The Factory Dress

Such fun to have finished this Alabama Chanin Factory Dress. I started it in early April after another lovely workshop in Florence with their DIY crew. It *might* be interesting to know how many hours I have in it, but maybe not.

The process is quite meditative - repetitive and yet providing a sense of accomplishment. I used my good old running stitch to outline the stenciled shapes. My hands just work the stitch without my mind even kicking into gear. 

The details:

The Factory Dress, size s, with added length to the medium length

Outer Layer: Dove

Under Layer: Peacock

Cotton Embroidery Floss for embroidery: a dark blue-gray from stash, DMC floss - 2 strands

Embroidery stitch: running stitch

Buttoncraft thread for construction: Gray

Stencil: New Leaves

Based on a dress worn by one of the other participants, I lengthened the medium length dress by 7". Once I got started, I could see that would graze the floor on me, so I removed about 2.5".

There were lots of pieces! Due to the armhole princess seams, there are 3 front sections and 3 back sections. I chose short, almost cap sleeves. 

Sections of the dress traveled with me to Shakerag, and on several trips to visit grandchildren and other family travels. I struggled just a bit to find enough of the DMC floss I selected and ultimately was able to order it online. It is a shade of blue that matches the AC *peacock* knit fairly closely. I like that the underlayer picks up the color of the embroidery stitching.

During the April AC workshop, Linda Lee mentioned a great idea for attaching binding to the raw edge of a garment. She suggested basting it to the back side, then wrapping to the front and stitching the decorative stitch. 

The basting stitch is easy to remove once the decorative (and purposeful) stitch is complete. On previous garments, I've struggled to keep the binding wrapped tightly around the neckline raw edge while focused on the decorative stitch. This fixed that. So, thanks, Linda!

This dress is heavy. It weighs at least 2 pounds which may not sound like a lot. But it is. I'm good with that as it gives the long dress some nice drape and sweep.

Now I've started on the other kit I purchased while in Florence AL in April. This too is a dress - the fractal dress with a g-zillion pieces. The stencil is fairly intricate without a lot of open space for cutting away the interior stencil. After wearing the factory dress a couple of times, I realized that I did not want another heavy dress. This fractal one will be single-layer (giving me a bonus dress!) with the stencil outlined but not cut away. 

There are really a lot of variations on these kits.

And while on a knits kick, I made some panties! Yes, I made underwear. I've made them before but recently was gifted this yummy fair isles cotton knit - just right. I used my old, old Stretch and Sew pattern adjusted for my current body. Satisfying, quick, and fun. Great partner with these forever AC garments.

Edgewater Dress

This one is a winner, I think. It is the latest pattern published by the Sewing Workshop, the Edgewater dress and skirt. I think I wear dresses more than skirts so I made the dress. I might make the skirt later.

The pattern calls for knits, except for the lower bands. I had enough of these three knits to make the dress with color-blocking, but not enough of any one of them to make an entire dress. So that decision was easy. I was not in the mood to buy more fabric. And, I'm delighted with this result.

The knits are not entirely compatible. The red, as well as the navy-and-white stripe are rayon + lycra, whereas the cheddar color is cotton + lycra. I think it works anyway. Knits are so forgiving. 

I took measurements and decided on the size S. Though I measure a size M, I chose size S. I don't like too much ease through the shoulders and bust and there is plenty of ease through the hips in a size S. I also made my usual forward shoulder adjustment. And I removed 1.5" out of the lower circumference of the short sleeve. This was to prevent the sleeves from *winging out*.

It is very easy construction, so I jumped right in after reading the instructions. I was almost ready to sew the bottom panels when I spotted a FB post showing a customer's finished dress. Amy, the poster, is 6' tall and her size M finished plenty long for her. I checked and the length difference between the S and the M is miniscule. I am 5'5". 

The pattern contains lengthen/shorten lines in two horizontal lines on the dress. I shortened the dress by 3" by spreading that over the lines (1.5" each). This created quite the jump along some seamlines, somewhat worrisome on the curved seams.

Luckily I had not sewn any side seams. I was able to lay out the pieces one at a time and recut with the adjusted pattern tissue. 

As for the curved seam, I held my mouth just right and did my best. Because these are knits, I knew that I could smoosh things pretty easily.

I thought that this dress pattern was quite similar to TSW's Memphis dress. It is similar, but it is also quite different. And I believe I like it better than the Memphis.

What a fun pattern to make. I hope I wear it a lot.

A Return to the School of Making

This past week I once again entered the nirvana of hand-sewing goodness, attending a workshop at Alabama Chanin. I attended my first workshop last year and was absolutely delighted to be able to attend again. I still learned a good deal this year, but was less worried about where I was going. I think I enjoyed it more this year. 

The facility is very low key in a warehouse district of Florence AL. You would not even see it if you weren't looking for it. The front half of the facility is a store with mostly garments for sale ($$$$$), as well as beautiful Heath pottery. 

To one side, they have positioned items for the School of Making - patterns, trims, thread, bundles, and racks of samples in various sizes for participants to try. All is displayed in a functional but curated Alabama Chanin style. 

The first morning goes fast with introductions and an explanation of the kit each participants selects as part of the price of admission. We have until about noon (!) to make our decisions. This year I chose the Fractal dress. I was surprised by how much I liked the sample, as I was expecting to go with the Factory dress, one I had tried on last year.

Everyone fell in love with this stencil design and color combination on a Peacoat.  I think many went home with exactly that kit - the Peacoat in two layers of Earth cotton knit, gray stencil paint, and Abbie's Flower stencil. Here is a shot of the work on the store sample:

I chose the Peacoat pattern for my kit last year.  I made it in Peacock-colored knit for both layers, black stencil paint, and the New Leaves stencil. It was fun to sew, though parts were a little challenging. This year, because so many people chose the Peacoat, they offered a tutorial on some of the unusual aspects of its construction.

I always feel good when I wear it. Their organic cotton feels very cozy, but not sloppy. I so like the way the two layers of knit meld to one another, as you embroider each section.

Since a 20% discount is offered on all purchases made while attending a workshop, I of course purchased a second kit last year. I chose the Alabama sweater pattern modified to bring the neckline up a bit. The outer layer is gray (Dove) and the under layer is red (Carmine). The stencil is called something like Text. I did not see it in the offerings this year and I understand why. It does not provide much space for cutting away the top layer to reveal the bottom layer, a typical technique used in AC garments. 

My selection this year is the Fractal dress with two layers of brown (Earth) knit, Abbie's Flower stencil, and the blue-gray stencil paint. 

I'm using a light gray floss for the embroidery part. Brown is just about my favorite color and I love wearing silver jewelry. I think this combination has a kind of southwestern feel to it, a good combo for this Texas girl.

First piece embroidered at home

My beautiful kit was delivered the second morning. They work hard over a short period of time to deliver kits to us all. The kit contains each of the pieces of knit cut out and stenciled, ready to start layering and stitching. It also contains tons of embroidery floss and button craft thread for the seams. Instructions are photocopied from the pattern and included. It is packaged in an organic cotton case and tied like a gift. A double layered sample is included so you can try out the techniques before started the kit. Here is mine completed during the drive home. 

As I did last year, I chose not to actually start my kit during the workshop. Throughout the rest of the our time, the excellent teacher provides short tutorials on each of the AC techniques for applique, embroidery, and construction. A lovely lady came out and demonstrated her beautifully crocheted snap covers. I gave that a brief try and decided to simply admire hers!

There are 5" square samples available, some with stencil designs, some plain, so that we can try out all of the techniques and see what we like in terms of technique and color. That is what I spent most of my time exploring. 

And did I mention that they feed us and dote on us for the three days? The ladies running the workshop are deeply southern in the most positive sense of that word, always cheerful, encouraging and responsive. Natalie Chanin stopped by briefly the last afternoon after many of the participants had left but it is really the young employees' show. It's like a spa for sewists.

I am now back home enjoying the first hand work on my new Alabama Chanin kit, getting a feel for how much I will cut away and what I will retain of the stencil. I will savor the process and look forward to the finished piece. 

And, yes, I did select a second kit. After all, there was a discount so I had to, right? It arrived today: 

I may need to start it now and not next...

Alabama Chanin No 2

When I attended an Alabama Chanin workshop in April, I purchased a second kit. The first kit was included in the class price and the second was discounted, so I had to buy it, right? And I am glad I did. I finished the jacket a while back (blogged here) and I'm just waiting for the weather to turn a bit cooler to start wearing it. This tee shirt has been fun to work on, with only the tiniest of challenges. 

The Pattern:

The pattern is labeled the Alabama Sweater. You can make it in 3 lengths. I chose the middle ground with the top. I shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length and raised the neckline about an inch all the way around, maybe more. At this point I'm not sure. The sample I tried on felt way too open in the front. I'm quite bony in that area and more than a little self-conscious. I now think it could have been a little more open, but this is just fine. 

The physical pattern is not included in the kit, but the instructions are. There is not much that is challenging about the construction. It is slow-going and portable. And I love that it is entirely made by hand.

The sleeves are sewn in flat rather than in the round. This resulted in a remarkably high armscye - great range of motion and no bunching in the armpit.

I mostly needed the instructions to use in adding their signature binding to this V-neck. Their method is fabulous for these cotton knits! The binding is single layer on both sides, simply wrapped around the raw edge. I basted it on and then worked the cretan (creten?) stitch to secure it. And their method for the V? That is quite fabulous too. I'll be using that technique elsewhere.

The Fabric and Stencil:

The fabric is of course two layers of their organic cotton jersey. The top layer is light gray and the bottom layer is a beautiful red, *my* red with blue undertones. 

The stencil is a darker gray or silver, random words and lettering in a variety of fonts and sizes.  I asked them to print it diagonally on the fronts and backs, with lots less on the back. In fact, I omitted stenciling entirely on one side of the back. I asked them to print the sleeves partially, as you can see. 

Honestly I don't think I would select that stencil again as it does not lend itself to the standard AC technique of sewing around the shapes and cutting away some of the fabric inside the stencil or around it. Some of the shapes were too thin to sew around, so I sewed on top of them. I did sew around most of the letters using a simple running stitch. 

Each kit includes an 8x10 double-layer sample with stenciling so that you can determine which of their techniques works best. I tried cutting away the foreground on my sample and learned what I did NOT want to do. To me it looked like a flannel board with letters stuck on.

After completing the outlining of the letters, I slit open the larger letters and even removed miniscule slices of the interior of a few letters. Others I slit, thinking that these will open a bit more when I wash it. I had to leave the smaller ones alone.

When I had completed the construction, except for the hems and neckline, I tried it on. It felt like that blanket I wear at the dentist when they x-ray my teeth, only nicely fitted through the shoulders, bust and arms. I put it away for a while and worked on other projects.

After reassurance from one of you, kind readers, I cut away the bottom layer (the red) from around the lettering. This did not change the appearance at all, but it made it much lighter and quite comfortable to wear. And that plain back just had to change - too much flat gray after the business in the front. So, for now, it is solid red. 

I took a class on printing with botanical dyes this past weekend - such fun! I learned some new things about printing, so I now have an idea about a way to keep the red half of the back more in line with the overall design. Just waiting for a few supplies to arrive.

I turned the bottom hem up and stitched it in place with a running stitch which gives it some weight. I had enough red left over from my cutting away the bottom layer to make red binding for the sleeves.

This piece is finished. For now. I may or may not add to the red back half. What do you think? Is it too jarring as is? 

Thanks for reading. I hope you are happily making something today.