Sewing Inspiration for the Brush Paint Fabrics by Kokka
As soon as I saw this very distinctive Brush Paint fabric by Kokka Fabrics, I knew that I had to have it for our online store.
The contrast border and painterly brush strokes in subtle tones are what drew me to this fabric. I could see such a lot of potential in this design simply by cutting the fabric on the "cross-grain' and turning the contrast selvedge edge into the border hem of a garment.
As the Black and Gray colourway has proved to be as popular with our customers as it is with me, I've just added another two colourways, Blue and Light Beige and Dark Green and Light Beige, as shown above.
For my first project with this fabric I chose to make The Scout Tee by Grainline Studio. For me, the fabric is so striking that a simple silhouette is all that's needed in order to allow the design to take centre stage.
I'm so pleased with the end result, it looks even better than I'd anticipated, so much so that I'm now busy planning what to make with one of the new colourways...
Other styles that I think would work equally well by cutting on the "cross-grain" include The Willow Tank, The Trapeze Dress, The Raglan Dress & Top and The Strand Coat. I think a skirt could also look very striking in this fabric, the Colette Zinnia Skirt for example would look stunning.
That said, you can, of course, use this fabric effective by cutting along the grain-line. A centre seam, for example, could be put to really good use to create an interesting design detail.
If the style you have in mind doesn't have a centre seam it's really easy to add one in. Instead of cutting your pattern on the fold, simply cut 2 separate pieces, but remember to add on the seam allowance through the central seam.
Alternatively, you can position the contrast selvedge border to one side of your garment which would look equally striking. In the image above, I've laid a length of the fabric vertically over the top that I made to try and give an idea of how this might look.
As you can see there are lots of interesting possibilities with these fabrics... when I started writing this piece I had in mind to make a Willow Tank with the border selvedge positioned at the bottom, like my Scout Tee. However, having spent some time exploring the various possibilities for this statement fabric, I now think that I'll make something with the selvedge border detail to one side of the garment. I'd love to see what you make with yours, please do send in a photo via the contact page.... happy sewing!