We’ve been hearing a few reports that my newest Lisette fabric collection has finally arrived in Spotlight stores, so it’s finally time to tell you all about it!
I’ve been having so much fun with watercolor and layers of soft color for these designs. The prints are loose and relaxed in feel, and the watercolor gives them lots of lovely texture. We’re using a new (to us) mill in India for these fabrics, and they really did a great job. The entire collection is printed on a really beautiful jersey. It has a wonderful hand, and the printing is just as I hoped it would be.
Jersey is such a fun fabric to sew. It has plenty of stretch and good recovery, and it’s suitable for a wide variety of garment types. As you probably know by now, knits are really fast and satisfying to sew. This particular quality is substantial enough for leggings but also drapey enough for dresses and T-shirts. I really couldn’t have asked for better. I think you’re going to enjoy working with the fabrics themselves. I’ve been playing with them for a few months now and am so happy with them.
To help introduce the line, we made up a few examples to show what you might want to do with the fabrics. Of course you can make T-shirts with the jersey. For kids, the School Bus T-shirt, Field Trip Raglan T-shirt, and Lunch Box Tee are all designed for knits, so they’re an obvious choice. For this Lunch Box Tee I paired the orange and blue scallop print with a solid from Robert Kaufman’s Laguna jersey collection. The colors are a perfect match!
(I couldn’t locate our khaki Field Trip pants for this photo, so we had to make due with jeans.)
You might remember that I recently sewed new pajamas for S using the Playtime Tunic and Leggings. These are getting a lot of wear, and not just to bed. They’ve become sort of a lounge outfit for those occasional Saturdays when we just don’t quite manage to get out of our PJs until the afternoon. (I think the leggings have also gone to school a few times, which I suppose is testament to their comfort and softness. She just doesn’t want to take them off, and they make a great cold-weather layer under jeans and long pants.) You could also sew the Hopscotch Top or Dress, which is designed for jersey as well.
I want to wear a lot of these prints, too, and it turns out that the Liesl and Co. Everyday Skirt works beautifully with jersey! Just be sure to use a woven fusible interfacing for the front waistband so it doesn’t stretch when it’s worn.
Of course, the Metro Tee and Bento Tee patterns would also be perfect to use with these knits. I’ve been thinking that the Lisette Attache peplum or dress would also be really cute in jersey, as would the Lisette Diplomat dress, especially the shorter version.
These fabrics are available exclusively in Spotlight stores now, so if you’re in New Zealand, Australia, or Singapore I can’t wait to see what you make!
When will the fabric show up in the US? They look like fun 🙂
Unfortunately, these knits won’t be available in the U.S. We wish they were!
Wow! These are gorgeous, congratulations Liesl. And I’m so lucky that they are available in New Zealand! I’m off to spotlight as soon as it opens. Thanks!
OOH Bummer. I need awesome knits. And these are lovely. Dang.
I’m sad I can’t buy these 🙁
Oh man i was going to go right out and get some be it is a bit far to go to new zealand to get some 🙁
we US sewists also want some lovely new knits too! any in the foreseeable future?
Are you kidding me? You’re teasing us with this and we can’t buy it anywhere in the US nor anywhere online? Any hope that it will be available in the near future?
These are so beautiful! I wish I could buy some!!!!!!!!!! Or win some. 😉
I was just looking at knits in Spotlight & saw some of your. Deemed them the most beautiful, but didn’t buy any, since I’m stash busting at the moment. They are GORGEOUS!!
Does Spotlight ship outside of Australia and New Zealand?
Oh those are lovely! I especially love the ones with the little xs. Fingers crossed for some jersey available in the U.S. soon!
Soooooooooooo sad!! you’ve done a nice job blogging about sewing on knits, made great patterns to use on knits, but we can’t buy them in USA 🙁
Stop it! These are gorgeous, I want, no, need all of them. I can’t wait to see what your US line looks like this Spring!
Love the new prints ! Do spotlight stock oliverands patterns also ? Thanks, Karen
Karen, no they don’t, unfortunately.
Big congratulations on these Liesl! When I picked some up earlier this week the ladies in store could not stop raving about the quality. They really are beautiful knits. I have mine washed and tumble dried ready for sewing this weekend. A field trip in the crosses which my son picked out while we were shopping and a bento or hopscotch in the clouds.
And for anyone in Oz or NZ they’re 30% off until the end of the weekend!
Whoo hoo I’m in Australia and love them!! Liesel is there any Lycra/elastin in them?
I’m going to check them out today!!!
I am posting some of these lovely knits to Portugal, (sock and clothing swop) I shall report back re postage costs.
No chance in UK then, I suppose?
Shall we all write JoAnn to make it known we would also like to have these prints here int the US?
….too funny – your fabric combo for the playtime dress and leggings is exactly what I chose when buying these a couple of weeks ago 🙂 – matching. I also got the print you have used for the everyday skirt – have yet to decide what to use. It for…
Karen – my local Spotlight did have some O+S patterns about a year ago – just random ones – think they had bought out stock from a wholesaler…
I know. We were really sad that JoAnn passed on this collection, too. If you’re really interested in the fabrics, you could certainly reach out to them to express your wishes. I know their buyer was going to take another look at the collection, so if enough people speak out there might be a chance that they’d take it? They just need to know that there are enough people who will buy it!
Thanks Justine andTodd, I thought I remembered seeing a few patterns at spotlight but they didn’t have many, and that was a while ago. I will order them as a download .
Karen and Justine, my Spotlight also stocks Oliver & S patterns. Might be worth checking out!
Siobhan, Spotlight was able to pick up some very old dead stock of our out of print Oliver + S patterns from a former distributor. They won’t be able to reorder, so once what they’ve put in stores is gone that will be the end of the line at Spotlight.
So disappointed that this is going into Spotlight Chain stores in Australia and therefore won’t be in independent fabric shops. I am an independent Fabric Store and stock all of O + S Patterns and have samples made of most of your patterns. Only a few to go to complete them all. We also run sewing classes using your patterns and our class participants then become O + S fans and buy more of the patterns. Can you let me know who is distributing it for you in Australia? If our local Spotlight doesn’t stock it I would like to get some.
Jillian, unfortunately, Lisette is a line that’s done with a manufacturer that doesn’t serve the independent market. They only sell to chains and they print to order, so once a delivery is made the line is gone. We’re very happy with this collection, and we’re sorry that it’s not going to be available more broadly.
Karen and Justine you can get the patterns in Australia from Jiddi’s Patch Geelong. Great range and happy to post out jusr a pattern
Thanks Todd. Will you be doing a range in knits for independent shops in the future?
So if JoAnns are possibly maybe going to change their mind what about the UK? Anyone I can write to here? It’s the first time my little girl has pointed to a single fabric and said this one, nice. Usually she likes\wants all the fabric. Her choice btw was the red and blue flower one.
Sarah, we’re not aware of any chain stores in the UK that we could approach about the collection. If you have any suggestions, please send them our way and we’ll absolutely pursue them! Thanks so much.
These look beautiful – and I live in New Zealand! I hope there are still some left by the time I get to the nearest spotlight which is 30 minutes drive away!
These are made in India! Any chance of getting them in India?