Friday, December 11, 2020

Alabama Chanin - project and the Book "Alabama Sewing Studios Sewing Patterns"



 Alabama Chanin - The School of Making Kits

Well things aren't going to plan, so it's time to realign.  I have dyed fabrics in the past with no issues, but it was with another dye.  This was done with Rit, it had been prewashed, instructions followed and fixative used.  The dye was even doubled up to get a darker color.  It looks a bit like a grunge tie dye.  It had been a bright red, and is now a streaky dirty red, which means I will need to change the plan.  The skirt can be cut out of 1 yard of fabric for my size, and since it was supposed to be doubled, the skirt layer and the cut away layer, 2 yards were dyed.  This will need to be a dress or a long skirt now, and the over layer will need to be some other fabric. I can only think that these two different shades of black are my only option, I'm out of the dyeing business for now.  


I'm playing with the idea of this treatment below, which is just straight strips, with the red below just peeking but have not decided yet... so stay tuned..












Of course, I bought the book of patterns because, I couldn't resist.  The book has a CD in the back for all of the patterns in the book.

This is what is included on the disc, sewing patterns as well as a few stencils. 

The patterns files are one sheet, more on that when I print it out.


 The knit pieces with seaming intrigue me.  We all know sewing with knits can sometimes eliminate darts, and it's an easy project but when you have more extreme curves, the fit is better if you incorporate darts, or you hide it in seaming. 

Darts


Seams

  Included in the book are the patterns for a corset type t shirt, a tunic dress, which could all produce opportunities for a nice fit, especially with more stable knits. I love that blue princess line t, I could live in that top.  The other thing that attracts me to the pattern is the high armhole which is very slimming, and I need, to deal with fluff.

Some of the fabrics she has created are pretty interesting, which is what got me hooked. Here are some examples but you can see more on the website.


The dress I'll be making will probably not incorporate the stencil I just finished, but that will be used on another project.

The book is actually pretty comprehensive, and would be a good book as a knit primer if you like the styles in it.  It doesn't go into as much detail as the Craftsy class for construction, the two together compliment each other, and if you are a visual learner, the classes are good to take.

 The Magdalena stencil is  finally completed, and it was not easy, so I'm happy to have it finished. It was the least fun I have had so far, and will look to purchase next time.


I purchased the book on the bookoutlet website, shipping took a bit longer than (about 2 weeks) but the book is new and complete, and more cost effective than Amazon ;).

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