From K - New Bengal Fabric and a Giveaway!

A few weeks ago one of our favourite online fabric stores, Hawthorne Threads, emailed us wondering if we would like to participate in an exciting new venture they were launching - house designed digitally printed fabric! As long time lovers and supporters of their online store, we were thrilled to be able to get our hands on one of their stunning new lines - Bengal! Today I'm honoured to be hosting the 3rd day of Hawthorne Threads' Bengal Blog Hop, as well as a generously sponsored giveaway from the designers themselves.

Even before the fabric arrived, I had a million ideas swimming around in my head with all of the possibilities of what to create and share with you during our stop along the blog hop. After seeing some teaser images, I knew I would never be able to choose only one or two prints to play with, so when a FQ bundle landed on my doorstep I immediately started plotting out a way to use all of the beautiful fabric in one collective project.

I typically strive for lots of colour variation in my quilts, but the idea of a two-toned Metro Rings Quilt had been stuck in my mind for ages, and the opportunity to use every Bengal print while accomplishing this concept had me sold.

Knowing that finishing a throw quilt was a bit ambitious given my time frame, I came to my senses and settled on an achievable goal of turning 8 blocks into a set of matching pillows.

Lindsay's designs definitely speak to me. Fine lines, curved strokes, modern in design, but also traditional and timeless in palette - I imagine you can see why choosing only one print to play with would have been nearly impossible. I especially love that while no two prints are the same, they all work very cohesively together.

A yard of the Cascading Border print worked wonderfully for two zippered backs, and I am so glad I was able to tie that extra detail into the final pillows. In the above photo you can see the true colour of the Bengal indigo prints, a medium blue with a soft purplish undertone. I originally auditioned three solid background colours for my blocks (white, silver and navy), but decided on Hawthorne Hues in navy, which I think really makes the prints pop.

Hawthorne provides some great suggestions when sewing with their digitally printed fabric, located on their website here. After working with Bengal these past few weeks, I have some tips and suggestions of my own that might also be useful.

Tips/Suggestions:

• Use a fine needle:
• Before starting my pillows I noticed that Hawthorne suggested using a size 10/11 needle because the weave in this fabric is quite tight. Being the lazy sewer that I am, I tried to use a standard quilting needle but switched asap after my machine starting complaining loudly. Trust the professionals here and invest in a fine needle.
• Prewash:
• I am not usually in the category of quilters that prewash fabrics, but I wanted to see how this digital fabric would hold up. I washed my Bengal yardage with some Hawthorne Hues and tossed in three Shout Color Catchers. I was impressed that after a good wash and dry, the fabrics didn't fade, they softened up a bit, and all three catchers came out clean (even with navy yardage in the same load!).
• Great for Curves:
• This is the first time I have ever sewn curves, and I was surprised with how easy it was. The Quick Curve Ruler that I used helped a great deal with that, however I would also give credit to the tight weave of the Bengal fabric. The fine weave of this fabric (much tighter than regular quilting cotton) means this fabric really holds it shape well even when cut on the bias (a true benefit when working with curves!).
• Ideal Uses:
• The production process that is used to make Bengal uses a printer to lay pigment down on the surface of the fabric (check out Hawthorne's behind the scenes video here). This is different from traditional screen printed quilt cotton. Because the pigment sits on top of the fabric, some argue that digitally printed fabrics are less durable than screen printed fabrics - with claims that rough wear or long-term folds can lead to fading or worn bits as the pigment wears away.
• I don't have much experience with digitally printed fabrics and can't speak to how these Hawthorne prints will hold up long-term since I've only washed them once and haven't really used the finished pillows. That being said, I'm impressed with the quality of the Hawthorne fabrics so far. Until the final verdict comes in, I'm dreaming of lighter wear items such as wall hanging, table runners, mini quilts, gift bags, pillows, or even window/shower curtains (how fun would that Cascading Border print be?!).

Hawthorne Threads has generously sponsored a giveaway for this stop on the blog hop. To enter to win a FQ bundle of Bengal (shipped directly to you fresh from their digital printer), please comment below letting us know what you'd like to make with this line if you won.

Contest Rules:

• The contest will stay open for one week (closing at 11:59 pm MST on Tuesday November 11th, 2014).
• The winner will be announced on our blog later that same week.
• International entries are welcome.