Alphabet Banner--Part II: Open Buttonhole Filler

For almost a year now I've worked on the alphabet banner for my son.  Not consistently, of course, but when I do watch out!!!  Unfortunately, at the rate I'm going Sebastian will be in high school by the time I finish.  Oh well... I'll save it for my grandkids!  Actually the banner is a pretty simple project.  My inspiration came from the various alphabet books and flash cards I use with my son.  Many of the letters were represented by simple objects or animals like elephants, owls, and cars.  Although I've never been one to attempt applique, the vivid imagery was too enticing to pass up.  I designed the letters freehand but the pictures were based on Ed Emberley's drawing techniques.  He uses simple shapes to create boldly graphic designs.  He has a series of "how to" drawing books that really takes the mystique out of drawing.

The sewing material I used were several old sweaters I recycled; however, you could use regular felted wool which is easier to work with because it's not as thick as recycled sweaters.  I used Aurifil wool thread to stitch my applique pieces and various other threads to embroider and embellish.  In a pervious post about this banner I included pictures of a couple of blocks I had completed but I didn't elaborate on the block embellishments.  Well, I wish to correct that mistake and talk about them now!

The problem with talking about embroidery stitches is, depending on what source material you use, one stitch may go by a multitude of different titles.  I never really thought about it before now because I normally don't think about the name of a stitch.  I based my use of certain stitches on their looks rather than what they were called and if I needed to locate a certain stitch, well again, I looked at the pictures of my embroidery books rather than rely on assigned names.  Titles only become a problem when you need to compile a list or try to explain how to do certain stitches.  This was the situation confronting me while trying to put this post together.  A prime example of this particular quandary is the open buttonhole filler stitch, a.k.a. the net stitch, a.k.a. the detached buttonhole stitch.  All three pretty much refer to the same thing, except the detached buttonhole is similar but very different from the other two; however, I chose it because it was the only representation I could find on the internet.  Here are some examples of this elusive stitch.

This is a detail of the "A for alligator" block.  I use the open buttonhole filler to simulate the animal's scales.  I used a no. 8 pearl cotton thread.

The example below is a close up of the "N for nectarine" block.  While I used the same stitch I had a completely different purpose.  I needed to add texture and color to an otherwise boring block.









Instructions for this stitch are available in two books:  Creative Stitching by Sue Spargo (open buttonhole), and Embroidery & Crazy Quilt Stitch Tool by Judith Baker Montano (net stitch).  If you're not interested in acquiring a book you could also look at Sharon B's Dictionary of Stitches website (detached buttonhole).

I particularly liked this stitch because once the anchor row is established the rest goes pretty quickly.  Little effort for a BIG effect!  It's funny because it has less to do with embroidery and feels more like crochet or something similar.  Of course there are other stitches represented through out each block but I think I'll save that for another day...

Happy stitching!!!!

The T-Shirt Revitalized

Salutations!

I continue to revel in my recent new-found obsession with all things Alabama Chanin!  I was never one for working with knit fabrics but I'm REALLY enjoying the "little" projects I've undertaken thus far.  In fact I'm enjoying myself so much I decided to get the other two books in the Alabama Chanin series: Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style, which were actually the first two books from the series.  Both (of course) are similar to Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, which was the first book I owned, but there are more projects centered around the home in my new books.  They even have recipes in them and some of them don't look half bad!

After reading the new books I had not realized that the company used to use old t-shirts as their main source for fabric.  So much so, that many of their designs were dictated by this resource.  By the time the last book was written (Sewing + Design) they seemed to completely move away from recycling t-shirts and only use fabric on bolts.  While I continue to work on my reverse applique dress (check out my post from July) I thought I would do a quick project to up-cycle one of my old t-shirts.  Here are some before and after pictures:

These are pictures of an old t-shirt I've kept for years commemorating the graduating class of 1997 from the Western College Program at Miami University.  My college years were very good times for me and I always loved the color and logo of this t-shirt.  But, after the 90s I never wanted to wear the shirt again because, while it might have been cute during the "Grunge era" it's not so stylish now. Unfortunately, these are very bad pictures because the shirt is actually purple, not maroon!  The logo below says, "if the world is night... shine my life like a light..."

The next two pictures are much better because they show the actual colors!  Here's what the shirt looked like after I was finished.  The pattern for the tank top came from Alabama Stitch Book.  The book explains how to deconstruct t-shirts to get the maximum amount of fabric possible and gives you step-by-step instructions on how to put the shirt together.  I sewed the entire shirt together by hand using Coats & Clark's Dual Duty Plus Craft & Button thread.  For my needle I used a standard embroidery needle I had laying around my sewing supplies.  The eye just needed to be big enough for the thread to fit properly.

This is a view of the front and below is a back view.

One of the best things about working with cotton jersey is that you don't have to finish your edges unless you want to.  Based on how the fabric is constructed it will not unravel!  Finishing some of the edges may be beneficial for some of the designs, especially if you want a more polished look.  For instance, I will probably finish the neck and armholes of the cotton jersey dress I'm still working on.  This shirt took about three days to finish and now I have my old t-shirt back ready to wear!!!!

What do you think?  Do you have old t-shirts that need new life?  Let us know we may be able to help out!

The Sacred Space of Cathedrals is... Family

Good afternoon everyone!  This spring certainly has been a busy one in the Dixon-DeRouchey household.  We've had more family functions in the last two months than we've had throughout the entire year!  It's good to reconnect with one's family because it's grounding.  It takes you back to childhood and forces you to contemplate those events which shaped your life.  Sometimes they are good memories and sometimes not but whatever they are, they are a part of one's continuing story.  I would rather hear about the "good, bad, and ugly" of my family than be left in the dark because it is the mapping of the path we've tread as a family and I'm very proud of that.  It is especially important for me because as an African American the path is so often next to impossible to trace, up to a point, due to the legacy of Slavery.  When I was a child my father always stressed the importance of history as a way to build one's self-esteem and I have every intention of doing that for my son.  He may not have the luxury of growing up surrounded by immediate or extended family but he will know them.

My family (like most I'm sure) is a "hodgepodge" of different types of people with varying levels of skills that seems to run the gambit!  We have educators, architects, chefs, civil servants, entrepreneurs, performance artists, artists, and even published writers.  My aunt Miki is one of those writers who recently published a photo essay book called Journey to the Woman I've Come to Love.

 The book focuses on women from all walks-of-life and includes the famous and not so famous.  My aunt interviewed and photographed the individuals herself and she asked each woman one question, "at what point did you fall in love with yourself?"  Fascinating in the scope of their own self-awareness, many of the subject's answers were provocative and thought provoking!

My aunt Miki and I on my wedding day.

With the success of her first book well on the way my aunt called me recently.  She asked if I would be willing to create a piece for the cover of her next book!  Of course I took the challenge because not only did I feel privileged to be asked such a task, it was important for me as a budding designer, and it would give me an opportunity to convey my beliefs about "family" as a continuation of an ongoing story through my art!  

Aunt Miki wanted the piece to evoke tradition and the bond between mothers and daughters.  She also wanted it to be a wall hanging and something that could possibly be translated into different things like pins.  As she was talking to me the gears in the back of my mind were turning...  Anne and I for some time now have wanted to attempt making Cathedral Windows in our own individual styles; and now here was my chance!  If you're not familiar with the cathedral window block here's what it looks like:

I snagged this example during a google search and it originally appeared on flickr.  To view a tutorial on how to make cathedral windows checkout the blog Hyena in Petticoats.  It's very informative and the pictures are great!

The block is made through a series of folds with the background fabric as a solid color (typically white) and the diamond accented with a patterned fabric.  The above example is a modern twist with the use of the gray coloring as the background.  It's funny because I actually found this picture after I had picked out my fabrics for my piece.  I too decided to lean more towards the current trend by using grays as my neutrals but I will take it a step further.  Instead of using a solid color as my background fabric I will use a patterned fabric and a more subtle patterned fabric for the diamonds!

It's amazing what you can find these days in fabric!  I found this floral print at Walmart for less than $6 a yard!  Don't snub your nose at that!!!!

This is a close-up of the diamond fabric.  It's a wonderful compliment to the floral fabric because the individual dots have many of the same tones.  It's also wonderful because it's subtle enough that it will not compete with the the next step I hope to implement!

In this close-up you can see the various shades of gray throughout the fabric.

Once I knew the block design and the color choices, I needed something that would convey mothers and daughters.  That's when it hit me...  Why not incorporate a little embroidery?!!!!  I decided I would trace a few of the pictures my aunt took of her subjects, embroider them, and make them the diamond centers.  

This is a picture of my mother and I on my wedding day which was taken by my aunt Miki...

And this is the tracing of that picture.

So far I've traced one picture and once I get my measurements just right I will begin constructing the blocks.  Stay tune for further developments on this piece in progress!

Happy crafting everyone!!!!!