#monstrous blogs

[trueishcolours]

OK lads, I am now taking suggestions for cloak patterns from the floor.

('Pattern' here includes 'here is a way you can freestyle a cloak without ever having to cut out pre-prepared paper pieces. I don't think I can do a circle cloak though as the velvet will behave in funky ways if I cut it on the bias).

I didn't like how my mockup ended up sort of tube shaped like a priest's vestment. I would like something with more flow and billow.

[trueishcolours]

Cloak Project (Cloject)

Since so many of you were kind enough to take an interest in my first post about the Cloak Project, I thought I would post a Clupdate.

My Friend Who Knows About Sewing offered to help me make a mockup of the cloak and donated some of her own stash for the purpose. She was concerned that, since the pattern I planned to use was not intended to be lined, it might not be able to support the weight of the velvet and brocade that I plan to use.

Here's our mockup. The outer is polyester suiting, pretty heavy, and the inner is some stinky muslin (unwashed, still smelt a little of chemicals, pretty thin).

The shoulders turned out more structured/tailored than I expected, meaning that my friend's concern was unfounded - the weight of the fabric is distributed very nicely.

However, it's got less of a circular drape and more of a tube-like appearance than I'd hoped. Almost like a priest's vestments. Or like this statue of St Cuthbert from an exhibition on the Lindisfarne Gospels that I saw one time. So, go back to the drawing board to look for another pattern? Cut the cloth out in more pieces (with extra seam allowance) to create more movement? Hope that different fabrics will drape better? I would expect velvet to do so, but the brocade will have a similar heavy stiffness to the polyester suiting...

It might also hang better if I made smaller, tidier seams. I was hot, tired and trying to get it done, and trying the techniques for the first time, so I can probably do a better job. But on the other hand, the brocade loves to fray, meaning I'll need to leave a decent seam allowance. And these are quite thick, heavy fabrics.

I experimented with a French seam. Cool technique to learn!

My friend thinks that the French seam will be too bulky given the thickness of the fabrics we're working with, and that something she called a felled seam will lie flatter. The trouble is that the best way to finish it invisibly is to hand-sew it so that you can avoid catching the outer layer of fabric. I wanna machine sew because LONG, my friend is a hand-sewing propagandist because it's more mindful and you have longer to spot and avoid mistakes and something something about not having to lay everything out flat that I couldn't follow.

Oh, I also think that if I go with this pattern I'll want to tailor the shoulders more to my measurements since they are so fitted. My friend says this can be done on the project as we're finishing it rather than having to alter the pattern.

Now to source some velvet!

Any advice on this or on the draping question welcome!

[trueishcolours]

OK, long shot but you were all super helpful when I wanted sewing advice so here goes:

Is there anybody UK based who is looking to destash some blue silk velvet?

[trueishcolours]

Lads I am doing equality and diversity training with a Slur Song style narrator and cracking up. That song will make everything more bearable forever I think.

[trueishcolours]

Augh I FINALLY got in stage to do my 32 bars of singing at the end of a long tedious rehearsal and afterwards the assistant director came to give me my notes which essentially boiled down to 'your arms were all wrong and you need to do it differently.'

There's something about her manner giving notes that just REALLY gets under my skin. I think it's largely just that she's a student appointed to the role and I don't enjoy receiving feedback from someone who is otherwise a peer and that's not her fault and I'm trying not to be evil about it and AUGH.

She told me I need to have an intention for each arm movement and I'm like well I was thinking about my intention all the time I was up there actually. Obviously it did not come across but you are not actually presenting me with a solution here.

The other thing is that we recently changed the physicality I was doing to make it less animal-like (not a human character) and today she was like 'you can put your arms back how you were' and I'm like oh the thing we just spent the afternoon changing??? You want me to go back to that thing? Okay then.

And the thing is on the stage with the orchestra to contend with and many moving performers to navigate there is SO much to think about, and we have been over and over this in our staging rehearsals and could have added whatever nuance and specific gestures they wanted and now the show is the day after tomorrow and I'm trying to incorporate changes they made a couple of days ago and they're like, we hate what you're doing, basically. Do it different.

And the worst part is I shouldn't be melting down over getting a note, I just feel so embarrassed that I tried my best and it wasn't right and so stupid and childish for feeling that way.

[trueishcolours]

LADS I did it I asked the hot tenor if he's poly and if he wants to go on a date with me I did it over text was this because I was too scared to talk to him face to face YES do I have the excuse that he left super promptly after our last concert of the year while I was visibly fighting off the scaries in the corridor behind the vestry ALSO YES.

He has not yet texted me back. Please prepare your fingers to post Fs in chat if/when he says he's monogamous.

But THANK YOU KIND PEOPLE IN MY PHONE for all responding to my poll so that I felt more like this was a fun bit that I was doing and less like my life is a cringey noughties nerd girl makeover movie except I'm trapped in the first act forever.

Anyway I saw my reflection while wearing my concert blacks and Cool Hat and remembered that actually I'm the coolest woman in the world boldly inviting people to join my queer alternative lifestyle in between performing in indie theatre productions. The vampire armand would be proud.

[trueishcolours]

Should I ask the hot tenor if his relationship is exclusive?

Yes - you miss 100% of the shots you don't take

No - it's like sabotaging the relationship if you don't know they're open

Yes - you won't shut up about this and I want to know what happens

No - he might think you're weird and then you'll explode and die

Send him an anonymous note that says Get Out Of My Choir

Voting ended onJun 26

[trueishcolours]

Fibre artists of tumblr, has anybody got advice for the best technique to use to line a cloak?

Slightly longer story: I've got all this beautiful brocade. It doesn't drape well enough for a dress or skirt, and I don't have the tailoring skills for a jacket, so I thought I would use it as an accent lining for a blue velvet cloak.

(I am aware of the risks attendant on sewing with velvet. It's got a thick pile, it will potentially have a lot more stretch than the brocade it's going with, I should invest in a walking foot).

So I need a method to set the lining in so it looks really crisp and good. The only method I know is to sew wrong sides together and then turn right side out, but with such large sections of fabric I think they'll just sag away from each other. Could I use iron-on interfacing to help hold them together? Will that make the cloak too stiff?

Also, I'm torn between, 'this is a beginner project and you want to be able to experiment and fuck it up: buy cheap polyester velour' and 'this is already a big investment if time and effort, and you want an item that'll show off the brocade and that you'll really want to wear: buy silk velvet.' Thoughts?