I bought fabric!!! I haven’t ordered online much this year because our Canadian dollar has tanked and shipping prices from the US have increased again… but I’ve been eying this fabric since winter, so I finally bought it when I found it on sale at ImagineGnats!
(Front; back, held up to the light.)
I got 3 yards of Art Gallery Knit in the Paparounes print – I’ve wanted this since before it was released! Stripes and florals are just such a classic mix, and the colours are perfect for my wardrobe palette. It had to be mine!
(Front; back, held up to the light.)
The shipping price allowed for 4m of fabric, so I also 1m of Robert Kauffman Laguna Jersey in Emerald. It’s one of those fabrics that available in lots of online stores in solids and prints, and I’ve always wondered what it’s really like.
I was a little surprised by both fabrics in person – here are my thoughts, with a cameo by Frank!
I’m not sure what to make with the Art Gallery knit: a Tiramisu to play with the stripes, a Comino Cap because it never fails and I wear them all year round, or a Mission Maxi that I would only wear in the summer. What do you think? As you can tell by the video, I’m a bit thrown off by cotton – I can’t quite predict how my favourite patterns will work without much drape!
With whatever is left, I’ll make a tank top… and the Laguna jersey will probably be a tank top too! I’m really enjoying green this year, so hopefully it’ll get lots of wear. I”m experimenting with the Greenwood tank pattern, but not loving it right away… might go back to Mission Maxi tanks instead.
Have you sewn with Art Gallery knits or Laguna jersey? What did you think/make? And what should I make with mine?
**Bonus points for naming the books on the shelves behind me! 😉
Gillian, it was so interesting to hear your thoughts on these two knits! Art Gallery and Laguna are my two favorite, go-to knits, but it all depends on what you tend to sew with knits and what kind of knits you tend to buy. Since I primarily buy cotton knits and only make t-shirts out of them, the Art Gallery and Laguna are both great quality for that purpose. I totally agree that I wouldn’t make a dress or leggings out of the Laguna, and probably not the Art Gallery either. I think both jerseys are beefy for cotton, but probably not compared to other fibers. It’s all a matter of perspective, I think! Your video was a great complement to other reviews – thanks for sharing!
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I”m glad to hear your perspective too! I really didn’t realise that I so rarely sew with cotton until I made this video! There’s usually SOME cotton in what I sew, just something heavy to weight it down, too. The amount of stretch is great though, and they both bounce back nicely. If only I could decide what to make! 😉
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Thanks for the review on Paparounes. Mine is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, eep! I am glad to see the stretch of the fabric. I was worried it might be on the stiffer side, like some of the knits from GirlCharlee.
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Ugh, Girl Charlee knits can be SOOOO disappointing!!! I did a video about them last year… I honestly threw some of the yardage out after trying and failing to make even a loose tee with it! https://craftingarainbow.wordpress.com/fabric-review-videos/
This is waaay nicer – I hope you’ll be happy when your package arrives! (And I hope you let me know what you think once you’ve touched the fabric!
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I regularly use both of those fabrics for dresses, but I think the style of dress is key. Mine are usually t-shirt style on top (I use the sbcc tonic tee pattern chopped to hit at my natural waist), with a moneta gathered skirt and are fairly loose fitting below the bust. This works out great and prevents anything riding up around the hips.
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That is really helpful to know. Sounds like my Comino Cap dress pattern is similar, and might be a good match for the fabric! Have you found Laguna and Art Gallery knits to last well through repeated washing?
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The Laguna does okay but the art gallery does better. The Laguna shows its age sooner, so I mostly use it in the “perfecting” stages of a pattern and save the art gallery for once I know it fits well. Riley Blake cotton jersey is nice too – somewhere between the Laguna and the AG in price.
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The video is adorable (you AND the cat)!! Thank you so much for doing it.
I’ve gotten two art gallery knits, and I was surprised they were both different. The first was this one (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Gallery-Fantasia-Jersey-Miniature/dp/B00WFYI3ZI) and it was pretty soft, drapey and almost silky. I made Simplicity 4020 view c (http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/12782) and it turned out pretty good!
The 2nd art gallery knit I’m working with now (https://www.fabric.com/buy/0399753/art-gallery-morning-walk-jersey-knit-wispy-daybreak-aura). It’s so pretty, but less drapy and silky than the first one! I kind of like it though, because I’m using it for a shirt that’s supposed to be a woven (Faith Top, Style Arc). I’ll see how it turns out.
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That is so fascinating!!! I would have assumed the base fabric was always the same – I wonder if it changed between old and newer prints, or if it varies all the time? I hope it sews up nicely for you! 🙂
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I adore Laguna jersey and made several polka dot Renfrew tops last winter from several colours. It’s soft and wears beautifully.
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That is great to hear! I can see it being a perfect weight for a classic t-shirt shape like a Renfrew. Gotta love that pattern!
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Frank still wants to know why you aren’t sewing! 🙂 I think you should go for the tiramisu. That pattern begs for stripes and it would really shine with that knit. I haven’t tried either jersey, personally. The pricepoint on the Art Gallery stuff, even here in the US is out of my budget. I’m looking forward to seeing what you stitch up, though!
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Haha – that’s totally it! Or he just wants me to put the fabric down so he can lie on it and get in the way. 😉
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He isn’t in the way unless you’re actually doing something with that fabric!
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I haven’t tried the AG knits yet, but like you mentioned I would have expected a “beefier” quality based on the reviews. I love the stripe/floral print you got though, I totally understand the splurge! I think the RK laguna jersey has gone down in quality. I first bought some maybe 3-4 years ago and it was great stuff. True 4-way stretch and definitely thick enough for leggings. I hadn’t bought any since then until earlier this year. It definitely felt more like a nice stretchy t-shirt jersey (which is what I was buying it for) but not as hefty as I remembered. I made several t-shirts and I love them, I’m just glad I wasn’t buying it to make leggings or a dress!
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I haven’t bought either but I have been admiring Art Gallery knits for ages! So I appreciate the review and chat – You are so conversational, I love it!
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I’m a Laguna jersey fan. I’ve made several pairs of leggings from it. They’ve held up better than Target leggings; though, the fabric holds up better in tshirt form than it does leggings. I can’t even count how many kids tshirts I’ve made from it. I’ve made at least one dress with it as the main fabric (bonny sailor top with a lady skater skirt) and it pairs well with mesh/lace/novelty knit dresses as a lining. Also, that’s the fabric I used to make a Batman suit for my son. I do think the quality of it sometimes varies. The dark purple seems to be less stretchy and the aqua blue seems slightly thinner than other colors.
That stripey/flower print is so “you”. I think it would look great as a Tiramisu.
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I made a t-shirt out of Laguna jersey and some leggings (I think) and I was quite happy with both. I’m not sure I would want to make a dress out of it though, as I agree with you, it doesn’t seem drape-y enough. But it’s great for a t-shirt.
I splurged on some Art Gallery knit and I love it, but I wouldn’t describe it as beefy. In fact it was much thinner than I expected too. That being said I made myself and my Mom a Linden out it and it has washed and worn really well and it is so soft and nice to wear. My Mom says it is by far one of her favourites. It is very expensive though, so I’ll only buy it when I’m in love with a print. Because they do have excellent prints.
I love that poppy stripe print you bought and I hope you are happy with it – I think a comino cap would be awesome!
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Lovely fabrics and thank you for the review. It was great to put a voice to your writing. I think a Tiramisu would be nice in the Art Gallery knit, if it was thick enough. I loved your blue/green one and your maxi-misu. The green is a really great colour on you. Oh, off topic but I am glad to see that I am not the only person that arranges books by colour. Xx
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Thank you so much for the review of both of these fabrics. I’m in Canada too so I haven’t splurged because the cost of shipping is so high, but I was thinking of trying the Laguna jersey. I find it really hard to find a good quality knit locally! Thanks again.
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I’ve got a dress made from Art Gallery knit (the Leah Duncan black pyramid one from last season) – it’s a Plantain babydoll hack. I really like it and it’s worn very well, but it does stick to tights/itself so I do find myself adjusting it a bit when I wear it. It’s expensive here too – about £16-20/m, so definitely not an everyday purchase.
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A couple months ago I was buying a knit in a fabric store and described it as ‘nice and beefy’. The saleswoman said ‘did you say ‘beefy??” and looked at me like I was nuts! Nice to know I’m not the only one using that word for knits…
I think sometimes there can be a tradeoff with cotton knits, if they’re thinner. Because they’re less drapey, I find they sometimes cling less – to bumps at least, although they will still cling to underwear or tights. But it does seem to depend a lot on the individual knit. I don’t live somewhere with good fabric stores, and good knits are thin on the ground but man, I’m just so cautious about buying knits online because you just never know!
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Thanks for the review video. I find these really helpful as I’m very curious about fabric you can purchase online but never want to commit to paying for all that shipping to Canada without knowing if it’s worth it. People rave about Art Gallery Knits but I too expected it to be “beefier” than you find it. I prefer something beefy to make a form fitting dress to avoid lumps. A dress with ease would be all right though. That print is gorgeous.
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My friends and I usually make a big order at Fabric.com (which has both of these) and split the high Canadian shipping cost… And if you sign up from their mailing list you usually get a discount that will amount to the shipping cost! (so we’re always converting new sewists and making them share their discount with us, lol)
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I’m with you on cotton ambivalence. I hate that halo so I just stay away. I do love that floral stripe pattern though. Btw, just polked my leggings to determine vertical stretch and mine seem to have about 20%. So that Laguna might work better for leggings that you might imagine.
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I have this shade of Languna Jersey- looking forward to seeing what it looks like in a tank top!
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