Sew out of the box: new sewing boxes!

What we love the most? Developing fabrics, you’d think! That’s a fine side of the business indeed. But secretly, we like ‘making sure the puzzle fits’ even more. Making sure we have more to offer you than just a piece of fabric. Taking care of matching ribbing and uni fabrics is an important piece of the puzzle. Or developing patterns that we can guarantee are perfect for our fabrics! Over the past few weeks we have received a lot of feedback. We got to know your ‘sewing needs’ even better. The reactions to our sewing boxes were heartwarming and inspiring. We have now put all that knowledge in a box!

What do you need for a fine sewing experience? Fabric, haberdashery, a pattern, and items in the closet that match your latest creation. We used all those ingredients. And because there are two brands under our roof, we flavoured the whole thing with the power of both labels!

The recipe for our new boxes? Fabric + Inspiration + Haberdashery + Discount : SEW OUT OF THE BOX!

The boxes are available in an ‘Elegant‘ and a ‘Playful‘ version. For both versions you have a choice between a light and a dark version. Let’s do an unboxing in words!

ELEGANT

An elegant box is a small wardrobe, accessories incl. You get two patterns on paper (instructions in Englisch coming soon), fabrics that are perfect for these patterns and fit together nicely, and the matching haberdashery. So you don’t have to look for anything and you can start using the box right away.At the end you will have garments that can be worn together, whether you choose the accompanying pattern or add your own inspiration. About Blue provides refined Oekotex viscose and French Terry. Lotte Martens adds a unique hand-screened print and accessory material.

ELEGANT > Fabric, haberdashery & pattern (1,5 m crepe viscose + 0,5 m ribbing + 1,2 m tencel uni + 1 m uni French Terry with handprint design, Lotte Martens limited edition + 1 roll sewing thread + 1 paper pattern: Sunday Mood straight skirt + 1 m elastic for Sunday Mood) + accessory > Everything for a Coxa Bumbag (1 paper pattern Coxa + 1 sheet of accessory fabric handprinted Lotte Martens + haberdashery Coxa: zipper, bag strap, passer-by, snap buckle)

Value: 162 euro, sale price: 98 euro!

KIDS BOX BECOMES ‘PLAYFUL’

You were all so fond of the Kids boxes: we are coming up something alike! In the Playful box we give an extra cheerful twist to the cooperation between both brands ! Each box contains a French Terry from our new collection, and a unique hand-printed panel on which the image of that fabric is printed in large format. The poetic Let me be a swan is thus given a hand-printed counterpart in the box.

The Playful boxen are also a range of bite-sized sewing accessories. The paper pattern you get with this box is ‘Catch the Sun‘, a summer dress or top with a nice braid in the neck. The ribbons for that braid are in the box!

WHAT’S IN THE BOX? > Lots of fabric – 2 m French Terry + 0.5 m ribbing + 1.5 m uni French Terry with hand printed image, Lotte Martens limited edition > Inspiration on paper – 1 paper sewing pattern Catch the Sun > Cheerful extras – 1 roll of sewing thread + 1 ironing application + 3 x 90 cm jersey ribbon for the necklaces of Catch the Sun

Value: 142 euro, sale price: 87 euro!

LIMITED

The panels are hand-printed, which is why the boxes are only available in a limited edition. That’s why: if you already feel it tickle, go to the box section of our website! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!

Let me be: new collection!

This week, brand new: the summer! Equally new: our Let me Be collection. So happy that, after a couple of months full of unpredictability, we can do what we love most! That’s why we’re serving you some completely new prints. Walk with us through this summery page in our story!

/VISCOSE/ Because we love flowing fabrics, we chose for a high quality crepe viscose for the new Let me be a flower print. Beautiful for refined patterns, ideal for gathering. But just as cool as bomber: a fun contrast between a strong look in an elegant, slightly shiny fabric.

Let me be a wild bird is also viscose, but the matte variant. Hundreds of birds on a fresh Just Knot It jurkje: it makes us happy.

/FRENCH TERRY/ Summer also demands movability, playfulness, fabrics to romp in. French Terry is stretchy and absorbent. Synonymous is ‘summer sweat’ for a reason. We have three new prints in store for you!

Let me be a swan is a beautiful dreamy child’s drawing. The elegance of a swan’s neck caught in a few lines, a fabric like a fairy tale or a walk around the castle pond.

As a seaworthy counterpart also let me be an octopussy got a place in the collection. This sympathetic octopussy is ready for a swim.

Let me be a sunflower is a bouquet of fabric. In combination with the pattern Catch the Sun, she turns her face just like a sunflower to where the heat comes from!

That was quite a list of new fabrics, wasn’t it? But there’s more! We also have the matching extras in our fixed color chart. Together with Let me be a Swan we are launching Dusty Pink, in ribbing fabric and in uni French Terry.

Our fabrics and fabric names already betray that we love a touch of poetry. That’s why we work together with Lien Geeroms, a Belgian illustrator who turns puns into word images. Discover the range of ironing applications and look for the two, sometimes even three layers.

For those who like to say what it’s like, our quote applications might be an idea. Let me be, the name of our new collection, is something you might want to tell out loud. This is me (Dit ben ik in Dutch), and the world should know!

We are very curious about your reactions to our collection! Which fabric is your favorite? And what are you going to make with it? Let us know: we are super happy when we see #aboutblue, or read comments on our posts.

Ready? Let me be!

Tutorial: Pimp your own garment or accessory with the About Blue Iron-On-Patches

T-shirts, joggings, zipper purses, beach bags… everything can be pimped with our new iron-on patches. The iron-on patches are illustrated by Lien Geeroms, local and very talented. With these illustrations you can tell a story and also have a good laugh. The ironing applications will also be found in our new ‘pimp it’ boxes.

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview of all the pics and instructions!

Tutorial: Make your own bunting banner, from all your leftover fabric

Get rid of those plastic flags, we aim for as little waste as possible. Do you also have so much leftover fabric after sewing and a lot of enthusiasm in a colourful party (at home). Then is this tutorial perfect for you. You can find a nice ribbon in your lockdown box and everything else will be in your home. Surprise us with your creativity and don’t forget, every day is a party but we have to hang/make the bunting banners ourselves ;-).

You didn’t buy a box but you’re a fan of our accessory fabric? Or you’d like to make more than one purse? The material is also available separately in our Lotte Martens webshop!

Download the pattern for the bunting banner.

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview of all the pics and instructions!

Tutorial: make your own zip bag from printed leather or felt

A handful of coins. Your pills for travel sickness. Your earplugs. Your lucky charm. There’s 101 little valuables you can put in a zip bag! In luxuriously handprinted fake leather or felt, the bag becomes a treasure in itself. In your lockdown box you’ll find all the material: with a zipper, a piece of our accessory material, this video tutorial  and the pattern you can get started!

You didn’t buy a box but you’re a fan of our accessory fabric? Or you’d like to make more than one purse? The material is also available separately in our Lotte Martens webshop!

Download the pattern: you can find the 3 sizes (S, M and L) on one pattern sheet.

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview of all the pics and instructions!

Tutorial: make your own ironing board cover

Ironing is a necessary evil in every household. If you like sewing, an ironing board is standard equipment. A nice cover around your ironing board can give your boring tasks and your hobby a boost!
With this tutorial you can make an ironing board cover out of French Terry. It can be used for any size of board: you don’t need more than 60 cm of French Terry for most models.
A top project to bring some colour into your interior. Or to use a fabric that you like very much, but for which you don’t immediately have inspiration to make clothes out of it!

Would you like to use the same fabrics as shown in the tutorial? We used:

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview of all the pics and instructions!

Tutorial: Rectangular Pocket on a skirt

We just love rectangular pockets on a skirt! They give it that extra playfulness and they are perfect to hide all kinds of treasures found by your kid. Pockets are a perfect project to give your most beautiful scraps of fabric a place of honour!

But if you’ve already sewn pockets, you know that you can suffer from annoying bulging corners. We came up with a little hack for that! Check out our tutorial below.

Want to know how to make a complete skirt? We also have a tutorial for a gathered skirt on elastic!

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview of all the pics and instructions!

Tutorial: gathered skirt on elastic

1 panel fabric + 1 elastic = hello sunshine!

A quick and simple sewing project with a sunny result!
But how do you divide those gathers nice and evenly? And how do you prevent them from moving in all directions while stitching them to the elastic?
This tutorial shows you our secret! A step-by-step guide, perfect  for beginners. Also worth a look if you are an advanced seamstress: maybe this way suits you better than the classic way!

Do you want the same skirt as we made in this tutorial? We used:

Would you like to read the steps from the video again? This downloadable PDF gives an overview off all the pics and instructions!