Indigo Dye Day: What We Made!

As you know if you're a blog reader, we experimented with our staff last month and dyed some cloth and yarn with natural indigo. It was a blast and everyone ended up with beautiful goods to work with.
We gave ourselves a month to whip up something special with our hand dyed goods! Check out our results!

I made a Camber Set top! I recently finished my Camber Set dress and I liked it so much, I thought I should try out the top version. I wanted a simple design to show off my fabric which is a shibori dyed cotton/silk blend. The silk is a protein fiber and it helped the fabric take the dye better so I got a beautiful hue of indigo on the exposed parts of the fabric. I accordion-folded and then tied my fabric to create this pattern. The silk also gives the top a bit more drape and flow than a 100% cotton would have which I love.

Allison made this adorable tank that she self-drafted the pattern for! It shows off her shibori dyed Kona great and we love the use of dark indigo thread and contrast stitching. Her shibori technique was to "crumple the fabric and then wrap it with string." It turned out great!

Katy makes project bags that we all use here at the shop and are available online here. She chose to dye up some cotton fabric to use for her project bags so they are extra-special. She dip-dyed them for a sweet ombré affect.

Nathalie dyed up some fingering weight yarn. She wound her yarn into a center pull ball, which made the yarn take on the outside of the call take more dye than the inside. The result is a beautiful yarn with an ombre effect in various shades of indigo. She already whipped up this Hitchhiker shawl - a great one-skein pattern for any sock yarn by Martina Behm.

Nathalie also dyed a t-shirt which turned out a perfect blue!

Jess chose to overdye some Nani Iro wata-gauze that was originally a pale, off-white. This flowy, lightweight double gauze is an even looser weave than traditional double gauze. The fabric took the dye great and she made a Nuance tee out of it - Nani Iro's pattern designed just for this fabric - so perfect!

Jess also dyed some Brown Sheep Burlyspun, super-bulky wool yarn and made a quick knitted cowl. She achieved this speckledy look by putting her yarn in the vat in a twisted skein!

Kiyomi made a quilt! They incorporated their indigo-dyed cotton fabric with other fabrics to piece together this awesome quilt top.

Kiyomi also dyed some rayon jersey, which was a real experiment as we didn't know how the rayon would take the dye. It did great! The color is muted because the vats were almost exhausted at this point, but they did get a subtle ombre effect which looks great in this simple tee.

Miranda was really experimental and dropped all sorts of things in the dye vat including ric rac and sheep locks. She used her indigo locks to make a magical blue unicorn with flowing mane...so cute!

Miranda also over-dyed some silk! As of now the hot fabric is being worn as a scarf, but soon it will hit the sewing machine! 

Sunne used shibori dyeing techniques to dye this beautiful piece of fabric. She hand stitched this scarf together and embroidered to embellish the lovely finish of this dye!  

Sunne is also working on her very own shawl pattern with the fingering weight yarn she dyed! 

Nice work everyone!

Katy & Jaime: Arbutus Cowl Pals!

--jaime

We just got in Rockwell and it is an adorable and wonderfully farm-y yarn. I wanted to knit something up quick using one skein of this yarn and choose the pattern Arbutus by Jane Richmond in her beautiful book, Island. Katy had already made an Arbutus cowl and wore it to work often so I knew how cute this little cowl was. Arbutus is a 3-tiered cowl that is knit in the round. The tiers are constructed by casting off stitches and then casting on even more stitches than before. The cowl knits up super-quick and it fun and interesting to knit with reverse stockinette stitch ridges. 

Katy made her cowl out of local dyer Sleep Season Goods hand-dyed, DK. Arbutus uses 225 yards of DK yarn so it is a one-skein project for a lot of luscious yarns we carry. Sleep Season Goods DK merino often comes in one-of-a-kind colorways and this pattern shows off the amazing hand-dyed nature of the yarn perfectly. 

Katy in her hand-dyed Arbutus

The Rockwell made for a extra squishy cowl - Rockwell is a Cormo/Merino blend so it is a spongy yarn and it even retains some of the natural lanolin for more woolly goodness. I love the feel of this special yarn close to my neck and wear my Arbutus often. I used the color Marine which is a super-saturated turquoise-blue, but still retains the marled look of Rockwell.

We carry Jane's stunningly photographed book, Island, here at the shop as well a ton of beautiful yarns to choose from. This cowl would also make a great gift - it's quick to knit up and everyone can use a cozy cowl!

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Fancy Staff Picks (Part 1)

Welcome to part one of our Fancy Staff Picks Gift Guide--where the crafty folks of Fancy Tiger share some their favorite gift ideas for holiday giving. If you are looking to find the perfect thing for the crocheter, sewist or knitter on your list, there is sure to be a great idea here!

Hi there! It's Caitlin, and at the top of my holiday wish list is Marion Madel's book The New Crochet. This book is beautifully photographed and is designed as a beginner's guide to learning crochet. It is jam-packed with modern designs so even a not-so-beginner will be excited by this gem! I'd love to stitch up the Hazelnut Scarf from Lesson 17, so some Chickadee yarn in Kittywake would be a great addition to the book.

Hello everyone! It's Erikia. One of my favorite things at the store right now is the book Clothing for Everyday Wear: Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori. The book is full of simple and beautiful dress patterns. It' also includes a full set of patterns and instructions in English so it's super easy. To go along with this, I'd pair some Japanese fabrics from Nani Iro or Kokka. I feel like I could makeover my entire wardrobe armed with these two things!

Jaime here: I love the new Rhinebeck Sweater book from Ysolda Teague! The book contains 12 beautiful sweater patterns that feature many of the "farmy" yarns that we here at Fancy Tiger Crafts love so much. My ideal gift would be the book plus the yarn for one of the sweaters: Aunt Fred in Jill Draper's Mohonk yarn in the colors Greige and Terracotta

Kiyomi here--I'm super obsessed with all the amazing knit fabrics that are in the store. Not only do we have a range of designs and colors, but they're great for making something I call "The 30 Second Scarf" which are perfect for those last minute gifts. I would love this lush gray geo sweatshirt fleece to sewn up into Colette's new pattern, Walden. Natural antler toggle buttons would add a great detail to this coat. And, while I'm not a huge fan of the winter weather, this unisex coat will be perfect to snuggle into while waiting for the bus.

Hello! Fancy Katy here! I've been in love with Jane Richmond's Island collection since it first came out last year. The patterns are simple, yet refined, and work great for both solid and variegated yarns. I find the Renfrew Hat and Arbutus Cowl make awesome quick gifts! I have spent this year knitting several things out of the book, but I have yet to make Grace, the very lovely cardigan. One of my favorite yarns in the world is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock, and they just came out with a beautiful mint green colorway called Courbet's Green, so my perfect holiday gift this year would be enough skeins of that to make the cardigan!

Check back tomorrow for five more great gift ideas from the Fancy Tiger staff!

ModularModular Project Bags Are Here!

Crafty lady and Fancy Tigress, Katy, has been sewing up project bags like nobody's business. We love Katy's modern, geometric and neon-loving style and her bright project bags will keep your knitting, crochet or handsewing projects tidy as can be, safe from kittens and curious babies.

All of us at the shop use ModularModular bags, and we are so excited to carry them in the shop. If you have as many UFOs as me, you might need to pick up a few of them next time you are in. They are guaranteed to keep you and your project cheery until you bind off.

Better Know A Fancy Tigress: Katy Osterwald

Katy is one crafty lady and one of the tigers of Fancy Tiger. She is our resident expert cross-stitcher as well as one fantastic knitter. She recently whipped up Brooklyn Tweed's Bolt shawl, designed by Veera Välimäki. We love its stripedy goodness!

Katy Osterwald

Tell us about your craft-tastic self.

I'm one of the fabulous Fancy Tigresses! I went to art school for fine art photography, and somehow stumbled my way into craft world post-graduation which I really love and want to be involved in forever. I've always been creative in one way or another, but crafting suits my tactile building side, and also lets me be a bit of a perfectionist. I've been knitting for ages, and cross stitching for longer, and since working at Fancy I've been getting into sewing and quilting, and have started my own Etsy business selling project bags for knitters (ModularModular). Soon I will be doing ALL THE CRAFTY THINGS!

Tell us about knitting your shawl. 
I just finished knitting this shawl and couldn't be happier with it! The pattern is Bolt by Veera Valimaki, and can be found in Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People Vol. 5. I used MadelineTosh Sock in Onyx and Nassau Blue, which is one of my favorite yarns ever. I did modify the pattern a bit, I really wanted to showcase the vibrant blue so I did my short row wedges a bit differently to make bolder stripes, and switched the colors around as I felt like it instead of following the main color and contrast color guidelines in the pattern. I've knitted many things over the years, but shawls are my favorite. I usually have at least 6 shawls on the needles at once!

How did you pick up knitting?

I learned to knit from my younger sister. She is an incredible professional costumer for movie and tv shows now, but when we were small and just learning things, she taught herself how to knit so she could make one thing for a costume. I was 15 or 16 at the time, and thought it looked fun, so I asked her to teach me. Fast-forward a dozen years, and I knit all the time and she hasn't touched knitting needles since. I repay her by making her lovely knit items for birthdays and holidays all the time.

What is your favorite animal?

Oh gosh, so hard to pick just one, I'm a bit of a science nerd and get really fascinated with weird animals at times. I think my current favorite is the Potoo, they're a bird from South America related to nightjars and frogmouths and have really funny and expressive huge yellow eyes. Besides unusual animals, I like ferrets, parakeets and dogs.

Thanks Katy! Happy knitting and stitching and all the crafty things!

Me Made May 2013: Week 4

--amber 

We did it!! Me Made May was a month of handmade style around here and I'm so impressed with all the talented crafters that work at Fancy T!

Many new garments were made this month, and many projects are now in the works from all the inspiration we got from our fellow crafty peeps. Check out the full size pictures for the entire month on our Flickr page. Now, here is week four of May...

Row 1: Miranda-Burdastyle Theresa Dress  |  Amber-Colette Peony in Denyse Schmidt fabric  |  Allison-Aestlight shawl by Gudrun Johnston in Hot Pink Jade Sapphire Cashmere  |  Caitlin-Wiksten Tova  |  Amber-Deer and Doe Datura Tank  |  Allison-Circle Skirt of Miranda's design + Mobius Scarf  |  Jaime-Colette Violet and Coraline Cardigan by Ysolda  |  Miranda-Colette Macaron

Row 2: Jaime-Saple Dress by April Rhodes in Brussels Washer  |  Amber-Colette Laurel  |  Allison-Earth and Sky shawl by Stephen West in Madelintosh Light  |  Jaime-Cap Sleeve Lattice Top from Purlbee in Road to China Light  |  Miranda-Colette Macaron  |  Erikia-Rad Handmade Necklace Pendant  |  Emily-Guillemet Hat of her design and Nani Iro Skirt

Row 3: Amber-Colette Hazel Dress  |  Caitlin-Skirt of her own design  |  Miranda-Dirndl Dress in monster fabric  |  Allison-Mobius Scarf  |  Melissa-Colette Violet Blouse and Colette Iris Shorts  |  Caitlin-Simplicity Pattern Tank  |  Erikia-Skirt of her own design  |  Jaime-Painted Portrait blouse from Anna Maria Horner in Nanin Iro fabric

Row 4: Jaime-Wiksten Tank in Liberty Tana Lawn |  Melissa-Anna Maria Horner Painted Portrait with Anna Maria's fabric  |  Caitlin-Anna Maria Horner Socialite Top  |  Tina-Dress of her own design with Birdcages print  |  Amber-Wiksten Tank in organic Cotton Voile  |  Miranda- Circle skirt of her own design  |  Allison-Hendreary Hat by Ysolda

Row 5: Amber-Sailor Top of her own design + Laurelhurst Socks by Star Athena in Sweet Georgia sock yarn  |  Erikia-Tank of her own design made from her grandmother's tablecloth and neon bias tape  |  Jaime-Anna Maria Horner Socialite Dress in Heather Ross Fabric  |  Allison-Daybreak by Stephen West made with Zauberball Sock  |  Emily-Altered Colette Sorbetto in Martha Negley Feather fabric  |  Caitlin-Simplicity Pattern  |  Tina-Crocheted cowl and dress of her design  |  Jaime-Green Bee Amelia Dress Pattern  in Lotta Jansdotter fabric

Row 6: Tina-Dress of her design with Sarah Watson fabric  |  Jaime-Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt with Anna Maria Horner Volumes fabric  |  Katie-Necklace made from found object and crystal  |  Amber-Wiksten Tank with added sleeves in cute kitty fabric  |  Miranda-Dirndl Dress  |  Allison-Mobius Scarf  |  Amber-Megan Nielsen Kelly Skirt

I hope you enjoyed our crafty duds this month! Till next year, Me Made May! Thanks to Zoe of the blog  So, Zo...What Do You Know? for inspiring us with her challenge!

Me Made May 2013: Week One

Hip hip hooray for Me Made May! The Fancy folks are representin' with all their handmade things! We sure do have some talented and prolific crafters around here. It makes me want to make even more things!!

Here is the rundown on what we sported this week...
Row 1: Caitlin-Plaid Flannel Wiksten Tova Top  |  Erikia-Wiksten Tank in Lecien Floral  |  Jaime-Porticus Sweater  |  Miranda-Built By Wendy Dirndl Dress + Mara Shawl  |  Allison-Miranda's Circle Skirt in Anna Maria Horner rayon + Dandy Scarf in Edison Bulb Pashmina Worsted  |  Amber-Cria Cardigan in Imperial Stock Tracie + Aestlight Shawl in hand-dyed Icelandic Lace

Row 2: Emily-Roundabout Camisole and Cardigan of Emily's own design  |  Allison-Sencha Blouse in raindrop print  |  Miranda-Red Miz Mozelle Dress + handspun red garter stitch cowl  |  Caitlin-Self-drafted jersey skirt  |  Jaime-Sarah's Cowl sweatshirt  |  Tina-Bag, dress, and contrast-cowl jacket of Tina's own design

Row 3: Allison-Gyllis Shawl in Malabrigo Worsted + A-line Skirt  |  Amber-Peabody Sweater in Soft Donegal  |  Jaime-Painted Portrait Dress + Bad Oyster Shawl  |  Caitlin-Liberty Tana Lawn Socialite Top  |  Miranda-Sarah's Cowl T-Shirt + A-Line Skirt  |  Amber-Sarah's Cowl Sweatshirt  |  Katy-Brooklyn Tweed Eternity Scarf in Tosh DK Ginger

Row 4: Allison-Peony Dress  |  Jaime-Miz Mozelle in Tula Pink fabric  |  Katy-Wave Wristlet (Katy's own free pattern!) in Silky Wool  |  Miranda-Sparkly Sci-fi Built By Wendy Dirndl Dress  |  Allison-Colette Violet Blouse in bicycle fabrics  |  Amber-Ysolda Pockets and Ties skirt  |  Katy-Necklace made from rope and hex bolts

Row 5: Tina-Dress of Tina's own design  |  Emily-Colette Iris Shorts  |  Caitlin-Wiksten Tova in Lecien fabric  |  Katy-Headband of Katy's design made in Lizzy House Constellation fabric  |  Caitlin-Grainline Studio's Tiny Pocket Tank in Lecien Lawn + Tilly and the Button's Miette Skirt* (*Part of Caitlin's challenge was to make 1 handmade item a week, and this was her first make for week 1!)  |  Miranda-Brown Dirndl Dress, Drifting Cardigan in handpainted yarns + handknit socks

Row 6: Jaime-Xia (Summer) knit blouse  |  Erikia-Wiksten Tank Dress in Anna Maria Horner Rayon  |  Tina-Top and Skirt of Tina's own design  |  Katy-Necklace made from vintage domino  |  Amber-Darling Ranges Dress in Liberty Lifestyle fabric + Maenad Shawl in Anzula Sebastian Yarn  |  Erikia-Patricia Infinity Cowl made with Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner and Liberty fat quarters  |  Emily-Sorbetto Top and Emily's own Guillemet Hat pattern

Check back next week for even more handmade goodness!

Me Made May 2013 Challenge!

So, Zo...we Fancy Tigers are accepting your challenge!

We--Amber, Jaime and the rest of the Fancy Tiger Crafts crew--sign up as participants of Me-Made-May '13. We will document all of our handmadery weekly here on our blog at www.fanctiger.blogspot.com, hooray!

I, Jaime, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear a different handmade outfit every day for the duration of May 2013.








I, Amber, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear a different handmade outfit every day and make at least two new garments for the duration of May 2013

I, Allison, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear at least one item of handmade clothing 5 days a week and make 2 new handmade things in May 2013.









I, Caitlin of Sparrows and Spools, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear at least one item of handmade clothing 5 days a week and create 1 new item of clothing each week for the duration of May 2013.

I, Emily Platzer, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear something handmade by me each day for the duration of May 2013. In addition, I endeavour to create four new handmade items for myself in May 2013.

I, Erikia, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear tops and accessories I've made as often as I can for the month of May 2013.

I, Katy of ModularModular, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear lovely handmade items each day for the duration of May 2013.

I, Melissa,sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear a handmade item 4 days per week and to complete two sewn items and at least 1 knitted item for the duration of May 2013.

Hoo haa, here I go!

I, Miranda, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear a different dress I've made each day AND wear one thing I've knitted, that I wear often or are from the back of the closet for the duration of May 2013








I, Tina also sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2013. I endeavor to wear dresses, outfits, and accessories made by me every day of May!

HALLA!







Here we go!

Fancy Tiger Folks' Crafty Holiday Gift Picks 2012! Part 2

Here is part two of our Fancy Tiger Folks 2012 Crafty Holiday Gift Picks!We think your crafty dears will love these as much as we do...

Hey! I'm Katy, and I'm the newest Tigress at Fancy Tiger Crafts! I've been a knitter for ages, and I adore cross stitching and embroidery. While the holidays are some of my favorite times of the year, I'm not a big fan of the weather, so I find I tend to knit winter wear in bright colors to chase away the winter blues. This year I'm hoping Santa brings me colorful MadelineTosh presents, particularly the graphic MadelineTosh Arrows Cowl pattern and Tosh DK, one of my favorite yarns ever! I think the cowl would be fantastic in yellow and purple, a classic color combo made even better with the neon amazingness of Edison Bulb and the deep purple tones of Iris!

Caitlin
As a garment seamstress, I'm always searching for wearable patterns for separates. I love dresses (as evidenced by my ever-growing pattern stash), but they aren't very versatile for my day-to-day wardrobe. I like tops that are simple, flattering and can be sewn with wovens. Wiksten's Tova fits the bill! The pattern itself is beautifully designed and executed, and would be adorable stitched up in one of our new polka-dotted Lecien lawns. These fabrics are super soft, drape beautifully and are classy without being too stuffy. I sure hope Santa is reading this wishlist!

Hi ya! My name is Erica. After years in the corporate world, I came to Fancy Tiger to learn to sew. Classes are great and I learned so much that two years later I retired my first sewing machine for a new one and sew my own clothes. There’s still much to learn and I’m always excited about it. My holiday pick is our Needlefelting Kits to make those cute little wool animals. My kids (ages eight and eleven) love them and have spent hours working on their little animals. They are easy to make. It’s never too early to start crafting!

Emily
Blacker Yarns is an amazing company founded in the UK. They support farmers and shepherds raising rare, endangered and sheep not normally used for wool by purchasing fleeces and producing single breed wool yarns. These single breed wool yarns each have such differing properties, some sproingy some drapey, some shiny some matte, some soft and some super hardy. Do you know how long I have been giving Blacker Yarns those longing looks? Too long! And now Sue Blacker has come out with an amazing book all about all those single breed yarns, Pure Wool. Reading this book is so informative about each of those breeds, both in character of wool and character of personality. You could pair this lovely book with any of these single breed yarns in any number and have a stunning elegant wool lover's gift. Here, I have chosen the lovely black Zwartbles yarn. This I would transform into a hardy, longwearing cardigan hoody sweater, along the lines of Roam perhaps?

Jaime
I would love to make this flattering French dress from Deer & Doe out of any of Bari J.'s new Splendor 1920 fabrics from Art Gallery. Holy smokes, that would be hot! What a fantastic gift for any Francophile seamstress.

Branwyn here. Recently I have been really into changing up my collar style. Who wants to wear the same thing everyday, right? So my holiday gift pick would be the makings of a new collar. It was really hard to choose the right combination as there are so many great trims to choose from! But I finally settled on a lovely teal Echino wide webbing and a hot pink neon trim with a reflective stripe for maximum safety. Add a brass metal ring just in case you need to be more connected to your dearest and you are set!

P.S. If you come buy the store to shop for gifts, be sure to say hello. Treats are welcome.

We hope to see you soon! Happiest of holidays to you and yours!