Hippie hearts and rock & roll souls came together in our Spring/Summer 2018 Heart & Soul Collection. This throwback Soul Flower collection featured five new cuts, including three versatile bottoms, all designed to mix, match, move, and groove.
For this collection, we created two original pattern prints: Purple Circles and Black Diamond. One was a little bit hippie, the other a little more rock & roll. Inspired by vintage patterns, tapestries, and sacred geometry, both prints were handmade and unique to Soul Flower. Whether you were ready to dance or in the mood to chill, these prints were made for turning up the tunes and letting your heart & soul flower.
Both patterns started by hand. Black Diamond began as a series of geometric-filled diamonds, while Purple Circles grew from hand-carved linoleum stamps.
After getting the shapes on paper, I scanned them into the computer and went to work creating repeat patterns. Then we sent the finished designs to our Fair Trade manufacturer, where the patterns were printed onto fabric using water-based inks. The fabric was 95% organic cotton and 5% spandex for that perfect softness with a little stretch.
One of the hardest parts of making patterns is choosing colors—the options are endless! For Purple Circles, we chose a rosy plum with pops of natural and blue. It was an earthy, colorful combination that paired beautifully with natural, blue, and gray.
For Black Diamond, we went with classic black and natural. The neutral palette made the geometric pattern easy to pair with black, gray, natural, olive, or just about anything else.
It was so rewarding to see the finished garments all decked out in our custom, handmade patterns. Looking back, the Heart & Soul Collection is a little snapshot of what we love about designing at Soul Flower: starting with an idea made by hand and watching it grow into something you can wear.
~Leiah
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