2015 marks the the 10th Anniversary of echino fabric. Designed by Etsuko Furuya, echino is one of the most well loved and popular Japanese designer fabrics. From quirky prints that include anything from animals to florals to vehicles, in a landscape of color explosion and geometric shapes, each piece of fabric tells a story.
“Since the collection started, I treated the ‘fabric’ as a place to tell a story. echino’s textile is loved by many people in even the slightest terms as something that brings excitement to their daily lives and moments. As a textile designer, I find this gratifying.”
by Etsuko Furuya
echino Designer
(from kokka-fabric.com)
Along with the ten year anniversary celebrations comes a sewing book devoted to sewing with echino fabrics. Explore the many different ways you can make use of these amazing fabrics. There are 26 projects in this book that not only include the tenth anniversary fabrics but also some of the more recent fabric collections.
And since we are feeling excited for Echino having reached a 10 year milestone, let’s celebrate with a FABRIC GIVEAWAY! Kindly sponsored by one of the best places you can get a wide range of echino fabric online – Modes4u.com – they ship worldwide!
First up, cushions. No better way to display art than on cushions right? It becomes part of your living space and adds a pop of color to your decor. You may find some of these prints familiar. That’s because as part of the 10th anniversary collection, a series of popular prints from the past were combined together as a panel print. so you can get multiple designs on one piece!
If you can bear to cut up the fabric, you can use different parts of the panel print for multiple small projects.
A basic bag, unlined but comes with a inner pocket, with 4 different strap options. (Fabric from the parakeet collection)
Longer strap option – fabric from the landscape collection
Tote bag options with different length straps fabric from zon and samber collections
A 3 way bag with all straps options sewn in. Carry it with a single strap as a shoulder bag, or a large tote using the short straps. When you need a smaller bag, just fold in the top portion and carry with the short thin straps as a mini tote! Fabric from the arc collection.
A lined and structured tote bag with contrast canvas straps. Fabric from the parakeet collection.
Small box pouches in various sizes and strap/zip options. Fabric from the zon collection. I love how you can select a different portion of the fabric each time and make really unique pieces.
A dress or a skirt? Wear it anyway you want. Fabric from joy collection. This range is more of a wearable fabric with cotton (85%) linen (15%)
An rope bag. Fabric from the landscape collection
A rope drawstring rucksack. Fabric from the landscape collection
Easy pants made with fabric from the vista collection.
Big Bag as seen on the cover. Fabric from the camouflage collection.
An Apron made from the landscape collection I really love how this fabric appears in different projects throughout the book. It always looks different!
Make yourself some kitchen mitts and Babouche (traditional Moroccan slipper with no heel).
A reversible hat, cute when worn either way. Love how the prints peek out from under the solid fabric. Fabric from camouflage range.
This is so beautiful! It really puts the artwork on full display. These are parasols though, meaning it is meant for sun protection and not waterproof. Scotchguard to the rescue for a waterproof version? 🙂 Also check out the beautiful parasol kit with a wooden handle. I’m not sure if you can find such beautiful parasol kits (See the exact one they used for sale on Rakuten) but maybe you can recycle an old umbrella for this?
Be a trendy traveller with a boston bag, and matching travel accessories!
And for all those remnant fabric pieces and scraps, make covered buttons out of them. Each piece is unique. Jazz up your outfits or even use them as part of a display piece in your home decor.
The last project in the book is an eco bag – with a handy carry pouch. Can you tell how the pouch is made from the cut away piece from the main bag? Fabric saving idea! Fabric from the parakeet collection
All the fabrics used in the book for your reference.
Did you know that there are also solid color fabrics from Echino that are in co-ordinating colors with their printed designs. They have the same weight and composition 55% linen 45% cotton and will match the prints perfectly.
The pattern instructions are pretty typical of a Japanese sewing book with lots of diagrams.
A close up of the instructional diagrams.
1 double sided pattern sheet included.
Title : echino の布で作るバッグと小物 Bags and Small Accessories using Echino Fabric
ISBN No.: 978-4-579-11529-7
And now, for the GIVEAWAY!
Our kind sponsor, Modes4U, is sponsoring 1m of this fabric from the landscape collection in teal blue –
Will you be the lucky winner? Just enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. You can choose to login either using Facebook or just using your email address. You can get extra chances to win if you follow Modes4U or Japanese Sewing Books on facebook. The giveaway will run from 7th-14th September. Have fun and good luck!
