a while back, i was asked by my friend kayte to contribute a project to her book, Applique Your Way, and i happily obliged by making a little dog sweater from recycled human sweaters. that was about a year and a half ago, and finally the book is out! it is a gorgeously written, designed, styled and photographed book, and i am not surprised in the least. today i am hosting kayte for a stop on her blog tour (and read all the way to the end for a chance to win a copy!), so we had a little chat about some of the projects that make great gifts:
hi kayte! i have always loved the technique of applique, and its close cousin embroidery. what made you want to write a book about applique?
I just felt like appliqué deserved it’s due as a cool craft! I think a lot of people love appliqué but they’re not really sure how to do it or they think it’s really hard. I wanted to show the range of appliqué from simple beginner projects to ones that are a little more complicated. Also, I wanted to use tons of different kinds of fabrics like felts, velvet, sheers and trims: appliqué can be done with pretty much any type of material.
your book contains so many great gift items for every occasion! can you tell us a few of your favorite last-minute gift projects that people could still make in time for this holiday season?
A lot of the projects from my book can be done in a day or even an evening so if you’re a procrastinator like me, you can still make quite a few gifts for the holidays! The Mix Tape Phone Cozy and the Button Tree Journal Cover are great gifts for a friend or a cool cousin. The dog sweater is (of course) perfect for the very special dog in your life! The coasters take a bit longer since they are hand-stitched and then quilted but they would make a very special gift for your mom or a really special friend. I like that project because I love to incorporate quilting in small projects- it always looks really special and complicated but obviously doesn’t take as much time as a full-size quilt!
what was the most fun part of making this book? the photos are so pretty and cheerful; i especially love the still-life pics of sewing supplies sprinkled throughout…
Oh thanks! They were actually incredibly fun to work on. Jennifer Causey (simplyphoto.blogspot.com), the photographer for the book, is a friend of mine and we did all those shots with just the two of us. It was such a relaxing and creative photo shoot! We worked really well together and just played around with compositions and colors. I wish all photo shoots were that easy!
I also loved coming up with the ideas for the projects and picking out fabric. I love fabric so much and getting to play around with colors and patterns is always my favorite part of starting a sewing project.
i notice a lot of your projects use recycled or reclaimed materials. do you prefer re-using textiles over buying new ones?
Yes, I love vintage fabrics! I kind of hoard them so when I am working on a book or a magazine project, I pull them all out to work with. It’s really hard for new fabrics to even come close to the patterns and colors used in vintage fabrics but I love japanese fabrics too!
thanks for visiting the farm kayte! as a special treat for you, my beloved blog readers, Chronicle Books is offering a copy of Applique Your Way for my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!!! leave a comment on this post mentioning an applique project past, present or future, and i will randomly select a winner. deadline for entry is midnight on sunday, december 20, and the winner willl be announced on monday!
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