Indygo Junction’s Newest Book: Dimensional Denim

Amy Barickman of Indygo Junction recently released a new book called Dimensional Denim, and I got to check it out! Here’s what Amy says about the book, “I was inspired to create this book after I noticed the recent trend for textural home decor and accessory items. While trend shopping I saw more and more items that created texture and interest through fabric manipulation.” The creative ideas in the book combine beautifully with Indygo Junction’s Crossroads Denim, but the book includes some great ideas for recycling old blue jeans, too!

I’ve worked with Crossroads Denim before, and it’s wonderful for denim pants, skirts and jackets, but I hadn’t really thought about using it for home decor projects. My husband and I recently finished a bench that we upcycled from our youngest daughter’s old bed, and since it really needed a toss pillow, that’s what I chose to make!Because of the vintage look of the bench, I thought the Basket Weave Pillow would be just perfect here. I used two colors of Crossroads Denim – Fire Red and Weathered Indygo. (I sort of wish that I’d thrown in some French Vanilla, too, for even more color and interest. The book has instructions for making this pillow in two colors or three.)My favorite part of this project might have been tearing those strips. There’s something so satisfying about the ripping sound and that perfectly straight line that you get when you tear along the grain. I got a little carried away, and ended up with plenty of strips for a future project – maybe a vintage-y fabric checker board?Amy says, “A simple woven design is probably one of the first craft projects most children make in school.” Whether or not you learned this technique in grade school, it really is easy enough that a child could do it, and the end product has a lovely dimensional look.I did have to do a little math to come up with the right length and quantity of strips for my pillow since I was reusing an odd shaped one that I already had on hand. Amy includes all of the details for making a 19″ x 19″ pillow with three fabrics, so you don’t have to do math if you don’t want to. One of the things I really like about the book is that each section teaches you the technique first, followed by an actual project, but it also offers ideas for using that technique for your own projects. It sort of gives you freedom to expand on what you’ve learned!I modified the stitching on my pillow just a little bit because I was afraid my rough and tumble boys might just grab those woven strips and pull them apart. Instead of stitching the X pattern that Amy recommends on random blocks, I topstitched down the torn edges of all of my blue sections and left the red ones loose. Hopefully, those red loops won’t end up being home to too many little action figures. I’m sure that they’ll hold up beautifully, though, if they do!

I adore my finished pillow!

You can enter to win your own copy of Dimensional Denim by clicking over to the Indygo Junction blog, or you can grab a copy right now for 30% off using code DDBT14 at checkout! Be sure to follow along with the rest of the blog tour schedule below!

8/4 Indygo Junction
8/4 Kollabora
8/5 Amy Barickman
8/6 Fishsticks Designs
8/7 Cool2Craft
8/8 The Sewing Loft
8/11 Nancy Zieman
8/12 Skip to My Lou
8/13 Inventive Denim
8/14 Whipstitch
8/15 Coats and Clark