Boho Love! ♥

Boho refers to Bohemian, which means

unconventional

nonconformist

carefree

and pretty much the opposite of expected norms!

If you are thinking that sounds like the hippy era… then you know where I’m going with this. Yep, I’m going retro! Today I am sharing designs inspired by...CRAZY Quilts!

Remember the cool old quilts pieced together with scraps? (Making those fabric works of art actually originated during the Victorian Era.) I love how detailed embroidery embellishes the seams. My first experience with embroidery was in the early 70's when an elderly neighbor named Ruthie taught me how. She made the most beautiful crazy quilts! And her husband Hank made beautiful arts & crafts style furniture. I no longer have a crazy quilt pillow Ruthie made, but I do still have some of Hanks furniture.

It's because of her I have always had a fondness for hand crafting. But, it takes a lot of time and patience to hand stitch and make those tricky French knots. These days who has the time to sit and hand sew? That's why I've created some Bohemian fabric prints ...inspired by crazy quilts…with loads of patterned fabrics…and hand drawn faux embroidery stitching. These are a few you'll find in my shop...

These unique (time saving) designs are great for anything from

flowing skirts and tops to adding fun color to home décor.

I made this cute jersey top below as a gift. It's going to look so sweet with some ballet flats or sandals! The fabric design used is called... Bohemian Bird Crazy Quilt….and is available HERE in my shop.

No less than twenty repeat patterns were created to make this one fabric.

Spoonflower’s soft modern jersey is a nice summer weight and drapes beautifully. Plus, it stretches in both directions. The colors are nice and vivid like you see on screen, but not overly so. (Colors have not been edited.) If you like all the modern polyester tops in the stores these days, then you’ll love this fabric. And just think of all the far out and groovy fabric choices on Spoonflower!

Sewing tip: When sewing with stretchy fabric and you do not own a serger...trying

using a zigzag stitch, which allows the stitching to stretch with the fabric. I used a

presser foot attachment specifically designed for stretchy fabric (It places teeth on the

top of the fabric) and the modern jersey glided through my machine like a dream.

Another children's print using this same idea of piecing together several patterns and embellishing with various stitches is this fun outer space design called

Rocket's Crazy Quilt. It looks gorgeous printed on giftwrap and wallpaper!

I predict more Bohemian style designs will make their way from my creative thoughts to my shop in the future. In the meantime, browse collections in my Designed by Debby Shop, and send me a note if you have any questions…or just want to say hello.

♥ Thank you very much for stopping by. Peace, Love…and happy sewing! ♥