stitching style

Last spring I had the pleasure of attending one of Natalie Chanin’s sewing workshops in New York. It was such a lot of fun! We each selected a project beforehand, and when we arrived it was waiting for us in a lovely kit (much like the one that Melanie Falick blogged about recently.) At the workshop, Natalie showed us how to use the same techniques her couture team follows when they stitch items for the Alabama Chanin collection. Then we spent the day stitching and chatting, and a chef came to prepare a delicious southern-style lunch for us. If you ever have the opportunity to spend a day with Natalie at one of these workshops, you’ll find that it’s incredibly rejuvenating and relaxing; none of us wanted to go home at the end of the day, and we made some wonderful new friendships in the process. (What is it about women, sewing, and bonding? I had a similar experience last summer at Heather Ross’s Weekend Sewing workshop in Vermont and am looking forward to doing it again this summer. It’s such a great way to make new like-minded friends!)

I never showed you what I made in Natalie’s workshop, but at last it’s time for the big reveal.

from Alabama Stitch Book

Back when Natalie and I first met, I sent her some Oliver + S patterns and one of her seamstresses made a darling Tea Party Sundress using the Alabama Chanin methods. The dress made an appearance in Cookie magazine’s profile of Natalie, and when I saw how wonderfully it turned out I just had to make one for S. I selected two colors from her organic cotton jersey fabrics: silt and light pink. I used the stencil provided in the Alabama Stitch Book (which I reviewed here) to transfer an all-over pattern onto the traced dress pieces, and once Natalie got me started with stitching I just couldn’t put the project down—I stitched all the way to Pittsburgh and back when we went to Quilt Market, and it was finished in time for my sister’s wedding.

Tea Party Sundress a la Alabama Chanin

As Natalie explains in her new book, Alabama Studio Style, cotton jersey relaxes when you wear it. Which means that it’s a good idea to start with a snug fit when you select the size you’ll be making. I made Tsia’s dress in her regular size, and of course the finished dress was too big. (I should have started with a pattern two sizes smaller and lengthened it following the methods I just posted on the Oliver + S blog to fit her height.)

So we’ve waited a while, and the dress is starting to fit. Tsia has worn it all winter with a turtleneck and tights, and I love how the fabric edges are starting to soften just a bit with each washing, giving the reverse appliqué a patina.

Alabama Studio Style

I had so much fun making this dress, now I’m planning to make myself one of the dress patterns from the Alabama Studio Style book . I still need to decide which style, size, fabric colors and stencil pattern to use. Any suggestions? (I really love the Angie’s Fall stencil, which is new to this book.)

Alabama Studio Style

If you’re interested in trying out these techniques but aren’t quite ready to take on a complete dress (and it is a commitment to make a full dress), there are lots of other terrific smaller projects in both books. I love the Small Medallion Placemats and the Medallion Boudoir Pillow in the new book (both of these projects use another new stencil that is included in the book), which look really contemporary and minimalist. There are so many great projects and recipes included, and the book feels very much like Natalie’s warm and relaxed personality, with some of her wonderful southern hospitality thrown into the mix. With both books, you’re only missing the companionship of a group of stitching women like we had at the sewing workshop.

And maybe a chef to cook you some delicious southern food at lunchtime while you relax and stitch and chat.

Alabama Studio Style

Natalie has included instructions for many different embellishment techniques like relief appliqué, backstitch reverse appliqué, and the beaded embellishments that have graced recent Alabama Chanin clothing collections. I’ve had an opportunity to admire these details during Fashion Week every season, and they are so inspirational. Each of these embellishment techniques look very different from the others when completed, and you could use them in many different ways to suit your own purposes, even if you don’t make any of the specific projects in the book. I particularly love the starburst “eyelet” stitch, which you could embroider by itself or bead for two very different looks.

I love how these two books can stand independent of each other but also build on each other. They're both absolutely beautiful, informative, and inspirational.

stitching vacation

We have some friends whom Todd and I admire for many reasons--not the least of which is that, after being married for many years, this couple continues to enjoy spending time together but often vacation alone. He is an avid hiker and outdoorsman and goes backpacking in rough style for weeks at a time. She is an extraordinarily talented knitter (and I mean extraordinary--she often knits samples for Nicky Epstein) who goes on knitting cruises and spends vacation time with her close-knit (sorry-pun!) family.

Someday I hope that Todd and I will have the luxury of separate vacations like this. At present, our time together as a family is still somewhat limited due to our busy schedules and young daughter, and we look forward to vacation time spent together. But we also value time spent alone.

When, eventually, I have the opportunity to spend some vacation time alone, I'll tell you what I plan to do: I'll be headed to Alabama.

This past Saturday I attended Natalie Chanin's workshop in New York. We were approximately seven or eight women (a few visitors dropped by over the course of the day as well) who got together to spend the day stitching and getting to know each other under Natalie's excellent tutelage and with some delicious food. We each selected a project, and Natalie got us started with some pointers and instruction about her methods and techniques. As we settled into a rhythm we started talking and getting to know each other. I enjoyed getting to know each individual and made some wonderful friends in the process.

Time passes quickly when you're stitching by hand, and by lunchtime I was thoroughly relaxed and enjoying myself. And hungry! We paused for a delicious catered lunch of the best collard greens I've ever tasted, along with fried chicken and a variety of other southern-inspired food. With someone else making the meal, all we had to do was sew and enjoy ourselves for the day. It felt like vacation. None of us could believe it when, suddenly, it was 4:00 and we had spent the entire day with each other and our sewing projects.

I'm not ready to show you my project yet. It's a surprise, but I hope to be finished in a few weeks. And I'm already planning the next project. Natalie sells kits for a lot of the projects in her book on her website, but the project I'm planning isn't a kit (it's bigger than that, actually). Although I'm also thinking about making the little pincushion, since they're so cute.

(More photos from the day here.)

small town

I must have had Natalie on my mind already, since we were planning to get together during Fashion Week. But it was the hem of her coat that caught my attention last week as Tsia and I were on our way down Avenue B. That coat was standing across the street from us, and I immediately thought of Alabama Chanin and her designs when I glimpsed it. (I tend to walk looking down when I'm with Tsia. There was someone inside that coat, but my eyes were mostly on the sidewalk.)

All the same, I was completely taken aback when I looked up and saw it was her. Right there on our way to preschool! I love New York. Big city? No way. I run into dear friends all the time. It's a small town, I swear it. So small that someone from Alabama can suddenly seem like a neighbor.

Anyway, Natalie and I sat down in the showroom for tea yesterday morning, and I had an opportunity to view the new Alabama Chanin collection first hand. Here's a little taste. Enjoy!










Thanks, Natalie. I can't wait for book number two!

Advent calendar (free mitten pattern anew!)

I’ve been wanting to make this advent calendar since Hector was a pup Tsia was a babe and I first designed this little mitten ornament pattern. Somehow there just hasn't been time, but this year I was determined. She's at the age where she gets really excited about Christmas and the countdown.


However, all 25 mittens were not going to be finished by December 1. So I've been making one mitten a day and trying to work ahead by a day or two, just in case.

Tsia loves them. In fact, I think she's more excited about the mittens themselves than the contents therein. (I've been trying to vary the contents; sometimes it's a small candy treat and other days she gets a little note, a drawing, or a toy.) So in the end I guess it's fine that they weren't all ready beforehand; plenty of years to enjoy them once they're finished. She's enjoying the addition of each mitten to the strand, and she's also been helping to select the fabric, button, and embroidery floss colors for each mitten as we progress.


I was never entirely happy with the low-tech manner in which I first made the mitten pattern available, so now it's been re-worked and is available as a free pattern on the Oliver + S website. Enjoy!


By the way, Todd and I are having a disagreement with which I need your help: does an advent calendar have 24 or 25 days? Todd says 25. I say 24, because the 25th day is Christmas and no one is interested in an advent calendar once Christmas day arrives. So help us out with your opinion, ok? Should there be a mitten #25?



I think I may still re-do the mittens that have yellow embroidery floss; the color doesn't show up well against the ivory wool felt background. But I like the other colors, and I'm especially liking the addition of chocolate brown to the mix. As an advent calendar, the mittens would also be really pretty done in just shades of white. Or in red and white. Actually, I could think of a million ways to do these. Like I mentioned on the Oliver + S blog, they would be fantastic if the mitten part was done in reverse applique like Alabama Chanin. I may have to do one, just because I think it would be so pretty.

I'm making a few additional mitten ornaments as gift toppers and special little treats for friends, more in the style of the original mitten ornaments. But 25 of the advent calendar babies may just do me in, especially with all the other deadlines happening over here right now.

By the way, thank you so much for the book ideas; I will eagerly investigate, and Tsia and I will enjoy reading all of them. I have lots of other books and thoughts about books I want to talk about, so I think I'll declare this week Book Week again. Stay tuned!

more Grandma

Whew! Fall orders have been shipped, and we're starting to catch up on things that didn't get done while we were away. So S and I took the day off to get some laundry done, run the vacuum, etc. What a relief to have a clean house again! It's nice to be home.

Ok, back to Grandma. I think I'll split things up a bit into several posts rather than show you everything all at once:

This is one of Grandma's designs that she taught as a class. It combines a cross-stitch ribbon design with some pulled thread work. (Right, Mom? I can't remember what this is called. Mom has stitched this one, and it's gorgeous.)




Here is another of Grandma's designs. Remember, I just ran around her house snapping photos, so these aren't great shots. But this is blackwork, and I love the design itself as well as the various patterns and textures that comprise the interior designs. Someday maybe I'll stitch one of these myself. It would be a terrific center for a quilt, wouldn't it?

And I've always loved this one. This was a class she took, and each student designed her own smocking pattern while making a fan. The silk itself has faded enormously, but it's still beautiful. It looks great in Grandma's living room, too. I should have photographed her living room; very not typical Grandma-ish. Spare and modern feeling, actually, although furnished mostly with antiques.

I'll take photos of that next time.

Slow crafting

Natalie Chanin is one of my heroes.


In 2001, when I was working as a designer for Ralph Lauren, I would often run across the street to Barney's during lunch just to ogle the Project Alabama t-shirts. They were like nothing I had ever seen before: a sort of shabby couture garment made from recycled vintage t-shirts that had been cut up, painted, re-assembled, appliqued and embroidered entirely by hand, one by one, by quilters in Alabama. They were gorgeous. And they sold for something in the $200+ range, as I recall. For a t-shirt. But a t-shirt like nothing you've ever seen before.


Flash forward a few years to the Project Alabama runway collection. Also gorgeous, and also made using the same hand-sewn, distressed (see? I do know how to spell it!) techniques. But this time it was more than t-shirts; it was dresses and skirts made using those same labor-intensive, hand-crafted techniques.


And then they went out of business. Or that's what I thought, anyway.

Actually Chanin, the founder of PA, and the organization itself parted ways. A difference in philosophy, apparently. Chanin soon resurfaced as Alabama Chanin, but I wasn't sure where that was going. I was certainly waiting to find out, however.


Ok, flash all the way forward to last week. I opened the apartment door the other day to find a WHAT!?!? book by the founder of Project Alabama. About WHAT?!?! the same techniques and projects I've been drooling over for seven years now!?!


Well. Knock me over.

And the book is amazing. Gorgeous. Beautifully photographed by fellow Alabaman (is that the right term?) Robert Rausch, with a thoughtful and clean page design and attractive handwritten elements included among the type. Plus, all those lovely construction details are fully explained. The techniques and steps are detailed in areas I would never expect them to be explained: the philosophy and history that drew Chanin to start the company, an explanation of how to select the best materials for the project, what sort of stitching and knotting to use (and why), what materials the "Alabama" stencils are made from (felt!), how to prepare your thread before you start hand stitching (you "love" it, of course!).


Also included are two pull-out pattern pages in the back so you can make your very own corset t-shirt (one of those original Project Alabama styles I admired so readily as an aspiring designer) or skirt. It also includes a perforated postcard with instructions for beading it; a stencil for making the reverse applique that I love, love, love (I really love it, can you tell?); and instructions for projects big and small, quick (relatively speaking, that is) and time-consuming: an applique tablecloth, sweet stuffed bunny, deconstructed quilt, bookcover, headband, any size project you want to try. It's a book filled with useful information, detailed instructions, and inspiring ideas.

Have I told you how much I love this book?


Chanin appreciates the process and history of crafting. Her philosophy is similar to that of the slow food movement, which emphasizes quality and sustainability. I think it's wonderful that she's written this book to pass along the history, techniques and appreciation of hand-made. And to show us how to make them ourselves, even if we can't afford to buy that fabulous t-shirt in Barney's. We can certainly afford to participate in the traditions and to make them our own.


See? My hero.

Happy Valentines' Day!

Seen in the window of a florist on University Place:


Given to friends at school:


Tsia did the fingerprints, I did the drawings, and we both did the gluing (with LOTS of glue):


Given to teacher (do you remember doing this? You cut little squares of tissue paper, wrap them around the end of a pencil, stick the tip in a little glue, and afix it to the paper):


Stitched for grandparents (grandparents, your Valentine's are late! But at least you get to see what's on its way to you...) Tsia's very first embroidery, with almost no help from me:


Given to Tsia:


I think she was a bit disappointed there wasn't a surprise wrapped inside her quilt:


and given to Todd (or at least one like this--these are actually my little birthday cakes from the other day):





We hope your day is filled with hearts!

Or maybe we should call it an obsession

This pattern promptly moved to the top of my To Do pile. Oh, I just love it!
Grandma gave it to me when we saw her last week. Given my current love of smocking, gingham, and chickenscratch, this project is a MUST. Tsia and I purchased the gingham today on a quick trip uptown, thank you very much. And I think I'll be improvising a bit of chickenscratch on it somewhere, just because I think it needs to be there. Maybe on the hem someplace. Or on the pocket.

I'll be making the half apron. Love the full apron, but I think we need to be more realistic about my time these days. I mean, when did I last post a finished project? Don't worry; I've got stuff for you. Soon.

I sense a collection developing

I made several finds at thrift shops and antique stores while we were away, and this apron is among my favorites. Salvation Army, just $1 or $2, I forget exactly how much. It makes me feel a little bit sad that it was there. I mean, someone clearly spent hours stitching it, and then somewhere down the line it was discarded. I suspect that whoever donated it didn't appreciate the time and effort involved in making such a lovely item.


I showed it to Grandma a day or two after I purchased it, and she said it's among the best examples of chickenscratch she's ever seen. We both marvelled over the buttonhole stitching around the chickenscratch: it makes the stitched area look almost like a lace overlay.


It's funny; I seem to be accumulating quite a stash of chickenscratch patterns and samples. A friend of Grandma's passed along some books on the topic when she learned how much I loved apron #1. I'm not sure why I like the technique so much. Maybe it's just the fact that you can alter gingham in such interesting ways with a simple variation on the cross stitch. I spent loads of time making cross stitch when I was younger and haven't really retained any interest in it, but applying the technique to something else? Yes, please.


Or maybe I like chickenscratch it's because I love gingham so much. I love the grid-ness of it, and I like how it coordinates with other fabrics. I also appreciate that it's not such a distinctly feminine fabric. Or at least it doesn't seem overtly feminine to me. Yes, it has a certain kitschy, 50's Italian restaurant, candle-in-the-wine-bottle tablecloth vibe, but there's something equally contemporary about it that appeals to me despite (or maybe in addition to) the retro aspect.


My own daily apron-wearing extends almost exclusively to my beloved linen bistro-style cover-all, so it's unlikely that I'll be sporting this one much. But maybe that's about to change?