Customer Reviews

Alabama Studio Style: More Projects, Recipes, & Stories Celebrating Sustainable Fashion & Living

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If you liked the Alabama Stitch Book, you are in for a treat because I think this book,Alabama Studio Style is even better. I had it on my list for months but it was definitely worth the wait. Once and a while you find a book that you know will not be a quick read or a book placed on the shelf to be occasionally used as reference material. Once in a great while you find a book that will become a friend that will be carried from room to room, covered with post-its and scribbles, referenced and used constantly. Alabama Studio Style is that kind of book. Part craft book, part cookbook - filled with antidotes about the food and the people of Florence Alabama - people I'd love to meet - the book quickly becomes an old friend.

I have not put this book down since it arrived in the mail. The projects are so beautiful. Natalie can do more with cotton jersey than I ever imagined. I've already bought materials to start my first project from the book and am currently cutting my stencil. The instructions are clear and easy to understand.

So this weekend I'm looking foward to making the "Put Up Tomato Tart" and "Angie's Classic Cupcakes". Then I'll be sitting back with my cupcake, a cuppa tea and my project. There are enough projects, recipes and inspiration to keep me going for the next few months. I know it's early in the year but this is my pick for the best craft book of the year.

I purchased Natalie's first book sight unseen by reading a write up of it. Little was I to know how obsessed I would become using her method. I have sewn and embroidered for over 25 years and I thought I had seen some pretty amazing things in that time. Natalie's method raises the bar for all the craft/sewing books from this point on. Once you understand Natalie's way of constructing garments it is relatively easy to make clothing like hers that sell for thousands of dollars. I am constantly amazed at the work that comes out of her studio with one garment being more beautiful than the next. I feel so blessed that she has decided to share her method with us. Give yourself a treat and purchase BOTH of these books, The Alabama Stitch book, and Alabama Studio Style. There are even stencils in the books so you can get going right away. When you become more committed to creating additional pieces you might want to buy your own airbrush and compressor as I have. There is no end to what you can do using this method.

I have the Alabama Stitch book, and was waiting with great anticipation for the follow-up, Alabama Studio Style. I was worried it would not be as wonderful as the first book, which was simply magical, but I was truly amazed by the new book. It offers an even greater array of project and techniques that are inspiring and visually stunning. I made several projects from the first book, and am sure I will make several from this one as well. I was most impressed by the dress patterns, as those are the pieces in the Alabama Chanin line that I find most appealing, and there are several option to make stunning variation of your own. I didn't get the feeling it was a watered-down version, which some "DIY' projects can appear to be, but an authentic version, to which you can add own individual touch. Plus, there are a bunch of recipes I can't wait to try, especially the Bloody Marys. It is definitely worth getting and exploring on your own.

Unique, engaging, informed and informative, "Alabama Studio Style: More Projects, Recipes, & Stories Celebrating Sustainable Fashion & Living" by Natalie Chanin (founder and head designer of Alabama Chanin, a fashion/lifestyle company that promotes sustainable style and design) is a superbly illustrated, 176-page compendium of twenty clothing and home decoration projects that will enable even the novice beginner to create skirts, carves, pillows, woven chair seats, a stenciled scrap-wood table, distinctive placemats and napkins, market bags, camisole and tank dresses, canning-jar covers, and eyelet doilies, as well as palate-pleasing, gourmet quality dishes suitable for any and all party menus. Thoroughly 'user friendly', step-by-step instructions are enhanced with a profusion of color photographs and line-drawings. The result is a remarkable tour-de-force with an underlying message of re-use, re-cycle, and re-purpose that is environmentally friendly. "Alabama Studio Style" is a highly recommended addition to personal and community library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Alabama Studio Style is a must, a must for anyone who yearns for simple beauty with a little flair, a little something extra, a little unexpected pop thrown in for good measure. While it might be nice and easy to run to the nearest big box decorating or clothing extravaganza, Natalie Chanin invites the reader to take a moment and consider what you really yearn for and how you can achieve it...artfully, simply and perhaps most importantly, authentically. Often times, that can be by your own hand. With simple tools, instructions and patterns, she instructs you in the fine art of making something, whether a simple pillow, a plate of deviled eggs, or an entire dress, the reader is encouraged to try. I encourage you to read this book with an open mind...an eye toward thoughtful, simple bliss...handcrafted...by you.

More than a continuation of the first Stitch book, Alabama Chanin has delved deeper into the handicrafts and taken design to a new level. Whether you use this book as a practical guide for making things or a resource for information and inspiration, it is a must have.

Putting Alabama on the fashion map took some doing but Natalie Chanin makes it look easy! An inspiring look into an authentic lifestyle that mixes traditional crafts with contemporary sensibility.

I really enjoyed her first book and thought this might just be a rehash. You know how sometimes an author has one good book in them and then tries to milk it for another two or three books? That is not the case here. I entitled my review "Perfect", because I couldn't think of another way to describe this book.

The hand stitching tutorials are simple and just as useful for beginners as those who have held a needle before. I love how the core dress/top/skirt design is centered around one basic pattern that is customizable for length, neck rise, shoulder strap width, and is convertible to a skirt. What seems like a simple idea is actually leading users to understand design basics and how they can easily incorporate them. The appliqued and stitched embellishments speak to a very clean aesthetic. There is a lot going on, but it doesn't look "blingy" It's the anti-bling!

The recipes are a welcome addition and really help to put you in the mindset of this slower, more artisan approach to creating and living.

I have a lot of sewing/knitting/diy books, and I have to say that this is one of the few I actually "read" rather than just cutting to the project instructions and making it. Some crafty authors should stick to project books and leave the self-absorbed narrative by the wayside. Natalie Chanin is not one of them!

I love this book. Great ideas for using knit fabric or old t-shirts.
A full size pattern is included for the basic dress/top.
Make plain, fancy or fun!
A stencil is also included and some nice recipes.
Lots of tips on finishing seams, applique, stenciling on fabric, cutting
out your pattern, and much more.
This book really gets the creative juices flowing.

The Alabama Chanin team has done it again with the Alabama Stitch Book! Not only is the book beautiful to look at, the projects, patterns and stencils are fantastic. This book continues the wonderful hand sewing techniques and artistry that was introduced in the Alabama Stitch Book to create endless creative possibilities for the reader. Each book is wonderful on its own, but together they really shine. The book provides many specific projects that you can complete, or you can use the information provided and apply these techniques to any project that suits you. I own/read almost every sewing book that comes on the market and I really believe that this is one of the best!