the joy of creating with one’s own hands

This blog is dedicated to the things I create. I have patterns for sale (and free)! Check out my Ravelry Store Commissions: closed Not my main blog 30s, he/they. acab. I use the block button on terfs, racists, h*rry p*tter fans, and more

[nonbinarysunsetcreations]

Heads up, folks, my Etsy is shut down for the near future. I’ve set it to vacation mode while I figure out what I want to do. Etsy is requiring its sellers to verify their bank information with Plaid. Plaid has gotten some bad press recently for its sketchy data-selling practices (including at least 1 lawsuit). My shop has always been a very small operation, and it just doesn’t seem worth the risk to connect my personal financial accounts. I might figure out a workaround, or simply try to find another platform. In the meantime, you can always contact me here or via my Instagram (@ NonbinarySunset) if you’re interested in my work. I still have candles, jewelry, and d&d decor available. Thank you 💖

[pseudomantis]

[friendlyfrankenstein]

needle/pin sharpener.

no really, squeeze it. Does it feel like it’s got sand in it? is’s sharpening sand. Stab the tip of your needle into it back and forth and it’ll help put a sharp edge back on a pin or needle that’s been blunted by use, or has a little bit of rust on it. It can’t fix anything worse then a little of either, and won’t work on something REALLY blunted, but its a lifesaver.

[anais-ninja-bitch]

also it is a pepper

[vinceaddams]

It's not a pepper and it's not for sharpening!!

It may seem like it should be a pepper, since that would go better with the flavour of a tomato (and the mass produced modern ones are admittedly more pepper shaped), but it is and has always been a strawberry. Here are some antique emery strawberries, which are much more strawberry shaped, and some of them have seeds.

(source)

(source)

(Home Needlework Magazine, 1899)

And it's for cleaning needles, not sharpening them. I can't imagine how jamming a blunt needle point around in a bunch of loose grit could possibly sharpen it in any significant way, and all the historical sources I've seen only talk about cleaning.

"Every sewer's work basket or work box should contain an emery bag, as shown in Fig. 2, through which to push a needle when it becomes rough, squeaks, or sticks in the material. An emery bag is usually shaped like a strawberry and consists of a rough denim bag filled with emery powder, which is a very hard material used for polishing metals. Such a bag may be purchased for 5 or 10 cents in any store that sells sewing materials. Needles often become rusted from the perspiration of the hands or from being left in damp places. The beginner may use a small emery bag to remove rust; or, a small piece of emery paper may be used instead."

-Woman's Institute Reference Library, 1916.

"Use an emery whenever your needle does not slip through the cloth easily."

-The Improvement of Educational Administration in Massachusetts, 1916.

"An emery bag is inexpensive and is useful to keep needles polished and smooth. If the hands perspire and it is difficult to push the needle through the cloth, running the needle through the emery will relieve the condition."

-Boys' and Girls' Clothing Club, 1915.

"It was very hot to sit and sew. The needle would get sticky in spite of all the little emery strawberry could give it, and Beth's fingers had never felt so clumsy and uncomfortable."

-The Unitarian Register, 1908.

"She polished her needles to nothing, pushing them in and out of the emery strawberry, but they always squeaked."

-Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, 1910.

This patent from 1873 mentions an emery slab for sharpening pins, which is quite different from a cushion, and which sounds like it actually would work for sharpening.

"C is a slab of emery or other sharp and fine grit, for sharpening needles or pins"

Then later down the page it also says

"E is an emery cushion, secured in the body of the holder A, and is used for polishing needles and keeping them smooth."

So. Strawberry for cleaning. Not pepper for sharpening.

[elodieunderglass]

Gentle reminder - modern sewing tools are made from treated or plated metal, or stainless steel. In terms of human civilisation, this is a wild advance of technology. Needles are some of our oldest tools; rust was formerly ubiquitous, and attacked every form of everyday metal. A rusty needle tears fabric, or worse, stains it. The luxury and technology of rustproof needles and pins - forgotten in a few generations of human memory - and yet it is remembered in the strawberry. Memory is stored in the strawberry!

[hollyevolving]

memory is stored in the emery

[goddessactuality]

[piningforthefjords]

Pierre Fouché. 1994.77 or Lebenslänglichen Explosionsglück, 2020.

Rayon chords from a World War II parachute.

[heliophile-oxon]

PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944, photo by Horace Bristol

[behold-my-squees]

oh my god he did a bobbin lace. out of parachute cords, both military and protective in nature. of the guy who saved someone from the water and then ran to fire his gun with his fine ass out. This is so gorgeous and so gay

[crubblessnowglobe]

HEY @sweaterkittensahoy LOOK AT THIS

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Genuinely one of my very favorite pieces of art ever. It's a masterpiece of design, materials, and execution.

I never get tired of seeing it.

[justagirlinacape]

Rule #1 of fiber arts: you need to know how to count

Rule #2 of fiber arts: you do not know how to count

Rule #3 of fiber arts: to make sure you are counting correctly, you must recount enough times to guarantee you got it right

Rule#4 of fiber arts: it will never be enough

[snakepyre]

TABLET WEAVING INTRODUCTION

When i started i was going off of diagrams from old websites, and struggled a good bit. I hope this post will help you get started! Feel free to ask questions!

This video shows the very basics (not in english, but quite clear). This video explains how to read patterns before you start doing it backwards, mirrored and upside down (which is what i did!).

Basic tools; the beauty of tablet weaving is that you need minimal supplies to get started.

Cotton yarn (I use 8/4)

Cards (thin cardboard and a hole punch will do)

A chair or door handle, to tie the threads to

A belt, to tie the threads to yourself

A shuttle (you can start with a pencil, old credit card, ruler, your fingers,... i use a bone folder)

Variables to understand before trying to use a pattern

S/Z card slant or threading

The direction the cards face

Forward or backward turns

ABCD or DCBA

This video (mentioned above as well) explains these variables and how to read different patterns you will find. There is no universal way to write a tablet weaving pattern, resulting in different patterns directly opposing one another (& lots of frustration on my end </3).

General tips from me, a novice

Start with a thin band

Start with a simple pattern, where the cards all turn forward for the whole band, like this one

Then move to a pattern that alternates forward and backward turns, this one is simple but very pretty

After that, try a pattern that has you divide the cards into groups, like a ramshorn or dublin dragons

Be sure to use contrasting colours (in hue and/or tone). A black and white filter can help you here

Get some bag clips to prevent tangles (ikea!)

Always turn the edge cards in the same direction. This gives a neater end result. The edges can be the outer two cards, or a group that forms a decorative trim

Personally, i like looping the thread around a door handle instead of tying it, which makes untwisting threads very easy

You can eventually omit the written ABCD on the cards, but it is a good crutch to lean on when learning

I use some scrap wood with bolts that i tie to my belt, making it a little easier to manage tension and move the woven band along as i go

Finding patterns

I use pinterest for the most part. Twisted threads has many patterns, with a built-in program, but the search function is not great.

I made you four pinterest boards; for the sake of simplicity, the patterns are all GTT which means tablets face RIGHT, S/Z refers to the THREADING direction, use ABCD, forward turns the tablets AWAY from yourself (forwards = D over A)

Level one: all forward turns

Level two: alternating forward and backward

Level three: groups of tablets that turn differently

Level four: a fuckton of tablets with complex patterns

This video made me understand double-face weaving, this one is shorter and easier to follow. Double-face is a fun technique but i would reccommend getting good at following a regular pattern first.

My main mistake when i was starting out:

Whether the slant is S or Z, the cards should all face the same way. For some reason, I made the S-cards all face right and the Z-cards left. Simple, repetitive patterns will turn out fine but anything slightly more complex will be distorted, and you will be frustrated:

Your first few projects will likely be messy! Don't be too discouraged. Here's a couple of my firsts:

[makereadgrow]

Where to buy fabric online (US)

This is an updated list from my very popular post "RIP Joann, now what?"

Notions:

Wawak.com - start here, mostly stay here. Wawak is a supplier for professional sewing businesses and have the prices that show it. I will not pay for gutermann Mara 100 anywhere else. I buy buttons, tools, thread, and most elastic here.

Stitch Love Studio - this is where I buy lingerie supplies like elastics https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchLoveStudio?ref=yr_purchases 

Bra Builders - lingerie supplies, lots of skin tone fabrics. 

123stitch - specialty threads and embroidery supplies 

Fabric:

Fabric Mart - this is one where you want to sign up for emails and never buy unless its on sale. They run different sales every day and they rotate. Mostly deadstock fabrics but I buy more from here than anywhere else. Fantastic customer service and if you watch you can get things like $6 wool suiting or $4 cotton jersey. https://fabricmartfabrics.com/ 

Fabrics-Store - again, buy the sales not the full price. Sign up for the emails but redirect them to a folder because it is TOO MANY. They stock linen or good but not amazing quality. https://www.fabrics-store.com/ 

Purple Seamstress - This is where I buy my solid cotton lycra jersey. They have other things, but the jersey is what I'm here for. Inexpensive and very good quality. If you ask she will mail you a swatch card for the solids. https://purpleseamstressfabric.com/ 

LA Finch - deadstock fabrics with a fantastic remnant selection https://lafinchfabrics.myshopify.com/ 

Califabrics - mix of deadstock and big brands, easy to navigate and always seem to have good denim in stock. https://califabrics.com/ 

Boho Fabrics - good variety, nice bundles. I have also gotten some really great trims from here. https://www.bohofabrics.com/ 

Firecracker Fabrics - garment and quilting fabrics, really nice selection and great sale section. I've bought $5 yard quilting cottons here several times. https://www.firecrackerfabrics.com/ 

Hancock's of Paducah - Quilting fabric and some limited garment fabric. AMAZING sale section. Do not sleep on the sale section. This is my first stop when buying quilting fabrics. Usually the last stop too. Not particularly speedy shipping. https://www.hancocks-paducah.com/ 

Pear Tree Market - Quilting Fabric and I believe they have the best prices for Kona solids on my list. https://peartreemarket.com/

Lucky Deluxe - Craft thrift store, always has an incredible selection and fantastic customer service. I need to close the tab fast because I never go to this website without finding something I need. https://www.luckydeluxefabrics.com/ 

Swanson's - the OG of online craft thrift stores, but I find their website harder to navigate. https://www.swansonsfabrics.com 

Marshall Dry Goods https://marshalldrygoods.com/ mostly quilting, good resource for widebacks that aren't incredibly expensive.

Hawthorne Supply Co. - quilting fabrics mostly but good pricing and a nice color coordinating feature https://www.hawthornesupplyco.com/ 

Itokri - This is something a little different. Itokri is an Indian business with incredible traditional fabrics. Shipping to the US is expensive, but the fabric is so inexpensive it evens out. I generally end up paying like $30 for shipping. Beautiful ikat and block prints. https://itokri.com/ currently affected by Tariffs. 

Miss Matatabi - this is a little treat. This isn't where you go to save money, but there are so many beautiful things in this shop. Ships from Japan incredibly quickly. https://shop.missmatatabi.com/ currently affected by Tariffs. 

Honorary Mentions: Some I have shopped and some I have not.

A Thrifty Notion 

Sew Snip

Bias bespoke 

Fabric Wholesale Direct 

Mood

Stash fabrics

Fat Quarter Shop

Missouri Star Quilt Co

Harts Fabric

Stonemountain and Daughter

Big Duck Canvas 

Minerva - UK based

Nick of Time

Vogue Fabrics

New England Fabrics

[wiisagi-maiingan]

"Vibes" are not a basis for justice. "Everyone thought he was creepy and weird so we should've known he was a serial killer" is a stupid as hell thing to say, lots of people seem creepy and weird to their neighbors and are just completely average people. Stop pushing narratives that kill people, especially neurodivergent people and men of color.

[wiisagi-maiingan]

I've said it before but a lot of self-declared leftists on tumblr give off very strong "would join a lynch mob in a heartbeat" energy. Maybe because many of them have explicitly said they would join a lynch mob.

[makereadgrow]

RIP Joann, now what?

I wanted to make a post I could copy and paste and or link when I see folks asking where to buy fabrics when Joann is gone. I sew a lot, generally between 100-200 items a year and I don't do it on a big budget. Stores are not in a particular order.

Notions:

Wawak.com - start here, mostly stay here. Wawak is a supplier for professional sewing businesses and have the prices that show it. I will not pay for gutermann Mara 100 anywhere else. I buy buttons, tools, thread, and most elastic here.

Stitch Love Studio - this is where I buy lingerie supplies https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchLoveStudio?ref=yr_purchases

Fabric:

Fabric Mart - this is one where you want to sign up for emails and never buy unless its on sale. They run different sales every day and they rotate. Mostly deadstock fabrics but I buy more from here than anywhere else. Fantastic customer service and if you watch you can get things like $6 wool suiting or $4 cotton jersey. https://fabricmartfabrics.com/

Fabrics-Store - again, buy the sales not the full price. Sign up for the emails but redirect them to a folder because it is TOO MANY. They stock linen or good but not amazing quality. https://www.fabrics-store.com/

Purple Seamstress - This is where I buy my solid cotton lycra jersey. They have other things, but the jersey is what I'm here for. Inexpensive and very good quality. If you ask she will mail you a swatch card for the solids. https://purpleseamstressfabric.com/

LA Finch - deadstock fabrics with a fantastic remnant selection https://lafinchfabrics.myshopify.com/

Califabrics - mix of deadstock and big brands, easy to navigate and always seem to have good denim in stock. https://califabrics.com/

Boho Fabrics - good variety, nice bundles. I have also gotten some really great trims from here. https://www.bohofabrics.com/

Firecracker Fabrics - garment and quilting fabrics, really nice selection and great sale section. I've bought $5 yard quilting cottons here several times. https://www.firecrackerfabrics.com/

Hancock's of Paducah - Quilting fabric and some limited garment fabric. AMAZING sale section. Do not sleep on the sale section. This is my first stop when buying quilting fabrics. Usually the last stop too. Not particularly speedy shipping. https://www.hancocks-paducah.com/

Itokri - This is something a little different. Itokri is an Indian business with incredible traditional fabrics. Shipping to the US is expensive, but the fabric is so inexpensive it evens out. I generally end up paying like $30 for shipping. Beautiful ikat and block prints. https://itokri.com/

Miss Matatabi - this is a little treat. This isn't where you go to save money, but there are so many beautiful things in this shop. Ships from Japan incredibly quickly. https://shop.missmatatabi.com/

Lucky Deluxe - Craft thrift store, always has an incredible selection and fantastic customer service. I need to close the tab fast because I never go to this website without finding something I need. https://www.luckydeluxefabrics.com/

Swanson's - the OG of online craft thrift stores, but I find their website harder to navigate. https://www.swansonsfabrics.com

Honorary Mentions: I haven't shopped at these places yet but I have had them recommended and likely will at some point.

A Thrifty Notion - https://athriftynotion.com/

Creative Closeouts - https://creativecloseoutsfabric.com/ being rebranded to sewsnip.com on March 1 - quilting deadstock

Hawthorne Supply Co. - I just got this rec and I think I need to not look too closely or I'm going to slip with my debit card. https://www.hawthornesupplyco.com/

This is not an exhaustive list of everywhere you can buy fabric, or even a full list of where I shop. There are SO many options out there in the world. You also need to think outside the fabric store box. I thrift men's shirt fabrics for quilts and sheets for backing fabric. I don't do a ton of in person thrifting and my local stores don't get a lot of craft materials but every thrift store is its own universe and reflects the community it is in. Go out and find something cool.

Oh and final note: Don't shop at Hobby Lobby.

[aetherograph]

Oh I just had this conversation with my friends group yesterday. Btw while you can, buy brother machines at the going-out-of-business sale! I just got a serger for $270 which is insane! There's EMBROIDERY MACHINES!!! Anyway, here's some more places--my stash of websites is very orientated toward natural fabrics, and historical ones in particular--I'm a rennie.

https://dharmatrading.com - silks

https://renaissancefabrics.com - linen, cotton, wool, silk, notions.

https://periodfabric.com - more historical fabrics

https://bigduckcanvas.com - duck and canvas like it says. tent fabric.

https://fabrics-store.com - linen and cotton. They sell kits for kitchen towels too.

https://woolsome.shop - wool

https://www.papercityfabrics.com/ - everything is $4/yd

https://metrotextilesnyc.com - has a lot of quilting fabric

https://fabricdepot.com - general fabric store

https://onlinefabricstore.com - general fabric store

https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com - SYNTHETIC PLASTIC WHALEBONE FROM GERMANY. BEHAVES LIKE WHALEBONE!!! they also carry clothing, fabric etc but the whalebone is the exciting thing bc I do not know many places in the states to get this stuff.

https://farthingalecorsetmakingsupplies.com - Corset supplies, another place to get synthetic whalebone.

https://firemountaingems.com - bead store!

https://beadtin.com - bead store, emphasis on pony beads.

https://jetpens.com - pens, inks, anything you want for calligraphy etc.

https://tiedtohistory.com - goldwork supplies and other notions, patterns, some fabric too. Mostly sparklyshinies. This is my source for actual real genuine Thread-of-Gold and Thread-of-silver!

https://angelusdirect.com - Angelus paint, which is a paint used by cosplayers the world over to paint leather and fabric and shoes. It dries flexible and comes in a zillion colours.

https://shop.smooth-on.com - Silicone and moulding supplies.

https://dickblick.com - ART supplies, but I'm putting this here bc Joann's did sell art supplies.

https://sculpey.com - Sculpey clay, buy it directly from the company.

https://hollanders.com - Bookbinding supplies!

https://leatherhidestore.com - Leather, mostly the sizes for garments or upholstering.

https://tandyleather.com - Another leather crafting store, focus more on crafting. They sell tools and machines as well as leather and notions for leather.

https://patterns.bootstrapfashion.com - DIY dress forms! Plus sizes and men included!

https://herrschners.com - string things! Embroidery, latchook, macrame, etc! I hesitate to say a general craft store, but it does have a LOT of stuff. The prices for their DMC embroidery floss are particularly attractive though.

https://trimsbytheyard.com - TRIMS! They got fringe, they got tassels, they got ruffles and beads you want it they got it!

https://sonomawoolcompany.com - wool but more specifically, wool batting for quilts!

https://furlscrochet.com - ERGONOMIC crochet hooks!

If you have supplies and like them, see if the brand has a website you can buy from direct.

If you need a sewing or serging machine, Bernina is the best, followed by Viking. Brother is best for embroidery machines. Get an older Bernina if you can.

If you live near a fashion city (LA, NYC, Paris, London) then GO TO THE GARMENT DISTRICT. LA has a place you can buy fabric BY THE POUND. It's not got a website it's just a little hole in the wall on like the second floor of a building and a tiny old man is at the counter and has probably been there like a hundred years. NYC has fabric stores that are over a century old. Even my tiny little village has a quilting shop.

Also, join your local historical re-enactors or SCA chapter, that is chock full of crafters looking for new blood. The SCA is a great way to learn crafts you've never heard of, too, like Nalbinding. If you're not careful you'll wake up with an inkle loom and a spindle in your house and like five bags of roving from someone's pet alpaca.

Joann's itself was a corporate takeover of a bunch of smaller local fabric stores, and was sterile and devoid of the REAL kind of community that crafting has. Go look for NON-chain stores, go local! That is where you will find resources--crafters know crafters, because everyone tends to have at least 2+ crafts they do.

[yagamimi-aka-mimi-deactivated20]

tweet

Something like this would be so colossally helpful. I'm sick and tired of trying to research specific clothing from any given culture and being met with either racist stereotypical costumes worn by yt people or ai generated garbage nonsense, and trying to be hyper specific with searches yields fuck all. Like I generally just cannot trust the legitimacy of most search results at this point. It's extremely frustrating. If there are good resources for this then they're buried deep under all the other bullshit, and idk where to start looking.

[ama-kitkat123]

>:)c

May I present to you, nationalclothing.org?

It doesn't have everything, but it's still my first source when researching traditional clothing from other cultures.

[penanatomy-studies]

There's also this resource on historical fashion: Claire’s Historical Fashion Reference & Resources

[zheida]

another addition as far as physical media goes there is the encyclopedia of national dress (that i still need to buy myself bc this kind of thing is super important to my sort of fantasy designing) but yes i do agree i wish there was EVEN MORE documentation on this

[firstpersonnarrator]

I went down this rabbit hole looking for what people in the Middle Ages called their underwear. It was a challenge. So here are the ways I found what I needed:

Online, sometimes you can find seamstresses and tailors of cosplay or larp costumes, who do historical dress. The makers live or die by the authenticity of their work as a point of competition. So sometimes they link to the sources they used. try insta and pinterest.

You may also want to try “history of fashion,” “historical dress,” “history of costume,” etc search terms. You might get links to book publishers of huge historical dress tomes from publishers like Phaidon, Rizzoli, Taschen, the Metropolitan Musem’s Costume Institute (X).

Or try the most important fashion universities’ publications: Parsons (X), Central St. Martin’s (X), The F.I.T. (X) etc.

Some book options:

My personal favorite that I own:

Fashion History, by The Kyoto Costume Institute

(only goes back to 1700s tho)

And the all-important

the undies worn in the Middle Ages are called “braies”

[pilesofpokes]

The “Welcome Back! Pikachu 1/1 Plush” coming in February from Takara Tomy

[orphetoon]

bc all the preorders are sold out, heres a fat pikachu plush pattern that was actually sold during the peak of fat pikachu:

(FREE) McCalls Pikachu Plush P462 Sewing Pattern - Redrawn for Archiving Purposes + OPTIONAL $8 Embroidery.PES

Pattern is FREE, please do not pay for it! Enter $0! ONLY the optional embroidery files are paid.Remade by AeilithArt so that we could use t

in case he doesn't come outside of japan (or the scalpers ruin this like they ruin everything)

[systlin]

So my sister wants to start sewing more, because

a. She’s 5′ 11″ and can never find pants long enough for her legs or shirts long enough for her arms.

b. She hates synthetic fibers as much as I do and it’s difficult to find natural fiber clothes that aren’t made of cotton

c. She’s a biologist and would physically fistfight microplastics if given half a chance

So her gift from mom and dad for her birthday was a sewing machine. Not a super expensive one but a good solid serviceable one.

And recently she asked “So where do I GET wool or linen and thread that isn’t polyester” and mom was like ‘go ask your sister’

And I, of course, crashed into the group text like “GET A PEN I HAVE WEBSITES FOR U” and honestly I’m thrilled about this

[systlin]

“Where did u get all this”

“Bets, u know I’m a 15th degree blackbelt of buying shit on the internet”

“oh yeah tru”

[hermesmuse]

Op can may we inquire about the website list

[systlin]

Linen; https://www.graylinelinen.com/

cotton and Silk thread; https://redrockthreads.com/

Linen thread and wool fabric; https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/ (they’ve got wool stuffs and worsted wool fabric for $15 a yard! I just got three yards of navy worsted wool I’m making a constellation winter skirt from)

More linen thread and wool; https://wmboothdraper.com/ (just ordered wool broadcloth to make a coat)

Silk fabric (THE best place to get silk lining fabrics and raw silk fabric):https://www.dharmatrading.com/

A varying assortment of wool and silk and cotton and even some leather, use coupon code  spring2020 for 50% off your full order, worked yesterday when I bought some stuff there; https://metrotextilesnyc.com/

Wool. You want wool coating for under $20 a yard? Sure you do. It’s here. Not a huge variety of colors, most are black or brown, but hey https://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/Catalog?refinementIds=4096748&Keyword=wool&pageSize=16

[wingedtyger]

I don’t know a lot about sewing, but I want to make or have my mom make some linen pants & shirts for when I’m watering, because it gets to 105 here and we have mosquitos so I need to be covered. What type of linen do I buy? Also, linen pajama shorts, yes/no?

(I’ve been wearing my renfaire pants which are a linen mix, I think. But the frikking mosquitos that hide in the tomatoes get my arms)

[systlin]

Medium weight is what I’d go with.

And linen pajama shorts is a HARD yes.

[beggars-opera]

Renaissance Fabrics is good for all sorts of things

Mood doesn’t specialize in natural fabrics but they do have basically every fabric ever made so

[the-merry-otter]

For wools, I cannot recommend Woolsome enough! They’re a bit more expensive then the above links, but they have a spectacular range of colours and weights, as well as diamond pattern and herringbone weaves. They also have a range of linens, though not as extensive.

Woolsome

Historical fabrics for re-enactors

[justgarb]

Tiedtohistory.com has sheer voile linen

The Linen Lab has a variety of weaves, weights, and colors available

Period Fabric has a variety of wools, but switch to the full website if you’re on mobile

[elisescostumes]

Machine smocking tutorial

While working on my Eleanor Guthrie cosplay, I researched how to do smocking with a sewing machine (rather than by hand) I’m quite pleased how it turned out, and I thought I’d share a little tutorial. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out! 

What you’ll need:

Sewing machine with decorative stitches

Embroidery thread (I used Gütermann Sulky Cotton Multicolor in grey/beige tones)

A ruler or measuring tape

Chalk or disappearing marker

1.  First, you must decide on your ratio (how much fabric you will gather), and mark your gathering stitches lines. I went for a 1:3 ratio and marked lines 18cm long. My desired final gathered length is 6cm. My lines are 1.5cm apart, but you can experiment with lines closer or wider apart for a different effect.

2.  After sewing a long gathering stitch on each line that you marked in step 1, gather your fabric down to the length you decided in the first step (in my case, 6cm). Press your fabric to set the pleats.

3.  Go back to your sewing machine and sew decorative stitches _between _each gathering line. This will permanently set the pleats. Note: smocking isn’t elastic like shirring is, don’t confuse them! They kinda look the same and they both reduce the width of your garment by gathering fabric, but they have very different in behavior: shirring keeps its elasticity by using elastic thread as the bobbin thread, while smocking is permanent. I see smocking as something more decorative rather than functional, like shirring is.

4.  Remove all your gathering stitches (the most tedious task of them all!), give your fabric another good press with steam, and there you go! Admire your beautiful smocked piece!

And done!

There are many other methods, including smocking by hand, but I hope this short tutorial will have inspired you to give it a try! Smocking is not difficult and the final result is sure to make a statement on your costume! 

Liked this tutorial? Don’t hesitate to share it! Sharing is caring! ♥

[vincentbriggs]

I had no good place to store my necklaces so I made a necklace holder.

I found this nifty long octagonal frame at the thrift store sometime last year, and having acquired a hand saw and a big piece of 7mm plywood at two recent estate sales I was able to trace the very ugly inner part of the frame and cut a replacement. I glued a piece of black cotton velveteen to it (the same fabric I used for my beading tray, also from the thrift store) and left it overnight to dry.

I worked out the spacing of the hooks by arranging skewers on it - I didn't want any chains overlapping with lower hooks. I marked it on a sheet of paper and evened it out to make it symmetrical, drilled pilot holes, and screwed all the hooks in. I had to borrow my father's drill because I still don't have one, and I really should get one.

I would like to eventually strip and stain the frame a darker brown, but it's -11 and snowy out so that'll have to wait till Spring. Thankfully the plywood is held on by little spring steel arm thingies attached to the back of the frame, so it's very easy to take out.

Being hung up with picture wire isn't ideal, as the whole thing wobbles a bit when touched, but it's not in any danger of falling down. If necessary I could put several necklaces on one hook, but at present the hooks slightly outnumber the necklaces. (Most of the necklaces are also from the thrift store, except for a couple of inherited ones.)

Edit: I have made a blog post about the process!

[birdsofrhiannon]

St Brigid’s Cloak

[polyteleology]

Illustration likely by Richard Hook, from Great Folk Tales of Old Ireland, compiled by Mary McGarry and illustrated by Hook.

[batbetbitbotbut]

Very comforted with old crafts - spinning and weaving, but doubtless applicable to more - that there are no new mistakes I can make. People have done these crafts for millenia and will continue to do them for millenia. I manage to make a special and unique one-time-only mistake? Not likely!

[batbetbitbotbut]

Every project is my own and brings something new into the world, but every fuckup is part of a rich tradition of fuckups by all the crafters who have gone before

[lostinurbanism]

Quilters. Photographs by Henry Groskinsky (1971)

[banji-effect]

According to Getty, the woman wearing the pink cardigan in the first two photos is Mrs. Lulla Pettway, here together with other members of the all-Black cooperative at the Martin Luther King Freedom Quilting Bee headquarters hand sewing quilts, Alberta, Alabama. (Photo by Henry Groskinsky/The LIFE Picture Collection)

[nonbinarysunsetcreations]

Oops, if you were trying to purchase one of my patterns on Ravelry with a coupon code, I forgot they expired at the end of December. They’ve all been re-activated so you can choose your price on all my donation patterns! Sorry about that - things have been Very Hectic here 😅