Making the Most of a Yard of Fabric

In past musings I have often mentioned using fabrics created by my friend Judy Robertson of Just Imagination fabrics.  We vended together at the Quilt Surface/Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio for several years.  Each year I bought a few yards of her fabrics to add to my stash.  While I've never been afraid to cut them, I am very careful where I use them. (I've heard that some are unwilling to cut them- they are just that beautiful.)  Except for our kimono project, I've used Judy's fabrics primarily for accent.  But lately one of her "stripes" had been calling my name for a jacket project.

The patterning in this fabric is so striking that I knew it had to be the central element of the jacket, not just an accent.  I had two yards in the same colors (Judy dyes each yard individually), but I really didn't want to "blow my wad" in just one project.  My dilemma was how to get a striking jacket from just one yard of fabric so I could save the other yard for another project.  Happily my fabric stash came to the rescue.  I found several pieces of fabric in complementing colors, some of which had woven patterns that also seemed to echo the dyed patterns in Judy's fabric.

So here's the result.

Front

Back

I've called this one Added Imagination in honor of Judy and her beautiful fabric.