Self-designed pattern for a self-sewn duvet cover

I started by asking my partner a criptic question to decide the theme of the design. They said ‘trees’ and ‘geometric’ At first I thought a lush green forest, but I know we both like Japan and the traditional art styles that originate there. So since my favourite tree to draw is a willow tree I decided this was the direction to go in. See here the reference image I used for the project.

The process of figuring out how to make my ideas into a repeating pattern was long but once I found the photoshop tool that shows you a preview of a repeating pattern it became easier. I was able to visualise what certain shapes and curves would look like repeated on a large scale.

I drew 8 images total that got put together to into two 4 image squares (a block). Which were then put into an alternating grid of four blocks to make the overall design. Here you can see one block of 4 images.

When the fabric finally arrived, I was confronted with my lack of floor space which I hadn’t previously considered as a potential issue. I tried my best in the kitchen, using mainly soup tins to pin down the material. Thankfully I had purhcased just enough excess material that my measurements didn’t have to be asolutely exact.

However, giving myself wiggle room and excess material did come to be a slight problem later on. So, lesson learnt for next time :)

After I realised that my small setup (in which I didn’t have a chair to sit on!) was going to be too cramped to work effectively. Oh and after my machine (the second one I had used for this project) started to smell of burning- I chose to book a session at a local crafting venue.

So shoutout to Reading Swing Bee who really saved this project by providing a wonderful space and equiptment. I was able to use a high quality machine and smash through the construction of this project in 4 hours.