It was love at first sight!
Everything about this fabric—the colors, the gritty, industrial-like texture, the energetic, painterly design—came together gloriously in a digitally printed cotton, called Off the Grid. I just had to get a piece of this fabric!
Everything about this fabric—the colors, the gritty, industrial-like texture, the energetic, painterly design—came together gloriously in a digitally printed cotton, called Off the Grid. I just had to get a piece of this fabric!
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| My new Siena Shirt [from The Sewing Workshop] made with Off the Grid from P&B Textiles. |
Actually, I got two pieces from the Off the Grid collection by P&B Textiles—because I couldn't decide which colorway I liked best. (It's always a dilemma... so just get them both, I say.)
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| Off the Grid from P&B Textiles: GR45 109GL (left) and GR45 109DB (right). |
Siena Shirt pattern
I considered a few pattern options, but in the end, went with my tried-and-true (already fitted to me) Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop. This is my 5th make from this pattern.
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| The Siena shirt in Off the Grid (dark blue colorway). |
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| Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop. |
Process of [button] Elimination
The only perplexing part of this make was auditioning and making the choice of buttons. I dumped out the green and the blue ones from my inventory. (Don't giggle, I'm not the only one with an extensive button collection.)
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| Auditioning the buttons for the shirt. |
- too big or too small for a shirt (the pattern suggests 1/2" buttons)
- obviously not the right color
- less than the quantity needed (the pattern suggests 8)
- inappropriate for the look (stars, anchors, the ones with gold, etc.)
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| Dismissing the buttons that don't meet the criteria. |
Narrowed the choice to four...
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| Auditioning buttons. |
and ultimately chose the hexagon shaped buttons. They were a complimentary color with a slight iridescence property... and there were eight.
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| Set-up for a practice buttonhole. |
I always make a test buttonhole or two on a fabric scrap. The thread—a variegated 40 wt cotton from YLI—was a perfect match. The color combination included navy, turquoise, medium blue and even a touch of lavender.
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| A YLI variegated cotton thread for the buttonholes. |
After the handwork finishing processes (hand sewing the inside neck band, sewing on the buttons, burying thread tails) my new Off the Grid Siena shirt was complete!
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| Back view: Siena shirt [The Sewing Workshop] with Off the Grid [P&B Textiles]. |
The detail I added to this garment was a side vent at the lower hem... just something to make it a little different.
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| Siena shirt side vent. |
Quilting cottons and digital prints for garment sewing and quilting
If you're a sewer or garment maker, don't be hesitant about using quilting cottons or a digitally printed fabric in your next garment or sewing project. This Off the Grid cotton print machine washed, machine dried and sewed very nicely.
If you're a quilter and know the wonderful advantages of wide backings, Off the Grid also comes in a 108" wide back. Ask YLQS [your local quilt shop] or independent sewing center that carries fabric for Off the Grid. Remember, if you can't decide which colorway you like best, get them all (there are five)!
Like a newly painted canvas, I'm looking forward to wearing and showing off my Off the Grid Siena. I think it's an illustration of a symbiotic relationship between digital printing technology, street art and wearables. What's not to love?!
