Dandelion: Another Killer Yarn by Madelinetosh!

We are delighted to pick up Madelinetosh's new yarn line, Dandelion. We can always count on Madelinetosh for their beautifully hand dyed yarns.

 Dandelion is a single ply blend of 90% superwash merino wool and 10% fine linen offering 325 yards per skein. With similar characteristics to Tosh light, this yarn brings you a uniquely soft linen addition!

Look at the lovely linen finish!

We couldn't be more excited to bring to you this charming fingering weight yarn.  It has arrived just in time as Dandelion is the perfect yarn for light-weight summer time sweaters. Time to get crackin'!

Be on the look out for more Tosh coming soon!

New Patterns: By Hand London

By Hand London is an independent sewing pattern label out of London run by three fabulous women, Charlotte, Elisalex and Victoria. They launched just over a year ago and are producing beautiful sewing patterns.

Being surrounded by stylish women offers these ladies a constant inspiration for new designs. Creating patterns influenced by, and named after the women they admire, they create charming patterns to cater to individual style. We are so happy to stock these patterns with a modern twist on classic designs.

By Hand London celebrates our desire to dress up and stand out!

Japanese Fabric Overload!

You all know that we have a soft spot in our hearts here at Fancy Tiger Crafts for Japanese fabric. We have received so many amazing collections lately we couldn't help but share them with you! 

First up we have Muddy Works. This is a collection by husband and wife team Tomotake. These beautiful simple geometric designs are printed on double gauze, quilted double gauze, cotton-linen blend, and cotton sheeting. With such a range of textures and prints this collection is perfect for all your sewing needs! 

We couldn't resist the jungle-themed magic of the Fujiyoshi Brothers. This fabric is a heavy cotton oxford print. Their dynamic vivid eye for color produces stunning work. Tigers!

Studio Cooca  is a collection that are original drawings by people with disabilities that have been transformed into fabric! They are earning an artist commission through their imagination with this medium. We are very excited to support this project. 

Last but not least, Echino, oh boy! In true Echino style they have done it again with bright polychromatic animal themed prints and large scale repeats. Etsuko Furuya, the woman behind Echino, continues to steal our attention with every collection released. I mean can you ever have enough bright, fun, bold animal prints?! We think not! Also, Lemurs!

Stop by the store to see even more amazing Japanese fabrics and get started on your next project! 

Sweet as Honey from Bonnie Christine is the Bee's Knees!

Bees are the best--we love them so--which is why we are all a-buzz that Sweet as Honey is here form Bonnie Christine!

Bonnie's collection is printed by Art Gallery fabrics, known for their dreamy high thread count cotton with a super soft, silky hand. We can't wait to see what you make with these adorable bee prints and old-timey beehive damasks! A honey-colored spring frock perhaps?

Cat Nap: Craft Up Some Cattitude!

Oh boy its finally here! Lizzy House's latest collection Cat Nap has arrived. It's almost like this collection was speaking directly to Fancy Tiger's soul. With smiling cats, mischievous mice, dancing butterflies and all around adorableness Cat Nap has won our hearts! We can't wait to craft up new shirts, dresses, bags, and quilts with Cat Nap. According to Amber, you can never have too many cat dresses. There are 3 perfectly suited color stories available. Per usual, these prints compliment her Pearl Bracelets fabrics--don't worry we still have some in stock that coordinate perfectly! 

We have some lovely inspiration for you from Lizzy herself. Check out what she has been sewing with Cat Nap. 

"Catnap draws from my Scandinavian roots, my love of home, cats, and napping. In my small apartment, I follow the sun through the day as it shifts from room to room. You don't have to love cats to love a good catnap."

-Lizzy House

Rockwell... talk about Marled Magic!

Jill Draper has done it again! We just received a shipment of her new yarn Rockwell. Rockwell is a DK weight marled wool consisting of 100% Cormo-Merino Crossbred Moorit wool making it so spongy and dreamy to work with! Made with domestic wool from the Northeast, this yarn contains 3 different shades of natural wool plied together then over dyed. There are seven beautifully hand dyed colors and one natural color to choose from. This yarn is minimally processed and retains some of the natural lanolin for extra-farmy goodness.

We have already been busy whipping up a new pair of mitts with the un-dyed color, Naturemade! This pattern is Rathtrevor by Jane Richmond from her Island book. Rathtrevor uses 225 yds so one skein is all you need!

Check back tomorrow for some more handmade delights with Rockwell! What will you make??

A.S.A.P. from Madelinetosh!

We are starting to feel the craft crunch that comes with handmade holiday preparations...and Madelinetosh is here to save the day! With their new A.S.A.P. yarn, quick knitted and crocheted gifts are going to be a breeze!

This hand-dyed chunkster comes in the beautiful palette that Madelinetosh is known for. It's perfect for chunky hats and cowls that will knit up in mere moments. The super-bulky yarn is made from the softest superwash merino, and knits at a gauge of about 2 sts per inch. You'll have all your holiday knitting done in no time!

Thanks, Madelinetosh, for saving Christmas this year!

Chambrays and Shirtings and Jerseys, Oh My!

Garment sewists, rejoice! Loads of new garment-friendly fabrics are here! We have been up to our elbows in exciting shipments this week and we've finally got it all unpacked.

New homespun shirtings are here and we love the details, like dots, stripes and cross marks, woven right into the fabric. We can't wait to make Tovas and Esmes and Laurels galore from these great fabrics!

These double-sided fabrics feel like a double gauze and look amazing on both sides! They would be perfect for reversible garments or bags. We are thinking the simple Wiksten Tank with flat felled seams would be perfect!

Omg, batiks? You might feel like our shop is a desert when it comes to batiks, but we are batik-curious, that's for sure. When we saw these zig zag batiks, it was over. Chevron batik Staple Dress? Yes, please!

Featherlight chambrays are here--perfect for ethereal blouses or dresses. The Chantilly or Clara Dress would be lovely!

There is a rainbow of new jerseys here, too! We hope to be sporting new Lolas and Leggings in these babies soon.

See you soon!

Geilsk Tweed Yarn is here from Denmark!

It's adorably nubby--it's Danish Geilsk Tweed! This single-ply sport weight yarn is milled in magical colors that we can't resist.

We see classic shawls and cardigans--and with this palette of hues that are made for each other, colorwork would be perfect from these woolly balls of goodness.

We can't wait to see what you make!

Fantastic New Craft Books!

Loads of lovely new and inspiring books are here! Falltime is the best time to get cozy with a new craft book and get started on something new. Here are some new favorite books on our shelf:

1) Mollie Makes Woodland Friends The folks at Mollie Makes are always inspiring with their darling style and simple crafts. The new Woodlands Friends book covers adorable projects in everything from felting, sewing, embroidery and crochet for sweet forest themed toys, accessories and home decor. It's pretty darned cute.

2) Kelbourne Woolens Baby Collection by Kate Gagnon Osborn & Courtney Kelley. The ladies of Kelbourne Woolens have created the most adorable baby knits collection of all time. Need we say more? These precious patterns are all knit in soft and dreamy Fibre Company yarns, sure to make babies smile and adults coo at their cuteness.

3) The New Crochet by Marion Madel. This beginner crochet book walks you though the basics of crochet, and also includes plenty of projects for simple, and fashionable projects with beautiful photographed illustrations throughout.

4) The Yarn Whisperer by Clara Parkes. Yarn connoisseur and author of The Knitters Book of Wool and The Knitters Book of Yarn, Clara shares her life stories alongside a healthy dose of wool musings. This is a book to get cozy with.

5) Patternmaking for Menswear by Gareth Kershaw. This is a thorough book for anyone looking to understand, sew, and draft men's patterns. Plackets, sleeve shapes, cuffs and colars - nothing is left un-touched in this epic tome. This resource book will be a welcome addition to any serious sewist's library.

6) The Knitster by Robbie Dulaney. All the patterns in this book are unisex for the fashion-forward man or woman. Sweaters, cardigans, hats, mittens and scarves as well as some cute and quick home accessories.

7) Clothing for Everyday Wear by Yoshiko Tsukiori. The trend of re-releasing Japanese sewing books in English is one we are on-board with. The newest addition to our English library is Clothing for Everyday Wear, a volume of  the Stylish Dress book. These books are chock-full of beautiful and simple patterns and inspiring photography and styling.

8) The Field Guide to Fleece by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius. A couple of years ago, Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius released the beautiful tome, Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, our go-to reference for all things wool, sheep and fiber. Now, they have condensed the most pertinent information into a handy volume perfect for keeping next to your desk or in your bag for easy access. This slim volume packs tons of info on the fiber of 100 sheep breeds - including full color photos of both sheep and fiber staples.

9) Sewing for all Seasons by Susan Beal. We love living seasonally and Susan Beal's newest book captures this ethos perfectly. Sewing for all Seasons includes projects and instructions for home goods and accessories. Sew up a fall wool patchwork throw, Christmas stocking ornaments, or a springtime gardening apron - there is something for everyone!

See you soon!

Freia Ombre and Flux Yarns are Here!

Beautiful Freia Handpainted yarns are here! Tina Whitmore, the mastermind behind Freia Yarns, mills her line of gradient color yarns from US sourced wool. The color is then hand applied to each skein to create the long color runs that are so unique to her process.

We are in love with the ombre effect and stunning color combinations and couldn't wait to start a few projects. As soon as we unpacked the Freia yarns several Fancy Folks had projects on their needles.

Freia Ombre Sport

Our friend Allison knitted us the Viatrix Slouch Hat, a chevron lace knit hat that uses one skein of the Freia Ombre Sport and one skein of the Flux Sport. Viatrix Slouch Hat is one of the awesome patterns that is designed especially for the Freia yarns and we have available here at the shop.

Freia Flux Sport

The Freia Flux Sport yarn means shorter color runs and faster color changes. You can see the colors in each ball which makes knitting with these babies a blast!

Nathalie whipped up The Age of Brass & Steam shawl in no time, from one skein of Flux Sport - so perfect!

Miranda made a stripy Army Of Caterpillars friend using one skein of Flux Sport - adorbz.

Freia Ombre Lace

For a finer knit, the Freia Ombre lace balls feature long color changes over 645 yds of lacey goodness.

Check back on Wednesday for a free pattern by Tina: the Sweet Adeline crochet shawl pattern for Freia Ombre Sport!

Jill Draper's Mohonk and Nimbus Yarns are Here!

We have a bit of a craft crush on Jill Draper. We fell in love with Jill Draper's hand-dyed yarns when we saw our friend, Stephen, knitting a shawl with Nimbus, a lace weight angora silk. Jill's colors are stunning and unusual, and the base yarns she uses are unique. Jill Draper makes her home in upstate New York and mostly dyes on US grown and milled wools.

Nimbus Angora Silk Laceweight

Mohonk is Jill's 2 ply sport weight Cormo wool made from US Cormo wool. It is springy and soft, perfect for sweaters. The colors are almost solid, but with a beautiful gentle color variegation from being dyed in the skein. The wool is minimally processed--you'll find a bit of hay here and there due to the absence of harsh chemicals during the cleansing process at the mill. This also leaves a bit of moisture rich lanolin in the yarn, the better to knit with!

We love these spacial yarns from Jill Draper and hope you do to!

Tule by Leah Duncan

Tule is Leah Duncan's first collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and it is a match made it heaven. Her beautiful color palette is rendered perfectly on Art Gallery's silky soft quilting cotton. We love the combinations of aqua's, oranges, yellows and indigos. Leah's unique art style shines bright in this collection and we already have projects in the works. Caitlin and Jaime are planning on making Desert Arrows, her free quilt pattern you can download here - amazing!

We have some beautiful pieced pillows in the shop now so you can see how nicely these prints play together - thanks Leah!

We can't wait to see what you make!

Magical Sparkly Nebula Yarn is here from Anzula!

All our sparkly dreams have come true!! Anzula's newest yarn, Nebula, is a fingering weight sock yarn in hand-dyed merino with nylon sparkle-to-the-max.

For our Nebula color palette we've chosen deep, moody hues. We love the way the flecks of sparkle catch the light and send it twinkling into your eyes. They are sure to create a mystical and mysterious handknit!

We can't wait to see what you conjure with these lovelies!

Cat Yarn! Meow Foundation Yarns are Here in Colors Inspired by Kittens!

Cats yarns! Inspired by Cats!

If you love cats as much as we do, I don't think we need to say any more. Just check out the colorways below of The Meow Foundation yarns, and know that $4 of every skein goes to finding permanent homes for our cat friends. The Meow Foundation yarns are 100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester so it is a beautiful sock weight yarn - perfect for a shawl or pair of socks to match your favorite feline friend.

Calico Cat Colorway

Brown Tabby Colorway

Egon, one of our favorite cat friends sporting his orange hair

Orange Tabby Colorway

Grey Tabby Colorway

Himalayan Colorway

Looper in his Chat Noir velvet coat

Le Chat Noir Colorway

Sal wearing Silver

Russian Silver Grey Colorway

Siamese Cat Colorway

Snow Cat Colorway

Lucy in her Black and White Tuxedo Fur

Tuxedo Cat Colorway

Make anything in cat colors! Our best idea? The Minikitti pattern would be purrrr-fect!