.
It was surprisingly meditative and fun to make the same things over and over again. I normally avoid doing that because of the slight ‘sweatshop’ feeling it invokes, which leads to a ‘what am I doing with my life’ feeling, which leads to even bigger existential-esque questions and a big dark hole.
But, right at this moment, repeated stitches and ironing of hems was just exactly what I needed. Sometimes, I don’t want to have to think so hard and it feels good to do the sewing without any complications. Maybe it was the summer heat getting to me after all or maybe it was just the catharsis I need after moving house.
It also helped that these adorable designs were smiling back at me. To make the cloth napkins I used this wonderful tutorial on making mitered corners from Nicole At Home, except I added an additional border stitch.
The apron pattern is one that I’ve wanted to sew for a long time. it’s the Emmerline Apron from Sew Liberated and it’s got a classic, simple style that is not only beautiful but also flattering (even a bit sexy, I’d say?).
It’s also reversible so it was a great chance to show off this adorable fabric. On one side I picked the Mistletoe fabric that was my favorite and on the other side I put the gingerbread men, which is the favorite of the Cloud 9 folks. Paired with the Lava Cirrus Solid, this apron is so holiday-ready it makes me hungry for a snickerdoodle. 
Sadly, I had to hand over all of these samples to the Cloud 9 folks for use in their promotions and booths, etc. but I’m hoping it will motivate my own holiday sewing….maybe once the crazy, crazy heat passes?
Leave a Reply