A School for Makers

A School for Makers? There actually is such a place and I’ve wanted to attend it for some time.  But it’s not the kind of school where you carefully load your backpack with new pencils and notebooks for the first day of school.  It’s not the kind of school where you attend a series of classes to listen to teachers lecture about math, languages and sciences.  It’s not the kind of school where you take copious notes and study into the wee hours before the next big test. The School of Making™ by Alabama Chanin is an experience where you learn by doing, surrounded by like-minded makers and tons of living examples.  You learn new techniques, you try things, you get the hang of it … and you M.A.K.E!  At this school, you learn how to make garments in the style of the award-winning Alabama Chanin brand.  The garments are comfortable and flowing and beautifully embellished by hand.

Here’s a peek into the Alabama Chanin Factory Store in Florence Alabama.

This gorgeousness is the Alabama Chanin Dogwood Tunic.

Equally lovely is the Alabama Chanin Georgia Smock.

 The story of how The School of Making came into being is fascinating and surprising.  Natalie Chanin is the talented designer behind the Alabama Chanin brand of fashion and home goods.  They are known for working in 100% organic cotton jersey fabric.

You may wonder why someone who makes her livelihood from designing, producing and selling beautiful garments would readily teach others how to make those same garments.  Isn’t the fashion industry about keeping secrets and preventing others from copying your ideas?  Aren’t “knock offs” a bad thing?  Apparently not at Alabama Chanin!  In fact, their mission clearly states their devotion to openly share and educate others.

I had the pleasure of hearing Natalie answer these questions in person.  She readily admits her pieces are expensive and that not everyone can afford them.  But early on when someone accused Alabama Chanin of being an elitist company because of it, she resolved to show others how her garments were made.  That’s when she wrote the Alabama Stitch Book.  Others warned she was putting the nail in her own coffin by giving away her designs and techniques.  But reactions to the book were the opposite; people said “this is kind of hard… now we see why it’s worth so much”.

So Natalie’s gutsy move paid off!  I am thrilled that it turned out in her favor… and in ours!  An entire community of makers eagerly embraced her designs and techniques.  Over time, this evolved into The School of Making where Alabama Chanin fosters creativity and Natalie gives serious thought to cultural sustainability through keeping traditional crafts alive.

So what did I learn in school?  The session I attended was a compressed workshop so we only had time to learn the basics and start a Tshirt project.  Here’s a peek at my “school desk”.

We were able to examine spectacular samples and stitch books.

Here’s my attempt at the Cretan stitch leveraging the ingenious template from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing.  You may recall me mentioning this book in my post called This Stitch is Off and Running.  The stitching templates are made of firm plastic which you can easily tear out of the book.  You simply lay the template on your fabric and use a FriXion marking pen to mark dots on your fabric.  After you’ve finished making your perfectly spaced stitches, you use the heat of an iron to make the dots disappear.  Genius!   See More Info section below for a link to the book.

This is the Tshirt I started.  We used stencils and markers to add the design.  Then used reverse applique with fabric scraps to embellish it.  As you can see, my Tshirt has a long way to go!

Thankfully, I have The School of Making Stitchalong Facebook group to keep me motivated.  It’s an online support group of over 1000 classmates and like-minded makers.  Folks share their projects, celebrate accomplishments and seek advice.  I imagine this type of interaction being similar to the old-timey quilting bees where members of the community came together to sew and support each other.

Now I’d best get back to that project… I have homework to do!

More Info

You can find lots of information about Alabama Chanin on their website.  Be sure to check out the gorgeous Collection and The School of Making.  There are several DIY Sewing Kits and other resources to get you started.

Today’s Takeaways

I’d like to leave you with these thoughts; perhaps they’ll spark an idea.

1. Few award-winning designers are as willing to share as Natalie Chanin so it’s important to show appreciation and support her brand.
2. A DIY Kit, complete with materials and instructions, is a great way to try a new craft.
3. Take advantage of online support groups to keep learning and stay motivated.