photo courtesy Britex fabrics.
" I know what you mean about Liberty – the soft
lawn cotton is really nice but most of the patterns
are way too ditsy – and from a distance most of them
turn to a purpley grey sludge. Or brownish."
.......................................Kate from Fabrickated
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I will be travelling over the Thanksgiving holiday and won't be back until next week. I wish you all a wonderful day with family and friends, revelling in their company and sharing the joy of good food together. Safe travels for all............................Bunny
I'm going to comment first on this one. I am with Kate. They are lovely and would make a sweet, smocked dress for a tiny little girl living in a warm climate or season. I think on grown women they can get a bit to childish looking, JMHO, and I don't really care for tiny prints on grown ups. It's a glorious quality fabric but really best for heirloom sewing, in my opinion. I also agree that from a few feet, it's a rather muddy blur. Thanks for letting me share this, Kate, an opinion which I share with you but I think many others may not.
ReplyDeleteI'll second the above and Kate's original words. I don't care for the very small prints.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is precisely why I have never purchased Liberty lawn fabric. But .... never say never! Maybe one day I will see a print that knocks my socks off!
ReplyDeleteayup! (though my gosh it has such a lovely hand....)
ReplyDeleteI agree. I have a few liberty fabrics in my stash, but I can't ever figure out a way to wear them--too childish and busy and all that. Kate is so right.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Everyone who's touched them raves about the quality so occasionally I have look through the latest prints, but I haven't yet seen anything that wouldn't look either ridiculous or frumpy on me. I embrace my frump, but not to this extent. The prints by themselves are often beautiful, I just couldn't wear them on the scale that they are.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it's all about scale. Love your words, " I embrace my frump." Priceless!
DeleteIf you want to use it for a grown up woman's dress I believe that you have to choose the print very, very carefully. I made a sheath dress back in 2010 using a gray floral print (print was on the larger size) and yes from a distance it was very subtle but it's what I needed for the corporate atmosphere I worked in. I also think that a classic silhouette would be needed to make it work too. I do agree that most of the prints are small and look muddy from a distance. You just need to search carefully for an appropriate print because it is an amazing fabric to work/sew with.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Thanks,Carolyn. It is a challenge to get it all together and in the right scale. I remember that dress of yours and it was lovely. I think the fact that it was mostly grey is what made it work on a woman's form.,that and the classic style you used.
DeleteI definitely agree with the comments, they are fine for little girls, but not us older ladies (by that I mean anyone over 20). And at $26/yard, it's a bit pricey for children's clothes. But the hand is just lovely.
ReplyDeleteIn a thrift store, I bought a wool challis skirt with a Liberty London label in it. It has a black background and vivid, medium scale, modern style motif. Maybe they make more than the ditsy prints.
ReplyDeleteThey do make other wovens, not just the famous Tana Lawn. But the Tana Lawn is what seems to get all the press and reviews. I would love to see more of their other fabrics as they clearly understand quality. Other than their own website, where are they?
DeleteShaukat has a great selection and better prices than Liberty does. https://www.shaukat.co.uk/
DeleteI found some Liberty Silk de Chine at a local store. It's gorgeous. I'm scared to touch it at this point but I'm so glad I snatched it up.
Deletecrepe de chine, I meant.
DeleteI have one item made with Liberty lawn. The print is inspired by pink floyds the dark side of the moon and was made by the person that designed the album cover. So not a ditzy floral at all. I like some of the prints for button up shirts.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty delicious for nightgowns. I got some several years ago when the price was not $26. It is very light and breezy for summer. I think I would wear it as a summer blouse as well. But I wouldn't wear it in a dress - not enough heft for the heft of me. RSmith
ReplyDeleteI liked the color schemes they used eons ago but I couldn't afford the fabric. Now I can afford the fabric but for that price I expect better designs to match the quality of the fabric.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving, Bunny!!
Safe driving to you too, Bunny! All the Liberty prints I saw in Portland were $36-45 and at that price, they had better be killer...but they were dainty and dull. I made a Liberty wool skirt, black with huge red flowers back in the 80's when I first visited the shop in London. My first husband told me I had 15 minutes to shop and to make it snappy...I flew up the stairs, had the fabric cut and out the door. Needless to say, the skirt and that husband are long gone. Wishing you a fabulous feasting Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteAaargh to the ditsy stuff, but I've bought several gorgeous pieces in recent years- none at full price either! Some from the Bay of E, some from the market, and some from Shaukat. I have a piece waiting to be made up for MIL right now, in a glorious deep orange and pink peacock feather design. My personal favourite is one I waited years to find at a discount- a print in blues and greens and purples that looks like books on shelves. I stroke it often...
ReplyDeleteHi Ladies,
ReplyDeleteAs a Brit you can guess that my darling mother purchased Liberty fabrics to make our clothes when we were small. I have to admit, I agree with everyone and was rather relieved when we no longer wore clothes out of Liberty!!
Having delved into heirloom sewing I could never bring myself to work with prints, although I agree that they can look pleasant on children, it does nothing for me and I always gravitate towards plain fabrics; texture but no patterns. Do you think Bunny that my love for plain fabrics is because of my childhood days of wearing "pretty prints?"
Bunny............................Have the most fabulous Thanksgiving with your family and travel safely.xx
ReplyDeletePurpley-grey sludge??? I think not.
ReplyDeleteAmazing post dear! You have a wonderful blog:)
ReplyDeleteWhat about followingeach other on Instagram, Bloglovin, Twitter?.. :)
www.bloglovin.com/blog/3880191
I adore Liberty of London. Admittedly, there are always a few prints that stump me when I imagine how anyone would use them. As for the sludge comment, the person quoted needs to have her vision checked.
ReplyDeleteMore for me.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Ha ha! I never expected to be quoted, but it is nice that so many agree. I have used some excellent Liberty fabrics over the years - Hera (the peacock feather one) and they do some great furnishing fabrics. One of our American colleagues arranged a pot luck lunch today so I get to say "Happy Thanksgiving" too. Have a nice day y'all!
ReplyDeleteTakes all kinds. Actually, "Hera" is a bit too much for me. I like prints like Mabelle, D'Anjou, and Queue for the Zoo.
ReplyDeleteMore for me. :-)
A lot of fabrics look like sludge from a distance, including the ubiquitous denim. Can't jump on the Liberty bashing. It's great for breezy summer blouses.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? I'm nuts about Liberty of London prints LOL!!! But we all have our personal likes and dislikes, and wouldn't this be a dull world if it were not so? I wish I didn't love Liberty quite so much. They're a bit pricey and I could stop dreaming and drooling if I didn't love them so ; ). Linda S.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, I'm new to this...thought it was just me. Chose a nice colorful (tiny) print for a second go-round of my first top and while it was an improvement in technique, the print completely disappeared in the photograph. I've never worn it. And the fabric was absolutely dreamy to sew! So disappointing. And now I understand why. jenmiller
ReplyDeleteHa ha so funny. I love Kate's strong opinions.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a styling issue as much as anything. I don't wear much Liberty at the moment, but I went through a Liberty shirt/blouse phase. I tend towards a masculine/tomboyish aesthetic at times and so I found that pairing the Liberty prints with trousers or pantsuits and interesting shoes moderated the girly factor and added a bit of interest to an outfit. I often chose prints with darker backgrounds or stronger colours, in the dark blue to green range.
I also made a feminine dress using one of the art deco-inspired prints in a white and blue that I still wear in summer. It feels like wearing air on a very hot day. The cottons are such high quality that they are also great for travel. They don't wrinkle much and wash up beautifully in a quick cold wash. They are also of course fantastic to sew and press.
I recently purchased some Liberty of London fabric. It just felt so good but was so pricey so 1 yard was all I was willing to buy. It's not a dainty print though. It has a navy blue background with red and yellow flowers that look like dots from a distance. I look forward to working with it...one of these days!
ReplyDeleteSorry, a little bit late to this discussion, but I just wanted to say something in defence of Liberty! My eyes just skim over the sludgey brown prints and go directly to the pinks, oranges, blues and greens in much larger, funky prints! Liberty prints are not all wee flowers! I've had so many compliments, that I think were genuine, about several blouses I've made in Liberty prints. Don't paint them all with one colour palette or in one pattern! They are not your grandma's prints! And I'd sooner sew with a lovely Liberty print than a dull denim blue any day!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to be able to shop at Liberty's several times in the 1970s, and the wool challis prints at that time used deep, sophisticated colors and prints that clearly were not meant for children. Haven't seen that kind of fabric there recently -- am I just missing it? It seems like the only fabric now available is the flowered Tana lawn.
ReplyDelete