My quilting needles have been bumping into the squishy-ness of cotton jersey lately.
It feels like trying to nail jello to a tree when you compare it to the act of working with quilting cotton.
The Alabama Chanin DIY skirt that I'm making is still on the front burner and it is progressing but it seemed like a tank top to match would be a fun project. I cut out a corset top from the pattern in her book and made it with jersey Nani Iro that I got from awesome online shop Superbuzzy.
It's my own person Japanese twist on this cool process. I have a few more alterations to make and I'm even toying with adding a few beads to it. I might also put some of the gray fabric used on the skirt around the neckline and arm holes to tie it together. Either way, it's looking good but not done yet.
Just a quick progress report for you on my Alabama Chanin DIY skirt.
It's almost 25% done and I'm still really REALLY getting a kick out of working on it.
Because the paint color is almost the same as the background fabric, it is strangely easier to work on in the evening with a lamp rather than in daylight.
It's easy to cut out the pieces though on the weekends during the day so that is sort of how I'm sorting out the sew/cut work.
Maybe I'll finish it up over the Winter Olympics or something. I'm already looking forward too that.
I think that the Alabama Chanin Company will soon come out with a non-hand made line of clothing that should still be made in the USA but will probably be more affordable. I'm really looking forward to checking that out.
Am I interested in making more cotton jersey garments? Yes.
Do I plan to sew them in an elegant non-messy fashion? Yes.
Am I beneath trying to fix a hole in my son's jersey PJ's if he begs me to? No.
Did I fix said hole while he was still wearing said PJ's? Maybe.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
He's only 5 and really wasn't in the mood to take them off.
Wow, my stitches are messy!
Disclaimer: No children were harmed in the fixing of these PJ's.
A quick photo for you of the simple skirt I made. I'm no seamstress mind you, I'm really just a wandering quilter looking for another hand applique outlet.
It's from the Alabama Chanin Gored Skirt pattern in the book called Alabama Studio Style, p101.
When the skirt is dirty, I find myself willing to do laundry just to get to this garment again. I'm thinking a 2nd one is in my future.
The instructions in the book is to do everything by hand.
I wanted to follow the instructions, but you know...I've never been one to follow the rules.
The important part of sewing jersey on a machine is to get yourself a jersey-friendly ball-tip needle for your machine. I did that for less that $4 on Amazon.
It worked well, and I used pins when putting the seams together.
The top layer of the garment is black and the bottom layer is a dark charcoal. I didn't actually have 4 yards of any fabric, so that is why I ended up with 2 colors. It didn't matter much since it was an experiment anyhow and I was really just making it to see if it would fit.
After it was finished, I put an elastic waistband in using fold over elastic I got from the Alabama Chanin web site. I also used the felled seam technique, hand sewing to have the excess seam fabric lay flat. I was not sure if this was a good idea initially but I LOVE the look and will be doing this on all my jersey seams from now on.
I'm thinking of making a more complex project soon. Something similar to the skirt made by Bowersette of the From These Hands blog, perhaps.
Until I get more than 5 minutes to rub together, it looks like I'll be washing (and re-washing!) this skirt.
