Showing posts with label Annie Sloan Fabric Collection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annie Sloan Fabric Collection. Show all posts

7 April 2016

Introducing my new Coloured Linens!



This is a very special week for me because I’m finally able to tell you all about my latest launch; a brand new collection of Coloured Linens, inspired by colours from the  Chalk Paint® range – how exciting!

This is a project which I’ve been working on for the past few months, and I hope you’ll be as thrilled with it as I am. I wanted to find a way to ‘mix’ colour from the Chalk Paint palette within the weft and warp of the fabric to create some new, exciting combinations which are quite unlike anything else I’ve seen. It’s what I love to do with my paint – mix it up and make something totally different. I’m delighted with the colours I’ve achieved here. Not only are they true matches to my paint palette, but the combinations I’ve chosen here cover all styles – from vibrant, bold and unexpected, to subtle, soft and neutral. They can either be the talking point of a room, or the quiet background to other pieces.

It’s taken some time, but I’m really, really happy with the finished fabrics, a linen/cotton mix, tumbled to make them super-soft, and strong enough for all types of upholstery as well as curtains, covers - even clothes!

The great thing about combining colours when creating fabric is that, not only can you create a unique single colour, but you can be clever and create a frayed edge ‘fringe’ by very carefully unravelling a little of the weft (which runs across the width), to reveal the warp colour (which runs across the length) underneath. Do play around with them, I’ve been experimenting, not only with fringes but also covering buttons (a look I really adore!) and adding piping to bring out either the complementary or, to be a bit more bold, the contrasting colours.




The combinations I’ve used are Aubusson and Provence, Louis Blue and Graphite, French Linen and Old White, Scandinavian Pink and Provence, Emperor’s Silk and Florence, Coco and Duck Egg Blue, English Yellow and Antibes Green, Napoleonic Blue and Barcelona Orange, Emile and Graphite and Old White and Violet. In some cases, they’ve complemented each other to create a new colour, in others they each remain true and contrast with each other in the finished fabric – it’s a fabulous effect, which I hope you’re going to love as much as I do. And, I’ve been really conscious all the way through the design process to create something that will work just as well in a Neoclassical look as it will in an industrial, Warehouse setting or Modern Retro, or Bohemian, or Traditional Swedish, Coastal…you get the idea!


I can’t wait to hear what you think of them and see how you use them in your own homes! Please, as ever, share your pictures on my Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, and tag me on your Instagram.



14 December 2015

The 12 Crafts of Christmas - No.5: The Stocking


Today, for the fifth of my 12 Crafts of Christmas, I'm sharing this super easy sewing project with you! Rudi who works in the fabric department at Annie Sloan HQ made these adorable Christmas stockings to hang along the fireplace.


Using fabrics from the Annie Sloan Fabric Collection and a simple template (see below, and please note the 1cm seam allowance), Rudi cut out 2 pieces of fabric that would make the front and back of the Stocking and sewed along the top straight edge to create a neat hemmed edge. She then laid both pieces on top of one another –so that the right sides were facing – and pinned them together.


Earlier in the day, we had dyed some cotton web tape, using my paint Chalk Paint® as a dye (take a look at my earlier blog post to find out how to dye fabric with Chalk Paint®). Rudi cut the tape to 12cm lengths and pinned these in to the top inside seam, to create a loop. She then wizzed the sewing machine along the side and bottom edges, leaving the top open and turned the fabric inside out, so the right-sides faced out – and there you have it!


You can also add a sweet detail by adding a heel in an alternative fabric. Rudi dyed Pure Linen with the same Chalk Paint® dye that she had used on the cotton tape and added this to some of the Stockings that were made from some of the simpler patterned fabrics (such as Pinstripe Mattress Ticking or Gentleman). See the templates above for this.

I hope you're playing along with my #12CraftsOfChristmas and having fun! Don't forgot to share pictures of your projects with me!

Yours, Annie


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