danidesignblog

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Daintree Sonata

I was ecstatic over coming third in a challenge for my Daintree Sonata pattern. It was a joint competition between the facebook Surface Pattern Design community and MyfabricDesigns .

Today I came home to a package at the front door. <insert squeal of delight here>

This is the first thing that I have had printed from MyFabricDesign and I was really interested in how it compared to Spoonflower and I have to say I am impressed.

I also purchased a swatch of all their fabrics and they have a lot of very interesting ones that do differ from Spoonflower. There is an organic cotton jacquard, which would be great for sleepwear or babies clothing. The polyester crepe jersey and polyester slub jersey also seem a nice alternative for Tees. What is really great is that the swatches are all printed on with the name and information, as well as their logo. This is a great indication of how the fabrics handle the detail and colour. Awesome! Spoonflower this would be great to have too 😀

I’m happy overall with how Daintree printed, I have seen a little blip so will be updating that. Guess that’s why getting a swatch printed is invaluable. The only thing is that it does seem to be slightly washed out overall. Having said that I was unsure that the background was going to show and it does, so that’s great. I had a fat quarter printed as well as a swatch which was reduced in size. It is a lot darker and over saturated, hard to say if this is because of the reduction in size or different fabric.

What I need to do now is get some printed from Spoonflower and do a comparison. I’ll post the results.

Watch this space!

Dani

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Sprout lined zipper pouch

I spent yesterday sewing these super sweet zipper pouches. I took advantage of a 2 for 1 offer last month from Sprout Patterns. Even though these little guys really don’t need a pattern I felt I could justify it, as I wouldn’t get that many choices of my patterns printed out just through Spoonflower for that price. I’ve used sprout before and I will trace the pattern before I cut it out, so if I’m happy with the result I can make it in another fabric too.

I decided to laminate my Superpowers pouch. What a huge pain in the <insert Beep here> that was! I ironed on the vinyl onto the materials and it looked fab. I was busy congratulating my self as I turned it the right way round and voila ....it looked awful! It was so crinkly it was a disaster. I managed to iron most of it out and now it just looks like a much preloved pouch not a bright and shiny new pouch! If anyone has had success using the iron on vinyl I would love you to share any tips.

For the next three:- Radio Retro, Floral Fancy and Teaparty I kept it simple but did add a nice thick interfacing to make it all ‘puffy’.

 I really get a kick out of seeing my designs printed and turned into something practical and useful. Now I just need to decide what to put int them.... 

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Starburst Kaftan

I’m not a great sewist, I’m ok at following instructions and that’s enough to get me by. This is even easier these days with so many photo tutorials available online. I’m in awe of mum who can look at some clothing in a shop window and think ‘I can do that’, or even with the couch at home that needs an update and can visualise how to do it.

Mum has re-covered numerous chairs and lounges over the years even for her grown up kids who have moved out, cushions, bedspreads, curtains and clothes galore, she also made my school uniforms. That last comment ages me doesn’t it! That’s right you gen Y’s and millennials, back in the day we didn’t have uniform shops. You just purchased the material and you sewed the uniform yourself. I guess you could take the material to a seamstress, but I had mum :)

I have always enjoyed sewing and making something with my own hands. I guess this ‘crafty’ hands on enjoyment, carries across a lot of things in my life. Over the years I sew, sew, sew and then I drop it, only to pick it up a year later with renewed inspiration. I think if I’m being totally honest I would probably do it more regularly if I wasn’t so lazy. The thought of having to clean and pack up after finishing each day puts me off, if only I could have a room that I could leave with material strewn about. Why not a room just for any messy art too while I’m dreaming! That also probably says something about me too doesn’t it!

I’m digressing.

Spoonflower have a new fabric which they call Sweet Pea Gauze, its a cheesecloth. I purchased some and made a kaftan/coverall out of another fabric of mine. Not great, because I didn’t have a pattern and I thought how hard could it be…well apparently I think my head is a lot bigger than it is and the head hole is huge! Although i’ve decided to sell the design as a sexy off the shoulder sort of creation. My dear daughter then decided I needed to make her one too and it needed to have a hood, it needed ties that did this and the arms had to be so long, and this had to be like this and that had to be like that. Getting the picture? So I thought I’m not my mum, I need a pattern. So we went searching and found one on etsy. Here’s the link if you would like to have a sticky beak  Pattern Emporium

I designed the Starburst_Pink fabric quite a while ago and uploaded it to my Spoonflower page. This is the pattern that DD thought would work so I ordered some and waited patiently for it to arrive. That’s my only gripe with Spoonflower, the delivery times to Australia are loooong. It arrived, I always do a happy dance when I see the Spoonflower package in the letterbox. I overlocked the edges which is a must with this fabric and washed it, ironed it, crossed fingers and started cutting out the fabric.

I was halfway through the 2nd shoulder seam and my serger made some godawful sounds and stopped! Although I’ve had it close on 2 years I’ve hardly used it, as I’ve been so intimidated by its’ numerous threads and confusing threading. So off to the repair man it went and it’s not back for a couple of weeks at best. So my thoughts of quickly whipping it up went out the window and it was back to my trusty Janome.

I followed along with the great tutorial with its clear instructions and great pictures to help out someone just like me. I went slow as this fabric stretches out of shape so easily and after all madam is a fussy client. It went well until the very last bit where all I had to do was sew the side seams. Ever hear those little voices in your head and you ignore them? Well don’t! The instructions said use a fabric pen to measure the side seams on the ‘right’ side of the fabric. As I could only find a lead pencil and I really needed to mark and pin it as it moved so much. So I just marked it up on the wrong side of the fabric, didn’t I. As I was doing this I asked my self ‘why on the outside, that’s silly, must’ve been a mistake’. In my defence I was running late to pick the kids up from school. So the exposed seam was no longer exposed was it, not a lot more needs to be said about that, except it’s not a lot fun to unpick cheesecloth!

It all turned out in the end, and my daughter must be fairly happy with the result because she agreed to model for these photos. I am over the moon with how my fabric looks (just like a bought one) I love the colour and how the dusty pink shows off the Aussie Summer Tan.

The only problem I have with this pattern is this: that while my daughter is a petite 11yr old, and the patterns largest size is 9-10 fits her perfectly… this year. There is no larger size available, we need a bigger pattern (hint hint).

Until next project,

Dani

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Winter School in the Aussie Sun

I’m a serial reoffender I have to admit, I just can’t stay away. Although it was the summer holidays here in Sunny Sydney and the kids have been off school since beginning of December, I signed up to another course. I signed up to yet another MIID course in January, the Make it in Design Winter School 2018.

I get so much from doing these classes. I get new designs with subjects that I push me, that I might otherwise shy away from. There is also so much wonderful support and so much inspiration from the others that are doing the course with me. Although there is no direct feedback from the MIID team I find that there is more than enough from the other members.

There are three strands to choose from or you can do all, and of course thats what I did. After all, what if there was a brief in another strand I loved and I couldn’t do it. Each strand has two briefs and 2 creative projects. I wasn’t able to fit them all in, but I did get to pick and choose and I can always go back and complete the unfinished ones in my own time.

I made new and caught up with old friends from previous classes which is always nice. My facebook and instagram feeds have been flowing with wonderful art from everyone this last month. I love seeing how different everyone’s take on a brief is. It’s what makes life so interesting isn’t it, how we all see and approach things so differently.

MIID joined with Fashion Formula for one of the competitions on offer and I was thrilled to just find out that I came 2nd! I am so looking forward to seeing what it looks like on fabric. I have to choose the fabric, I’m thinking something like a canvas to make a cushion or a bag might be nice too.

Out of the six briefs I only managed four. I know I know if I hadn’t have added the third track I would have finished them all, but I do have four new designs/collections that I will continue working on and refining.

Here they are as of now-

Neutral Art

Bright Blooms

Kabuki Kingdom

The collection keeps growing, I cant stop!

Cyanotype Fauna

Can’t wait to see what this looks like on fabric!

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My Society6 Dufflebag Sample.

I was super excited this morning to receive two samples from Society 6. I had my ‘Mystical Powers’ design printed onto their Duffle Bag and their ceramic travel mug. Now I just need to have a weekend away to use it😉

I am especially happy with the Duffle Bag. It is on really sturdy canvas and its lined too. Given the texture of the fabric the detail has held really well. The travel mug is good too, the design was reduced a lot and hasn’t dramatically filled in. My two small gripes are that it seems to have dulled the design a bit. The other is it would be great to be able to not have such a thick white border, I thought it was a lot less on the proof.

I recently decided that I need to get myself organised and upload my designs onto various plateforms and then promote them. I don’t feel comfortable doing this without seeing a sample first so I am comfortable with the quality. This is why I chose the Duffle and the mug as they are very different and I can see the repeat large and small.

It would be awesome to get one of everything wouldn’t it. Hey, I’m allowed to dream aren’t I!

I have got various things from cards to T-Shirts to Tote Bags from Redbubble. Their stuff is real good. I’ve used my tote as my everyday bag for over a year now and it’s still perfect. I have had iPhone cases and Apple Watches printed through Casetify and have been really happy with them too. I got a pair of high tops made from InterestPrint and unfortunately it wasn’t so good an experience. The customer service was good but the product wasn’t. They were sold as leather but aren’t and the quality is really low resolution. They were cheap so I was a little doubtful I admit. I still may try another design and try a canvas pair. Another dream of mine is to sell my designs through Bucketfeet, now that would be fantastic.

I have uploaded designs recently to Society6, Threadless, Design by Humans, My stuff automatically goes to Roostery from Spoonflower. So I will be be opening more packages soon😀

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Creating my Lampshade and base

Until recently I never gave the Lampshade a second glance. Growing up it was something that was in other peoples homes. It’s not that I hated them, I just never thought of them. If I was to think of them, I probably would’ve described them as rather old fashioned and boring. When the time finally came for me to move out, I do remember I did buy this big old ceramic lampshade base, and then began the hunt unsuccessfully for the right shade that was also a bargain. For a few years it sat unhappily with its ill fitting shade until I gave up on both of them and they finally went out on the sidewalk during a council clean up. So for the next decade or two I never thought of them again.

Then, along came my love of surface pattern design and the Lampshade became more appealing as an alternative way to show my designs. I found 3chooks.com and signed up for a class at Sew Create Make in Sydney. Anna was a really wonderful, helpful and friendly teacher. I now am happy to say I have a lampshade that I am proud of and I’m happy with its very simple base from Ikea.

It hasn’t stopped there however. During the class Anna showed me some images of shades that she is making with a colleague that included a prototype of a base. This thought stayed in the back of my head for a for a while, and I thought ‘I wonder…’

I was inspired to come up with a base of my own. Something simple that I could make, something that was inspired by my ‘anything retro’ obsession and something that could be flat packed and reproduced easily if one day I ever get round to trying to manufacture and sell my designs.

I am really happy with the result and I want to make more!

My ‘Gourmet Garden’ Fabric from Spoonflower ✔️

Bases from Ikea ✔️

Excited ✔️

Happy with the result, I then wanted to try and design my own base. I wanted something that I could make, I wanted something that fitted into the Mid Century Style and I wanted something that really made the shade and the base blend into one cohesive piece and no longer two separate items.

I have no woodwork skills so that actually helped me come up with my design that didn’t require and nails, dowels of glue. My Husband thankfully however loves his garage and has acquired many many tools over the years and has even made his own guitars so he helped me with what I needed and how I needed to go about it.

I didn’t want it to be an expensive piece of timber and I do like the edge of ply and how you can see the laminated timber. So that’s what I went with.

With hubby overseeing, off I went….lots of fun. Not perfect but for a first time user of the bandsaw I was happy with the result.

I do have to admit that I didn’t create these 100% myself - I HATE sanding so that was outsourced! I couldn’t decide on how to finish them, I knew that I wanted to retain the original hue and didn’t want them stained dark. I ended up going with a natural oil. I probably should’ve put a primer thingy on it as it became quite rough after each coat. In the end I just sanded most of the oil off so it was smooth again. It’s not the best finish and far from perfect. Maybe next time I need to outsource that too!

However I’m over the moon with the result and just love how it fits my style.

VOILA!

I would love to sell these as a complete item one day…

Watch this space

Dani :)

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Just started the Make it in Design 'ABSPD ultimate Portfolio Builder 2017' course. So it's going to be a crazy 7 weeks with this and the general mayhem that is now until Christmas around here .

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A Bit About Me

After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design and Photography at UWS I was blessed with working with a great team for many years working in the print industry. I believe that being a part of the printing industry gave me a valuable skill set of not only being able to design work that looks great on screen but knowing how to create that art to print successfully too. Then, like many I left work to start a family and took some time out.

These days when I’m not engrossed in pattern design, I’m doing my other love - Cycling.Yes, I do wear lycra and yes I probably shouldn’t! I love long distance touring and have done numerous Aussie outback trips including crossing the Nullarbor and to Uluru which was humbling. Thousands of km’s with your thoughts and the odd road train is grounding. I believe a good pattern can help someone associate something ordinary with something happy, fun, or simply less boring! A tea towel can brighten a kitchen even though its just for drying dishes. Oven mitts can conjure up thoughts of something delicious in the oven, and a design on manchester is the first and last thing that is seen each day. If someone finds a product with my design more appealing over another, then I’m happy, my job is done! This is what I think is so special about Surface Pattern Design

My work is available to license please contact me via my website

danidesign.com.au

You can also see my work on instagram on  a_danidesign

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