Step 1: Cut the fabric. You should be cutting 3 different pieces:

-One front & bottom piece: 20” L x 8” W (cut on the fold)

-Two side pieces: 12” L x 6” W

-Two handle pieces: 20” L x 4-1/4” W

Step 1 - Cut your fabric

Step 2: Sewing the sides. First, cut one of the side pieces in half lengthwise. This will allow the bag to easily fold in half when it’s not in use. Once its cut, sew (right sides together) the halves to create a whole piece again. Press seams. After pressing, sew the seams down. Use the seam as your guide and sew ¼” from the seam…not only will this re-enforce the seam but it gives the bag a finished look. Repeat with the other side piece.

Step 2 - Cut side pieces in half

Step 2 - Lining up/sewing the seams

Step 3: Sewing the sides to the bottom. First, press the front/bottom piece in half widthwise. With the right sides together, unfold the front/bottom piece and match the center seams of the side pieces with the center crease you just made and pin. See picture for clarification. Once pinned, sew the sides to the bottom of the bag.

Step 3 - Pinning the Sides

Step 3 - Sewing the sides to the bottom

Step 4: Sewing the four walls of the bag. Now that the sides are already attached to the bottom, pin the edges of the bag together (right sides together).After sewing each of the four sides you’ll end up with a rectangular shaped bag like this (see photo).

Step 4 - Rectangular Bag

Step 5: Reinforcing the seams. Lunch can get heavy so to ensure that the seams don’t rip you’ll need to sew the seams down. Flip the bag right side out. Sewing as close to the seam as you possibly can, stitch the side seams and bottoms together. Attention: this can get tricky so pay extra attention when sewing this part.
Step 6: Sewing the handles. You’re almost done. Take the two handle pieces you’ve cut and fold them lengthwise and press. Unfold them; now fold each side (lengthwise) to the center crease you’ve just pressed. Fold once more lengthwise to enclose the raw edges inside. Press. Bring the ends together and sew to create a circle. Press flat. Now that you’ve created a reinforced handle, simply sew the side lengths together.

Step 6- Making handles

Step 6- Sewing the handles

Step 7: Finishing the top of the bag: With the wrong side up, press a ½” seam around the entire top of the bag. Once complete fold the bag down 2 inches and press again to encase the top edge of the bag. Pin the handles to the inside of the bag. Now sew ¼” seam around the top of the bag. This will attach the handles. Sew another seam, but this time about 1-1/2 inches from the top. This will secure the top hem of the bag.

Step 7 - Pin the handles

Step 7 - You're done!

Whew, now you’re done and you can finally pack a lunch in your environmentally friendly and visually appetizing Marimekko Bo Boo Print lunch bag!

Marimekko Maalairuusu by Maija and Kristina Isola

February isn’t quite spring, but with this bright floral Marimekko desktop calendar we can all pretend it’s a little cheerier outside until the weather plays along, too. This month’s desktop treat features the sister print of Vihkiruusu– Maalairuusu, or “country rose“, a print by Maija and Kristina Isola.  These desktop calendars and wallpaper are sure to get a little spring on your screen, if not in your step.

Marimekko's "Helsinki-Helsingfors" print as designed by the late Per-Olof Nyström.

In celebration of Helsinki, Finland being named World Design Capital 2012, Marimekko is also launching Marimekko Village—both physically and digitally. “In 1962 Armi Ratia, the founder of Marimekko, defined Marimekko as ‘a cultural phenomenon guiding the quality of living’”. Years later, Marimekko is still that vision, but it has also stepped into the digital age. Ratia may have had her own idea of a Marimekko village in the ‘60s, but now in 2012, things have changed a bit.

From the Marimekko Village website:

“The Marimekko Village of 2012 brings together people through numerous events and activities in Marimekko spaces in Finland and abroad. We will create interesting encounters, encourage people to make things together and get inspired by colours and patterns in our everyday life. All happenings will converge in this digital space, a virtual village where people can learn about and follow the Marimekko Village throughout the year.”

Of course, Marimekko Village isn’t all digital; there are lots of events happening around Helsinki worth checking out. Other events in the Marimekko Village in spring 2012 include:

- Designer Erja Hirvi’s Bökars Revival photo exhibition in the Marimekko Marikiska store in Helsinki
- Off to the Woods! exhibition in Helsinki
- Marimekko’s legendary summer fashion show spiced up with new elements in Helsinki
- Open house events and talks as well as factory tours at the Marimekko-house in Helsinki
- etc..

Marimekko and Tangerine Tango go way back.

The world renowned color experts at Pantone have released their hand-picked “it color” for 2012, and the vibrant Tangerine Tango certainly doesn’t disappoint. Its official color name is PANTONE® 17-1463, but the worlds of fashion and design are going to be seeing it as so much more than that as the year unfolds.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Of course, this bold color has been around a lot longer than just the first of January, 2012. And Marimekko has been making use of its glowing aesthetic for years. Available on fabrics (specifically these two) and throw pillows, plates, and coin purses, Marimekko has loads of products that can help you incorporate this “it color” into your everyday life. Their spring line of clothing has Tangerine Tango peeking in and out of anything from women’s dresses to little boy’s t-shirts. Look hard enough and you’re sure to find a pop of Tangerine in any number of Marimekko items.

Marimekko's spring line has plenty of tangerine to go around.

So, what are you waiting for? Happy hunting.

Marimekko Ensilumi by Aino-Maija Metsola

The Marimekko Desktop Calendar is back! Due to the overwhelming response, we’ve created a new desktop calendar for January AND a desktop wallpaper. Ensilumi by Aino-Maija Metsola is the beautiful pattern this month Enjoy! And, thanks for all of you that let us know you wanted us to keep posting desktop calendars!

Download the desktop calender in these sizes: 1280×1024, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Download the desktop wallpaper

Don’t miss our Marimekko Sale going on now – over 100 designs on sale for a limited-time only!

Marimekko Räsymatto

Add holiday cheer to your computer with this wonderful Räsymatto pattern from designer Maija Louekari and Marimekko! *We have temporarily stopped uploading the desktop calendar – if that’s something you really enjoyed be sure to let us know!

Download the Marimekko desktop wallpaper in these sizes: 1280 x 800, 1280 x 1024, 1366 x 768, 1920 x 1280

Marimekko Kuukuna by Jenni Tuominen

An early Halloween treat! This beautiful Marimekko print is Kuukuna by Jenni Tuominen. Described as “Jenni Tuominen’s Kuukuna pattern takes us on an autumn foray into silent woods to pick mushrooms. Picked far from the din of the city, fl avoursome milk-caps, black chanterelles, ceps and other delights are preserved at home in glass jars.”

Download in these sizes:
1280×1024, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Download Wallpaper only:
1920×1200

October 2011 Marimekko Desktop Calendar: Hehku by Pia Holm.

The October 2011 Marimekko Desktop Calendar: Hehku by Pia Holm. Upon request, this month’s desktop pattern comes from one of our readers! The Marimekko Hehku print celebrates fall colors with an eye-catching pattern that will enliven your desktop. Finnish for “glow,” designer Pia Holm layered the fabric with bold red, orange, yellow and green colored tiles that ignite atop the stark black background. The charming abstract pattern evokes the illusion of a city aglow at night as the little windows of color blot the surface and brings the joy of fall into your home or office. A warming print, thanks for the great suggestion Meg!

Visit AlwaysMod to browse more products designed by Pia Holm or help me pick next month’s desktop background, I love featuring your suggestions!

Download in these sizes:

1280×1024, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Download Wallpaper only:

1280×1024, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Meet New Marimekko Designer Astrid Sylwan

If you don’t know her yet, chances are you will soon. The designer of Marimekko’s most complex print to date, Vattenblänk blurs the line between paint and print. Designer Astrid Sylwan is a Belgian-born painter whose abstract works command attention with vibrant colors and layered patterns. Inspired by the poetic movement of water as it shimmers in the sunlight; Vattenblänk actually means “glittering water” in Swedish.

An artist who seeks to stir different emotional responses through her work, it took extreme skill and new printing techniques for Marimekko to translate her colorful painting into a fabric print that exuded the same qualities. As Marimekko says, “Astrid’s multilayered use of colours and exacting attention to detail meant that getting it half right was never an option. In fact, only a handful of textile printers in the world could have reproduced Astrid’s vision with the same commitment to artistic integrity…” Visually stunning, Vattenblänk is more like a work of art than an industrially manufactured product.

Marimekko Vattenblänk Fabric

Finding inspiration from within herself, Sylwan prefers that her prints evoke emotion instead of clear illustrative imagery. Her design process relies on finding the unexpected through the expected. “My working process is a mixture of total control and improvisation. I always start with a plan that goes wrong eventually. Even with the Marimekko prints, I found a new direction through experimentation.” Sylwan’s expressive vision aligns well with Marimekko’s encouraging creative atmosphere and her deliberate use of color and artistic integrity promise a fruitful partnership with Marimekko. See the AlwaysMod website for more products by Astrid Sylwan such as the Vattenblänk Throw Pillow, the Vattenblänk Fabric or the Irrbloss Serving Bowl.

Other Fun Facts About Astrid:

My first memory of Marimekko: When I was a small child my mother wallpapered my room in strong yellow striped wallpaper. She also painted my furniture in the same intense yellow and hang curtains with Maija Isola´s Unikko in navy blue, orange and yellow. I loved my room, it was as if the sun was always shining in there, an endless summer.

The word that best describes my creative philosophy: Work. You can’t think yourself to a good painting. Working, failing and finally getting there makes progress.

My greatest artistic influence: Artistic influences can be so overwhelming that they are hard to get past. An extraordinary exhibition can take weeks to recover from. I used to have artistic house gods but I don’t anymore. I try to search within myself.

The pattern I’m most fascinated with right now: Manhattan by Josef Frank.

Photos via: AlwaysMod.com

Marimekko Joonas Yoga Mat Bag

A purely remnant-inspired project, the idea for creating this Marimekko Yoga Mat Bag came after rummaging through our remnant fabric bin at work. Inspired after reading the Marimekko Surrur book, which walks you through countless inventive crafts sewn by Marimekko designers, I decided to create a sewing project out of an unused piece of Marimekko Joonas Upholstery fabric by Maija Isola.

With less than 1 yard of fabric and a discarded piece of Aalto black webbing (designed by Alvar Aalto, a famed modern architect and glassware designer from Finland). In 10 quick steps I’ll show you how to make a Marimekko Yoga Mat Bag that melds mod design with meditative spirit.

What you’ll need:

- ½ a yard of Marimekko Upholstery fabric

-1 yard of Aalto webbing (for the strap)

-yoga mat (I have a standard size mat from Target)

-sewing machine

-scissors

-pins

-pencil

Step 1: Measure your yoga mat. Roll up your yoga mat and measure the length, width and circumference. When rolled, my mat measures 24” L x 4” W with a circumference of 13”.

Step 1: Measure your yoga mat.

Step 1: Measure your yoga mat.

Step 2: Cut the circular-shaped bottom pattern piece. This piece should be slightly larger than the width of the bag. I made my bag an inch larger than my mat so add 2 inches to the bag’s width plus ½” for seam allowance and you should arrive at the diameter for your pattern piece. Use a protractor to draw the circle or I had a plastic container the same width so I traced it to get an even circle. My circle pattern piece is 6-1/2” in diameter.

Step 2: Cut the circular-shaped bottom pattern piece.

Step 3: Cut out the fabric. Use the dimensions of your mat and add 4-1/2” inches to get the length (1/2” for seam allowance & 4” for the top drawstring loop) and add 3-1/2” to the circumference to get the width (1-1/2” for seam allowance & 1” to allow adequate room for your mat to slide in and out).  My fabric measures 28-1/2” L x 16-1/2” W.

Step 3: Cut out the fabric.

Step 4: Press the seams. Wrong side facing up, press a ½” seam along the length of the fabric. Also press a 2” seam along the top end (this will create the loop through which you’ll put the drawstring.

Step 4: Fold the seams.

Step 4: Press the folded the seams.

Step 5: Sew the top. Wrong side facing up, sew the top (about ½” from the edge) to create the drawstring loop. See image.

Step 5: Sew the top.

Step 5: Top is sewn & edges have been pressed.

Step 6: Pin the straps. Working on the right side of the fabric, pin the Aalto webbing strap to the fabric. The bottom strap should be 2” from the bottom & the top strap should be 1” from the top seam. Note: Make sure to match-up the seams you made in step 4.

Step 6: Pin the straps.

Step 6: Straps are pinned & seams match

Step 7: Sew the length of the bag. Bringing the right sides of the fabric together, sew along the edge. Note: when sewing this you will be trapping the strap inside the tube you are creating.

Step 7: Length of the bag sewn, straps are now in place.

Step 8: Pin the bottom: Step 8 & 9 will probably the most difficult part. Match up the edges with the right sides together and uses as many pins as you need to secure the bottom.

Step 9: Sew the bottom to the tube. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Go slowly as you sew at this step, taking the pins out as you go. Note: I also zigzag stitched the edges of the bottom to reinforce the bag and to keep the upholstery fabric from unraveling.

Step 10: There is no step 10. Just turn your bag inside out and run a cord through the drawstring loop…done, you’re now ready to head to your next yoga class. Personally, I chose not to use a drawstring because I loved the clean and streamlined look of the Marimekko Joonas Fabric.

Step 10: Flip the bag inside out & head to yoga!

Step 10: A view from the top of the completed bag

Additional notes: If you’d like a slimmer or wider bag change the pattern as you see fit and heck, if you’re ambitious add a pocket to hold your personal items. Whatever improvement you choose, I hope this sewing project inspires your creativity. Happy sewing and Namaste.

Marimekko Yoga Mat Bag - Wear it over one shoulder

Marimekko Yoga Mat Bag - Wear it across your body