Sometimes colour and prints are put together in such a beautiful and inspiring way that even an avid monochrome lover will find them utterly irresistible.
Bonnie & Buttermilk
Bonnie & Buttermilk is a German brand, based in Berlin. Owned by two women, Eike and Katrin who share a passion for bold and colourful vintage inspired prints. They set up shop 5 years ago selling clothing made from their fabric designs. Only recently have they started selling their fabric by the meter/yard. I am honoured to be part of the Bonnie & Buttermilk Blog Tour, which also includes a GIVEAWAY, so read on…
It was love at first sight when I first saw the vibrant, happy, fabric collection from Bonnie & Buttermilk and choosing which fabric I wanted took longer than I care to admit. In the end, I went for the easy option and asked Darcy and Scout to choose.
Fabric that makes you go “Ooooo!”
The fabric arrived so beautifully presented that I was reluctant to unfold it, let alone wash it. My chosen fabric also came with contrasting ribbing which is a treat not to be sniffed at. It looked even better in real life and everyone who saw it (with the exception of my husband, who is not in touch with his feminine side) immediately went “Oooooo!”.
What to make
Darcy and Scout had both asked for some more Play Pants, they love the style and fit and wear them not only under dresses, or as underwear or overwear, but also for ‘home gymnastics’. Which is just like regular gymnastics but using apparatus around the home. Stairs, walls, sofas, beds, you name it. No item of furniture in our house is safe from handstands, bridges, round-offs and cartwheels. We don’t have a sign on our gate saying ‘Beware of the Dog’, our sign says ‘Beware of the Cartwheel’.
Darcy chose Tree Love, a graphic retro tree print and Scout choose Lotte, with bold graphic flowers. Both cotton jerseys with a gorgeous mustard yellow base colour.
Darcy wanted a crop top to go with her Play Pants, I didn’t have a pattern so I adapted Madeit Patterns Balloon Fold Dress.
Simple to do:
- I went down a size as underwear needs to cling to the body more than the Balloon Fold Dress.
- I cut the front bodice as one piece rather than two (ie leaving out the diagonal).
- I straightened the sides (the Balloon Fold Dress has an A-line silhouette towards the top).
- I shortened to Darcy’s desired crop top length but left enough at the bottom to allow for covering the elastic.
- I used the same method for the elastic which is used for the Play Pants. The elastic is attached directly onto the fabric rather than threading it through a casing, which looks a great deal more professional.
The fit turned out perfect and it’s got me thinking about using the same pattern for a two-piece swimsuit.
Scout also wanted a crop top, but I thought a t-shirt would be more appropriate. The Nore Dress by Compagnie M (shortened to a tee) sprung to mind.
I left off the cuffs and simply hemmed the sleeve in the normal way. This is the t-shirt of my dreams (if I were a child again).
Who would have thought pink and yellow could look so damn good together.
Will I ever sew grey again?
Giveaway
Bonnie & Buttermilk are generously giving away 1m of fabric (of your choice) to 5 lucky winners picked at random from our Bonnie & Buttermilk Blog Tour giveaway.
Just click below and follow the instruction to be in with the chance of winning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck!
To follow the Bonnie & Buttermilk Blog Tour, click on over to each blog on the dates indicated below. You are in for a big, bold and colourful treat.
Tuesday 23 January
Barbara – WalliBa / Fleurine – Sew Mariefleur / Mijke – Sew It Curly
Wednesday 24 January
Dominique – kreamino / Olu – Needle and Ted
Thursday 25 January
Dagmar – Mimi naeht / Maarika – Liivi & Liivi / Melanie – FeeFee
Friday 26 January
Bettina – Stahlarbeit / Eveline – Frölein Tilia / Jenny – Kayhuderfjaeril
Needle and Ted 
What beautiful fabric! What an awesome Groove dress the trees would make.
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It really would Mary. I was quite tempted to make a Groove Dress.
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Awww, your pics are awesome! I like all the beautiful colours 🙂 and of course the play pants! They look very comfy. My girl needs one (or two or more) of these too!
Greetings from sunny switzerland
Barbara
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Hi Barbara, thank you very much. My girls absolutely love the Play Pants, I’m sure your little one will too. I hope you managed to pick up a free pattern in the promotion at the end of last year.
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I can’t get the rafflecopter thing to work and I would love to win some of this gorgeous fabric. Awsome !
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Oh no, please try again. Someone on Instagram said they were able to get it to work from their phone but not from their computer.
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How adorable is this? I looooove the flower fabric! So much that i immediately checked the shop to see if there was any left. Sadly it’s all sold out…. 😦 I guess you don’t have anything left? Hahahaha, just joking.
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Thank you Marjolein, yes, it’s such a shame it’s sold out already. I WISH I had some left over. I only ordered half a meter of each. Silly, silly me.
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The fabrics are WONDEFFUL!!!!! Could you please tell me if the knits are all cotton or if they’re cotton/lycra? I love these Bonnie & Buttermilk prints – perfect for a child without being utterly, cloyingly childish. And I wear a lot of them, too. My high school German is far in the past, and I just didn’t see the information on fabric content anywhere. I’m such a fan of European fabrics! Thanks, knitbunnie
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Hi, Bonnie, I guess it’s okay when I answer, I just posted my comment and saw yours. It’s 95-5 knit, excellent quality, not to soft, not to stiff. The design is digital printed, fabric is all made in Germany. You know me, I’m not a blabla- person when it comes to fabric. It IS great stuff. The woven is a tad thicker than regular patchwork cotton with a nice shine to it. (Less thick than canvas…something in between?).
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Hi Knitbunnie, I hope Bettina has answered your question. I found the quality of the fabric to be excellent. No complaints here. It has a good weight to it and a decent amount of stretch. I couldn’t fault it. I thoroughly recommend it.
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Do you know what makes me happy? Comments, yes, that as well. But I’m a happy Bettina, when one of the bloggers I invited to the tour had sooo much fun and provided us with the most amazing pictures plus a hilarious blog post. Thanks, friend! Now that we have this settled we need to discuss the tattoo thing once again. Baby Giraffe. Inked. OMG. 😀
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Thank you so much Bettina, I extremely happy that you thought of me for the blog tour. I had never heard of Bonnie & Buttermilk and now I’m a big fan. I still have the t-shirt hanging in my sewing room, the fabric makes me smile.
As for the tattoo, you’re going to see more of them 😀😀😀.
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Omg, this fabric is gorgeous! I hope they find a US distributor since shipping will be expensive for me when I order…and I know I will have to order! The top one in the box with the large flower is calling my name. The girls look great-happy and healthy. Wishing you all the best!
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Thank you Charlotte. Shipping fees to the US (or from the US) are ridiculous, I’m so glad that we can now get THE BEST knit fabric here in Europe. It certainly only feels like this in the last couple of years though. But this fabric is irresistible so I don’t blame you for wanting it so bad. All the best to you too.
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I am staring at your awesome pictures and just go “ooooo”. So well done, I like everything about it.
Kathrin
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Oooooo! Thank you Kathrin. 😊
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Pink and mustard: my two favourite colours! Such gorgeous fabrics, they kind of throw me back to the seventies (yes, I’m that old). You turned them into the prettiest shorts/shirts/everything. Love it!
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Don’t worry, I’m that old too. I didn’t appreciate seventies prints and fashions at the time but I think nostalgia makes things look more beautiful.
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