Introducing the Wonderland Fabric Collection

Wonderland Fabric coming in February 2016, designed by Melissa Mortenson for Riley Blake Designs

Hey there guys! Today, I’m very excited to share a little more about my upcoming fabric line with Riley Blake Designs, Wonderland. Some of you may know that my first ever fabric line was released in January of this year.

Wonderland Fabrics by Melissa Mortenson of polkadotchair.com for Riley Blake Designs

The Story Behind the Collection

It’s called Derby Style, inspired by my love for my “Old Kentucky Home.”  I dreamt up the idea for my Derby Style line a few years before I ever pitched it to a fabric company. So So I had a LONG time to think about what I wanted it to be, what colors I wanted to use, and how I imagined sewing with the fabric.

It was a HUGE goal of mine to have a fabric line produced. Do you know what comes after you accomplish a goal you set for yourself????  A great big “what do I do now?” feeling.  I could add a “crap” to that last sentence, but I don’t want you to think that I might actually speak like that in real life (even though I totally do *wink*).

After Derby Style was released, I decided that I wanted to at least “try” to design another line.

Since the question I get most when I chat about fabric design is “Where did you get your idea?” I thought it might be fun to tell you the story of how this line came about.

Last spring, I designed what I thought would be my 2nd line, but it wasn’t 100% yet.  It needed a little somethin’ somethin’. I spent a few months trying to figure out what it was missing. I was pretty much stumped.

434F900C-BC75-4EB6-9437-532A2F3AF877
My oldest daughter and niece

That little “somethin” I was looking for? Turns out a 5 year old red head knew what it was all along (she just waited til July to tell me).

Last summer, while I was in Utah, I went to dinner with my extended family. We were sitting around “chatting,” and I mentioned that I was trying to design another fabric line.

I had the sketches on my phone and passed them around to see what everyone thought, mentioning, “It’s missing something.” Of course, all of the adults  told me, “Oh, it’s pretty” or “I really like it, “… which, although I was grateful for, kinda left me thinking, “Well, you’re no help at all.”

At this point, my ADoRABLE 5 yr old, blue-eyed, red-headed, bunny obsessed niece says, “oh you’re making fabric, will you make me bunny fabric? PWEASE ?” With one of those “oh, I’d give you a million dollars, kid, kinda faces.”

Gold Colorway of Wonderland Fabric coming in February 2016, designed by Melissa Mortenson for Riley Blake Designs -

The next thing I know, my 19-year-old daughter grabs a Sharpie out of my purse and starts to draw on all the placemats.  By the time the appetizers arrived, we had a bunny had sketched out and got it “approved” by my 5-year-old niece. At about the same time, I came to the sudden realization that it matched all the other prints in the line that I had already designed.

I didn’t end up using the “placemat” bunny from the restaurant; after coming home, I went through dozens of sketches and finally settled on one to send off to Riley Blake. They liked the bunny and the line, and after some tweaks, they gave it a release date of February 2016!

So let me introduce the line to you!

The Prints in the Collection

It’s comes in 3 colorways with 5 prints in each line. Here’s the Blue:

Blue Colorway of Wonderland Fabric coming in February 2016, designed by Melissa Mortenson for Riley Blake Designs -

The line is “inspired by” Alice in Wonderland, I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Lewis Carroll and pretty much every Alice movie ever made.  I even tried to get my whole family to dress up as Alice characters for Halloween one year but no one would cooperate with me (silly kids, think they have minds of their own or something).

Like the story, there is a white rabbit, flowers, a labyrinth, a few Hares and a set of striped stockings.

Gold Colorway of Wonderland Fabric coming in February 2016, designed by Melissa Mortenson for Riley Blake Designs -

The Main colorway of the fabric has GOLD INK. I can not tell you how excited I am for that!!!

Pink Colorway of Wonderland Fabric coming in February 2016, designed by Melissa Mortenson for Riley Blake Designs -

There is also a pink colorway because, well, hello, PINK!!!

Since the line won’t be released until February 2016 I don’t have any actual fabric yet.  But I did sketch out some upcoming patterns with the line to give you a feel for how it can look when stitched up!

This is my June Bag Pattern. It’s in the process of being printed, but you can pick it up now in PDF form over in my Pattern Shop.

I’m also releasing two other patterns with it (they will show up as PDFs in November and print later in the year)

Ruby Lou Bag Sewing Pattern from polkadotchair.com

The Ruby Lou Bag is the perfect little “purse” for a little girl. It even has a pocket to store her latest treasures.

Projects Made with Wonderland Fabrics

Tiered Pillowcase Dress Pattern

Pinwheel Quilt & Kids Easter Dress Patterns

Bunny Softie pattern

Wonderland Quilt Projects

Mini Quilt Pattern Bundle

Bow Tie Pillow Sewing Pattern

Square in Square Quilt

Late for Tea Embroidery Hoop Art

Ruffled Easter Basket Liner

Simple Zip Pouch Pattern Three Ways

Colorful Patchwork Baskets

Turnstile Baby Quilts

Fabric Basket Sewing Tutorial

Stuffed Easter Bunny Doll Tutorial

DIY Earbuds Case Sewing pattern

Similar Posts

20 Comments

  1. gah! it is so cute! i was wondering if there was a second line coming. we really need to catch up! let’s make it a priority, ok? xo.

  2. Adorable! Well done you! It is a lovely line, I love the patterns and the colors! Congratulations, think you have another winner here!

  3. *Gasp!*

    I’m in the midst of knitting and sewing for the new granddaughter-on-the-way, and the pink and black colorway is perfect for the pink and grey theme I’ve been working with! I GUESS I can wait until January to get my hands on some yardage… 😉

  4. So flippin’ cute! Congrats on another beautiful fabric line! A customer asked me just yesterday if I had any bunny fabric to make her a bag…although I think it would be worth the wait for yours! Love it and can’t wait to see it in the UK, will tell my stockists to preorder!!!

  5. OMG! I cannot wait! Bunnies are a favorite of mine and my 3-year-old granddaughter. Congratulations on another wonderful fabric line! I’ll be waiting … 🙂

  6. The Ruby Lou is exactly what I’ve been looking for for a “me” bag! Would you consider drafting it in a larger size? Not super large, though, that would look too slouchy!

  7. Love it! will have to get some for my oaks dress this year! My dress from your derby line was a huge hit last year! Love the pink flowers with the black and white stripes together!

  8. Hey Melissa, I think you have a “total home run” with this new line of fabric!
    Nothing cuter than bunnies and bunches of flowers!
    Nettie from Spanish Fork, UT

  9. Beautiful! I saw a preview of this about a month ago and fell in love with it then. You’ve done two of my favorite animals–first horses (I have 8!) and now bunnies. I cannot wait to get my hands on this fabric line!

  10. How and where will I be able to purchase the sweetest bunny fabric after it’s released in February? Absolutely sweet!

  11. I am thinking my great-granddaughter will be the beneficiary of the “Ruby Lou” bag about Easter. She was four on the 24th and will love the material patterns. Great job! I also have your “Derby” line in mind for a quilt for her and one for her new sister born the 3rd of Oct. It has been a busy month for our granddaughter!

  12. Love your new line, I’m sure there is a great deal of excitement when your fabric becomes real. Would love to know more on how you get started with designing fabric. I took three years of commercial art and design many wedding cakes.

  13. I came across your profile and wondered if you are still doing fabric. I am making blankets for our new born babies and can’t find material that I like. Any ideas?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.