Abigail Brown’s Fabulous Flamingo Pattern

Abigail Brown in her studio.

Abigail Brown is one of my favorite artists. She makes soft sculpture birds, and we share the same first name, so I’ve been a fan of her work for many years. When I wrote my first book, The Arftul Bird, I was able to feature several other bird makers and Abigail was one of them. Her birds are incredibly detailed and rather lifelike. I think they’re just fantastic.

Abigail lives in London and has a studio at Cockpit Arts, a business incubator for crafts people. Besides fabric birds, she also makes paper mache animals. Her work is sold at the Liberty department stores and she’s done collaborations with Anthropologie and The Land of Nod.

When I saw a few weeks ago on Instagram that Abigail was getting ready to release her first sewing pattern I was thrilled! First, I was excited for entirely selfish reasons – I would now be able to make an Abigail Brown bird. And second, I was happy for Abigail because I know that expanding into digital patterns can be a wonderful way to diversify a handmade business.

Last week she launched her Fabulous Flamingo pattern and as soon as her newsletter landed in my inbox I bought it. Sewing this flamingo was the perfect Memorial Day weekend project for me. I was just coming off a very intense two weeks of reporting and this was the perfect way to unwind (with Cotton+Steel scraps, no less).

This flamingo has some really lovely little details. My favorite parts are the looped eyelashes and the knotted knees and ankles. I also like that it has a hanging loop so that it can be a door decoration or hang on a hook or a nail. It would be a really pretty piece of decor in a girl’s room.

I had so much fun making it! Here she is:

Congratulations to Abigail on the start of her pattern business! If you’re not already signed up for her newsletter, you can do that at the bottom of her website. And if you’d like to make a Fabulous Flamingo of your own, get the pattern right here.