New to the shop this week - Oakshott Shot Cotton!

I've been dreaming about this since almost the day I opened.  With my love of making quilts with solid cotton fabric well documented, I knew that I needed to have a shot cotton line at Piece Fabric Co. Shot cottons are like the ultimate solid - while initially appearing as a solid, when given more than a cursory glance you notice the absolute beauty of the fabric. 

First. Let's establish what a shot cotton is - from the Oakshott website, Shot Cottons are:

"achieved by selecting a base colour warp and marrying it with a complementary or contrasting weft thread. This produces our trademark ‘shot’ effect, when the colour appears to shimmer and change depending on how the light falls. They appear to have depth and movement." 

Check out this Deep Sea colour to see how this leads to such a beautiful depth of colour:

The colour combinations are endless in a shot cotton as you can marry every single colour of warp thread with every colour of weft thread, each leading to a variation of the colour. In fact Oakshott has shown this effect with many of their collections - the Lakes, Lipari, Ruby Red, Scandinavia, and Sorbet each have their own single warp thread shade paired with different colour weft threads.  This gives a bundle of fabric that is automatically complimentary to each other.  Let me show you my two favourite of these collections:

Ruby Reds Collection                                          Scandinavia Collection 

Hands down, my favourite Oakshott collection is the Ruby Reds.  Again, acknowledging that I'm still stuck in my Red Phase (if I capitalize it sounds more legitimate), where every quilt I make is mostly red... I still think that this bundle of red fabric will stand the test of time.  And then, on the opposite end of that scale is the Scandinavia Collections. These are all built on a chalk white warp and produce a calming, cozy palette. 

Now, back to why I needed Oakshott in my shop! I opened in August 2020 and I was desperately looking for a shot cotton collection immediately.  There are several options from larger manufacturers, with varying degree of quality and beauty.  But when I found Oakshott... well.... the quality came through so obviously.  And I love the story! Again from their website: 

Oakshott is a family business run by Michael Oakshott supplying quilters, sewers and textile artists the world over since 2003. Our expertise goes back much further, however.

Growing up in South India, Michael learnt at first hand through a family business the intricacies of fabric weaving and dyeing. His mother Julia – a passionate quilter – would search in vain for non-printed fabrics in vibrant colours. Knowing that only shot cottons could provide the answer with their depth of colour and soft feel, they set about developing their own range in a weight suitable for quilting. The launch of their original 27 colours generated a wave of excitement around the quilting world.

Oakshott fabrics were originally handwoven but have now been upgraded. They are sourced today from carefully selected mills using the latest production equipment. We work closely with the weavers to develop the distinctive colour ranges and pack mixes for which Oakshott is known.

Michael and I started speaking about this last fall.  Now, some of you know this already, but when I carry a line of product, I like to have every.single.item from the product line available to my customers (Kona, Aurifil, AGF Prints, Pure Solids, Essex Linen). This means that taking on a new line is a costly endeavor as I go a little far when clicking "add to cart". But when I know a product is reliable and good, I want to make sure that it is something my customers can count on finding! Oakshott is a premium fabric, woven in silk factories and produced in small batches, it's price is comparable to the venerated Liberty prints that all quilters long to have in their stash. So, it took a few months of reflection and deep breaths for me to click that purchase button on my cart full of Oakshott Shot Cotton.

Time for a photo:

Ooooo, aaaahhhhhh, the Sorbet collection is all it's shimmery glory.

First to arrive were the pre-cuts - Fat Quarters and Fat Eighths bundles of Oakshott's most popular collections. And although some of those are almost sold out already (don't worry, I'm getting more on the way), still to arrive is yardage of every single color in Oakshott's catalogue.  Three shipments in early to mid-summer will be sent, with the stock added to the shop as it arrives.

Oakshott fabrics are perfect for giving your modern quilt that extra bit of special. Modern quilting is such a broad term, and here is the Rubies and Diamonds Quilt that I am determined that I will take the time to make... 

This quilt project uses two of the Ruby Red Fat Quarter Packs

Oakshott shot cottons are perfect for an heirloom project that you want to enjoy for years and year.  In order to keep the quilt looking perfect, there are special recommendations for the care of the fabric, and the information is included in each product listing.

And one more thing!  Coming in about a month, give or take a few weeks, will be a special quilt kit with a brand new pattern released by a Canadian quilt pattern designer, using Oakshott shot cottons.  So stay tuned for that announcement!

Any questions about Oakshott or anything fabric related?  You're always welcome to message us at info@piecefabric.co.  And don't forget to tag Piece Fabric Co. in your instagram photos with @piecefabricco or #piecefabricco.  We'd love to see what you make with your purchases from the shop.

Bye for now, friends!

Kendra