I just did something really terrifying. I spent over $1000 on my first order of CUSTOM Bessie Pearl fabric. What??? Ya’ll I really hope you guys like it or… well it’s going to be a sad day around here, hah!
So WHY am I making custom fabrics?
Why am I spending all this money having custom fabrics made when there are so many great fabrics coming out all the time? That’s a great question because there is no shortage of beautiful fabrics being designed by super talented designers. And I love buying them!
But fabric designers typically create fabrics as a collection (which is not a bad thing at all!) and often fabrics are printed for a short period of time and then gone. I’m not a fabric store or a manufacturer so my needs for making binding can be different. I need a fabric that I can reorder, and I need a specific scale of print that will fit well on a ½’ binding.
Basically, I looked around at the market and couldn’t find what I needed so I decided to make my own!
I knew that I wanted to start with rainbow stripes because those are always a bestseller for me, but I couldn’t find them in the fabric marketplace consistently or in the colors that liked.
I have NO CLUE how to design fabric, do surface pattern design, any of that. Enter Quilt Con 2024 where I ran into my friend Kiley Ferons who was finishing up working on Modish Quilter Magazine. Here’s how it went down:
Me: “So what’s next for you?”
Kiley: “I don’t really know but I’m thinking about fabric design.”
Me: “Really? Want to design fabrics for Bessie Pearl?”
Kiley: “Totally! I’d love to!”
And that, my friends, is the magic of Quilt Con (and building connections over the years and having it pay off).
I sent Kiley some Pinterest inspo pictures, we went back and forth over a few design ideas and DONE! It was so great and fun working with her, and I just know she is going to kill it as a fabric designer!
Fast forward a few weeks and the FABRIC IS HERE! I kind of can’t believe it! It’s scary and exciting and I have all the feelings but really, I just hope that you guys love it. That it helps me serve my awesome customers even better and help them create beautiful things.
Our EXCLUSIVE (squee!) Bessie Pearl bindings will be live May 10 and you can shop themhere!
Best,
Karen
Heather Kinion
May 09, 2024
This is a great idea for you!! Binding fabrics are a very specific need and you know what sells in your marketplace and what would sell if someone would freaking make it and now that someone is you!! Bravo and best of luck!!!