Sewing Inspiration..Sporty fabric, color and trim details

Last week I was in Salt Lake City for a tradeshow called Outdoor Retailer.  This is a very large tradeshow where brands from the outdoor industry present their new products.  It occurs twice a year and is an impressive show to attend and preview what’s new in apparel, bags & accessories, footwear, hats, hosiery, skis..  Really, ANY kind of outdoor gear or product. 

I love attending this show.  When I have a break, I wander the aisles and examine the new techy fabrics and trim details on the clothing, footwear and bags..  Yes, I am a nerd.  While Outdoor Retailer isn’t fashion week, it is a unique mashup of where granola meets fashion, form and function.  For a girl who studied fashion design and is addicted to sewing and creating new things – this is an awesome experience.

While walking the show, I had an interesting thought about approaching my sewing with a new, sportier angle.  I was inspired to start trying outdoor driven fabrics, trim and colors in my projects.  I usually work with natural fabrics and soft cottons. However, with a baby/toddler now in our house – there is a need for durable fabrics.  And babies also like unique textures.  I just realized all the baby items that can be made with ripstop, different kinds of mesh, neoprene,  webbing..

So, I compiled a list of the items that I saw and inspired me. 

Color Trends:

• Purple and Fuchsia!! There was a lot of purple at the show. This combo was everywhere for fall 2013: purple, black and fluorescent green/yellow
• Greys –  Grey combinations with blue and/or orange or greys in a tonal scheme
• Green on green – Tonal and earthy
• Color pops in linings – Charcoal with bright purple lining.. love this!

Fabric trends:

• Ripstop, mesh, quilted synthetic materials –  I can’t wait to start sewing with rip-stop and mesh.
• Mixing and matching of fabrics – Unique combinations found in apparel and bags.  One brand had beautiful jackets mixing techy fabrics and quilted cottons

Trim trends:

• Color pops  – bright, BOLD zippers, buttons and velcro. I always thought velcro as kind of ugly and something to hide.. but now I’m thinking of highlighting a bold velcro in an upcoming project!
• Colorful top stitching, shoe laces and straps
• Metallics,  flourescents and reflective webbing

Some color pics from the show:

GO get some ripstop and colorful zippers and get sewing!