From Fabric Scraps to Fort Collins: The Story Behind Garden Patch

There's a basket in the corner of my studio that never quite empties.

It's where the scraps live — the leftover corners of yellow ditsy floral, the strip of green stripe that was just a little too short for a full panel, the cream bloom fabric I couldn't bring myself to throw away. For a long time, that basket just sat there. A quiet pile of potential.

Garden Patch started there.

A Print That Almost Wasn't

I didn't set out to make a patchwork sleeve. I was working on something else entirely when I started laying scraps side by side on my cutting mat — yellow next to cream, green stripe cutting through the middle like a garden row. Something about it stopped me.

It looked like a quilt your grandmother would have made. Like a picnic blanket spread out on a summer afternoon. Like something that deserved to exist.

So I made it into something.

Why Patchwork

There's an honesty to patchwork that I love. Nothing is wasted. Every piece has a history — a previous project, a fabric I fell in love with at the shop, a print I bought too much of because I couldn't help myself.

Garden Patch is made from four fabrics that I've had in my studio for a while, waiting for the right moment. Yellow ditsy floral. Pink and cream blooms. Classic green and white stripe. And tucked inside — a red gingham lining that makes me smile every time I open the sleeve.

It's not a complicated design. But it's one of my favorites I've ever made.

Small Batch, on Purpose

Every Garden Patch sleeve is cut and sewn by hand in my Fort Collins studio. I make them in small batches — which means when they're gone, they're gone. I like it that way. It keeps the work intentional. It keeps me paying attention.

If you've been looking for something handmade, something with a little story behind it, something that feels like it was made with care — I think you'll love this one.

If you've ever held a scrap of fabric and thought — I can't throw this away — I understand completely.

With gratitude,
Sami
Founder, Leia's
Handcrafted in Colorado