You only have until midnight on Saturday 1st October to enter our Liberty competition and be in with a chance of winning one of our three Liberty prizes!
How do I enter?
Simply purchase any Liberty fabric from us, either in store or online, and your name will automatically be entered into the competition. Each full metre purchased counts as one entry, so you can mix and match half metres and fat quarters – as long as it adds up to one full metre within the same transaction then it counts! The more you buy, the more entries you have and the more chances you have of winning!
We have some fantastic prizes on offer in our Liberty competition! All you need to do to enter is purchase Liberty fabrics – every metre purchased counts as one entry so the more you buy, the more chances you have of winning!
The name of Liberty conjures an image of gorgeous florals and subtle designs that are inspired by nature and history, and with good reason. Liberty London is one of the world’s most iconic fabric manufacturers and has been at the cutting edge of design for over 145 years, producing exquisite fabrics with timeless appeal. The Liberty name is synonymous with quality and elegance – with beautiful prints on high quality cotton, Liberty fabrics make the perfect addition to any quilter’s stash!
Liberty collections at Coles
We currently have three Liberty collections available both in store and online: Flower Show Sunrise, Wiltshire Shadow and A Woodland Christmas.
Flower Show Sunrise brings together botanical designs from across Liberty’s iconic print archive. Drawing inspiration from the glory and tradition of classic British flower shows, the collection features diverse flower forms united in a cacophony of colour, illustrating Liberty’s rich heritage of floral design.
Wiltshire Shadow is the the perfect fabric blender and its muted leaf and berry print is designed to coordinate against other layouts from Liberty’s vast archive of prints for a seamless mix-and-match effect.
A Woodland Christmas transports us to a magical winter wonderland of prancing reindeers and glittering stars. Charming scenes unfold within an enchanted forest where snowflakes fall around a Christmas cottage, and brightly coloured baubles hidden among the evergreen firs complement traditional designs of holly and berries.
How do I enter the competition?
Simply purchase any Liberty fabric from us, either in store or online, and your name will automatically be entered into the competition. Each full metre purchased counts as one entry, so you can mix and match half metres and fat quarters – as long as it adds up to one full metre within the same transaction then it counts! The more you buy, the more entries you have and the more chances you have of winning!
First prize
The first prize winner will receive eight assorted Liberty fat quarters, a Gutermann Sew-All 30 spool thread set, two packs of machine quilting needles and a copy of Quilting with Liberty Fabrics by Jenni Smith. This beautiful hardback book comes in a slipcase to protect it and contains 15 quilting projects as well as a complete fabric design history of Liberty and a full colour reference index for every fabric used. It features beautiful details of the classic fabric designs produced over the years and each quilt will inspire readers to finally cut into those precious bits of fabric and begin enjoying them in pieced projects of their very own.
Second prize
The second prize winner will receive 10 asorted Liberty fat quarters, an 18 spool Mettler Seralon thread set and two packs of machine quilting needles.
Third Prize
The third prize winner will receive six assorted Liberty fat quarters, an 8 spool Mettler Silk Finish Cotton thread set and two pack of machine quilting needles.
The competition will run from Monday 1st August 2022 to Saturday 1st October 2022 and all qualifying purchases within this time will be entered. The winner will be drawn at random, live on our Facebook page – join us at 2pm on Tuesday 4th October 2022 to see if you are one of the lucky winners! Please note, international customers can enter but prizes will only be shipped to a UK address.
You can shop our collection of Liberty fabrics online here – why not get a head start on your Christmas makes with the brand new A Woodland Christmas collection? This offer is only available while stocks last so make sure you don’t leave it too late!
Get ready for the massive March fabric drop! We’ve had some fantastic new fabrics arrive at Coles Sewing Centre this March, including lovely lightweight dressmaking fabrics so you can get started on your summer wardrobe, several brand new quilting collections (including some absolutely gorgeous Liberty fabrics) and a new craft fabric that you can draw on with chalk like a chalkboard! We’ve also got a couple of special offers that you don’t want to miss, so let’s have a look at what’s new at Coles this March.
Chalk Cloth
Chalk cloth, also known as chalkboard fabric, can be written or drawn on with chalks and when you want a change then simply wipe clean with a damp cloth and you can write on it again and again! Use it for a tablecloth that the kids can draw on, make a doodle book to keep children entertained at restaurants, or why not make placemats that you can personalise for every meal?
If you’re looking for something light and floaty that you can use to make a summery top, a beach coverup or a light summer wrap then look no further than our new cotton lawn and viscose fabrics.
To make these new dressmaking fabrics even more irresistible, Simplicity patterns are all on sale between 11th and 27th March with 50% off – now really is the perfect time to get started on your summer wardrobe! We have even more dressmaking fabrics due in over the next few weeks, so keep your eye on the website for more exciting updates!
Quilting fabrics
This month’s quilting fabrics are absolute beauties. We have Playtime and Roar from Dashwood Studio – perfect for children and dinosaur lovers alike!
Image 1: Playtime collection by Jojo Coco Image 2: Roar collection by Bethan Janine
We also have a new selection of Classic Tone on Tone fabrics, which are great to use as blenders in your quilting. They also make great fillers to make your designs pop, as they have a little more to them than a plain but won’t overwhelm your focal fabrics. They’re a little hard to see clearly online so I would recommend viewing them on the Coles website, where there are a selection of images that you can click to enlarge – they’re really lovely so it’s definitely worth a look!
Tonal Vineyard is subtly patterned with traditional vine designs for a sophisticated vintage look. It is an extra wide fabric, giving you a whopping 274cm (108″) to back your quilt. Extra wide fabrics like this are also great to use as a border fabric as you can cut long strips without needing to piece. Of course, these are beautiful enough that you could use them in your main design!
Originally designed for Liberty Fabrics in 1933, their Wiltshire print has been reimagined into a two-colour shadow silhouette to become the perfect fabric blender. The muted leaf and berry print of Wiltshire Shadow is designed to coordinate against other layouts from Liberty’s vast archive of prints for a seamless mix-and-match effect.
We have one final collection from Liberty and it’s just gorgeous: Flower Show Sunrise. There are 15 fabrics that would look amazing in any quilt but this collection is so much more than quilting fabric!
These fabrics would look fantastic as a dress for a little girl or a summery top for you, but you can also use them to pick out details in a garment – use them inside pockets for a flash of colour, make some bias binding with the Prym Bias Binding Maker (available in 6mm, 12mm and 25mm sizes) and use it to edge a neckline or hem, or make more of a feature of it with a collar or patch pockets!
If you’re looking for a present for the quilter in your life then you really can’t go wrong with some Liberty fat quarters but we also have a new product that anyone would be delighted to receive – the Prym Patchwork & Quilting Starter Set. Ideal for taking to classes, this set is also perfect for beginners and includes a folding cutting mat, rotary cutter, quilitng ruler, quilting pins, quilting needles, stitch ripper and trick marker. This set is normally £72.00 but you can get it from Coles for £59.99 until midnight on Friday 25th March – that’s a saving of more than 15%!
There are some really fantastic new fabrics this month but you just can’t beat those new Liberties, such beautiful prints on great quality fabric that is a joy to sew. And with those great offers on the Prym Patchwork & Quilting Starter Set and Simplicity patterns, it’s going to be hard to resist getting a little something for myself! Don’t forget, we have even more dressmaking fabrics coming in over the next few weeks – I can’t wait to show you what’s new next month!
We have had a little New Year spring clean on the Coles website and now you can find all of our bargains in one place! Go straight to our new Clearance section by clicking here, or read on to see a few of the special offers and clearance items we currently have available.
Fabric
If you have browsed our selection of fabric online, you might have noticed that we often have special reductions on offer. In our Fabric Clearance department you will find Ends of Bolts, which are the very last pieces from a bolt of fabric. These are reduced by up to 50% and the price is for the whole piece, so you know exactly what you are paying. Fabrics in the Special Offer department are also reduced by up to 50% and both craft and dressmaking fabrics are on offer, depending on what we currently have available. We add more to the selection throughout the year, so it’s worth checking back every so often to see what’s available. Special Offer fabrics are sold by the metre, but with a minimum purchase of 10cm for dressmaking fabrics and 25cm for craft fabrics you can buy precisely the amount you want. You can even order a 10cm sample of dressmaking fabrics or a fat quarter of craft fabrics!
There are some real bargains available at the moment – we have several Liberty fabrics Ends of Bolts, or if you’re more interested in dressmaking fabrics then there are more than twenty to choose from, including several Tilly and the Buttons jerseys.
Top: two Liberty fabrics currently on offer. Bottom: two Tilly and the Buttons fabrics currently on offer.
It’s also worth watching out for our Fabric of the Week. Periodically we put a few special fabrics on a 25% discount for just a week. We don’t always have something in fabric of the week but when we do you know it’s going to be great. This week it’s a checked jacquard in black, yellow and coral on a mid-grey background. It’s a viscose and polyester blend with a touch of elastane, so its beautifully soft with a slight stretch, but still very washable. It would be perfect for a skirt or dress, and as you can see from the pictures below it has a beautiful reverse as well so would make a lovely cardigan. It’s £10.49 per metre but it will only be at this price for a week so make sure you get it while you can!
Books
The clearance books section is brand new to the website. You’ll find a real variety in there, from ex-display books that may be a little faded on the front to out of print editions that you can’t buy elsewhere! You can save up to 50% so there are some fantastic bargains to be found! We have loads to choose from but here are just a few personal favourites…
We have Girl With A Sewing Machine by Jenniffer Taylor from the Great British Sewing Bee for £6.50, which gives you a fantastic guide to making and customising clothes to your your body and style.
If you have toddlers to sew for then why not try the Happiness Halter Playsuit by Lisa Lam at just £4.99 – it has three full dress patterns for a playsuit, halter top and dress with fully illustrated step-by-step instructions.
For quilters, we have Fast Flying Geese Quilts by Karin Hellaby for £8.99. This book tells you all you need to know about creating fast flying geese quilts and is packed with inspiration, instructions and templates.
Finally, if you’re a crafter then we have Fa la la la Felt for £6.50. This book has the patterns and templates to create 45 Christmas decorations out of felt, so is great for beginners and children as well as more experienced crafters. I bought this book at full price because I absolutely love making handmade Christmas decorations and there are so many gorgeous ideas to choose from that it was hard to know where to begin!
Disk 242 Most Popular Thread VelvetDisk 243 Handlook Needlework II
Theres so much to choose from! Whether you are a quilter, embroiderer or dressmaker, there’s something for everyone. Please remember that everything in the Clearance section is the last of our stock and we are unlikely to get it again so make sure you snap things up while you can!
With various lockdowns in place during last year we were unable to have a big delivery of winter fabrics. Well this year we are making up for it and our shelves are full, we hope there’s something for everyone!
Our shelves are full of new fabrics!
The majority of our fabrics are 140cm or 150cm wide and can all be purchased in 10cm increments, so there’s no wastage. Although all our fabrics can be purchased online there’s nothing quite like touching a piece of fabric so we do hope you can pop in to the shop and don’t forget if you are on our mailing list you’ll get 10% off in store – if you are not then you can sign up when you come in! So what have we got on the shelves this winter?
Rayons and viscose ditsy prints are popular this winter for tiered, ruffled or button through dresses in various lengths, mini, midi or maxi! If trousers or skirts are on your list of makes then we have a range of woven orcord fabrics in plain and prints just waiting for you. If you are a Tilly and the Buttons fan then the cords are great for the Cleo dungaree dress.
There’s nothing more comfortable than wearing a jersey dress or top and if you’re nervous about sewing stretch fabrics there’s no need to be, they are easier than you think. We have some great jersey prints and top of my list of makes will be the Tilly and the Buttons’ Coco, so easy to sew and so easy to wear!
If you’re after something a bit thicker and a bit warmer then look no further than our soft sweatshirtingorFrench terry, which are ideal for jumpers, tunics and even dresses – these bring to mind Tilly and the Buttons’ Stevie pattern! If you are sewing for children we’ve added some French Terry children’s prints to our range, they are very cute and would be great to use with the Poppy & Jazz Strawberry sweatshirt pattern.
What better than a long sleeve T-shirt when layering up in the winter, or short sleeved if you’re chasing some winter sun. Our 95% cotton T-shirting comes in plains and stripes ideal for everyone whether they are 8 or 88. If you have a little one to sew for then take a look at the Poppy & Jazz Elm T-Shirt pattern!
We have a range of Ponte Romas, a fairly new fabric on the market but very popular because it’s a bit heavier than the general stretch fabrics that area vailable and it doesn’t cling in all the wrong places!
You may be asking what is Ponte Roma? It’s sometimes known as Ponte di Roma or Punto di Roma, it is a double knit fabric that was first developed in Italy. A double knit fabric is essentially two layers of fabric knitted together with two sets of needles.
And last but not least are our fleeces, so soft and cuddly, we’ve even got a Christmassy one with reindeer on! I love backing quilts or cushions with fleece because it makes them so cosy!
I’m sure by the time you’ve finished reading this you’ve got a list of things you want to make – there’s nothing quite like sewing on a winter’s evening, and you’ll get a new wardrobe to boot!
We’ve had an exciting delivery this week – four bolts of jersey with fabulous festive prints. First we have two cotton jerseys (95% cotton, 5% elastane) with a cute reindeer print, with a red and Christmas green colourway and a navy and Christmas red colourway. These would be great for children’s pyjamas – if you put together a Christmas Eve box for your children then some pyjamas made from this jersey would be the perfect addition!
Reindeer jersey in red
Reindeer jersey in navy
The second pair of cotton jerseys (92% cotton, 8% elastane) are extremely cosy – their reverse is brushed, giving them a soft, snug feel. The prints of reindeer and Christmas trees and presents in a red, green and white colour scheme is extremely festive, especially as they have the appearance of intarsia knitting. They are a slightly heavier weight than the reindeer jerseys, so they could be worn as a Christmas day dress or as extremely cosy pyjamas for Christmas morning, although you might find you don’t want to change out of them!
Hi, my name is Ellie and I’m in charge of the Coles Sewing Centre website, although you might know me from the shop as I used to run the Mail Order department. These days I mainly work behind the scenes keeping the website up to date with all the latest products, and that’s a busy job because we have a lot of products! I will be posting with updates about the latest additions to the Coles catalogue, from newly arrived fabrics to the current courses and the latest Husqvarna Viking machines.
This week I will be talking patchwork and quilting fabrics, as we have just had a delivery of some real beauties! We have a new collection called “Hand Stitched” that was designed by Karen Lewis Textiles for Figo Fabrics – this a lovely range that draws inspiration from hand sewing and the natural world. As you can see from the pictures below, “Stitches” brings to mind sashiko embroidery, while “Tossed Leaves” and “Plants” have a simple and elegant foliage-based design.
Stitches Mustard
Stitches Cream
Tossed Leaves Clay
Plants Chartreuse
Plants Yellow
Plants Coral
“Hexies” is my personal favourite from this collection, although I can’t decide how I would like to use it – I’m about to try English Paper Piecing for the first time and it would make gorgeous hexagons, but wouldn’t it make a lovely needle case too? Of course I could always combine the two…
Hexies Red
Hexies Chartreuse
Our other new addition this week is some Christmas fabric – with only three and a half months until Christmas then now is the time to get started on your Christmas makes! We have four new fabrics from the “Traditional” collection by The Craft Cotton Company, which include traditional Christmas plants such as holly, poinsettia and mistletoe, with festive metallic highlights.
Sew What's Happening at Coles? 