Designer Spotlight – Amy Barickman
Hi all! Today, Amy Barickman is back to share one of her most popular patterns – her Fold & Go Folio! This is a quick and fun sewing project that offers tons of customization options and is perfect for sustainable sewing and upcycling your favorite fabrics.
You might have heard of Amy as she is a long time friend of Nancy Zieman and was a frequent guest on Sewing with Nancy. They shared a passion for repurposing materials and Nancy even featured Amy’s bestselling upcycling book, Denim Redesign, nearly 20 years ago! Today we want to show you a few ways to make your own Fold & Go Folio using Amy’s newest fabric collection, Treasured Threadz™, combined with some upcycled fabrics that you likely have laying around the house.
The eclectic mix of prints and patterns within the Treasured Threadz™ fabric panels really lends itself to small projects like the Fold & Go Folio pattern. This compact folio has multiple interior customization features for mixing and matching your favorite fabric prints. The Fold & Go Folio PDF pattern offers two sizes of Folio and options such as mini drawstring pockets or felt earring keepers. Depending on the options you choose, It can be used for jewelry, sewing notions, or even tech accessories!
Hi everyone! Amy here, a big thanks to Nancy’s Notions for having me back to the blog! The first Fold & Go Folio project we want to share with you was made from our Treasured Threadz™ Around the World panel and the interior lining was made from (did you guess…?) a button-up dress shirt! Dress shirts are plentiful at thrift shops and they come in a huge variety of great solids and patterns. They provide a lot of fabric, so you can usually get a few projects out of a single shirt. This version was made for jewelry, so we added a felt earring keeper, bracelet/necklace loops and a coordinated drawstring bag.
We also added some decorative stitching to the exterior of this Fold & Go Folio to highlight the print on the fabric. Using the Treasured Threadz™ Favorite Fusible will provide some nice stability for embroidery, no hoop needed! There are also lots of closure options you can do, for this one we kept it simple with some snap tape. But you could use buttons, individual snaps, a tie… even velcro!
Our next Fold & Go Folio was made for sewing notions and I LOVE how it turned out. We used the Treasured Threadz™ Missouri Star panel and an upcycled cream colored men’s dress shirt for the lining. The quilt patterns of the Missouri Star panel really lend themselves to embroidery embellishment – you can simply follow the pattern borders like we did or add more decorative stitches to each print.
Since this version was made for sewing, we added a different variety of interior options. A felt needle keeper, loops for spools of threads, coordinated drawstring bags for buttons and a sleeve for your travel scissors! Fussy cutting the drawstring bags is always a fun part of these projects – you can pick your favorite part of the fabric to highlight. I love using the Clover drawstring tool, called Nancy’s Flex’n Glide Bodkins, to help me make my bags. If you struggle with drawstrings, jump over to my blog to see a fun how-to video, this tool will make your life so much easier!
On our last Fold & Go Folio is made from one of my favorite materials – ticking! Printed ticking can be found new, but vintage yarn-dyed ticking is my favorite. If you have family heirlooms such as linens or old articles of clothing, consider upcycling it into a practical modern day item! Ticking comes in lots of colors and striping patterns and is a total classic for the summer months. This Folio was also made for sewing notions, but you could easily use it for jewelry too – the interior options work well for either.
If you also love Ticking and are curious about its history – check out my Vintage Modern Makers Ticking Primer. It’s full of videos and inspiration, including a pattern for the Stars and Stripes Pillow made from upcycled denim and ticking fabrics. I’ll tour you through my vintage collections of ticking stripes, explain the difference between woven vs. printed ticking, and so much more!
I hope you are feeling inspired! Don’t forget, a Fold & Go Folio pattern purchase also includes a bonus Look Book with over 25 pages of fabric and styling suggestions. For those interested in the Fold & Go Folio Pattern, it is available in print on Missouri Star Quilt Co’s website, as a PDF download on AmyBarickman.com .
If you want to learn more about making a Fold & Go Folio, check out this video tutorial that Jenny Doan filmed during a live event a few years ago! And if vintage isn’t quite your style, check out this Tula Pink Fold & Go Folio. I love every version!
Thanks for reading – and be sure to check out my Artist Spotlight page and stop back by the blog as I have a few more guest posts coming for more sewing and upcycling fun!
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If you loved this project and are looking for more books, projects and patterns – visit AmyBarickman.com. While you are there, be sure to sign up for her weekly newsletter which is full of sewing patterns, seasonal inspiration, and fun projects for needle and thread. Be sure to stay social and follow along with Amy on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
Amy Barickman is a creative arts entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the craft industry. Over that time, she and her designers have released over 1000 pattern titles and published 80 books – including her most popular book – Vintage Notions. Amy has always been inspired by all things vintage and has curated a personal collection of fabrics, quilts, sewing books and patterns, notions that she loves to share. She is passionate about helping others find inspiration for handmade projects and to cultivate more joy in their everyday living through needle and thread!
Pssst… Want to see more great project ideas from Nancy’s Notions? Click here!
