Needle works

The "haute homespun" Project Alabama cotton T-shirts created by Natalie Chanin and stitchers of her native Florence, Alabama, revived a Southern community's dormant textile industry and received critical acclaim. Chanin then founded Alabama Chanin, a line of recycled and sustainable products from furniture to quilts and clothing made by artisans from that same community. In Alabama Stitch Book: Projects and Stories Celebrating Hand-Sewing, Quilting and Embroidery for Contemporary Sustainable Style, Chanin introduces the patterns, stitching, stenciling and beading techniques of the Depression-era South that inspired her, followed by 20 illustrated projects using her trademark deconstructed T-shirts and appliqué techniques. Her popular T-shirts, skirts and corsets are included along with instructions for a "rag boa" that doubles as a furniture duster, a bugle-beaded postcard of kraft paper and a gorgeous tablecloth of cream cotton backed with royal blue roosters embellished with paint and knots perfect for a country picnic of homegrown fruits and vegetables. Some projects include recipes and country wisdom ("Here's the lesson: if you start to get a hole in something, fix it immediately . . . this saying seems to apply to most problems in life."). Pull-out patterns, stencils and templates, and evocative photographs by Robert Rausch inspire readers to take a stab at these inventive needlework projects.