❤

queer n weird

[milk-bong]

Here's my tags for reference since search feature on mobile app is brokennnn

[blackjame]

Ghosted After a Job Interview? Report the Company

Ghosted after a job interview? Submit an anonymous report and see which companies candidates say stopped responding after interviews.

[mayakern]

with just 4 days left in the month, we’re about 80% of the way to the sales amount we need to hit for july!

we recently launched new 100% cotton skirts, silk scrunchies + our fan favorite faux wrap tops, sizes S-6X, all made ethically.

if you could share this i’d really appreciate it 🙏

and for lower price items, we have the aforementioned scrunchies, socks, art prints, stickers and coloring sheets!

thank you!

Shop Maya Kern

Maya Kern's online store for skirts, enamel pins, journals and more! For shoes, masks, and other products visit my Threadless shop.

[mayakern]

fjdjshshd this made me realize i forgot to talk about the huge pockets so thank you for the reminder 😭

its a little funny but for me our pockets have become such a normal part of my life that i expect all clothes to have them and whenever i wear clothes from other brands im always surprised and dismayed at how small the pockets are.

a phone is simply not enough. i need my pockets to fit an entire 32oz water bottle*

*on garments with silhouettes and structures that can support that kind of bulk/stress (which unforch the maxi dresses cannot)

[mayakern]

thank you so much for your help getting us to what we need to make for this month! it really means a lot 😭

we have two days left and are 93% of the way there!!

[queeranarchism]

Preparing for Eviction / Homelessness

I myself have been homeless. Car camped. I can share a few things that can make that time easier.

This is a good good list that unfortunately a lot of people need right now.

[angel-of-anarchy]

Good tips.  I can vouch for many of these.  Here are a couple more that have worked for me (U.S.-based): - Get on food stamps before you are actually homeless, if you can.  It’s just less complicated that way, but I have also had good luck just being very straightforward with DHS about my situation.  - The article talks about not paying for storage – I really think your mileage may vary on that one. I paid for a cheap storage unit that I split with my sister for a couple years.  If you really do have things of value that you want to keep, I say do it if you can find a cheap unit.  ALSO, I have low-key stayed in my storage unit.  You can’t do it for long, and depending on the place, it can be sketchy, but it can be done. - National parks and Forest Service campsites.  Yeah there is definitely the whole day-use only thing but there are some that aren’t monitored.  They often have bathrooms, and for me, it sometimes felt way safer being away from people. - Hook up with your local Food Not Bombs.  It’s usually really good food and run by folks who are used to working outside the system.  You might be able to make friends and score a place to live or stay. - When I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to afford rent for the foreseeable future, I bought myself a cheap travel trailer.  600 bucks and I’ve lived in it for almost five years now.  Friends are way more likely to let you live indefinitely in their driveway or on their land than endlessly crashing on their couch.  I do work-trade or pay what I can for utilities.  If your car can’t haul it (mine can’t), rent a U-Haul truck for a day to get it where you need it to be.  Obviously this requires some cash, but if you can swing it, it can really save your ass in the long run. - Make a plan for bad weather – heat waves and cold snaps can kill.  Heat is worse for me where I live, so I make sure to have a list of spots I can escape to.  This is where those national parks can sometimes come in handy, but also think about overpasses, city parks with lots of shade, abandoned buildings.  Know where your local cooling/warming shelters are.  Keep some money stashed away if you can to pay for cheap motel rooms during the worst weather.  If you can split the cost of a room with friends, even better. - Have a few strategically stashed canisters of mace or pepper spray.  - But at the same time, look out for each other.  You don’t have to become bosom buddies with everyone else on the street, but treating each other like humans is both good for your mental and emotional health and also you’ll find that people are often really amazingly generous with their resources and knowledge.

[queeranarchism]

Good advice. Storage is also one of those thing that a friend might be able to help you with. Cheap storage options are often damp or not as secure as you’d like. That might be a bad place to put your childhood photo albums, electronics, important paperwork, favorite dress, those expensive shoes you bought once… If a friend is willing to store a few boxes of stuff, at least you know those things are safe and dry.

etc.

[jadedgenasi]

I've seen this before, but it's been years and it just came across my Twitter in its dying days. The words are from a favorite author of mine, Maggie Stiefvater, and they are the words I most need to hear when it comes to dealing with chronic pain and illness. I didn't need this the first time I saw it, six years ago. I need it now. Maybe you do, too.

[just-spacetrash]

in my little pony universe youd go to a job interview and theyd be like so how does your cutiemark reflect your dedication to this position. And every time youd have to spew some bullshit about how your cutiemark of two tennis rackets actually means youre a team player and good at multitasking and view the market like a playing field. or whatever. and you wouldnt even get the job

[fvckw4d]

Thanks to Equestria v Sugar Sprinkle, cutie mark interview questions are considered hiring discrimination, so if anypony asks you any cutiemark related questions or even alludes to any questions about your cutiemark such as "In your own words, describe your life purpose" you can and should refuse to answer. Know your rights, ponies.

[luna-azzurra]

Something neuroscience-y that helps with prose: attention is selective. A character will not notice everything in a room. They will notice what matters to their goal, fear, desire, training, wound, or obsession. A jealous character notices hands. a hungry character notices food. A soldier notices exits. A lonely character notices pairs. Description becomes character when attention has a bias.

[glamfellens]

"he can't write women" is crazy because its not like women are aliens or whatever but i guess men dont see women as people so it all adds up huh!!!!

[glamfellens]

perhaps i am missing something but i just dont understand how this is an issue that is struggled with by men. i know i answered my own question above but sometimes i'm floored by the stupidity of it yknow.

[glamfellens]

and then these guys will sit at the top of best selling lists and be considered giants of the genres they write for. its fine i guess

[headspace-hotel]

The closest experience I've ever had to discovering "the vitamin" was buying a 100% wool outfit and wearing it in the winter.

Not only was I not freezing anymore, I was not sweating and overheating either. The horrible sensory nightmare of winter clothes disappeared.

In particular, I bought a pair of wool pants. They were a thrifted pair of fancy dress pants like you would wear at an important office job, and they were easily the most comfortable pair of winter-appropriate pants i'd ever worn. I wore them Every Single Day.

From that point on I realized a lot of my clothes were making me feel bad, and the common thread was polyester. Especially polyester blends.

It's a trap because the polyester clothes are the ones that always feel sooooo silky soft when they are in the store, whereas cotton, linen and wool can feel comparatively rough and scratchy. But when actually wearing them for hours throughout the day, it's the natural fibers that feel more comfortable.

Maybe the secret to sensory comfort is not about the presence of softness, but the absence of overloading sensations. Or maybe the sensory stress and agony is not triggered by texture of the fabric, but by how it breathes and regulates temperature.

Then there's the problem of clothing life span: polyester blends, no matter how soft they seem at first, become rough and scratchy and covered in hard, itchy pills after wearing them 10 or 20 times, whether or not they have been tumble-dried or even washed at all. (I tested it!) Linen and cotton become softer and more comfy the more you wear them, polyester but ESPECIALLY polyester blends become a constant stressor. Polyester blend t-shirts I used to love for their softness now feel bristly and irritating.

So now I'm trying to change my wardrobe to as many natural fibers as possible, and the more natural fiber clothes i have the more I realize that the plastic fibers stress me out. It's so easy to overheat or freeze in them and they're always degrading and becoming less comfortable and it sucks.

[pyroteknich]

So this was mentioned in the notes (and I mentioned it there, too), but I know that sometimes those just don't get read. So here I will mention other natural fabrics.

Alpaca- my all time favorite. It is both warmer and lighter than wool, and if you have allergic reactions to wool, as I do, this is a great substitute. Alpaca socks are so great.

Cotton- the common fabric. Good for shirts, underthings, socks, pants, you name it. Good at wicking moisture and letting skin breathe, but can also be woven into warmer items such as sweaters. Good all around fabric. Can be strong and used for heavy duty clothing as well as delicate clothes.

Linen- the original warm weather fabric. The more it is washed, the softer it gets. Fabulous in the heat. Use it for bed sheets in the summer and you will never be hot in bed again. It can be used to make shirts, pants, shorts, and underthings.

Silk- great for warm and cool weather. Cool in the heat, warm in the cold, and beautiful no matter what. Can be made as a washable fabric, but usually hand wash or dry clean. Will wear like iron. If you treat it right, you can have silk for 20 years or more. Gloves, socks, underthings, shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, you name it.

Hemp- less well known but a great fabric. Resists mold like you would not believe! Used to make sails for sailing ships, as well as ropes during the age of sail. It was stronger than cotton when wet and would last longer due to the no molding thing. Less water intensive to grow than cotton, with many of the same properties of both linen and cotton. Can be used to make bed sheets, bath towels, shirts, underthings, pants, socks, pretty much anything.

Cashmere- Super luxurious! It is the shed hair of the Cashmere and pashmina goats. Usually made into sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves , and shawls. Super warm and soft. Hand wash or dry clean.

Angora- Also super luxurious. The shed fur of the angora rabbit. Can be used to make sweaters, hats, gloves, shawls, socks, and shawls. Warm, soft, and fluffy.

Mohair- The fur/hair from angora or mohair goats. Used to make sweaters, socks, gloves, hats, scarves, and shawls. Soft and warm.

There are also natural blends. These include (but are not limited to, and are not a complete list): cotton/wool, cotton/linen, cotton/silk, linen/silk, wool/silk, alpaca/wool, cashmere/wool, mohair/wool, etc.

Other natural fibers can include camel, yak, and other animal hair that is shed or clipped and then spun into yarn. Some are more available in certain areas of the world than others. I did not include bamboo due to the massive amount of chemical processing that it takes to extract the fibers. I also did not include lotus silk, byssus silk (sea silk), or any other experimental animal silk (such as the golden orb weaver spider silk) that has been made/created.

Natural fibers cost more to harvest, process, spin, and weave. They can be more difficult to color evenly, because like any natural material they have flaws and variations. This makes them more expensive to work with, which makes the clothing more expensive to produce and sell. But the items produced will last longer (theoretically), will feel better against the skin, and will be better for you in the long run for both you and the planet than clothing yourself in plastic. Microplastics will rub off on your skin, washing away in the washing machines and getting into the water supply. As the fabrics break down, they will become not only rougher against the skin, but also more difficult to mend and patch, limiting their wear life. But because they are plastics, they won't decompose and break down, continuing to pollute the environment unless they can be recycled.

Natural fabrics, in comparison, will become softer over time. They can be repaired more easily as they get holes or tears because the fabric will not have pieces break off like plastic will. It can be easily recycled, and will eventually decompose (which is why archaeologists rarely find clothing and textiles at dig sites), causing little to no damage to the environment. Rarely will a person be allergic to a natural fabric (WOOL! Argh!!!), and when they are, there is usually a protein, emollient, or fabric composition which can be a factor and can (usually) be mitigated, unlike with a synthetic fiber.

Don't get me wrong, synthetic fibers have their place and they have become very useful for certain things. But, we live in a time of fast fashion and high consumerism fueled by synthetic fabrics and exploited labor. Being conscientious of what your clothing is made of, what natural fabrics can do, how long they can last, and why and when you should wear them is a good way to start cutting down on waste while helping your body feel better. And you may find that by limiting the amount of synthetic materials you put on or near your body, that certain things might start to clear up (acne, rashes, etc.).

I know there is much more about fashion and fabrics out there, and I am 100% certain that there is someone out there MUCH more knowledgeable than me. But this is just some information I had and info dumped.

[headspace-hotel]

natural fibers knowledge!

[smashinbeetlessinceorson]

I'm a fiber nerd for similar reasons to you, headspace. If you'll humor me, I have a few unsolicited suggestions for looking for natural fibers in thrift stores (other than looking at the tags, naturally, but also since I don't always trust the tags, since fabric fraud or mislabeling isn't uncommon, and tags can be missing or hard to find).

Bast fibers like linen and hemp usually have a fair number of slubs and are usually woven for durability, because lightweight knits tend to unravel near the slubs just around the same time that the wear level starts to get Perfect.

If you're running through the racks and find a nice hand, remember that synthetics tend to absorb water poorly. Holding the fabric for just a moment and then rubbing the fingers together usually tells me if the moisture was absorbed, or if my hands are still sticky. Fabric softener and dry cleaning can fool me sometimes.

Same as the above, synthetics tend to reflect heat. If a fabric feels soft to the hand, hold onto it a moment. Silk and wool warm up slowly, but synthetics feel "warm" almost immediately. Plant fibers also warm pretty quickly in the hand, but will still absorb water.

Silk and wool are HEAVY on the thread level. A tightly woven silk jacket is way heavier than a poly or nylon one of similar thread gauge.

And although your assessments are largely excellent, pyroteknich, I have a few nits to pick:

Cotton gets WET and holds 36x its own weight in water, compared to ~6x for bast fibers and a little more for wool and silk. When it's wet, the water clogs the gaps in the clothes and prevents airflow. I mention this because I live in a humid subtropical area and sweat basically doesn't evaporate. Cotton means a swampy underside, or all-over-side if you're working hard enough or get caught in the rain. A notable exception to this is very loose and billowy clothing like gauzy skirts. I generally avoid cotton entirely because of its water-holding capacity.

Silk does wear like iron unless it gets wet, then it's very weak and abrades easily. Normal activities in my area will cause sweat to build up and that moisture will shred silks. Again, the solution is loose and billowy, and being choosy about which fabrics during particular times of year. I tend toward bast fibers in the warmer months and silks in the cooler ones. Reconstituted cellulose fibers like "bamboo", ramie, rayon, and so on have similarly poor durability when wet. Silk also stains very easily and HATES being in the sun to dry or for too long period, as UV light breaks it down, just something to be aware of.

And also unsolicited, I would like to share a few tips I've picked up for keeping natural fibers in good shape so they can get to that delightful broken-in level. We have very, very soft water in my area, so your mileage may vary.

If not handwashing, a top-loading washer, filled up completely with cold water, is pretty close to handwashing, on delicate settings.

Most of the time, "dry clean only" is a bunch of nonsense, except with suits or dresses made with water-soluble interfacing. People washed these pieces for how many centuries before dry cleaning existed? Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't know an easy way to find out if interfacings are water-soluble, except to give the piece a wash. I've restored dozens of stinky natural-fiber pieces that were discarded because the original owner's dry cleaning didn't remove the water-soluble odors, and I "restored" them just by giving them a nice wash. Sometimes a pair of suit pants or a jacket will start poking out the plastic interfacing after the wash, so yknow. Caveat washor.

Even if handwashing, strongly alkaline detergents or high heat will cause protein-based fibers like wools and silks to denature and degrade rapidly during the abrasion of washing. Vinegar will help, and mild curd soaps are best. If only washing wools, a little liquid lanolin mixed well with hot water and curd soap prior to adding to the wash water will help restore the fibers, making the garment more water-repellent, stronger, and more durable. Small amounts of detergents can be used to boost the efficacy of the wash if there is a lot of oil in the laundry soils.

Inversely, plant fibers prefer hot water and can withstand alkaline detergents well, making washing soda and borax viable additions, but hot water will often cause stains to set. I like to help remove the alkalines from the fabric by using vinegar in the rinse. Machine drying, even on "air dry" settings, will still cause static buildup in the fibers, making them slightly water-repellent and for myself, an extremely unpleasant sensory experience. I try to line-dry everything, which is difficult when showers and storms are unpredictable and frequent, and the humidity is 70%+ most days during the hottest part of the day. Still worth it, and indoor line-dry is an option.

Wools and silks are magnets for carpet beetles and clothes moths. When I'm storing clothes for the season, I wash them, gently lanolize the wools, make sure they're 100% dry, then heat up an oven with a baking stone to 200F (90C), line a metal sheet pan with parchment paper, cut the oven, and then leave the clothes in the oven for 30min to kill any eggs. Then I wrap them tightly with plastic bags and put them in plastic bins for storage, and I've never had a problem with insects since. I got the idea from bedbug treatments.

I hope that fellow sufferers from fast fashion and the electrostatic nightmare that is synthetic clothing can get a little something out of the years I've been working on this. I have pieces I've been wearing regularly for 15 years using these techniques.

[headspace-hotel]

MORE NATURAL FIBERS KNOWLEDGE

[parkchanwoohoo]

[catasters]

[rythyme]

i was seeing all these little blue flowers everywhere and kept thinking "dang what are these bitches, i can't remember..." well guess what. they were fuckin forget-me-nots. can't believe i failed step fucking 1, the hot girls on iNaturalist are going to laugh at me and i'm gonna flunk out of hobby botany school.

[rythyme]

!!! Learn From My Humiliation!!! THESE ARE THE BITCHES!!!! DO NOT FORGET THEM !!!!

[deramin2]

[miscellaneous-reblog-blog]

ID: same image with the text "I forgor." End ID

[fred-the-dinosaur]

[sevenfromelevenisfour]

I made two chainmaille bracelets to go with this @mayakern (aurora design by @riibrego) skirt:

The first is a mobius chain, and the second is a modified elfweave.

I've also started looking into crochet lace and made this hair thing based on a pattern for a snowflake.

And some extra beauty shots:

[mayakern]

holy shit that’s awesome !! 😳

[mayakern]

as an artist, person, and owner of a small clothing brand i will always be fiercely pro-human.

that means our clothes will always be designed by and for people, from our initial concepts, to our patterning and grading, to the art made by me and our collab artists that gets printed on the fabric.

that means that our clothes are made to be comfortable and practical for every day use. that means having real, functional pockets, good quality fabric and construction, and sewing that doesn’t cut corners to save money. that means making clothing that won’t fall apart after a couple washes.

that means grading our sizes, both straight size and plus size, on real bodies and using data from over 2000 of our actual customers to make sure that our garments fit, to make sure we take into account how clothing looks and feels on normal human bodies, not just laid flat on a table, or on clothes hangers or on professional models. that means making clothing that can stretch to fit throughout daily weight fluctuations, it means including features like expandable hip gussets on “masculine” style shirts because style is not prescriptive of gender, sex, or body type. it means remembering that people have bellies and thighs and hips and arm fat.

it means choosing fabrics that are well made and feel good, even when they cost more, because people have textural sensitivities. it means testing how our garments look and feel not just while standing or walking, but while sitting, because the body sits differently than it stands and something that is comfortable while standing may not be while sitting, and many people spend most of their lives sitting. it means remembering that bodies are are diverse and beautiful.

and it means that the people who make our clothes work in safe, clean environments and are fairly compensated. it means that the materials those workers handle are safe for human exposure. it means we do our due diligence to work with factories that are certified for their ethical labor and safe working environments and materials.

being pro-human means caring at every step of creation: for the designers and artists who come up with the ideas, for the weavers and sewists who make those ideas into real clothing, and for the customers who wear those clothes.

Shop Maya Kern

Maya Kern's online store for skirts, enamel pins, journals and more! For shoes, masks, and other products visit my Threadless shop.

[msmatching]

I don't usually reblog with my own commentary, but Maya's skirts and other clothes are always impressively thought out, with gorgeous designs and the functionality is real. I've got a handful of skirts from the last manufacturer, both printed and the solid viscose, as well as some crop tops, a dress, and a petticoat of superb quality that has absolutely replaced the black one I used to wear. I haven't been able to buy their recent box pleated skirts, or new releases, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what the upcoming printed cotton skirts are like. If you like fun or femme fashion, I can't recommend them enough. All six of you who will see this post, please tell people about this brand! Buy some for yourself, your wife, your friends! 😂 @mayakern, if you see this, thanks for fighting the good fight, for putting so much care into your products at every step of it's creation and delivery, and for keeping your chin up during the harder times. You make such a tangible difference in the lives of so many, especially those who feel like their only options are crappy fast fashion or things that don't fit. And I hope you keep making beautiful, comfortable things that I can wear with flounce and my ridiculous collection of petticoats. 💙

[mayakern]

thank you so much for the kind words, i really appreciate it 😭🧡🧡 and i’m so happy to hear that you like the clothes so much!

[luna-azzurra]

People often choose familiar pain over unfamiliar peace. That sounds dramatic, but it is basically pattern learning. If chaos is what your character knows, calm may feel like a setup. If neglect is familiar, attention may feel like surveillance. If love always meant losing power, being loved may feel like being trapped. This is why “just choose happiness” is not an arc. Happiness can be the scariest room in the house.

[existennialmemes]

Companies in the 2000s: You wouldn't download a car! Digital copies are still stealing, even if the original copy remains with us.

Companies in the 2020s: That digital copy, which you have paid for, doesn't really belong to you. We're removing it from your library now.

[existennialmemes]

Companies deleting media you've literally purchased is 1000x more realistically "stealing" than digital piracy, you cannot change my mind

[porterdavis]

[myrandomstuffpage]

Support your local library 📚