When I first came across Alabama Chanin on Pinterest or Google I thought, ah, I don't like this. This is not for me. I really thought so. I don't have the time. It's so rustic/ rural.
It's so hommemade. Ugh.
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| an example of Alabama Chanin |
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| and another one |
But I guess things stay with you subconsciously. I can't even say when exactly I started to actively search for AC (=Alabama Chanin) on Pinterest. But I did my exact research. That means I looked at pictures over and over again, carefully studied them and made up my mind to try and do my take on Alabama Chanin.
I did it my way, of course. The simplest, the easiest variation possible.
So here it goes.
2. material: I prefer viscose jersey to cotton one. It's more slinky and more sophisticated.
3. drawing/ painting the picture on the fabric: I couldn't bother buying spray colours (in the past I used to silk paint, glass paint etc.). I just didn't want to spend any more money for that. What's more, I've got tons of fabric, haberdashery, magazines, baby & kid's clothes (not to mention the shoes) - I've got 3 children. I really don't need new equipment of any kind. I've got 2 sewing machines.
So, my solution is to use simple ordinary white chalk - I'm a teacher, by the way, and we still have blackboards at our school (even though whiteboards are coming). So I drew the picture of a flower on the fabric by using a simple white chalk. It's very useful.
4. embroidery: I decided to use a backstitch because it looks good, professional, even though it's done by hand. I used cotton thread and a large embroidery needle - it was easy to sew/ stitch.
5. cutting: I cut out the top layer of the fabric using ordinary scissors.
6. finishing touches: I like the garment to have nice, clean look. So I sewed everything with my sewing machine and hemmed the edges by using a twin needle. (I'm saying that because the edges in AC garments are often left unfinished/ raw and the garment is sewn by hand - which I really dislike).
My findings are the following:
❁it can be done fast if the garment is not too big and if it doesn't have too many pieces;
❁viscose jersey is very nice to wear; it's not too warm or too thick; it feels really nice, soft;
❁ it's not difficult to cut out the fabric, just do it slowly and concentrate hard;
❁drawing with chalk is for me just brilliant, because you can wash it off easily and at the same time it stays on the fabric long enough so that you can do your embroidery;
❁use a BIG/ HUGE stenciling so you are quickly done;
❁ think carefully about the colour combinations
↜ and ↝
I have to do more of these kind of garments - they are pretty unique and stunning.
Some more pictures during the process of making:
This kind of technique is called: reverse applique - you cut out the top layer.
Other techniques that she (the designer - Natalie Chanin) uses are: negative reverse applique and couching. There are many more variations but I would love to try those two. However, I always try to keep things quick and simple because I have 3 small children and I really don't have the stamina to do overcomplicated things.
One useful source is the following web page:
http://blog.londasfiles.com/textures-alabama-chanin-part-v/
http://blog.londasfiles.com/alabama-chanin-stitches-part-vii/
And you can have a look at their page directly: https://alabamachanin.com/
