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An interesting new fabric collection just came out and has been shipped to shops: Space Dye Woven by Figo, the modern division of Northcott. In an earlier blog I wrote how this now 5 year old company is really finding its voice and the Space Dye Woven collection is jumping out for multiple reasons.

Space Dye Woven is a yarn dyed woven fabric collection. By itself is this not new at all: there are many yarn dyed collections. What does this mean? Yarn dyed means that the fabric is made by weaving dyed yarn. Dying the yarn comes first and after  colored yarn is available the fabric is made.  Yarn dyed fabric lacks printing. Almost all our cottons are first made out of a material of choice (usually white, grey)  and then printed.  This printing gives us the full range of colors and all the designs. Yarn dyed fabric is much more simple: without any printing, it is really about the core of the threads and the colors they have. Originally, this was considered to be “cheap” fabric from India (dyed with vegetables!) but after a more organic movement entered also the sewing world, yarn dyed fabrics have found a niche. Kaffe Fassett has his shot cottons, Robert Kaufman has the great range of Essex.  They actually are releasing this month 6 new colors in the Essex Yarn Dyed Collection, bringing the total to 46 colors. Pepper Cory became a wellknown name with her “Peppered cottons” for Studio E and by now many more companies have some kind of yarn dyed woven. The fabric can be cotton, linen or a mixed blend.

There are two main reasons why this fabric stands out: first and foremost, it has a beautiful soft hand. The fabric drapes like no other and yarn dyed fabrics are wonderful to sew with. They are great  for clothing and if you ever want to start making some clothing, consider a yarn dyed woven as it is a little forgiving. The natural fibers just fall elegantly.  Of course, this soft material is very comfortable to wear.

Aside from clothing, yarn dyed wovens make great backgrounds for quilts, especially if you want to do some hand stitching as well. Embroidering and hand stitching with a size 5 or 8 thread looks great on it and the needle will go through the layers without a problem. They make great backings because the fabric is just so soft. 

The second reason why yarn dyed fabrics are so popular is because of their organic look. The natural look of the fabric makes a nice statement as the fabric has so much character. They are almost the opposite of digital printed fabric and give a total different look. In the beginning yarn dyed wovens looked a little drabby, "bio fabric", but these days also bright colors are available without losing any of that special textured look.

When you applique with yarn dyed fabric a real fun effect can be achieved by stitching close to the edge (no needle turn). The fabric will have room to fray a little and you can see the warp and weft as individual yarn. The picture is part of a sample I once made: yarn dyed  stitched on top of Essex yarn dyed.

The Space Dye Woven collection by Figo adds a true new element to all the yarn dyed wovens: a pattern! 

Normally,  all yarns in yarn dyed fabrics are in a solid (same)  color. Stripes can be achieved by using different colors yarn in a repeating pattern, but the yarn itself was always in one color. No longer! Space Dyed means that the yarn is dipped in the dye: in and out, back in and back out.  There is a space in between the dips and that creates a yarn that is multi colored. Then, when it is getting woven into fabric, this dipped or space dye yarn results in a stripe design. For as far as I know, this is a first time and brandnew!