Inspiration #1: Prints

I'm really particular about fabric patterns. There are just so many bad prints out there - like the aisles of the majority of fabric stores, who occasionally have cool things, but its so overwhelming wading through the latest holiday collection of novelty cottons that I often leave discouraged. I know what I'm looking for in a pattern. The rules are pretty simple - geometric patterns, particularly those with a really optic quality, muted colors, florals are okay, but the flowers must not be too large and not made up entirely of rose buds. I really like florals with black backgrounds too. Okay, so actually the rules are not that simple and I'm kind of picky. I don't think that's a bad thing.

Here is a swatch of the fabric I picked up for my soon-to-be-released fall/winter 09 collection. It's an IKAT print and I absolutely love it. I want to make everything out of this fabric.



Here's an article about IKAT.

I love the natural aspect of IKAT, how the pattern is actually woven into the fabric, not just printed after the fabric has been produced.

Some more patterns I'm obsessed with:





Yes, PENDLETON. Just a 6-ish hour drive from Portland, home to the loveliest of lovely southwestern prints. I especially love the cargo tote bag. Not having the pattern all over the bag makes it more versatile.

I stumbled across this website the other day. Its the work of textile artist Julia Bryant. Julia is a master knitter and crocheter specializing in ethnic patterns. The pieces she makes are meticulously crafted, and while they're not all my taste, here are a few that blew me away.



So. cool.

Lastly, one of my favorite designers, mociun. I absolutely adore the fabrics she uses.