Mindful Choices

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the choices I make in my life.  One of my long term goals is to try to incorporate as many sustainable choices as I can, be it decisions regarding food, cleaning products or clothing.  I realize this process is slow and made up of lots of little changes rather than one big lifestyle change.  Along those lines, my closet really needs a major overhaul.  It is full to capacity though I probably only wear about 20% of what’s in there.  I’ve just started the process of discarding items I will no longer wear.  More importantly, I am determined to only add items back in that really match my lifestyle and that will get worn.  To that end I’ve taken stock of the type of clothes I like to wear and have made a plan to add to my wardrobe in a mindful way.

First, I’ve made a vow for 2012 to buy no clothing from a chain store.  I’m planning to limit my purchases to the excellent local thrift stores in my area.  Anything else will have to come from my sewing room.

My lifestyle as a stay-at-home-mom doesn’t require a lot in the way of wardrobe choices.  In the winter, my “uniform” usually consists of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt topped with another layer.  As anyone who reads my blog knows I am really in love with the hand-stitched clothing of Alabama Chanin, and I think t-shirts would be the perfect place to start my clothing plan – something that can be completed quickly and will be useful additions to my wardrobe.  I envision using appliqués, stencils and embroidery to create unique designs.  Remember all of those t-shirts I bought recently at my thrift store?  Those are my raw materials.

This past week I finished my first shirt.  It was a fantastic experience (though my finger is still a bit sore from all of the hand stitching).  It did not take nearly as long as I thought it would, and the process was so enjoyable.  I began by deconstructing two t-shirts, one long-sleeved, the other short.  Let me tell you:  if you have never cut apart a t-shirt you have been missing out on life.  There is something really gratifying about slicing into heavyweight cotton.  Once I had the shirts in pieces I cut out the "new" t-shirt from a Burda pattern I fitted a number of years ago.  I cut a double layer for the front and back but only a single layer for the sleeves.

I traced the stencil design that I chose (the Bloomers stencil from Alabama Stitch book) onto what would be the top layer of the shirt.  I layered that with the corresponding underlayer and began stitching.  I first stitched the bust darts through both layers.  I slit the dart and felled the dart legs open.  Next I used a running stitch around the larger leaves, then completed the reverse appliqué by trimming away the top layer.  For the smaller designs I cut the shapes from scraps of the green fabric and appliquéd them on with a parallel whipstitch.

The construction was all done by hand.  It went together pretty quickly, maybe 1.5 hours which included felling the shoulder and side seams.  The most time-consuming part was putting on the neck binding.  The chained feather stitch was new to me, and it took some practice before I got into the rhythm of the stitching.

All in all I spent about three days working on this shirt, not the 3 hours needed to whip one up on the serger but not a large investment of time for a really unique garment.  I know I will get a lot of wear from this shirt, and I can’t wait to start my next one.  I’m hoping to complete 3 or 4 more before the spring when I’ll start on my short-sleeved versions for the summer.  Watch for more coming soon.

Comments

[maria]

You did an amazing job! Like you, I am also a stay at home mother and wife, but my uniform is a bit different, since I have to take my daughter to therapy for the week. How wonderful in your resolution not to purchase anything from a chain store. I have a wonderful thrift store in town also that works really well for the needs of my family...other wise - I sew :-)

m.

[linda]

wow! Julie this looks fantastic. I have got to come over one day for you to give me your sewing hand on accomplishing this task. Excellent job on the shirt. Can't wait to see you in it. So much jersey...so little time.