it's a good day to dye

Experimental dyeing with tansy:

They're not quite dry and still a little blotchy.

I think I'm most excited about two in the middle, especially the lemon-yellow linen with an alum mordant and tin afterdip (third from left at the top), and the dark gray (looks black in the photo) cotton jersey with alum and an iron afterdip (fourth from the left at the top). Note to self: Iron darkens everything and tin brightens everything.

Also, the cotton jersey took the dye surprisingly well. I've always heard that cotton doesn't take natural dyes well at all, and my first dyeing experiments with your standard white Gildan t-shirts didn't really work...but this is Alabama Chanin jersey, so maybe the fact that it's organic had something to do with it. (It is awfully soft.)

I actually love the dark gray so much that I'm dyeing up an AC remnant with the tansy/iron mix right now. I hope there's enough to make a t-shirt.

Also, I'm messing around with swatches in part to prepare for a natural dyeing workshop I'm giving at the Peabody Essex Museum in January or February. Super-excited about that -- it's for all ages, and if I can get little kids (and their parents) excited about plants and/or textiles, I'll be happy.

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Alabama Chanin Factory Dress, and an update

Right! So I've been thinking lately about making three "uniform dresses" with pockets in Alabama Chanin cotton jersey that can be worn by themselves or over t-shirts and leggings, under cardigans, etc. And then I got this new "accessory" in May (which I'll explain in a sec) and couldn't get a red dress out of my head. To match, sort of—even though I hate it—but also, I love red and for some reason have none of it in my closet. So anyway, here's the first Factory Dress! It's single-layer medium-weight cotton jersey in Carmine, in a straight size medium, with hand-stitched seams (although I machine-stitched Eloflex within the SA afterward for extra stability). I used the punch cards from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing for the Cretan stitch around the neckline and armholes, which worked out great. Bad closeup of neckline: This was a really enjoyable make—I had fun with the combination of machine and hand-stitching. I might k

finished: Alabama Chanin Classic Jacket

Hi! Lots going on around here lately. Thing One: I bought a new sewing machine! This is my new Bernina 480 , purchased from Sew Creative in Beverly, which recently closed. Sorry I don't have a better picture. I love this thing—it's fancy! I'm still learning my way around it. Thing Two: I was supposed to have another article in Vogue Patterns Magazine, but it folded! Bummer. It's on lighting for sewists, and if you want a copy, feel free to contact me on le social and I'll send it to you. I interviewed the gadget person from the Carroll Center for the Blind, and he recommended a lot of great stuff. (Really going to miss Vogue Patterns—it was my favorite sewing magazine! RIP.) And finally, Thing Three: I completed an Alabama Chanin Classic Jacket, from their Sewing Patterns book. The backstory is that I really wanted a nice reversible travel jacket in nice AC organic cotton for an upcoming trip to Japan. (This is after ordering an expensive travel hood

complete: Nani Iro pocket dress

I made a dress! With the new sewing machine! Wheee! And not to bury the lede, but: We went to Japan for two weeks, and I completely fell in love with the clothing—especially Nani IRO and their amazing fabrics. I'm hooked. We tracked down the atelier in Osaka. ( Here's my review on PR .) They wouldn't let me take photos of the shop but said it was OK to take pictures of the fabrics. Lots of linen, cotton gauze and sateen in bright colors, as well as buttons and notions, an archive (I wasn't sure if it was possible to buy any of the archived fabrics), and jewelry. I bought some lovely blue linen with an asymmetrical print: And the book—the English translation had just been released. And it was signed! (I have a picture, can't seem to post it, sry.) So anyway. I couldn't stop reading the book—you know when you get really really obsessed with a pattern book? Like that. As soon as I got home, I decided to try out the pocket dress. Here'

duck bucket sewing

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