Liberty Lawns are some of the most luxurious fabrics in the land - especially their famous Tana Lawns. If you've ever felt them, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you must try sometime when you get a chance and you'll see what I mean. Lawn fabric is a lighter-weight fabric originally made of linen, but now primarily made from cotton using fine, high count yarns, which results in a smooth, silky feel. Other fabric companies are producing more prints on lawn-substrates in recent year.
So what makes Liberty of London Tana Lawns so special? Liberty is a historic and posh department store in London that has been producing their own in-house fabrics for over 135 years.
Inspired originally by the colorful silks and prints imported from the far East, Liberty teamed up with nineteenth century designers like William Morris to create in-house collections to sell in their iconic tudor-style departments store.
And they are still producing fabrics today! The most prevalent Liberty designs are delicate florals in a variety of styles and colors. The reason they’re so iconic is they’re classic – they never go out of style. Liberty Tana Lawns are made from ultra-soft cotton, creating fabric that is almost silk-like. The cotton is ultra light-weight, making it lovely for garment sewing, as well as quilting, with super-soft effect.
The quilts and projects in this post are all made by Amanda of a Crafty Fox, quilter and owner of Westwood Acres. Isn't that quilt a beauty? I'm I'm sure it feels even dreamier.
Because lawn is a more delicate fabric, there are some techniques that will help you when working with these beautiful fabrics. Here are 5 Tips for Sewing with Liberty Lawn from Westwood Acres:
- Use a 70/10 or 80/12 universal needle, but nothing larger. The fabric is strong, but lightweight, making it more delicate.
- Press without steam. The fabric is very thin and steam tends to distort the threads and even entire seams. It's easier to get a straight seam without steam and then use starch at the very end when the block is finshed.
- Use a natural fiber batting for quilts. (Preferably wool.) The texture of the finished quilt will be similar to the fabric; soft and with more drape.
- When cutting Liberty you can carefully cut up to 12 layers at a time with a rotary cutter.
- Take advantage of how fluid Liberty is to work with! These pieces do very well for inset (Y) type seams. Remember, it is fabric and not breakable. Use the elasticity to turn it into shapes you've always dreamed of!
When adding a solid to your project, Amanda recommends Art Gallery's solid white or double gauze or white linens. When working with the white linen, use a ⅜ seam allowance and make sure to prewash the linen.
So helpful. Thanks Amanda!
I also personally like pairing Liberty lawns with the Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids. They are also a lighter-weight solid and have a similar silky-sheen like the Art Gallery solids. And, as Amanda said, lawns are beautiful to work with sewing difficult shapes, like curves. I've been using lawns in my Steam Punk quilt and they work so beautifully. They're dreamy for hand work projects like paper piecing and applique because they're pliable and feel luxurious in your hands. They can be a little more slippery piecing with a sewing machine, so use extra pins if needed. The finished result is so worth it!
One of my favorite things about Liberty Lawns is how their prints and colors play so beautifully together for a timeless look. They're so perfect in patchwork projects. Because of their luxurious feel, laws can be a little pricer to buy by the yard, but a little bit goes a long way. (And you don't have to go all they way to London to buy them.)
Robby
I have been so trying to avoid this rabbit hole. You may have just tempted me in! Those fabrics practically scream "Spring!" Thanks for the tips, too.
Jenny S.
What do you mean by "and then use starch at the very end of the block"? Thank you.
Amy Smart
I think it means, once the block is pieced, add a little starch for stability.
Karen Seitz
Such a coincidence -- I was at The Fabric Shack today picking background fabric to go with my collection of pretty Liberty florals! I found the perfect match -- Corey Yoder's new line Lulu Lane has a great woven-look print, and the wideback version feels just like lawn. (I didn't check out the 44" yardage to compare the weight.) Check it out!
Amy Smart
Oh that's awesome! Yes - definitely the lawn-weight fabrics work so nice with the Liberty's. I'll have to check that out!
Karen Seitz
After I posted here I came across Carrie Nelson's blog post about the then-upcoming Block Head BOW. She is using a wide back for her background and mentioned that they are 220 threads/inch and feel like lawn, so I was on to something. 🙂
Lizzie in Sweden
Great tips, thanks! The perfect pairings are super useful 🙂
Vicki
Oh, I've been wanting to try the Liberty florals for ages, but I just can't justify the price! Even in the subscription, the fat eighths come out to a whopping $40 a yard! Yikes!
Lesley Gilbert
I live in England and visited Liberties last December - It's wonderful to walk around each floor and look at all the items, especially the fabrics ..... so many fabrics 🙂
Amy Smart
That whole place is just full of gorgeous inspiration, isn't it?
Jennifer
The Liberty store was at the top of my list when we visited From Texas last year. I easily could have spent a full day in there! LOVE Liberty and look forward to going back??
Mary Ann
I built my Liberty stash with Westwood Acres too! I have actually started to use a few pieces here and there...lol.
Louise Kings
Remember also that the Liberty lawns are about 52"-53" wide, so you won't have to buy as much.
Amy
Yes! True - a really good reminder!
Sheryl Madigan
I have nearly finished hand piecing my liberty lawn quilt. I'm trying to decide what to back it with. Should I use a Liberty Lawn or a Liberty poplin? I thought a heavier weight would add strength and stability to the quilt but also two weights might pull against each other and it might lose its lovely softness. Suggestions please.
Amy
Using a lawn would definitely keep the quilt lighter, but I think you can go either way. I've seen lots of quilts with different weights of fabric mixed without problems. I've seen lots of mostly cotton pieced quilts with lawn backing and they're lovely. I'm guessing you wouldn't have issues with the lawn piecing and a poplin backing. Might want to preshrink the backing just in case.