On to the next venture!

I have been so lazy!

I stopped posting a little while ago, okay a long while ago and I just thought no one would notice. I logged on tonight out of interest to see what was happening and was greeted with 10,000 views! My god that is brilliant, but now I feel horrible that I haven't updated or at least told you what I am doing now.

Bobbin Scissors Thread has moved to the backburner and my new venture Pack A Perfect Party is where it’s at! Pack A Perfect Party is a unique and personalised party styling business focused on creating the perfect party. Blogging is hard work [hence the laziness] so this new venture won’t have a blog attached but it does have a Facebook & Pinterest Page and a soon to be launched website so if you are interested have a look, you can search Pack A Perfect Party under both and I will pop up!

 

Monday's Lesson 101: Velvet

So maybe I get a little carried away and have said once or twice before that this is my ‘favourite pattern’, my ‘favourite colour’ or my ‘favourite fabric’ but I am yet to say this is my ‘favourite TYPE of fabric’ because I have saved it up for possibly the best Monday 101 lesson ever! Hands down Velvet is my favourite TYPE of fabric and the subject of today's 101 Lesson.

I think velvet upholstery should nearly always be deep buttoned, it shows off the beautiful sheen!

I am safe in saying this because there are endless options with velvet; cotton, silk, mohair, polyester velvet; printed, cut, embellished velvet, the options are endless, but the true love affair all begins in the milling process.

Osborne & Little Du Barry velvets, one of my favourite collections.

Velvet is different to most other fabrics in that it is milled on a loom which creates two layers of fabric simultaneously.

This is not a velvet, but rather a nylon thread clearly showing the type of weave that creates two layers of fabric before the cutting process seperates them.

A cutter is then used to separate the two layers and form two separate pieces of cut velvet, and then a shearer is used to even out the pile, magic!

Silk is traditionally the most coveted velvet composition and if you ever get an opportunity to buy even just the smallest piece of silk velvet, do it! It feels sensational, you will sit and pat it all day!

Now as much as I love velvet I do need to point out that it is a volatile fabric. If the wrong composition is used in the wrong application you can get bruising [pile falls down and shows a different colour because of the shading] and crushing. For instance a silk velvet is particularly fragile and can bruise easily so it's best suited to applications where it will not come into too much contact such as a headboard, whilst a velvet sofa is more than likely upholstered in a polyester or polyester/cotton velvet as the pile is generally shorter and the fibre stronger and more resistant to bruising.

Amazing! One of the best areas to use a fragile velvet such as a cotton or silk velvet is in the bedroom, maximum impact and minimal frictional use!

I own a little of this stunner, Beacon Hill Rock Leopard, polyester, linen, cotton velvet.

Robert Allen Magnetisim in colour Lapis, cotton, viscose, polyester velvet.

Not just for upholstery and accessories, velvet in difference weights can made sensational drapery.

Zinc Galactica cut velvet.

Even just a little touch of velvet adds glam!

Now don't let this deter you, velvet can be used as drapery, upholstery and accessories and with the endless options available in composition, pattern, colour and detail there is one suited to your application.

Monday's Lesson 101: Flamestitch/Bargello

Okay so I said I was back and then I disappear for a week or so but this Lesson 101 will make you forgive me!

Bargello or Flamestitch as it is also known got its name from a specific type of needlepoint embroidery found on occasional chairs in the Bargello Palace in Florence.  Traditionally stitched wool on canvas, Bargello is like Kilim in that it is an incredibly durable and suitable for upholstery and decorative pieces and even carpets!

Think Missoni, almost like a Chevron but more jagered, Flamestitch is traditionally colorful, often with multiple tones of the one colour. The pattern is formed by staggered vertical stitches in a particularly mathematical pattern of counting squares, very tricky!

A unique and striking pattern, Flamestitch can add an interesting flare into your interiors.

Traditional Flamestitch cushions, great examples of the different stitch techniques.

Very cute, aqua, mustard flamestitch loveseat.

Not in love with this sofa in this room but it is a great example of Flamestitch!

My absolute favourite! Not a traditional Flamestitch but a great printed interpretation, particualry with that velvet bedhead!

Such an intreguing room, I wish I knew more about this image. I love how muted the palette is and yet the strong patterns and finishes.

Great monochrome Flamestitch cushions.

Strong, very Missoni colour palette Flamestitch.

I may have used this image just recently in my Coral post but I do love this Flamestitch carpet!

This is a great image, little pagoda sittting rooms, with Flamestitch throws!

For more examples of Flamestich/Bargello in interiors visit my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/pattern-101-flamestich-bargello/

New Collections: Thibaut

I am a matchy matchy person, I love symmetry and the continuation of the exact tones in fabric combinations and I love a matching fabric and wallpaper. Thibaut always produces a collection with a few matching wallpapers and fabric and there latest collection Richmond doesn’t disappoint.

Inspired by classic American design and with a touch of British style, the Richmond collection is a classic collection of traditional statement patterns portrayed through a strong and fresh colour palette.

Thibaut Longwood in Colour Cranberry - available in 6 sensational colours and a matching wallpaper! Longwood reminds me of the most gorgeous historical home in Natchez Mississippi I didn't want to leave!

Thibaut Longwood upholstered chair, very cute!

Thibaut Circle Ikat - available in 6 colour ways - a little bit of the new.

This is right up my alley! Matching Longwood wallpaper and bedspread and Circle Ikat in the matching tone as the bed end ottoman and scatter cushion!

Thibaut Sansome - available in 6 colour ways and a matching wallpaper.

Thibaut Caton - available in 4 colour ways.

The cutest use of Thibaut Caton in a roman blind!

Thibaut Rittenhouse - available in 6 colour ways and a mathcing wallpaper.

Gorgeous Rittenhouse wallpaper and matching upholstery on the occasional chair and Frankfurt Embroidery drapes.



Thibaut Frankfurt Embroidery

For more great Thibaut fabrics visit my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/designer-thibaut/

The Good Side of Apricot: Coral

Sorry for the absence, not sure if anyone noticed or not but got distracted there for a while, but now I am back!

So the debate is on at the moment as to what to call this most stunning, bright, fresh, feminine colour that is gracing everything from our interiors to fashion.  My argument is that even though you want to say ‘Apricot’ and truly it is, it is a dirty word after the 90’s and conjures images of apricot layered rooms with matching walls, carpet and small floral printed bedspreads with ruffled skirts and pillow shams, yuk!





I think Coral is a much more fitting name for this revised shade, and is definitely the good side of Apricot!

This is the pista resistance! Coral and crisp white, cute bedhead, chinoisserie fabric and that cute scollop detail on the pillows, awesome!



Very cute bedhead, love the shape and the contrast piping and buttoning detail! Would love to see if with more statement bedsides and maybe a larger bed end ottoman to achor it against the rug?

Love the coral matelasse bedspread and the little piping detail on the doona, nice little touches.

I love this image, I would crop it just over the seat with the artwork behind and a little of the drape, not loving the rug but think the rest is sensational, even the cute little cut fringe on the scatters!

So I might just be on the borderline of coral and tangerine but I do love this paired back with the black and grey!

I do love a detailed cabinet and this is the perfect tie in for me, it's all in the details!

Could you get a more awesome image? Indigo blue wall, absolutley striking with the chinoiserie chair and the coral drape and that great flamestitch carpet!

 

What’s the verdict, apricot or coral? For more ways to incorporate coral into your interior check out my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/the-good-side-coral/

Great Marriages = Grey + Yellow

Grey is one of those great colours which I sort of feel is like the Goth kid at school that grows through it and is the stunner at the reunion. It’s a little misunderstood, has the connotation that it is moody, flat and boring and often overlooked, yet when bounced off its self, tone on tone or even paired with a great colour it can make for one great palette.

Pair it up with bright pink, pale pink, tangerine or any shade of yellow and you have a great colour marriage!

Regardless of the fact that I love this interior structurally, I love that they paired the very pale grey which such a strong Canary Yellow, and in particular did the ribbon trim on the drapes to draw your eye up and apprecaite the scale of the room.

This is the delicate end of the scale for me when it comes to grey + yellow, it's light, femanine and pretty. I like the strong pattern in the drape fabric and the great thatch wallpaper, tecturally very strong!

Couldn't help but throw this one in, Chevron + Grey + Yellow = one very cool kid!

This is one the greatest grey and yellow fabrics for me, it's a Robert Allen ikat, and the moire fabric on the ottoman, cute!

Again the pretty end of the spectrum. Love the repetition of the wallpaper onto the matching fabric for the scatters and the cute pillow top for the bed end ottoman.

This is the opposite end of the spectrum, charcoal and yellow, strong, powerful and great for a heavier interior especially back with the black.

Everything Looks Better When It's Wrapped With A Little Ribbon

Tonight I am happy, I answered a question which has been bothering me for quite some time. I know it sounds like a real revelation and when you find out what the question was it certainly isn’t ground breaking but it is a little win for me. I never knew the right way to describe the detail pictured below on drapes and blinds. I thought it might be a bordered detail or framed detail but no it is actually a ribbon detail! There you go, I said it was ground breaking!

Now as you know I do love my details and this for me is an essential on window furnishings, it’s like the drapery version of my contrast piping love on upholstery.  It can be achieved by using fabric cut down or by ribbon passamentrie and it’s a great detail.



What a beautiful detail, draws your eye straight to the blinds and what a great finsihing shape detail.

Great detail for a bathroom to add a little interest.

Rick rack ribbon detail, a little cute.

Love what this adds to such a simple interior.

Simple, simple, simple and beautiful!

Not sure what's happening with the colours here, the drape, rug and throw work together and then the wall and chair not crash on them together but do love the drape.

For more ways to incorporate a little ribbon detail, not just on drapes, check out my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/technique-ribbon-detail/

Every Home Should Have Just a Little.......Animal

I don’t know what it is about animal print fabrics but they really do go one way or the other, super kitsch and hideous like those horrible, cheap, polyester faux furs or stylish and luxurious like a gorgeous Beacon Hill Cheetah pattern velvet. I of course am partial to the latter and sitting here writing this tonight realise I have at least 3 within my sight and one more one my purchasing list that I want to upholster my Chippendale chair seat in.

To me just a little hint here and there adds interest and intrigue and there really are so many to choose from, my favourite at the moment, Giraffe!

My absolute favourite! Wish I had enough conviction to live with this, the pink trim detail, the green desk and matching fabric and wallpaper!

A whole occasional chair in Zebra print fabric, may sound out there but in this subtle tonal conbination it looks great!

Schumacher Leopard Linen

Now this may be pushing it for most but I think it is just perfect in this interior, it doesn't fight with anything and I think that's why it works!

Not crash hot on the scatters on the sofa, but this front scatter and ottoman in the peach,wow!

Now this is me! Contrast piping in Kelly Green and the cutest little Cheetah scatter in the same, love it!

Love the Zebra print drapes in this gorgeous duck egg blue, great compliment to the matching Chipendale chair.

Highland Court Strafford Collection

I love this! The colour, the pattern and the detail in that ottoman, sensational!

For more fabulous ways to incorporate a little of your wild side into your interior, visit my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/pattern-animal/