Celebrating a Decade of Pride & Prejudice Fabric

Pride & Prejudice Text fabric in sepia...

Exactly ten years ago, I created a set of fabric designs based on one of my favourite books. I uploaded them to Spoonflower with a little bit of hope that they would resonate with others. Little did I know at the time that doing so would open a door to a totally unexpected part of my sewing journey.

In the decade since, I have experienced the incredible honour of people purchasing the fabrics and making some absolutely awesome things out of them. (Check them out here and here.)

From bags to clothing, pencil cases to shoes (!), face masks to head bands, glasses cases to doggie jackets, and one very amazing regency styled hat that kicked it all off, my Pride and Prejudice fabrics have been rewarding beyond my wildest dreams.

It's why – as the ten year anniversary approached – I thought to myself, why haven't I added anything to this collection in such a long time?

---

---

Five years ago, I did add some new selections. I came up with a version featuring navy, at the request of one of my customers who does a lot of sewing with reclaimed jeans.

What I didn't know then is that navy is a difficult colour to get right. The simple hex code that most commonly comes up on a search for navy turns out to be extremely purple when rendered on fabric. After Colleen and I shared a laugh over the results, I went back to the drawing board and searched for more "complex" hex codes to test, the renditions of which are shown below.

Second time's the charm...

These four ended up fitting her needs much better. Colleen even chose the set (one white on navy, one navy on white) that she liked best and coerced me to name them after her 😉 so that she would always know which ones they were. (For everyone else, all selections are still named with an actual hex code, and if anyone is especially curious, the second one above apparently renders as an especially dark shade of navy.)

A few weeks ago, I wondered why I never added my coordinating P&P design to this sub-collection. Better late than never, so here they are:

Navy collection now complete (image courtesy of Spoonflower)...

The first two use the same hex code (#14284A) for navy as the selections for Colleen's Fave; the third is a one-off, tone-on-tone selection that I simply call "denim".

You may find it interesting to know that I have never seen any of these navy selections in person. The original sampling process was done entirely by my customer and even though I've been tempted to buy some at various times, it has never come to fruition.

P&P in sepia (image courtesy of Spoonflower)...

When I came back to the design a few weeks ago to take another look, I decided that it likely wouldn't translate too well to other colour schemes, with perhaps one notable, vintage-y, exception: sepia.

Thus I arrived at the version shown at the top of this post. One of the coordinating P&P designs is shown at left. (There is another that is somewhat reversed with dark letters on a lighter background.)

With nothing more that I could add to the original collection, I turned my attention to a project that I actually started a couple of years ago, but never got around to finishing: a series of panels that can be turned into banners or wall hangings.

Getting them completed seemed a perfect way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this fabric collection, so here are some selections featuring notable quotes from the novel that can be turned into wall hangings with some simple sewing.

P&P fat quarter panels (sepia)...

These are specifically designed to fit sideways on a fat quarter in Spoonflower's lightweight cotton twill. The fabric's 58" width allows for each to be featured as a 29" high by 18" wide panel. (Regular price is $15, but during any number of their regularly occurring sales, that could be reduced by up to 40%.)

Closeup view of the background on these panels (courtesy of Spoonflower)...

The background is actually a washed out sepia version of the P&P fabric, which features the first sentence of the novel under alternating "P" and "&" characters.

For those who prefer a darker background, I also have these same designs on a dark gray with white lettering.

P&P fat quarter panels (dark gray)...

As I demonstrated with my sports banners a few years ago, two of these panels can be sewn back to back to produce a double sided wall hanging.

Speaking of double, a third version features both of these quotes on one panel, augmented by some hand-drawn cut out hearts.

P&P dual quote fat quarter panel (sepia)...

Spoonflower used to sell wall hangings as part of their home decor line, but no longer. Perhaps they realized that crafters could easily sew their own for much less. Last time, I ordered the more expensive linen cotton canvas for my project, but with the lightweight cotton twill weighing in at 5.8 oz per square yard (versus 6.4 oz for the canvas), it's a good option for fewer dollars. And having worked with both, in my opinion, they have a similar hand.

---

Check out crafty classes at Creativebug! [affiliate link]

---

Finally, since I've had occasion to order Spoonflower's wallpaper in the past and know how versatile it can be, I decided to create a couple of P&P themed items in that format as well.

Print these on a wallpaper swatch for instant decorating power (image courtesy of Spoonflower...)

These can be printed on a 24" wide x 12" high peel and stick wallpaper swatch (regular price $9), cut into two, and then individually plastered on whatever surface you want... and they can be removed when you no longer feel the love.

I have them in both light and dark versions.

Peel and stick wallpaper is rental friendly! (image courtesy of Spoonflower...)

As I've stated, Spoonflower holds sales events on a pretty regular basis. (It just so happens that there's one – up to 25% off – this weekend on both fabric and wallpaper.) Whatever you need, you can likely catch a deal if you wait a bit. Oh and yes, for full disclosure, I do get a commission on any sales. 😊

To see all of the designs in my Pride and Prejudice collection, click here. To access wallpaper designs specifically, click here.

By the way, I heard recently that Joann Fabrics is closing down all of their stores. Will any of you feel the loss in a significant way?

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁