reprodepot.com blog

MARIMEKKO now on SALE @ reprodepot

2008-07-01T18:24:00.005-04:00

all Marimekko on sale until July 15th!!

hooray!!

New Sale Specials at Reprodepot for the Holiday!

2008-07-01T14:41:00.006-04:00

40% off all books and stationery through Monday, July 8th!

25% off all ribbons through Monday, July 8th!

lots of new sale items too!

enjoy!

Double Trouble in Brooklyn this Sunday!

2008-04-25T19:54:00.001-04:00

Reprodepot will have tables at, not just one, but two events this Sunday, April 27th!

come see us at

The Bust Craftacular from 11 am to 9 pm at The Warsaw in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 261 Driggs Avenue.
We will be selling our famous remnants by the pound! We will have a limited supply of remnants so stop by early for the best selection. Also, we will only be taking cash at this event, so be sure to come prepared!

The Brooklyn Flea from 10am to 5pm at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave.
We will new fabric on bolts - lots of Japanese imports, plus a unique selection of vintage fabrics from the 50's to the 80's. We are in the Design*Sponge Collective section along the Vanderbilt fence.

We hope to see you in Brooklyn this weekend!

BYOB*: BEST BABY BOOTIE BATTLE BLOWOUT!!!

2008-04-18T14:14:00.016-04:00

ANNOUNCING THE MICHAEL MILLER FABRICS BABY BOOTIE CONTEST SPONSORED BY MICHAEL MILLER FABRICS

Enter your best booties for a chance to win the Singer Curvy Sewing Machine (Model # 8763), a $100 Gift Certificate to Reprodepot Fabrics, and a feature on Craftzine.com!

Three Runners Up will also receive a Michael Miller Fabrics Fat Quarter Bundle (Retail Value - $80.00) and a $20 Gift Certificate to Reprodepot Fabrics. Winners will be chosen by the staff at Michael Miller Fabrics and announced on June 30th.

The contest starts today and goes until June 18th. Visit the contest rules page to find out more info and post your entry to the Michael Miller Bootie Contest Flickr Group.

No purchase is necessary to win this contest but a 15% discount will be given for any Michael Miller fabrics that are purchased at Reprodepot. To receive the discount, just enter in coupon code CRAFT at checkout!

*BYOB = Bring Your Own Booties!

we flea to brooklyn!

2008-04-01T16:08:00.001-04:00

Reprodepot is excited and honored to one of the participants at the new place to be in Brooklyn on Sundays - the Brooklyn Flea!

What the heck is the Brooklyn Flea?

Brooklyn Flea, the largest outdoor market in New York City, is opening in Fort Greene in April 2008! Every Sunday, starting April 6, the folks at Brownstoner.com, Brooklyn's best website about real estate and renovation, will bring together top sellers of new and vintage furniture, lighting, records, clothes, jewelry, crafts, and more at a 40,000-square-foot lot at Lafayette and Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene. Located just a block from Dekalb Avenue's restaurant row and easily accessible by foot, train, bike, or car from every neighborhood in Brooklyn and beyond, Brooklyn Flea will be the weekend destination for bargain-seekers and cool-hunters alike.

Not only are we going to be at the flea, but Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge asked us to be part of her Design*Sponge Collective within the market which will feature other amazing creative businesses and artists like Lena Corwin, Mollie Dash and Deadly Squire.

We will have a great assortment of textiles and other items including Japanese import fabrics, deadstock vintage fabrics from the Sixties and Seventies, deadstock vintage buttons and Marimekko fabrics. We will have some discounted remnants as well, but the selection will be limited. If there is anything in particular that you would like us to have on hand, please let us know!

We are hoping to be there on most, if not all, Sundays. Please feel free to email us at help@reprodepot.com if you want to make sure we will be there. We will definitely be there on April 6th!

click here for directions and more information!

This event has generated a lot of press! Click on the links below to read.

Time Out NY 1/30/08

New York 3/24/08

Daily News 3/25/08

New York Observer 3/26/08

New York Times 3/30/08

New York Sun 4/1/08

Design*Sponge 2/1/08

Daily Candy 2/13/08

it's not too late to be sew inspiring

2008-02-19T11:20:00.001-05:00

contest ends on February 29th so you still have time to enter if you haven't already.
click on the craftzine link below for all the details!
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/12/amy_butler_contest.html

president's day sale

2008-02-16T10:35:00.003-05:00

All Cram Cream items and all Books & Stationery are 20% off through Monday, February 18th
Also, more sale items have been added to our sale page

enjoy!

Baby Carriers, Baby Bags, Baby Baby!

2008-01-31T11:28:00.000-05:00

I'm sneaking in this last bit of baby-themed inspiration before it turns to February (when I'll be focusing on some home projects-- let me know if you have any you'd like to share!).

Here's a Jan Andrea's lovely (free!) pattern for a baby carrier. I keep thinking about making one of these for my sister, because I am sure they aren't very difficult but are probably expensive to buy. I don't know that I'll make it that far, but isn't it the thought that counts? Wink.

She's actually got a whole slew of helpful links to baby crafts here. I like the sleep sack -apparently they're the new blanket! My mom and I shopped secondhand for these for my sister over the holidays because they're apparently expensive and you need a lot of them.

And, if you're looking for diaper bag tutorials, here are a couple of links:

The Good Life's Cargo Pocket Diaper Bag

Bundles of Love Diaper Bag

Craft Apple's Diaper Bag Pattern (It's $10, but looks totally worth it!)

I think they'd be lovely in this new folklore fabric, perhaps with an Amy Butler Dots lining.

More Free Baby Projects

2008-01-26T19:41:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed yet, I've declared January the month-o'-baby.

Threadbanger just did a show on baby items--click and watch for a free simple tutorial on making a baby pod! You could easily embellish their version with a fun applique or contrast lining. Make sure to check out their episodes, they are chock full of crafty goodness.

And here's a free bib pattern by ChickPea Sewing Studio. Bibs are the perfect quick and easy gift, and parents can never have enough of them!

Try making some with our vinyl coated and oilcloth fabrics for bibs that'll easily wipe clean Search vinyl to find them all.

Or try these fun kid/food oriented prints. You could always coat them in clear vinyl too, just make sure to use the appropriate needle for your machine.

Happy crafting= happy babies!

More Bitty Booties

2008-01-21T17:41:00.000-05:00

After that last post, I couldn't help but make a few pairs of the booties I was suggesting. I used some nice thick Essence Felt and this seriously cute ribbon, then topped it off with some decorative stitching.

I think they'd also look great with a bit of needlefelting or some pre-cut felt shapes. It's such a small easy project (it took me about 30 minutes per pair) that you can try all sorts of things. And hey, it must have summoned my sister's little baby because he came a little early this weekend! Now to get these booties to the post office!

Sewing for Baby

2008-01-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the baby theme, I've found some free online tutorials that would make sweet gifts.

First in line is Heather Bailey with her lovely baby bootie patterns available for free download right here. The embellishment possibilities mean the combinations you can come up with are endless. Try some rickrack or gorgeous Rosa Pomar Ribbon (below) as an accent.

Here's an adorable example by Dorathy of Tumbling Blocks. I know it's not fall, but I have been in love with acorns lately.

Check out more versions over at the flickr pool, then get sewing!

Easy Onesies for Peas in the Pod

2008-01-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

At this moment, I think the number of pregnant women I know is up to seven. Seven! Most excitingly, my sister is due in just a couple of weeks. I bought a couple of cute striped onesies a few months back and finally had the chance to adorn them.

The process is really simple. Here's what you'll need:

-Blank onesie (something with a color or stripes is extra cute, and remember you can also cover up embroidery/printing on a onesie if your fabric is thick).

-Iron-on adhesive (like Trans-Web Iron-On Interfacing or Heat'n'Bond Lite)
-Fabric remnant

-Pencil
-Scissors
-Iron
-Tear-away stabilizer

-Sewing machine w/zigzag or satin stitch

1.Find a design or shape you like (you can turn up most anything on google images). Reverse the design (so it's backwards) on a copier or with photo editing software. Trace this design to the paper side of your other iron-on adhesive.

2. Cut out the design. If you don't want your fabric shape to get too stiff, carefull cut about 1/2 around the inside of the design -essentially leaving an outline of the shape. Iron your design to the back side of fabric according to package instructions.

3. Cut design from fabric. Iron to onesie.

4. Place/pin some stabilizer on the underside of the onesie beneath the fabric shape. This step will really help you get good results, as the jersey from the onesie might otherwise stretch during the sewing. Stitch aroudn the shape with satin stitch or a wide zig zag stitch.

5. Tear away the stabilizer and you're done!

Here's a happy baby (Ella) wearing one of my earlier appliqued onesies. You can use this idea for t-shirts, totes, skirts and more. It's a super simple way to give a personalized gift.

fabric wall art tutorials

2008-01-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

with only a couple of days left to our January Marimekko sale, I decided to post a few links to some helpful tutorials for making fabric wall art to inspire you.

How to make fabric panel wall art
from How about orange...
(using wooden stretcher bars)

Fabric Panels: How To
from Bella Dia
(using foamcore boards)

Making Wall Art out of Styrofoam
on Curbly

Zig Zag Wall Art
from Dow website (makers of Styrofoam)
(using Styrofoam)

These are just a few that we found. If anybody knows of any other good tutorials, please post them here in the comments!

things that make you go sigh

2008-01-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

this print from The Black Apple

Needle Felting: Part II

2008-01-08T17:36:00.000-05:00

As promised, I’m following up with some more across the board ideas of what to do with needle felting and wool roving.

Here’s what I did with one of my owls. First, I felted him onto a piece of hand dyed wool, simply by placing him and the wool on the mat and punching away. In general, any fabric with wool content will work, just make sure it’s not something you plan to wash often.

Next, I used this tutorial to sew the wool into a lined zipper pouch. This is the first zip pouch I’ve ever made, and while it’s not perfect, it’s functional and looks pretty darn cute. The tutorial is excellent and easy to follow.

You could also use the owl--or your own needlefelted creation- as a patch for a sweater with a moth hole. You aren’t limited to roving, either. Wool felt, usually sold in sheets or yardage, will felt to other wool. And any yarn with a high wool content (over 50 percent, generally) should be feltable.

Two years ago I felted some Brown Sheep Wool to this sweater, because I liked the loopy design. And who am I kidding—I had some toothpaste stains that I wanted to hide creatively. Just so you know, this sweater is not wool and I’ve worn it regularly. So long as you only wash your item in cold water and lay it flat to dry, you should be good to go.

Needle felting is also a great way to embellish any felted item you’ve knit or crocheted. Check out this tutorial by All Buttoned Up .

Here’s another lovely how-to by felting whiz Betz White, who shows you how to blend colors as you felt. By the way, I’m totally with Betz—I think it’s completely okay to cut into the felt pieces.

Here are a few other fun instructionals from around the web:
*Adorable Kid’s Sweaters from Martha herself (templates included)
*Craftlog Felt Flower
*Needle Felted Pillow
*Monster Crochet’s Eyeballs
*Blog-Doris’ Snowflake (a more precise way to felt, by filling in drawn templates)

And here's some design inspiration from etsy:
*Cute rainbow slippers
*Notebook Cover (I love how this looks like a chalk drawing)
*Tote
*Amazing wool headband

For more eye candy, try the Flickr Needle Felting Pool.

And if you need a true step by step, check out one of our flower patterns or try a back issue of Adorn Fall 06 (I daresay we worked up some cute motifs in that one!). Happy felting!

Needle Felting is Easy! Part 1

2008-01-03T18:24:00.000-05:00

Now that the holidays are over and we're all settling down again (hopefully), I've been thinking about simple crafts. You know, the instantly gratifying ones. I first started needle felting for work last year, and it was so much fun. It's super straightforward- you make a shape you like with wool, then punch it with a needle tool until it's "felted". I made a tutorial featuring a couple of owls to demonstrate the process.

You'll Need:

-Wool roving in assorted colors
-Needle Felting tool

-Needle Felting Mat

-Scissors

1. Make the owl body shape by loosely forming a "U" that folds in on itself. Being careful not to stick your fingers, punch felt repeatedly until it begins to become more solid. Be sure to punch it on the front and back sides. You can cut or tear off the excess. If there's a spot that's looking a little thin, just break off some extra roving, place it over the spot, and punch it into place.

2. Make the contrast eyebrow-thing (that's a technical term). Pull off a thin line of roving and place it over the V shape at top. I find it works best to twist the roving into a tighter line before placing it. Start punching at the left side and keep going until you reach the edge. Cut off the excess and punch the ends into place.

3. To make the feet, form a simple figure-8 shape with a line of roving. Punch it into shape. Next, place owl body on top of foot shape and punch into place. Remember to punch the backside too- but be careful not to over do it as the darker color will come through.

4. Make little round shapes for eyes. Start by punching one end of a line of roving into place where you want the center of the eye to be, then wrap the yarn around that to fill out the shape. Repeat with another color for the eyeball.

5. Add the beak underneath the eyes and the wings to the edge of the body using the same technique.6. Now you have a little owl! Make another one and they can be friends.

Stay tuned for Part 2, wherein I tell you what you can do with these guys and point you to some other fun ideas for needle felting. If you have any suggestions or tutorials you'd like me to include, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Pattern Sale: One More Day to Save!

2007-12-30T23:39:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that all of our patterns are 25% off until January 1st, so stock up for the new year! Here are a few of my favorites to fit your resolutions.

Have you promised yourself that you'll stop eating out, cook more at home, or try a new recipie every month? Then get dressed for the task with a super-cute tiered apron. This would be a fun way to destash, or to mix old and new fabrics.
If you vowed to be more organized in 2008, start with the adage, "A place for everything and everything in its place!" and this pattern for a stylin' wall organizer.
Maybe this is the year you'll spend more time with the kids. Why not teach them your favorite hobby with a cute felt animal kit from Japan?
And if you've made that scary promise to use what you have before you buy more, it's time to take up quilting--start with this simple block pattern. The more you use up, the closer you are to new stuff! Plus if you get started now you can have at least a few throws completed by next December.
What are your crafty resolutions? Share with us in the comments, and here's to a wonderful New Year.

Full Moon Forest

2007-12-14T10:28:00.000-05:00

As I was in the midst of making a few holiday trees from some hand-dyed wool in my stash, a little box from ReproDepot made its way to my mailbox. I took out my Full Moon Forest charm squares set and knew what I had to do!

I made a patchwork fabric tree! The process is relatively simple. Lay out nine 5" squares of fabric in a simple nine patch pattern (below). Sew together three squares to make a row, then sew those three rows together. I used some dyed wool for a couple of my squares because I like the texture, but you could certainly use all fabric, too).

Remember to press each seam as you sew it- it really will make a difference in how nice the finished trees look. Now, if you need a gift for someone special, you can stop here and make it a throw pillow by adding a pillowform and backing. They'll never know how easy it was to make.

But, if you are making the trees (which you are, of course), fold the square on the diagonal, with right sides of fabric facing each other. See the image below for an idea- yours should look like this, but with the squares actually sewn together.

Sew down one long edge. On the unsewn edge, make a cut from the sewn edge to the folded edge, referring to the dotted line for guidance. You may end up cutting off one square of fabric almost entirely, but that's okay, you can save it for later.

Next, cut an 8" circle from fabric or felt. If you want to go all patchwork and only use the charm squares, you can sew 4 squares together to make a larger square, then cut your circle from that piece. Pin the fabric/felt to the bottom of the cone with the right side facing the inside of the cone (cone is still inside out at this point). Stitch around the cone's bottom, leaving a 4-5" opening. Turn the cone inside out. Then, wrestle the stuffing into the cone (this is the hardest part-- start with tiny pieces of stuffing to fill the point, then add progressively larger amounts), and stitch the open seam shut. Embellish with buttons as you like.

Easy peasy! You could also make tiny ornaments from the charm squares using just 2 squares (one for the cone, one for the bottom). Vary the sizes for a fuller forest! And guess what I used for the "snow" in my scene? Fiberfill, of course. You can scoop it up for your next project once the holidays are over.

For more fun fabric holiday ideas, try these personal favorites:

Stacked Fabric Trees by The Small Object
Pig on Wheels by Wee Wonderfuls
Fabric Cones by Angry Chicken
Scrap Wreaths by Swallowfield (you could easily adopt this idea for cotton fabrics)
Easy Denim Trees by One Crafty Mumma
Zakka Owl Garland by Moonstitches

Hope your holiday is full of craftiness!

Full Moon Fabrics: Zooming In

2007-12-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Hey, there's something woodsy in the shop! But it's also kind of preppy and damask-like, so perhaps you hadn't noticed.

What's that, there in the fanciful rendered bushes? It's a bunny rabbit!

Look closer here, in these organic lines hides a squirrel (or three!).

I can assure you there's an owl in here, too- he just didn't get centered in the scan. (See the large version of the top left fabric in our charm pack scan to get a better glimpse). I love all of the color in this one, owl or not.

I think these would be wonderful as bolster pillows or seat covers. But if you're not feeling all of that work, try out a charm pack and make some small patchwork items, like coasters or oven mitts. Each 5x5" piece is already cut for you, so the piecing will be a snap! I just got my charm squares in the mail last night, and they are SOOOO cute. I even whipped up a last minute Holiday project with them. Stay tuned- I'll post it by tomorrow.

Corduroy Cuteness

2007-12-11T18:35:00.000-05:00

If you're still looking for a cute holiday dress for the wee ones, draw some inspiration from The Long Thread.

She made these wintry jumpers from corduroy and Matryoshka fabric. Although the one she used isn't currently in the store, we have plenty of other options, like this:

You could also try the new "Olivia" line, which is a kid- pleaser if you have a reading fan, but is also great just for it's simple, bold patterns. I love the dots, stripes and lettering.

Whatever you do, be sure to share it with us in the comments! Happy sewing!

Holiday Ornaments

2007-12-10T17:53:00.000-05:00

Tis the season to swap ornaments, and when I found these delightful fabrics and felt in my ReproDepot Box-o-love, I knew I had to do something with them. My requirements for my design included:
-Easy to make (I had to make 9)
-Easy/cheap to mail (see above)
-Traditional, yet not

I have been slightly obsessed with the deer templates in December's Martha Stewart Living, so I jumped off from there.

If you want to make these, you'll need:
-4 fat quarters of desired fabrics (the polka dots are from the Building Blocks Collection)
-1 sheet Essence felt (this is high quality- nice and thick, not like acrylic felt)
-Small amount quilt batting
-Iron-on adhesive or fabric glue
-Scissors
-Pinking Shears
-Sewing machine and thread
-Yarn, rickrack or ribbon (for hanger)
-Deer template or other desired shape to trace (you can do a google image search if you don't have the template and find a comparable cutie!)

Step 1: Iron a small amount of adhesive to the back of your fabric according to package instructions. (Note: Some people trace the template onto the adhesive and then iron it to the fabric and cut again. While this might save adhesive, I find that the applique is much less likely to fray if you iron the adhesive first, then do the cutting. Plus, then you only cut once). Pin deer template to fabric and cut out desired number of deer. Peel off paper backing from fabric, iron to second fabric. Repeat with other fabric combinations, if desired. With pinking shears, trim each piece of appliqued deer fabric into a rectangle.

Step 2: Cut appropriate number of batting rectangles, each sized slightly smaller than your deer rectangle. With pinking shears, cut the same number of felt rectangles, each sized slightly larger than the deer rectangle. Make a little sandwich for your machine with the following layers, starting from the bottom: Felt, yarn loop (or other desired hanger), batting, deer square. Pin them together if you like, then machine stitch all around the inside of the pinked fabric edge.

Voila! You have a super cute ornament that only costs 1 stamp to mail. Remember to make a few for yourself, too! Check out all of the ornament swap cuteness over at flickr for more inspiration. Happy Holidays!

mini bird chemise

2007-12-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

sugar city journal: mini bird chemise

a poetic use of checked wool and a keiko maeo button.

from sugar city journal

Bodkin, Where Have You Been All My Life?

2007-12-06T16:35:00.001-05:00

Last night I was working on a super secret project that involved lots of sewn-tube turning. I remembered that I'd asked for a bodkin in my package of goodies from ReproDepot, so I dug it out.

Mind you, I had never used a bodkin before--I ordered this one out of pure "do I really need that?" curiosity. Sure, I've written technical instructions that insist on their use, and I've nodded my head, "Bodkin, check" while reading through materials lists. But I always thought my trusty safety pin was just as good.

I'm here to tell you that it's not! The Bodkin is my new best friend! I had three interfacing-lined 55-inch tubes to turn and it made my life so-much-easier. It's bigger, therefore easier to grab, it has a little weight to it, and the little teeth bite your fabric as snugly as your heart desires. This package even comes with a second kind of bodkin- it's basically a really large needle that's perfect for pulling drawstrings through casings. (Which you might need to do if you're making a tea bag out of cheesecloth because you just bought some local loose tea and forgot you had no strainer. Just saying.).

So if you don't have one, grab one. Add it to that pile of fabric you're giving your crafty friend for Christmas. Put it on your wishlist, and maybe it'll turn up in your stocking. At just over $4, you'll be glad you did. It's fun to use, and fun to say! And so you don't end up singing an alternate nursery rhyme (Where is bodkin, where is bodkin? Here I am, here I am!), tie a colorful ribbon to the non grabby end. Trust me on that, otherwise it'll just hide with your scissors.

meet up with us at Make Workshop this Friday in NYC!

2007-12-05T12:31:00.000-05:00

(from Diana Rupp of Make:)

hey, makers!

you're invited to our annual holiday sale/open studios this fri dec 07 from 6-9pm!

a bunch of my favorite peeps will be selling their wares including reprodepot fabrics, lucky fish, superdeluxe, floating on water, jewelry designer janna gregonis and more! I'll be signing copies of SEW: sew everything workshop (pssst! the book is out now) and debuting items from our soon-to-be-launched online store. please come and help us celebrate the holiday season. we'd love to see you!

Please click here for directions.

new Amy Butler patterns now in stock!

2007-12-04T13:26:00.000-05:00

We have 2 new Amy Butler patterns in stock!

The Lotus Tunic & Cami is pattern that can make a dress length tunic or a shorter camisole style shirt. Either way, this pattern is sure to help you create a stylish and versatile addition to your wardrobe.
buy now!

The Sophia Carry All is another "instant classic" bag pattern that Amy is famous for. Reminiscent of travel cases and hat boxes of years gone by, this bag will insert a footnote of instant glamour into your basic ensemble.
buy now!