Blog - Cotton & Flax

Behind the Scenes

My favorite supplies and tools

I wanted to take some time to talk about the supplies and tools I use to create items for the Cotton & Flax shop. All artists and crafters develop their own affinities with different brands and types of supplies, and I wanted to share the ones that I turn to again and again.

Ink

Every pattern in the Cotton & Flax line begins as either an ink drawing, or a pattern that I’ve created with a hand-carved stamp. When I am creating an ink drawing, I always turn to my trusty green bottle of Yasutomo Black Sumi Ink. I love the consistancy of this brand of ink, and for whatever reason, it seem to always dry darker and sharper than other brands I’ve tried.


Sewing Machine

I use a Janome Travel Mate sewing machine to do much of the sewing for the Cotton & Flax shop. It may surprise you that I don’t have an industrial sewing machine setup, but I am quite attached to my Janome (notice the stickers and washi tape I’ve put on it?) and I can’t imagine getting rid of it anytime soon. It was a gift from my mom, and it’s the same model that she used to teach me how to sew when I was younger. Call me sentimental, but my Janome sewing machine has proven to be a resilient little workhorse.

Looking for something similar? The Janome HD1000 is almost the same machine, and still built with steel inside so it’ll last for a long time.


Thread

I am a diehard supporter of Gutermann thread. It’s not the cheapest option, but I’ve found that it is much stronger than other brands I’ve tried. I love that they make a cotton thread, which helps get me just a little bit closer to making a fully sustainable product. Plus, it comes in an amazing rainbow of colors, who doesn’t love that?

To all you artists/makers out there: do you have a favorite supply or tool that you return to again and again?

Cotton & Flax on Instagram

I post lots of behind the scenes photos on Instagram, are you following me over there? My username is erin_dollar (I can’t wait for the day where you can link directly to your Instagram profile!) update: my new username is @cottonandflax!

Shooting the Winter/Spring Cotton & Flax Collection

Last week, I spent some time at the lovely home of Kate Miss, shooting some of the new pillows for the Winter/Spring collection. Kate was so generous in offering me her living room for the morning, her home is so immaculately decorated that I barely had to style the shoot at all.

Thought you might enjoy seeing a preview of the upcoming Winter/Spring lookbook. I’m excited with how things are coming together so far, and really looking forward to sharing more soon.

Inside my Sketchbook

I have been debating whether to share pages from my sketchbook for a while, ever since I promised to share the behind the scenes of Cotton & Flax, even the not so glamorous stuff. The thing is, I feel like I have a very warped perspective of what an artist’s sketchbook is supposed to look like. I would see beautiful sketchbooks on Book By Its Cover and think, “Is that what my sketchbook should look like?! Those sketchbooks look so perfect, filled with lots of finished drawings and paintings!” I started to feel bad that my sketchbooks almost never feature any finely polished drawings.


For me, the sketchbook is where I work out “problems.” Where I develop new ideas and practice new techniques. I allow myself to be weird and messy in my sketchbook because it frees me to work without worry. It might not always be pretty to look at, but I look at my sketchbook less as an art piece in and of itself, and more as a tool that I use to create my own art.


Ultimately, I wanted to share these pages to erase any doubt that my designs just pop into my head as finished patterns. It takes me quite a while to develop the final patterns, and my sketchbook is a huge part of that process. Do you keep a sketchbook? Do you share it with anyone? Would love to hear what my creative readers use their notebooks for!

Shop update – Pillows

Just wanted to mention that I updated my shop with a few new pillows, some of which will be joining the Winter/Spring Collection, and some of which will not be produced again. I loved making the neon pink pillows, but decided that ultimately, I didn’t want to add them to my next collection. The three pink pillows that are available are the last I’ll make, but I’ve got lots of other fun additions in the works.

My Patterned Security Envelope Collection

I don’t collect many things, but I happen to collect patterned security envelopes. You know the ones: they come with your junk mail, your bank statements, pretty much any official document that might have an account number on it comes in a patterned security envelope. I find the patterns totally inspirational, and often turn to my collection for ideas when I am designing for Cotton & Flax.

I am totally fascinated by them. Who designs these intricate patterns? Why are there so many different designs? Is there a reason so many of them are blue? Why are there no pink security envelopes? So many mysteries behind these patterned beauties. Of course, approaching them from an artist’s perspective, some envelopes are better than others. I’ll take a beautifully executed wave pattern over your standard crosshatch pattern any day. But each envelope has it’s own appeal, and taken as a group, it’s hard to deny their charm.