One of the blogs I read regularly is Kate’s, and I’ve been following her yellow jacket posts with interest. She has a knack of taking unexpected fabrics and creating something stunning, so much so that I’m being coaxed out of my safe navy/grey/turquoise and considering sewing up some mustard tweed for this autumn. However, that’s for another post.

Vintage mustard suit from 1stDibs (no longer available)

Anyhow, Kate recently posted some pictures of remarkable sewing-themed tattoos. Which got me thinking. I do quite like the folk art style of tattoos, and dabbled with the idea of making them edible when I was in my wedding cake phase. This one’s by Jen Cooper:

Sailor Jerry cake by Jen’s Cakery

But these days I’m more interested in fabric than fondant, so I started to think about how to incorporate folk art (which is after all where the tattoo has its origins) into a contemporary garment. I see folk art every day in the canal ware we sell in our chandlery, and it also appears in my Swedish heritage, in the Dala horses on my windowsills, and in the traditional costume worn at Midsummer. (Pics from Pinterest)