I had a white t-shirt in the size that my oldest daughter is currently wearing. Only problem: Plain white is definitely too boring to wear for her colourful tastes and she strongly rejected it. I thought of dying it a different colour, but then it would still be a plain t-shirt and probably still count as boring. Years ago, I completely hand embroidered a cardigan in the style of Alabama Chanin using the Bloomers stencil from the Alabama stitch book by Natalie Chanin. I thought I could use this same stencil to make an Alabama Chanin t-shirt for my daughter
For my cardigan I had used the stencil to paint the shapes on the fabric and then backstitched around the shapes with embroidery floss. For this t-shirt, I wanted to applique the shapes on the front of the t-shirt. I traced the stencil to create pattern pieces and cut fabric leaves from 3 different solid knit fabrics. The leaves were pinned to the t-shirt and attached with a running stitch using a different colour of embroidery floss for each leaf.
I think it also looks really pretty on the inside with all the different floss colours.
The result makes me very happy and my daughter immediately put the t-shirt on when she discovered it. Definitely not boring anymore. Maybe it’s time I also make an Alabama Chanin t-shirt for myself. I still love wearing that cardigan I made so long ago.
I love how your Alabama Chanin-inspired appliquéd tee shirt turned out. It looks like a wearable art piece now and I know your daughter will enjoy wearing this one-of-a-kind treasure for years to come.
Well done!
Thank you!
I love her stuff and have a whole Pinterest board about it. This T-shirt is really cute and I hope she gets lots of enjoyment from wearing it!
Yes, her pieces are really amazing! I also want to try some of her beading techniques someday, when I find good beads.
Wow that looks great!
Thank you!
I am not surprised your daughter immediately wore the embroidered t-shirt. It is a beautiful labour of love
Thank you!