Stitching

I haven't been blogging my knitting so much, because I make all my notes on Ravelry. But Ravelry hasn't completely killed The Knitting Blog, and I still have several knitters on my RSS feed. More than once I've gotten inspired for non-knitting crafts on a knitting blog, and it happened again. This time, I read about the Alabama Chanin style hand sewing. I started researching it, and became so very inspired. I got one book out of the library, and now all three are in my house.

I've got years of sewing experience, but hardly any motivation. All the inspiration from these books resparked my motivation. It's so exciting to find a new and attractive way to utilise my skills.  Plus, the author uses old t-shirts as her fabric source, something I"ve been doing for years. I love old t-shirts for fabric.

My first project was a tea-towel, using reverse applique.

My second project also used reverse applique. It's an over-the-arm pin cushion, and seemed like a really valuable thing to have around to keep my stitching tools centralised.

This weekend, I tried making a corset tank as described in the first book. Again, I started with a t-shirt as my fabric source.

The seams are hand-stitched, deliberately sewn to be visible. I'm not sure how I like that technique!

After first trying it on, I wasn't entirely happy with it. I made my daughter try it on to see if it fit her any better. It didn't. Though she wears it cuter. :)

Then I tried it with a long black skirt, and that transformed the shirt. Suddenly, I liked it.

Maybe I'll wear it after all.

Next time, I'll remember that I prefer my shirts long waisted.