This take on our Long Fitted Skirt—one of my longtime favorite go-to pieces—is available for a limited time in our DIY Sewing Kit Collection through The School of Making. I own many versions of this skirt in a range of colors and wear them throughout the year, from one season to the next. The Long… Read on

Couching is one of the more sculptural techniques that we use to embellish garments at Alabama Chanin. The effect adds a unique texture and visual appeal. Traditional couching is a very old technique where yarn (or another material) is laid across fabric and sewn into place, creating shapes and patterns. Our process of couching involves… Read on

The Alabama Corset is one of our signature pieces and, over the years, has proven to be the perfect canvas for a wide variety of colorways and techniques. Shown here in Anna’s Garden reverse appliqué, the garment is created by joining two layers of fabric. The top layer is stenciled, then the maker stitches around… Read on

Just in time for fall weather and the upcoming holiday season, we’re featuring the Anna’s Garden Poncho Kit. One of our most popular garments, the poncho is a classic piece, fit for most any occasion. Originally featured in Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, the poncho is seen here in our 100% organic cotton jersey fabric in… Read on

In Chapter 7 of Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, we present various methods of appliqué using a variety of stitches and decorative elements. These techniques include Appliqué with Beaded Parallel Whipstitch, Appliqué with Straight Stitch, Appliqué with Blanket Stitch, Appliqué with Backstitch, Appliqué with Beaded Straight Stitch, and Appliqué with Beaded Backstitch. This month, for… Read on

Swatch of the Month Inspiration featuring Journeys in Natural Dyeing: Techniques for Creating Color at Home; Kristine Vejar: Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns from the Alabama Chanin Journal Archives; June Swatch of the Month Exclusive: Naturally Dyed Embroidery Floss; “Shearing day at Sally Fox’s farm from A Verb for Keeping Warm Blog; The Slim Scarf Kit;… Read on

June’s Swatch of the Month explores a new way to showcase embroidery techniques through an application we call ‘Transitional Embroidery.’ Our three new kits—The Cropped Car Jacket, The Slim Scarf Kit, and The Scarf Kit—inspired us to experiment with this application. Transitional Embroidery is a combination of embroidery techniques applied to a fabric. As we… Read on

From top left: May Swatch of the Month variation with Black backing layer and appliqué; Gold-Handled Embroidery Scissors; Alabama Chanin Archives Fall/Winter 2010 Collection; Brown Bugle Beads; Studio Bundle #2; Fabric Swatch in Abstract Forest/Forest with Brown Variegated Embroidery Floss Natalie writes of her return home in 2000, “Although I had been gone from Alabama… Read on

“Anything which is worth the effort to portray, is worth every effort to improve upon.”  – Eugene Von Bruenchenhein  In case you missed it, read Natalie’s personal essay about the inspiration for our Marie Stencil from the work of Eugene Von Bruenchenhein. The Marie Stencil is featured as this month’s Swatch of the Month, and we’re showing more love… Read on

From top left: The Tea Towels Kit in Natural, Color Palette Bundle #4, The Pillow Kit in Anna’s Garden White/Ballet, The Shirt Bundle in Natural and The Pencil Skirt Kit in Abstract Forest/Forest, The Swing Skirt Bundle in Abstract Ochre, The Long Apron Kit in Abstract Forest/Black, The Swing Skirt Kit Fabric Detail in Abstract… Read on

In celebration of the 10-year anniversary edition release of Alabama Stitch Book, we celebrate our journey and growth over the years by re-releasing special-edition kits of our Swing Skirts, which were featured in Alabama Stitch Book and remain our most popular garment pattern of all time. It is likely that, because of the number of… Read on

The School of Making was created in 2014—though our workshops, educational services, and DIY projects date back to the early 2000s. This important part of our business allows us to make living arts accessible to all consumers. Today, we guide you through this section of our new site, which has a few updates. What We… Read on

The Wrap Dress style made its first appearance in the Alabama Chanin collection back in 2008. Over the years, it has been made in many different variations—dressed down in a basic tank style for summer as well as dressed up as a fully embellished dress for a wedding. The sleeve variations and length options make… Read on

Our Design Bundle was announced last week and includes hand-stenciled swatches in two designs: our popular Anna’s Garden stencil and a new stencil for our DIY community: the Daisy stencil. Once only offered for our Collection garments, the Daisy stencil is a now available through The School of Making as a Mylar stencil and as a… Read on

Couching is another age-old technique that we employ over, and over again as a design practice at Alabama Chanin. When embellishing, we often use cotton jersey pulls as appliqué to give weight and a sculptural quality to our crafted garments and home goods. From page 110 of Alabama Studio Sewing + Design: “At Alabama Chanin,… Read on

Our Camisole Dress from Alabama Studio Style is highlighted in a video class on Traditional Appliqué at Creativebug.com. You fill find the pattern sheet for this dress at the back of the book and can follow along step-by-step with our instructions on Creativebug. We now offer this project as a DIY Kit from our online store… Read on

The Alabama Chanin collection is a luxury line. Hand-selected fabric is sourced, dyed, re-dyed, and sometimes dyed again to achieve the perfect shade. Our team has hand-mixed thousands of paint colors, looking for the perfect complement to a certain hue. Giant rolls of fabric have been returned, donated, or recycled because a run, tear, or… Read on

Our floor-sweeping skirt is made of soft, wearable jersey. The pull-on design is framed by stretchable stitching, and can easily be worn slung low on your hips or high above your natural waist. The Long Embroidered Skirt is comfortable enough for every day, but the incredible all-over design and details allow it to fit any… Read on

Introducing our Knotted Necklaces – which are also a great belts. Shown below styled with our: Anna’s Garden Embroidered Tank and Paisley Skirt    

Our most popular A-line skirt is a versatile piece that can pull double duty as an elegant swing top.  It is, as always, sewn and adorned by hand using our Anna’s Garden pattern in contrasting applique and glass bugle and chop beads.  You see it here styled with two long skirts for our collection photos:… Read on

Over the decade of my design work in Alabama, I have tried endless types of fabrics and combinations of fabrics; however, our clients return over, and over again, to our organic cotton jersey.  And as often as I have wanted to move away from cotton jersey, I reach for it each morning as I get… Read on