Clockwise from top left: “Khruangbin” by Mal de Mar from Lux Aeterna: Latitudes of Reverence to an Endless Sun, 2005–2018 by Mal de Mar; Abstract Camel Fabric Swatch from The School of Making DIY Kits; hand-stitched interpretations of cliffs and Italian roof tiles from The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch, 2019 by Susan Brandeis;  Abstract Forest Fabric Swatch from The School of Making DIY Kits; The Maggie Dress Pattern from The School of Making; “Untitled (S.270)”, 1955–1958 by Ruth Asawa from the Whitney Museum of American Art 

Clockwise from left: The Asymmetrical Peacoat Kit in Forest from The School of Making; The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama from Travel + Leisure; Photograph of the Forde Abbey gardens in Somerset, England. Also, listen to a conversation on The Intelligence of Plants with botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer and Krista Tippet from On Being. 

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In Braiding Sweetgrass, there is a chapter titled “Asters and Goldenrod” wherein botanist and poet Robin Wall Kimmerer tells the story of finding her true path and calling.  While she was working, with her then husband, as caretakers of the university arboretum, one night there was a light left on and a garage door left ajar. While checking the building, she encounters a bulletin board with a clipping with a photo of The Louis Vieux Elm, a beautiful American elm tree, which had just been named the champion for its species.  

“My heart began to pound and I knew my world was about to change, for I’d known the name Louis Vieux all my life and here was grandfather, one who had walked all the way from the Wisconsin forests to the Kansas prairie with my grandma Sha-note. He was a leader, one who took care of the people in their hardship. That garage door was left ajar, that light was left burning, and it shone on the path back home for me. It was the beginning of a long, slow journey back to my people, called out to me by the tree that stood above their bones.” –Robin Wall Kimmerer  

Inspired by sweetgrass, the prairie, fields of goldenrod, blue-sky horizons, and (of course) the American elm, Color Palette Bundle #4  represents a spectrum of botanical-inspired colors and everything we love about ecology, the environment, and our planet. 

View the slides above and below for color inspirations, artists’ works, and accompanying designs for our recent fabric and notion bundle. 

Find Color Palette Bundle #4, which includes 2-yard cuts of Forest, Sand, Ochre, Camel, and Baby Blue for deep design explorations. Our 10” x 16” precut and stenciled Sample Swatch is perfect for embroidery and treatment developments, and our 5” x 5” Organic Cotton Swatches are intended for color explorations.  Add the Thread and Embroidery Floss to your color tool kit for project development, and find our pattern library here to create your next project.      

Share your projects with us and The School of Making community using the hashtags #theschoolofmaking and #TSOM20in20.  

Clockwise from left: “Alabama Cotton Field”, 2012 by Rinne Allen; Color Palette Bundle #4 from The School of Making; The Long Skirt in Paradise Ochre from The School of Making; Magdalena Ochre Fabric Swatch from The School of Making; The Keyhole Dress Kit in Baby Blue from The School of Making; Reverse Appliqué Canopy Fabric Swatch in Forest from the Cropped Car Jacket Kit from The School of Making. 

Clockwise from left: “Plate 110”, 1925 and “Plate 111”, 1926 by Anni Albers from On Weaving by Anni Albers; The Hand-Sewn Corset in Baby Blue from Alabama Chanin; The Waffle Sweatshirt in Camel from Alabama Chanin; “Faced with Wood”, 2019 by James Kerwin (explore 2021 photography workshops);  from The School of Making; Inspiration for Color Palette Bundle #4 from The School of Making. 

Clockwise from left: Embroidery from New Potatoes, 2012 by Tilleke Schwarz; “Botanical Study”, 1772–82 by Mary Delany from The MET; Negative Reverse Appliqué Abstract Fabric Swatch in Ochre from the Embroidered Swing Skirt Kit from The School of Making.