Designer Spotlight: Tamara Kate and Les Monsieurs!

Hi everyone, it’s Tamara again, back for another collection introduction. 

Gentlemen, start your engines … “Les Monsieurs” has arrived!

Last week I introduced you to the decidedly feminine Flight Patterns. This week is for the boys! Les Monsieurs was the second of my two lines to debut at Quilt Market this past Spring.

I created this line for my five-year old son Max, who, like most little boys, has a vivid imagination, loves playing with things that go fast, and dreams of one day being an astronaut, a race car driver, a pilot, a super hero that scales tall buildings … The list goes on. The name of the collection is all him. I love the way he talks about his wooden men, calling them “les monsieurs”, as opposed to the correct French “les messieurs”.

Much of the physical inspiration for the line is based on a series of wooden toys my husband Greg has been lovingly creating for Max since his first birthday.

While I wanted to design my interpretation of the toys, I also wanted to give them context. I love telling a story on fabric, and so tried to portray the dreams and aspirations of a boy who wants to be like his Papa, racing around a building block city of his own imagination, scarf blowing in the wind.

To appeal to a range of little boys’ (and their mama’s) tastes, I colored the line in three versions that can be used individually or all together.

I started with Aviator, a natural, somewhat earthy color way that still has a bit of zing to it. Then came Retro with a range of blues and pops of intense navy, bright turquoise and acid green. And for the little boys who love color, I created Soft Top that offers lots of brights in a very energized color way.

Sewing options abound. The first thing I wanted to make was a super hero cape (as pictured below). It is fully reversible and I will have a tutorial finished up within the next week or so over on my blog. The racing stripe up the middle is my favorite part.

Accessories are a big hit with my boy, so I made bow ties, bow ties and more bow ties. This was a really fun project, as the printed motifs are just the right size to play with pattern placement.

In recovering this chair seat, I played with the chevron, cutting it very finely to create little diagonal lines.

And clothing. This sweet, simple caftan-style top has been a hit! I have already had requests for adult versions.

And remember that I mentioned the three color ways could all be used together? Well, all you moms out there, be careful about showing this to your boy as he is going to run to start packing for a camping trip. This is a junior-sized quilted sleeping bag (with built-in pillow) using each and every fabric in the collection.

The chevrons, called Tire Treads, are a great dynamic filler fabric. They can blend in or stand out, depending on what you pair them with. There are twelve colorful options.

Now for some fun! Here is a link to a tutorial for a playful interactive pillow I created, the “Monsieur Pocket Pillow”. There is a little bit of simple painting involved as well as a bit of sewing.

  

The doll is removable and is meant to be your little monsieur today, or the racecar driver / aviator he dreams of being one day, depending on which way he is placed in the pocket. The pocket, of course, is also a great secret storage spot for a variety of little treasures, so be sure to search therein should keys or other small valuables go missing.

Once again, Michael Miller is kindly offering a giveaway … a fat quarter bundle in the Aviator color way to one randomly drawn lucky participant to sew a pocket pillow (or some other wonderful creation) for the adventurous little boy in their life. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling us which Les Monsieurs color way inspires you the most.

Well, it has been great being here with you the past two weeks. Thanks again for spending a bit of your time with me and for all the kind comments last week.

You can keep track of what I am creating here:

my blog

my facebook page
my pinterest page

Happy sewing!

Tamara

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 Drea said...

"Love them all, butI keep going back to the Aviator (earth tone) color way. Maybe with fall around the corner, it is inspiring me the most to line a jacket and hat for my little guy or make a quilt... so many ideas, so little time!;-)  Thank you for the giveaway!"