My Alabama Chanin Short Fitted Tank Dress is Complete!

I HAVE FINISHED MY ANNA'S GARDEN DRESS!

Since Competing this dress, I have pulled my support of the Alabama Chanin company. The contents of this post were true at the time. I am very proud of the work I did on this dress. I guess it is like the way you love your children after a divorce. I have entered it in the Sew Stylish Spring Fashion Challenge. Here is a photo of me in the dress for my entry:

I can hardly believe I hand-embellished and-stitched this entire dress! I feel like I did after delivering my kids, glad I embarked on the journey, thrilled with the result, physically and emotionally exhausted and fairly certain I will not consider taking on the task again for a least a year! This has been quite a journey which I have written about here. I have also written a detailed pattern review here.

Front

Back

Cretan Stitch on neckline and arms.

My custom dress label

My label says,"This hand-sewn garment was made with love and care just for you. It took FOREVER to make so please cherish it as long. Hand wash, dry flat, medium iron." :)

I would love to know what you think!

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing!

Alabama Chanin Bloomers T-Shirt

Back in August I made an Alabama Chanin Bloomers stencil with the intention of making a t-shirt and a four panel skirt.  My design plan led me to airbrush navy blue cotton jersey using white paint and use black cotton jersey as the backing fabric.

Painting skirt panels.

Skirt and shirt panels.

T-shirt all painted.

Summer stitching by the pool.

 I decided to stitch using the reverse applique technique with the knots exposed  and thread tails visible. 

All stitched and painted areas cut away.

I hand-stitched the front and back panels together per the instructions in the book (from memory at this point).  I felled the seems to the inside and bound the neckline using a beaded parallel stitch. I added three seed beads to each stitch and stitched it using a single strand of button and craft thread.

Beaded Parallel Stitch 

Completed Top on B.I.R.A

I am happy to have completed this top and I am steadily working on the four panel skirt to go with it. I will update when it is all done. I am not sure how long that will be as I am stitching away on a dress, and a beaded paisley top.

Happy Sewing, 
Bianca

When life gives you lemons, cover them in beads.

Over a year and a half ago I made the caplet featured in the out of print Butterick  5843. 

Alabama Chanin had just launched its a line featuring polka dots and I thought I'd give it a try. I did not have an airbrush so I painted the fabric using my old timey spray bottle method. This method was hit or miss for me. Sometimes I got the paint to stay within the stencil shape, but other times it leaked out over the side. 

The spillage seamed minor and given that I was still new to AC hand-sewing, I decided to press on with this project. I used a double layer of jersey cotton; grey underneath and a denim blue on top.  I stenciled black paint to color the polka dots. To secure the layers, I used embroidery floss and a reverse back stitch. Some shapes had two layers of embroidery floss in grey and white. 

After some time I finished the cape. On one hand, I was happy that I finished a project, but on the other hand I was not happy with the paint. In those days, my sewing results were hit or miss and I was just happy to be advancing in my sewing and using pieces they didn't necessarily work as practice. So, I finished the cape and put it in my closet where it hung unused.

Fast forward to the present day and Natalie's Craftsy class. When she got to the topic of beading she mentioned using beading as a decorative element, but also as an aid to help hide mistakes! This gave me the brilliant idea to bring some new life into this forgotten project. I would use beads to cover the spillage of the paint and hopefully get a wearable garment. I used a mixture of bugle beads, chop beads, and sequins to create random half-beading along the outside of the stenciled shapes and embroidery stitches. This did wonders to hide the paint that bled through the stencil.

Beading on the outside of the polka dots.

 

Double reverse back-stitched shapes

Cape Front with a cross stitch binding along the neckline and front

Cape Back

The original cape was secured with jersey ties. I decided to swap that out for a jersey covered button and elastic loop. I am pleased with the result and will not allow this to hang out in the back of the closet anymore.

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Alabama Chanin Anna's Garden Fitted Tunic

 What is it about summer viruses that are so heinous? We have been going round and round with a bug in our house, and city. Our pediatrician says it is everywhere and we have to let it run its course. So as I, and our kids have been down, I have been hand stitching another Alabama Chanin creation. This time I have ventured into making the fitted tank top from the book Alabama Chanin Studio Sewing and Design.

For this tank, I used a baby blue cotton jersey fabric for the top layer and a lime green jersey cotton fabric for the bottom. I used the lime fabric for the bias binding secured with Slate colored button/ craft thread. The front is a a double layer of fabric and the back is a single layer. I stitched the design on the front only, using the Outside Reverse Applique technique. With this technique you stitch 1/8 of an inch outside the painted and stenciled shapes. When done, you cut the shape out removing the painted parts. 

This is a good project if you do not have an airbrush or if your painted images are less than perfect. You cut that part out anyway, so it does not matter. As a matter of fact, you can probably stencil using a pen, sharpie or crayon (well, maybe not a crayon)! If you have a great airbrush and equally great painting skills, this project might sting a bit. It hurts to toss your fabulously  painted shapes into the trash!
  

Alabama Chanin Fitted Tunic with Short Skirt

For this tunic, I cut the size medium and sewed a 5/8th seam allowance into the shirt when I constructed it. I found that to be the perfect sizing for me. Because I find the neckline too low for my tastes, I took a suggestion from a blog reader to shorten the straps. I fitted it before adding the binding and I took out about 2 inches off the straps. I secured the layers with a running stitch, so it went together really fast. I didn't have to start and stop the stitches as often as in the negative reverse applique.

Anna's Garden Fitted Tunic

Back details

I paired the tank with a modified version of short skirt pattern from the book. I simply added width to the panels and cut it into six panels instead of four. I liked the idea of the extra seams up the front and back so I just fiddled with it until it worked.

Here is my review of the pattern from the book.

Pattern Description:
 
Hand-stitched tank tunic from Alabama Chanin Studio Sewing and Design.

Pattern Sizing:

S,M,L,XL I made a medium with a 5/8 seam allowance.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, in that I followed the instructions. My color choices were my own.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

The books give very clear instructions and inspirations for creating multiple garments.
 
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I love everything about the patterns in this book. I do not like the depth of the neckline on the pattern, so I raised the straps about two inches.

Fabric Used:

Jersey Cotton in baby blue and lime green.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: 

I only embellished the front of the top.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
 
Yes and Yes! 


Happy Sewing!