Hello Sewing Friends! Tamar here from Tamar HOPE Designs. How many of you have multiple children to sew for? I have five, and I love making coordinating outfits! It’s just so cute! And if you do it right, those that you sew for will love it too!!! Not all kids like to have identical outfits (especially as they get older), but most kids will be good with coordinating outfits. And it makes for great family photos!!!!
It can be difficult though to find fabrics that all coordinate without using identical fabrics for every outfit. (Using identical fabrics for every outfit can tend to look a little overdone). However, Art Gallery Fabrics collections makes it soooo easy to plan coordinating outfits that are different enough to keep the kids happy; and similar enough to look great together and make you happy!!!
Let’s explore a little bit! Head over to the Art Gallery Fabrics website and click on “Get Inspired”.
My favorite way to get started is to click on “Lookbooks”.
This brings you to a list of lookbooks. I like searching this way because the covers of the lookbooks show you all the prints in the collection together. It’s easy at first glance to pick a few collections that really resonate with you.
When you click on a lookbook that you like, you can flip through it and see how the fabrics look when they are sewn into something.
For my spring dresses, I used the “All is Well” collection. I also love that the lookbooks often start with telling the story of the collection. It makes the collection that much more meaningful and beautiful
At the end of the lookbook, all the names of the fabric prints are listed. Write down your favorites to make ordering easy!
Many of the lookbooks also include coordinating solids and blenders. I love it when these are included. It takes all guesswork out of the equation!
I do love the lookbooks, but sometimes I want to search only knit fabrics. You can search many different ways by clicking on the dropdown. You can click on “fabrics” and search by fabric type, or you can look through solids and blender patterns. There is also a “capsules” tab with some great inspiration for using collections to make coordinating outfits.
You can also click on “Inspiration - Product Gallery”. From there you can click on a collection and see a whole gallery of pictures of items sewn with that particular collection.
When you have your fabrics picked, click on “shop” in the dropdown.
It will bring you to a page that gives you all of the online locations that sell Art Gallery fabrics. It also has an option to search for brick and mortar shops near you that carry their fabric.
Once you pick your fabric, the fun really begins! You can start planning! I like to start with one main print that will bring the collection together and cause it to feel cohesive. I use it primarily for one dress/outfit. Then I use it as accents in the other outfits to tie them all together.
It’s helpful to pick patterns that have simple accent options. The green dress is Daphne with slightly modified Cornflower sleeves. The mushroom dress is Hydrangea. Those bodice ruffles on Hydrangea are a great option for adding a touch of the accent color. The pinafore is Willow. The double skirt and ruffle straps on Willow are another perfect place to add in your accent fabric.
I also let my kids have input. That way you can be sure that they will love their outfits.
My 8 year old immediately fell in love with the mushrooms, and my 10 year old loves the color green
When I asked my 5 year old, she said that she wanted an “apron dress” aka pinafore
And so, the collection was born!
Art Gallery Fabric collections makes coordinating outfits so easy! No more standing in the fabric store aisle for hours trying to find a fabric to match one that you already have only to end up settling with something that almost matches. Art Gallery makes it gorgeous! Every time!
Happy Fabric Shopping!!!!
-Tamar