Practicing

I have literally just created this blog for the holiday exchanges

[traddmoore]

DUNE poster development (2021) by Tradd Moore for MONDO

Started as Lynch’s Dune without MacLachlan likeness, developed into Villeneuve’s Dune with Chalamet likeness

Final illustration - 18″ x 24″ ink on bristol Poster - 24″ x 36″ screenprint

[wastelesscrafts]

Upsizing clothes! There are a million upcycling tutorials for clothes that are too big, but so few on how to make too small clothes you still love bigger!

Thank you for your suggestion! We all go through weight fluctuations in life, so it stands to reason our clothes should be able to fluctuate with us.

Resizing your clothes used to be a very common practice before the advent of fast fashion. Fast fashion sizing is extremely flawed, especially when it comes to plus size fashion, and we're stuck with a lot of vanity sizing, so it's a good skill to have regardless of whether you're looking to mend something old or buy something new.

How to upsize clothes:

Introduction:

There are many different ways to make a garment larger. The following list is not exhaustive, just a few ideas to get you started.

Grading patterns:

If you're making your own clothes, it's always useful to know how to modify a sewing pattern. The easiest way to adjust a pre-existing pattern to your size is slash and spread grading. First, you need to define which spots on the pattern need extra space. You then cut your pattern in that spot, and slide the resulting pattern pieces away from each other until you've got the size you need. Use paper to fill in the gaps. To ensure the resulting pattern makes for well-fitting clothes, make a mock-up and add, move, or remove darts where necessary to adapt it to your body type.

The image below shows potential slashing lines on a set of standard pattern blocks. Each line is a spot that allows you to add extra space. To read more about this process, check out the corresponding article by Threads Magazine.

(Image source) [ID: a diagram of slashing lines on a pattern block for a dress, bodice, skirt, sleeve, and a pair of pants.]

To make your clothes easier to let out in the future, make sure to provide ample seam allowance when cutting out your pattern pieces. This surplus fabric has several different uses, including giving you some wiggle room for when you need to size up your garment.

Now, let's take a look at pre-made garments.

Lengthening clothes:

A garment that's too short on you is easy to modify. Just add more material!

If it's a skirt or a dress, add ruffles to the bottom. Ruffles are easy to make by hand or with a sewing machine. You could also add lace, or wear the item with an underskirt.

For pants, let down your hem or sew on a new cuff. If this isn't enough, maybe consider turning your trousers into capri pants or shorts.

As for shirts, sewing an extra layer to the bottom edge is the easiest way to go, too. You could even combine two shirts into one to get an extra long shirt.

Another option is to cut your item in two and insert extra fabric between your separated garment parts.

(Image source) [ID: a pair of blue pants with cuffs sewn onto the bottom of the legs to lengthen them. The cuffs are made out of a fabric with a blue and brown geometric print.]

(Image source) [ID: a before and after picture of a red t-shirt that was lenghtened by adding in a patch of colourful fabric at the waist.]

Letting out seams/darts:

Remember how we made sure to have ample seam allowance earlier? When a garment has surplus fabric in the seams and you only need a little extra space, you can undo the seams of your garment and sew them back together again, this time with a smaller seam allowance than before. The Spruce Crafts has a pretty good tutorial on how to let out seams. You won't be able to make major size changes using this technique, but if you only need a few centimetres, this is a good way to go.

A lot of garments also have darts. Darts are fabric folds that are sewn down in strategic places to help the fabric follow the body's curves. If a dart doesn't fit you the way you want it to, then unpick the dart and try on the garment. Either leave the dart open, or pin the dart in place however you want it, then take off the garment again and sew the dart back together.

Be careful not to rip the fabric when using a seam ripper. Also note that removing entire darts may change the garment's fit.

You can also add custom darts to achieve a better fit, but that's a topic for another time.

(Image source) [ID: twelve different types of darts on a feminine bodice block.]

Adding extra fabric to your garment:

If we need to add more room than seam allowance or darts can provide us with, we need to add extra material. Remember those slashing lines we looked at earlier? If you're working with a pre-existing garment rather than a pattern, those are the perfect places to chop up your clothes and add in extra fabric.

Check your sewing stash for fabric that's similar in weight and material to your original garment, or go thrift shopping for an item you could use to upsize your garment. Long skirts and maxi dresses are a great source of fabric for alterations like these!

Lace inserts are also a fun choice to add some room, and if you're working with a knit item, you could even knit or crochet your own custom insert.

Define the area where you want to add extra fabric on your item, and measure how much you need. Draw a straight line on your garment with chalk/soap. Make sure the line doesn't cross any important structural or functional parts of your garment like darts or button holes: refer to the slashing diagram we saw earlier if you're not sure what spot to pick. Cut the line open (or unpick the seam if it's situated on a seam), and add in your extra fabric. Finish off your new seams so they don't unravel later on, and you're done!

You can add straight strips of fabric for extra width or length, or you could use flared panels or even godets to make your item flair out.

Want to see this technique in action? Check out this video by Break n Remake:

Some ideas:

This Pinterest user cut a straight line down the front of a t-shirt and inserted a lace panel to add extra width in the front of the garment.

(Image source) [ID: a blue t-shirt with a panel of dark blue lace added in at the centre front.]

Busy Geemaw cut open the side seams of a shirt and used flared panels to add some extra width in the bust and hip area.

(Image source) [ID: a green and white long-sleeved shirt with a striped flared panel in matching colours inserted at the side seam.]

This person added a panel to the sides of a pair of jeans to give them more space in the hip area. You could easily use a long straight panel or a panel that flares at the bottom to resize the entire garment instead of just the hips, or use a wide piece of elastic for extra stretch.

(Image source) [ID: a side view of a pair of light blue jeans with a dark blue wedge-shaped denim insert running down from the waist and ending above the knee.]

This person added a godet in the back of their shirt in order to get more space in the back.

(Image source) [ID: a blue and white plaid shirt with a white lace godet inserted in the back.]

Blue Corduroy enlarged a pair of shorts by opening up the side seams and adding in strips of fabric.

(Image source) [ID: blue denim shorts with a floral fabric insert at the side seams.]

You don't need to resize the entire garment if you don't want to. For example, One Brown Mom turned this ankle-length skirt with a too small waistband into a well-fitting knee-length skirt by taking advantage of the skirt's flared shape.

(Image source) [ID: a woman wearing a black shirt and a brown tartan knee-length skirt.]

Conclusion:

Throughout our lives, our weight will fluctuate and our bodies will change. There's no shame in this: it's just a fact of life. Therefore, knowing how to upsize an item that is too small for you is a useful skill to learn.

If you want more inspiration, check out these projects by Confessions of a Refashionista, One Brown Mom, and Thriftanista in the City.

[auxphono]

Thank you for this amazing post! I saw it last year (2021) and it stuck with me because it reminded me of some projects I had back when I was a teen. '60s and '70s style jean bell-bottoms were popular in the '90s (which also were cousins of the popular raver jnco jeans in terms of shape), they used a similar idea, splitting the outside at the knee, then inserting a triangle of funky fabric to create the bell shape. Punk and Goth styling also obviously has a lot of sewing involved - especially when one is above typical sizing.

So when I got a non-returnable skirt from torrid during an online clearance sale last Xmas that didn't look like a pencil skirt but actually was a pencil skirt (a shape I dislike on me) I remembered this post and have been re-styling it to be more of a classic kick-skirt shape with a 80s Lauper-esque Punk aesthetic. Thank the reblog for reminding me to finish it!

Shape altering can be as finished or unfinished looking as one likes. I repurposed a bust-flattening type undershirt/bralette (the flattening was intentional, as a note) that no longer fits into the side panels for this, and honestly, I think it's coming along nicely.

Thank you again for this wonderful post. I'll always reblog when I see it! And for anyone debating about trying to modify their clothes to fit better, give it a go! You likely aren't wearing it now, so what have you to lose by trying?

[writing-prompt-s]

You wrote a novel about a demon falling in love with a human. Then, you summon a demon in order to get “real” feedback and constructive criticism. To your surprise, the demon laughs at your work.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

You told me from the start that you couldn’t love.

But still my heart yearned for some response.

My hand reached out in the dark, hoping to touch you.

But only emptiness was there to meet it.

I danced around the fiery pentagram, chanting in Latin while dripping blood from a small cut on my finger into the center of the drawing made of grave dirt and bone, all the while keeping an eye out on the clock on the mantel.

I only had 15 minutes before my casserole was done.

Finishing the chant with the ease of years of practice, I leaned back to avoid the plume of Hellfire that spewed from the portal that opened up. Changing out of my ceremonial robes, I got back into my comfy pajamas and checked on my casserole while the new arrival was settling in.

She stood about eight feet tall, her head brushing the light fixture on the ceiling in my living room. Her four arms ended in long claws that dripped venom, making me glad that I thought to put a stain resistant rubber mat underneath the summoning circle. Her eyes burned with the flames of Hell, the fire that continuously lived within her, the source of her power. She grinned at me when I walked in with a bowl of my freshly made casserole, showing rows upon rows of pointed teeth.

“Hey Kara, is there any casserole left for me?”

I waved with my spoon before sitting down to dig into my meal.

“Hey Baph, help yourself, it’s in the kitchen. I couldn’t remember whether or not Satan still had you on the meat ban so left side is vegetarian.”

“Nah he forgot all about that six months ago.”

“Probably shouldn’t scare the tourists by pretending to be him next time though.”

Baphotera, the sixth highest lieutenant in Hell, sat down across from me, laughing as she began to eat the casserole as well.

“Yeah, but it was too funny showing up at a Satanist meeting and telling them to “Go out and do good deeds.” She shook her head. “They were so confused!”

“Yeah, and Satan was pissed.”

“Ugh, I had to be a vegetarian for a year, don’t remind me.” She chewed the pasta with obvious relish. “Either way, Kara, I’m sure you didn’t summon me to help you eat your dinner, much as I appreciate the home-cooked meal. What’s going on?”

I stared down at my bowl, a little unsure of how to begin. “So… your brother may be a little pissed at me come tomorrow.”

“Valaac?” She cocked her head to the side, confused. “What did you do to piss him off?”

“Well… remember when we stopped talking last year?” She nodded to my question, obviously still confused. “I was really mad… and kind of drunk… and I maybe just sorta…” I paused and spoke out the rest in a quiet rush. “Wrote a book using him as the main character.”

Baph laughed loudly, one of her hands slapping her knee. “Okay, that sounds pretty funny, but why…”

“I finished it in the same night, and submitted it to my best friend Alice who’s in publishing. She thought it was hilarious that I drunk emailed her a book manuscript, and got the whole dang thing published and only told me today.”

“That’s… weird… but why would…”

“Look at it.” I handed it over to her, shuddering at the picture of a handsome, passionate looking young man with computer drawn devil horns added on that graced the cover. Baph glanced at the picture on the front with a chuckle, and then read the back cover, her green face turning more and more blue and she did.

“This… is a crappy teen romance novel.”

“Yep.”

“You made him into an intense brooding romance lead paired with the most Mary Sue female lead ever.”

My head ducked down. “Yep.”

“You used his real name?!!!”

“Umm… only the first half. They can’t forcibly summon him without the second half.”

“But he’ll still hear it when they try.  There’s going to be so many teenage girls trying to summon him once they read this… it will drive him insane!”

I scraped the bottom of my bowl with my spoon, but it was empty. “I realize that. It was the point of writing it… I think. I was really, REALLY drunk when I wrote this.”

Baph finally broke. She laughed, so hard that she fell out of her chair and rolled around on the floor. I let her go on, having time to do the dishes and put away the leftovers before she finally calmed down.

Keep reading

[quillandinkwell]

OHMYGODS I love this so much

[writing-prompt-s]

Beautiful

[felren13]

just read it okay? just read it.

[writing-prompt-s]

I pity the people who left Tumblr for now they are missing out on great content like this. Thank you @screamingatanemptyroom for writing this story!

[elvarinth-deactivated20240318]

I have two questions! First: have you ever thought of doing a tarot card suit for your characters? I think it'd work really well for them! And two: help me how do I draw legs

@gravitality

Hi!! I’ve absolutely been thinking about that, yeah, in fact I recently talked about that to my boyfriend just recently. It’ll likely happen after october! And to answer your second question! I made a thing on legs that i hope you’ll find useful!!

So. I’ve already explained basics on legs here, but I don’t think it hurts to go through some extra details to help you understand legs some more.

The very basic thing is to imagine legs as teardrops. Again, this has already been covered in said tutorial above, but I figured it’s still good to mention even the most basic thing that I know of. I still highly recommend you check it out to get in more detail and to see some other examples and practices that you do. But basically, think of legs in the shapes of teardrops, when it comes to shape. If you need a simple stick-figure to connect the legs in the first place, make sure that they bend at the knees a bit so that the legs don’t come off as stiff and unnatural. 

As you can see, this method works perfectly for realistic legs as it does for stylistic ones. Remember to use these as a guideline, never to be the exact base of the legs you will be drawing. If you draw traditionally, remember not to draw these guides too hard, or they will be hard to erase/do freestyle!

But how do you actually draw out the legs without drawing them perfectly straight, as shown to the left? The trick is to add volume to them, and how you do that can be winged to your own liking. The idea is to think in curves. As no leg is perfectly straight. You may make these curves minimal if you don’t want them to be curvy, but keep in mind, still, that not even your own bones are perfectly straight, so it is highly recommended that you make them bend, at least a little. 

It all depends on how you draw them as well. Say you put your legs together, as shown in this picture, what happens to the fat and muscle? Naturally, they press together, much like how thighs squish on the surface when you sit down (I’m sure most people know what I’m talking about). Make sure this shows in your art! This is very important to keep in mind, because it makes it all look more natural and believable. Try to cross your legs or stand up and sit down again for real-life examples!

The same applies for stretching your legs, more or less, except they appear to become more ‘hollow’ and slimmer. They become less soft to the touch, too, and might show. Try stretching your legs and feel where the muscles tense and where it feels ‘hollow’. This is very helpful with your art.

Many leg tutorials talk about legs without mentioning the behind. It requires a tutorial on it’s own, in all honesty, but this is the most simplest way to draw it connecting to the legs. Remember that it comes in many different shapes, and this is just a super basic guide! Two circles overlapping, while following the line and flow of the legs. Remember the muscle/fat as mentioned above!

Okay, so we got the basics of leg shapes figured out? What if you want o draw them in a certain pose, or with a certain silhouette, but perhaps do not have the reference for it? Or you want to blend your style into it? The key is to not shy away from doodling the form. Make mess, draw lightly and don’t care about the anatomy. That way you’ll get everything down without it appearing stiff. You can clean up the sketch later, always, and if you can, use a reference after you have drawn your pose, to correct your drawing.

Remember that the hips do a lot to the pose of the legs! Make sure they are in flow with your legs, so that it can look more natural. Remembers that hips ‘rotate’ with the spine.

I’ve talked about this method before when it comes to posing, and the same applies for the legs. One way to make legs appear ‘steady’ is to picture them standing in a line, and one of those legs need not to stray from the lines too much, making it steady. If you want a dynamic pose despite the steady pose, you can always have the other leg stray from the line, since it only matters that one leg is steady. This method can create good, casual poses without making them appear boring. (also notice how the teardrop shapes are used here, despite the highly stylized legs)

Do you want a highly dynamic pose, or them to appear unsteady, then skip the line entirely and make both legs aim away from it completely. As you can see, the legs appear more moving, in action, as if they’re fighting, falling, or dancing. As you can imagine, this is not a pose that one could stay steady on, suggesting that it’s taken mid-movement. More about posing and this ‘line’ method is talked about in this tutorial.

Hope this helped you, if you have any questions let me know, and if you’d like to check out all my tutorials they can be found here!

[zamasu]

[tokyo-fashion]

19-year-old Misuru on the street in Harajuku wearing a Crank crop top with a WEGO Harajuku pleated skirt, a ME Harajuku o-ring belt, H&M tube socks, Demonia platforms, and a WC Harajuku bag. Full Look

[zjawiska]

Ukraine. Source

[zvetenze]

I believe the two on the left are from Belarus and the top right from Romania. 

[zjawiska]

I think you’re right! I made a little research with google and recognized the photos on the left as Belarusian. 

Still not sure about the top right photo and the reverse image search does not help me here. It reminds me a little of Ukrainian clothing from areas like Pokuttya or the Hutsuls, south-western Ukraine in general. Their blouses might sometimes be mistaken with Romanian clothing. If anyone knows this particular photo - please help with the source!

[zvetenze]

I’ve seen it around the internet saying it’s from Muntenia; it looks like it could be by Kurt Hielscher. I can’t look into it more right now, but here is one link http://www.tkinter.smig.net/Romania/Gallery/PeasantWoman.htm

[drawing-prompt-s]

Draw a superhero/supervillain based on the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme.

[drawing-prompt-s]

Draw an angel that comes from a universe where angels are born from young children’s scribbly drawings.

[tokyo-fashion]

Yu on the street in Harajuku wearing a Yohji Yamamoto Ground Y coat over a Kinji resale top, Palm Angels plastic handbag, Zara heeled boots, and accessories from Issey Miyake, Tiffany & Co. and Marc Jacobs. Full Look

[tokyo-fashion]

15-year-old Japanese student/model Jaycee on the street in Harajuku wearing a resale cropped faux fur jacket over an Alexander Wang x H&M dress, Forever 21 boots, and a Diesel glitter handbag. Full Look

[drawing-prompt-s]

Draw what flowers would look like as people, please!!! Personify the garden!!! Pleeeeeeeeeease!!!!

[ruskiizek-deactivated20180227]

Slavic Cossack dancing known as Hopak 

Warning: Do not try this at home unless you were born with super Slavic knee strength 

[maneuverability]

THE GUY AT THE END

[kittydesade]

Ahahah it’s not just knee strength you need, friend. It’s thighs, ass, ankles, calves, you need everything from your waist down to be horrifyingly fit and toned for this.

Also core strength. So include the waist. Everything from the nipples down. 

[kindnessinsilver]

Don’t forget absurd back flexibility

[lazy-cat-corner]

 “Ballet is a really hard dance to master.”

Slavic dancing: “Hold my beer.”

My thighs are burning just watching.

[spoonmeb]

this video just laughed at me for being out of shape.

[buh-no]

I had a friend growing up that was from Slovakia or Ukraine, I don’t remember which. I knew him from kindergarten to 2nd grade. And since there wasn’t a large enough slavic community for this kind of dancing, he did competitive ballet. He would constantly complain that it wasn’t hard enough. Guys, its competitive ballet, one of the hardest sports you can be in as a young person. Those C-jumps the guys were doing? In american ballet or dance you usually only get your chest to where you head was. They have their bellybutton or hips where their head was. That’s fucking nuts with out running or a pre jump. This kind of dancing was constantly going on at their house. I would like to point out that’s insane. His mom and dad dance almost every day. Not as high since age. But still.

[drawing-prompt-s]

Draw some dandelion-folk getting married.

[drawing-prompt-s]

Design some snowflake-inspired clothes.

[tokyo-fashion]

16-year-old Mawo and 15-year-old Yoh on the street in Tokyo wearing rainbow hair falls, Peco Club, Kappa, Y-3, Oh Pearl, remake fashion, Club Lovage leg warmers, and Demonia Platforms. Full Looks

[jimdrugfree]

Credit: [kimberlasskick]