One way or another, it happens every spring. Sometimes it starts with warm weather, other times with fabric love. This time it started with a modest little package I received from The Confident Stitch last week.

Garment Sewing Fever!

Here’s my spring mailing of The Confident Stitch swatch service. The Montana-based store creates hand-picked fabric collections paired with sewing ideas.

This time they’ve re-vamped their Quilting Cotton swatch service, so naturally I was curious to open it up!

Instead of swatches, the package now contains 5” squares and so many more fabrics than before (way more than I’ve pictured). There’s also a full-color pattern inside, designed to be sewn with the included fabrics. Ok, so that’s different. Now it’s a swatch service and a little project kit! Fun.

At this large size you can really get a feel for the fabrics, quite like shopping in store. You could plan a project using many of the fabrics they’ve swatched and combining them with fabrics in your stash and/or others on the website. At any rate, you’d be able to order with much more confidence!

Well, I did find that project kit tempting, but I was soon distracted by opening the garment collections.

Oooh! Here are the cool-toned garment fabrics, and aren’t they soothing! These are definitely my colors, as far as clothing goes. I can see myself wearing most of these fabrics, though half the time I wouldn’t know where to start with choosing a pattern.

Since I’m not a garment sewing expert, the included pattern suggestions for each fabric are definitely key. I mean, what do you do with “performance knit”, anyway? Ah - Stella leggings, I see! All the fabric details are provided under each swatch, plus a 10% discount code for any of the fabrics included in the collection.

When Elora came home from school she got pretty excited about the warm-toned fabric swatches. I haven’t really figured out if she’s better in warm or cool tones (girl kinda looks great in everything), but she’s definitely a fan of everything bright and pink at this stage!

Sooooo, after feeling these fabrics, noting the garment sewing ideas and watching the companion videos (also super informative), I am full to the brim with inspiration. And as it happens, I already have some fabrics that I planned to sew garments with before. Sometimes I don’t have time to work out all my ideas. I’m sure you can’t imagine how that happens (wink).

For starters, I pulled out that fruity rayon yardage I’ve photographed alongside the cool garment swatches a few photos earlier. Looking at the pattern suggestions for sewing with similar-feeling swatches, I’m thinking a Hadley Top for me might be nice. I’m actually more drawn to the Strata top, but don’t know if rayon would suit the pattern. I’ll have to ask.

For Elora I have butterfly yardage that’s as bright and joyful as her sweet self. These are all quilting cottons, and the Prism butterfly print is still available at Confident Stitch.

I’m thinking three projects - a dress, a top and a skirt - you know so that it’s not totally visually overpowering. Maybe sometimes with a contrasting, calmer fabric as well, if Elora doesn’t mind.

Well, I have some more planning to do then! Looking forward to starting on some spring garments soon.