My Alabama Chanin T-shirt

Finally, my Alabama Chanin Project
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.

an example of Alabama Chanin

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.

1. pattern: I chose a simple but very useful pattern - a basic black T-shirt. 

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/

Making a doll

I was asked to make a doll for our school children (4th grade) beacuse they are reading a book by Alf Projsen and they exchange this doll with another school. In Slovene we call her čajna ženička = the tea lady - (Teskjekjerringa in the original). Anyway, I like a good sewing challenge. 

My inspiration was: (pictures from the book) 

                               

My creation was this:

Purely by chance I came across a doll in Burdastyle magazine 9/2012 

and immediately I decided to use the pattern and just change it slightly.

The process of making - in pictures:

  

  

 So, that's it. I'm to lazy to write a very detailed tutorial. I hope pictures show the process.

Creating fairy-tale world

I was just looking through some pins on Pinterest in order to find something useful to make baby doll clothes for my daughter's dolls, obviously. And I came across this amazing and extraordinary site full of fairy tale characters and clothes. I actually found lots of useful, nice, great sites for making Barbie doll clothes and baby doll clothes and other cute little things, but this one is by far the most beautiful and exciting and time consuming and means you are totally dedicated and committed - Antique Lilac - and let's not forget - talented. I haven't checked everything yet but I think I'll come back for inspiration from time to time.
It's really special, not to mention it has lots of free patterns for doll clothes and some very interesting tutorials and tips on how to create all those divine costumes. (I wasn't even aware that a world like this exists - I mean so many different dolls and such rich embellished clothes. I feel like a child in a candy store when browsing that site.)

Two of my favourite tips at the moment are: 

1. How to create a bodice or any kind of clothes for any dolls: use paper towel to help you create a pattern http://www.antiquelilac.com/queen-of-the-night---a-creative-journey---tutorials.html .
What a great and simple technique to be able to make the right size clothes. I wish I could do something like that for real people.

I found on the net to use an interface (http://miniatures.about.com/od/dollshousedolls/ss/Custom-Fit-A-Basic-Doll-Clothing-Pattern-To-Any-Doll-Basic-Torso-Shell.htm#step8) to do just that and I thought that was brilliant at the time but you must admit that paper towel is cheaper than interface. 

2. How to embellish lace (or other ribbons) with beads: http://www.antiquelilac.com/victorian-ballgown---tutorials.html

(I have lots of beads but I never knew what to do with them.)

I said two tips but just one more - a beaded picot around the neckline: http://bjdcollectasy.com/2012/02/26/picot-beading/

(I wonder if I could do this for my own shirts not just dolls.)

For Christening - What a Dandy!

We had christening of our baby boy which I took as an opportunity to sew something nice for him. (I wanted to sew something new for my daughter and for myself too but I didn't have enough time.)
I found my inspiration on a Russian blog/ site (didn't understand anything) but never mind, I just needed  the picture.

My inspiration: 

My creation:

I decided to make a two piece outfit because it's easier to change diapers like that. I bought 3 pieces of fabric: jersey, shiny fabric and jacquard fabric. The vest is just a mock vest, attached at the front and it finishes in the side and shoulder seams.

But I must admit that it's cute to see a small baby with a bow-tie.

How to make a bow-tie: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2014/04/little-boy-bowtie-the-quick-and-easy-version.html

The shirt is my creation: will make a link

The pants are: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx_iUlU6voEXU3JqUU5kX0ljbUE/view

found on a Russian site: https://vk.com/shop_zigzag