handstitched class week 1

There were 3 projects offered in the first week of class which focused on reverse applique.  They were embellishing a T-shirt, making a small felt needle book and a dogwood blossom quilt block.

I decided against the T-shirt project.  The techniques she used were straight from Alabama Chanin.  I decided to make a book cover from the Alabama stitch book instead of the t-shirt.

Thanks to Sheridan’s workshop on how to stencil print in Canberra, I stenciled a simple paisley flower shape onto fabric so the design would be on the front and back.

I layered the fabric and stitched around the design.  I then cut out the centre leaving the white underneath. The white is a little too high contrast for me and a dark cream or tan colour may have been better.

The felt needle book was fun to make.   It seemed to be a little bit floppy for my liking folded in half.  I decided to make mine fold into thirds to ensure the contents were a little more secure. Maybe some interfacing in the lining would have been a good idea too.  I like this book but not as much as the ones that I made for the sample swap!

I managed to get the stitching on the dogwood blossom quilt block done in Canberra (well mainly on the flight home!). It is totally because of Sherdian that I got this done at all.  Having her tell me what to do and how to do it made a huge difference.

I added the borders and now it is waiting the next step.  This cream border is going to be embroidered!

I am making this into a quilt for my 7 year old who is all about pink.  I do have the purple fabrics in the range too but maybe an all pink quilt might be the way to go.

All done by hand – Alabama Chanin

In keeping with sewing away from the machine I recently stumbled across Alabama Chanin.

Any thing Natalie Chanin and her Alabama studio are my new obsession.

I think I first came across Alabama Chanin though Stitched in Color (yep the same blog that is running the handstitched class).

I love the Alabama Chanin style. The clothes are unique but not out there, feminine but not pretty and they are very wearable. The best thing is that Natalie Chanin has 3 books that tell you how to make them.

She gives away all of her secrets – from the stencils and the patterns to which fabric, thread and needles to use.

You can make it from scratch yourself using the books. You can also buy supplies from her. I bought the needles and a thread sample pack so I could source some locally. Alternatively you can buy kits (eg. skirt below) of pre cut and stenciled fabric for you to sew. Or if you just love the clothes you can buy them already made!

I think I like this brand because everything Alabama Chanin is hand stitched. I initially thought it was just the added embellishments but even the garment construction is done by hand. For whatever reason this appeals to me.

Also all of her designs are made from knit (jersey) fabrics. In her book she advocates upcycling and making her designs from old t-shirts.

I have made a lot of knit dresses from the mission maxi pattern and can see that making something similar by hand would be achievable. Embellishing it using these appliqué and beading techniques would make it spectacular.

I am going to keep obsessing about these clothes and pouring over these books for a while longer. Something Chanin will be the first project on my list once the handstitching class is done.

I have all 3 books and at some stage will do a review of them as I read them cover to cover. At the moment I just read bits here and there and look at the pictures.