Teatowels in Spoonflower

New DIY-teatowels at our Spoonflower-shop! Order a yard of linen-cotton -canvas, and you'll get four different designs, at sizes suitable for kitchen teatowels. The delivery can take some time, so should you want them for Christmas, order soon.  I used the unprinted scraps of fabric for hanging loops.

Twinkling Christmas everyone!

 

All photos copyright Arabia

Yet another fun project we did with the good people from Arabia, Finland. Decoration for the Christmas 2013 seasonal tablewear, it's called Tuike, Finnish word for twinkle. The inspiration was Christmas night, outside, forest, warmth, light and softness. You can also find elements from traditional Finnish or Scandinavian textile and handcraft. You can find it on-line here.

Time to start making Christmas presents!

Instructions for knitted and crocheted dishcloths were published in the Finnish Moda-magazine 8/2012. Pretty, quick to make and useful presents for anyone you need to give a small gift. Also hand-made by yourself, what could be better? Thank you to Pukkila for tiles, Arabia for the table wear, Verso Design for felt products and Taito-shop Helsky for that lovely basket, made out of birch bark. The yarn used is from Finnish company called Kierti, and it is recycled hemp-cotton mix, made out of fashion industry's left-over material. I'm totally in love with it! Way softer than other recycled yarns I've tried, also good for making example nappy-pants, because it absorbs moisture so well, and hemp is naturally anti-bacterial. Though I've been dreaming of making a cardigan or tunic with it, just for me...

Once upon a time...

...there was these two cutie-pies who wanted to build their own house. Luckily for them, the Pattern Bakery-studio had just made these instructions for the Finnish Moda-magazine for a DIY-kids soft play house! Girl's clothing made of Pattern Bakery fabrics from Spoonflower.

Fabrics on Spoonflower

Multi coloured Sprig

Turqoise Sugar

Pink Diamond

Blue Sweets

Red Sweets and pink Otava

These fabrics and many more colour versions can be now found in our shop at Spoonflower. We've been really happy with the quality of fabrics and printing they offer, so we are happy to recommend their services. There will be updates as we upload new fabrics in the future. Also to follow will be photos of our projects with the fabrics, and on blog patterns and sewing instructions for clothes and products.

Ordering is easy, you can pay with Visa, but keep in mind that for example in Finland, for orders over 45,50 € a VAT customs tax might be added. Also please note, the colours on the screen in Spoonflower are a lot brighter that in real life. If you want to be sure about the colours, you can order a test swatch of 8 inch x 8 inch for just 5 dollars, plus postage.

Ja sama suomalaisille tilaajille; värit näyttävät Spoonflowerin sivuilla paljon kirkkaammille kuin luonnossa. Jos haluat olla tarkka oikeista väreistä, voit tilata 'Test Swatch' joka on n. 20 cm x 20cm kokoinen pala haluamaasi pohjakangasta, maksaa n. 4 € + postikulut. Maksaa voi visalla, kannattaa muistaa, että yli 45,50 € arvoisiin lähetyksiin USA:sta Suomen tulli voi lisätä 23% ALVin.

Pink Otava

Embroidery patterns

If you liked to make your own Pattern Bakery -embroidery, hurry to the shops to buy the latest Moda-magazine. With instructions for three different linen cushions, this style would be perfect for the summer house.

Knit wear for your laptop

The new Moda-magazine is out! Amongst instructions for warm winter knits, there are also these two models, designed at the Pattern Bakery-studio. They work as laptop cases, with enlarged computer pixels as inspiration for the patterns.

Life in the Jungle

Happy new year to everyone! We're back at work after relaxing holidays. Out today is also the new Moda-magazine, with our designs and instructions for making your own, soft jungle in the kids room!

Edit 3.2.11. The lion has been christened, from now on I've been told this one will be called "Nah". Yes, indeed.

New home for cushions

kuvat Pekka Holmström

Surely there is room for more cushions on your sofa? These lovely and warm cushions with interesting surface textures you can knit yourself, the instructions can be found in the latest Finnish Moda-magazine and they were born at the Pattern Bakery -studio. The yarn used for these cushions is from a Finnish spinnery called Pirtin Kehräämö, they have lovely qualities of Finnish wool and also beautiful colours.

Happy Anniversary!

Friends of Finnish Handicraft (Suomen Käsityön Ystävät) is celebrating it's 130th anniversary this year. Anniversary was kicked off yesterday at their shop located in House of Kiseleff, Helsinki. A glass of bubbly and an interesting introduction to the history of the company nicely set the mood for the year.

The Friends of Finnish Handicraft was founded by Fanny Churberg with the idea of collecting and preserving finnish handcraft designs, knowledge and skills. Currently the main products are ready-made as well as do-it-yourself kits for embroidery and wall rugs. Throughout it's history the company has collected an archive of thousands of designs including the work of, for example, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Eliel Saarinen, Eva Brummer, Helene Schjerfbeck. FFH also creates new tradition by working with current designers such as Elina Aalto of Fiasko Design and Paola Suhonen of Ivana Helsinki. Wonderful to see that old, good traditions and techniques are maintained, developed and have risen to new appreciation.

We picked our favorites from their current colletion:
(photos courtesy of the FFH)

Take a look at Eva Brummer's design Zeebra. Can you guess when it has been designed? When I found out the year, I almost fell off my chair. The design is so up-to-date and modern. 1950!



This one's always a classic: Liekki (the Flame), 1900.
Better known in blue, it was designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela originally for the World's Fair in Paris. It is also a famous part of the interior of the Hvitträsk mansion. Pictures don't do justice to the deep colours and grandeur of this jugend rug.



And finally a spirit of the 40's: an embroidered "Bluebird" pillow by Rut Bryk. There's something fresh and modern about this one too. Who says classic embroidery needs to be conservative and serious when it can be fun and playful?



Congratulations to the Friends of Finnish Handicraft! Keep up the good work!