New Jacket Alabama Chanin Style

A little more than a year ago I was turned on to the amazing Natalie Chanin from Alabama Chanin. Check out her wonderful unique clothing designs at Alabamachanin.com.  So then I bought all 3 of her books which are wonderful, well written, and in which she shares every detail about making clothes just like she sells on her website.  I was completely amazed and in love with the style so I made a skirt using her techniques, you can see it here http://www.colorfullydistracted.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-07-02T06:21:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=13&by-date=false  After I had finished the skirt I decided to make another AC project that I had seen in the 3rd book Alabama Studio Sewing +Design.  It is a rectangular wrap/shawl which I thought would be an easy project.   I designed my own stencil design, made the stencil, painted the design, did all of the stitching and cutting out design, got it all finished tried it on and I hated it.  It was too stiff and didn't drape like it should to be flattering.  I folded it up and put it in a drawer.  Fast forward a few months, I was surfing on the Craftsy website and found that there is a Craftsy class by Natalie Chanin called Hand-Embellishing Knit Fabric.  I immediately purchased the class and watched it.  The class was wonderful.  I enjoyed having Natalie Chanin "teaching me" all of her techniques and it got me super motivated to do another Alabama Chanin type garment.  I got the idea to use the shawl, which was essentially a 20" x 40" rectangle, as "fabric" to make a more fitted jacket.

I found a Vogue pattern (Sandra Betzina 1036) I liked.  I used plain black knit to make it so that I had enough fabric to cut out the jacket, and then I hand stitched the same stencil design on the black to help make the 2 fabrics work together.

The stencil design was done with a pearl white Lumiere fabric paint.  I like the color of it, but it made the fabric very stiff.  Which made the stitching a bit harder to do.  In the class Natalie talks about using an airbrush to do their stenciling.  It turns out I already have an airbrush so that is how I will stencil my next project.  Also I had used Perle cotton to do all the stitching on this project, which is not what Natalie usually uses, but I wanted the stitching on the black to stand out.  I did a bound edge along the neck and front and used a herringbone stitch to finish it.

Yes, I am already planning my next project.  I really love doing the hand stitching!  The class I took included a Donna Karan (V1263) Vogue pattern, and while I absolutely LOVE the design of the coat I'm just not sure I'm gonna love it on me.  It has a large shawl collar and an overlap at the front that I'm afraid will just make me look fat and frumpy. 

So, I have been searching for the perfect pattern style.  Not sure I have found it yet.  I actually really like the pattern of this grey/black jacket.  And it fits really well.  So I may just do another version of the same pattern.

I have worn this jacket and it is super comfy because of the knit fabric.  And it's great because it looks good with jeans, or a dressier black skirt.

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest project, thanks for stopping by, Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Stuff - Burlap Runners

As I have mentioned, our daughter is getting married and we are now down to 3 weeks!!!  So lots of wedding projects are going on.  The wedding will be an outdoor ceremony (all good thoughts for great weather on Oct. 20 is appreciated), and the reception will be in a barn.  The barn is at a local orchard so we are hoping for a beautiful fall day with the trees all in beautiful shades of red and gold.  The trees have started to turn colors around here due to the recent cold snap.  We are really hoping for an Indian summer kind of a day with beautiful sunshine.

Anyway one of the projects we did last week was to make burlap runners that will go down the center of the tables.  We are doing rectangular tables that are set up boarding house style, so the runners are LONG.  We started with 10 yards of burlap which I cut into thirds lengthwise, and then started serging and serging...  it was time consuming but so rewarding.

 Yeah, I know - LOTS of burlap!  We then added a beautiful lace edging that we found at Joann Fabrics, in an off white color.

 

 

We used an acetate stencil my other daughter Alyssa custom made for Kelly with Kelly and Doug's initials, and stenciled with brown craft paint onto the burlap at each end of all the runners.  It was a bit fiddly getting everything lined up just right but once we had the process figured out we were on a roll.  And due to some starbucks and good music, we were up till 1:00 am working on these, we were determined to get them all done.

 

 

 

The runner with the stenciling complete.  We loved how the brown paint and stencil design looks with the bulap and lace.  Sorry about the hot pink drop cloth, it was the only plastic bag we could come up with to use under the burlap.  We found otherwise the paint would go through the loose weave of the burlap and get all over my table.

 

And this is what the runner looks like all completed.  Yes we had these layed out all over the studio to let them dry.  OK, one more project we can cross off Kelly's wedding to do list!

 

 

 

 

My New Favorite Skirt

I love my new skirt.  The skirt pattern and the design of the leaves is from the Alabama Chanin book "Alabama Stitch Style".  I first saw some of these designs on the blog of www.stitchedincolor.com and I was intrigued.  I have always loved hand stitching and applique so I decided I would like to try a simple skirt.    I really liked the leaf design and there was a stencil included in the book that I could use without having to cut my own. 

This is a close-up of the design.  The process involves using t-shirt fabric (new or recycled, mine is recycled) to stencil the design on, and then you layer black t-shirt fabric behind and stitch around the steciled paint design and then you cut out the center of the design.  This is actually like traditional reverse applique.  I love the designs and stitching, but I really don't like all the prep work of cutting and doing the stenciling first.  BTW, there are different samples in the book showing with or without knots and tails showing.  I decided to go with leaving the knots and tails on the outside.  At first I didn't like it, but they have kind of grown on me. 



I used a t-shirt but it started out light blue and I overdyed it with an indigo blue.  I used a turquoise blue paint for the stenciling, to give some contrast.  Then the background fabric is a black t-shirt.  All of the stitching is done with heavy button and craft thread (as recommended in the book).

The book puts together all of the panels of the skirt with hand stitching.  I opted to machine stitch the panels together with the seam allowances to the inside but then felled the seam allowance with hand stitching.  After I got the skirt done and wore it once I really wished it had a pocket.  Then I realized I had taken a pocket off the t shirt before I cut out the skirt, so I stitched the pocket on up at the waist with a blanket stitch, and it is the perfect size for my iphone or keys.  The skirt is also so comfy to wear. 

I already have plans to do another skirt, but haven't found the perfect t-shirts yet.  If you are interested in this style check out the website www.alabamachanin.com they have everything you need for diy or they have already made clothes which are pricey but are also great for inspiration.