Susan Bates - Designing the “Sew Fun” Patterns for StitchableCards

This set of designs is inspired by my love of sewing. As a child I learnt how to sew by helping my mum; she would make clothes for herself, my sister and me. As time went by I was able to sew clothes for myself without my mums help. I learnt a lot from my mum about sewing and in my adult life I’ve continued to make use of these skills and have, of course, continued to love of sewing. I still really enjoy making my own clothes and I continue to use my sewing skills in my design work as a cross stitch designer.

For these four designs I’ve focused on the elements of sewing, such as the tools and materials used, but I’ve also broadened it to include some little quilting motifs too. I’ve tried my hand at some small-scale hand-sewn quilting and I’ve really enjoyed the sense of calm that it’s given me. When you’re sewing, (especially hand-stitching), you can forget about the stresses and worries of day-to-day life and totally immerse yourself in the process. What I really love about quilting is how the different patterns on the fabrics interplay, plus its a great way to use small scraps of fabric that you can’t use in larger sewing projects.

The first design in this set depicts an arrangement of sewing implements and a couple of fabric swatches. Over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of different sewing tools, and some of these were the inspiration for this design, including the little scissors and skeins of threads. With my love of pattern I’ve included a couple of fabric swatches that are decorated with little flowers and a simple checked pattern. All of the motifs are arranged in a pleasing grid-like manner and they sit on a soft pink background. I felt that this pale pink worked well with the colours of the motifs, as it allowed the colours in them to stand out.

For the square shaped template I was inspired by patchwork motifs. I’ve included a stylised house, which I think is called a log cabin motif. The house motif carries a lot of symbolism, as we like to know we are safe here. This house is made up of blocks of patterned shapes in pretty pinks and greens. Underneath this is a simple repeating square motif, which creates an appealing border in a variety of colours. All in all, this is a sweet little design.

When I first began sewing I used my mum’s sewing machine, which was very similar to the one I’ve depicted in this design here. It was a Singer sewing machine, which was a bit old, but I have fond memories of sewing with it. My mum’s machine was more of a minty green colour, but here I’ve depicted a teal blue one, as I love this shade of blue. I’ve surrounded the sewing machine with a pretty garland of little pink flowers. This creates a cute image which would be fun to stitch.

This final design in the set was also inspired by quilt motifs. I love the use of symmetry that you sometimes see in quilting, so here I’ve created a symmetrical design of stylised pink tulips with green foliage. This motif fits nicely into the heart-shaped template and is placed on a subtly striped background of soft shades.

 

I had fun designing these patterns and choosing a colour palette for them too. I feel that the pretty soft pinks, blues and greens reflect the nice cosy feeling that sewing can give you. So, I hope that these designs inspire you to pick up a needle and thread and help you to celebrate the joys of stitching for yourself!