#no sewing machine but know how to hand sew

[badassindistress]

Chemise Sewalong January 2025

Step Zero: Materials

Here's a list of materials in advance to give people the time to find fabric. We’ll do some measurements so we know how much fabric we need and get the preliminaries out of the way.

What you are definitely going to need:

Fabric

Thread

Needles

Fabric scissors

Pins

A measuring tape

A ruler or flat edge to draw straight lines

Tailor’s chalk or other method to mark lines on your fabric

What will make this project a lot easier:

An iron and ironing board  - I would say this is a necessity but not everyone has one and you can make a chemise without, it will just be harder and won’t look as crisp.

A thimble - in the long run it will make you sew quicker and be better for your hands

A sewing machine (I am intending to handsew this because not everyone has a sewing machine, but if you do have access to one and want to be done quickly, do the long seams on a sewing machine and glory in the speed of modern technology)

A cutting mat, quilting ruler and rotary cutter – This thing is all squares and triangles and quilters have got squares and triangles figured out

If you’re used to inches, keep a converter handy because my brain is used to centimeters

How much fabric do I need?

A lot. The chemise panels use the full width of the fabric. Decide if you want your chemise to knee length, to the floor or something in between. Then decide if you want full length sleeves or half sleeves.

I’m making long poofy sleeves but a kneelength skirt.

The calculation: my neck to knee is 120cm, my full arm length is 60cm shoulder to wrist (including 5cm extra for poof), so the length of fabric needed is 120+120+60=3 meters exactly.

What kind of fabric?

For the type of fabric I’d recommend cotton or linen for the historic feeling, but go with whatever brings you joy and isn’t stretchy. It needs to be light enough you can gather it up without it getting bulky and not terribly prone to fraying so you won’t go insane while sewing

Go with what is available and sparks joy as long as it’s a light fabric that gathers down nicely. (Thin sheets or table cloths can definitely be used for this). I’m going to use a fuchsia silk I’ve been saving for the airiest dress in existence.

tl:dr – procure 3 to 4 meters (145/150cm wide) of non-stretchy fabric of a lightness and colour that you would like to wear. Wash it, iron it and congratulate yourself on being super productive.

[elderberries-and-honey]

Dear Gladys,

I have been home with Beth and my sisters for a little over a week now. Mostly, I have been working on my cross-stitch; Beth says I have some of the best embroidery skills for a girl my age that she has ever seen! I suppose this shouldn't have shocked me so much, since Ms Hoffman always complimented my skill, but it seems to mean more from Beth since she is so good herself.

Beth told me that when she was a girl, she was very poor, and she sewed all of her and her sister's clothes by hand. She says this is why she often makes mine and my sisters dresses; she calls it 'a habit she never grew out of'.

But even though I love my needlepoints, my hands grow sore and sometimes I just can't stand it anymore when the needle keeps biting my fingers! So, I cannot imagine how Beth does it for so long. If I was ever rich, I think I would buy a sewing machine instead.

Beth and I have worked in the kitchen together before, but now, she says, I should learn more since it will be good for me as a wife. She has been teaching me to bake all sorts of things, and of course, I thought of you and your family!

First, we started with bread, and she taught me to knead dough by hand, which I did not realise was such hard work! I think I will savor every bite of the bread from your bakery from now on.

After I mastered the bread well enough, we moved onto some pastries, and I liked that a whole lot more. She has taught me how to make Papanasi, which is my father's favourite dessert. Next week, we will make Kissel, since the big cranberry harvest is this Saturday afternoon. Though I am not too fond of them, I am still excited anyway.

Something to know about Beth, is that she is what my mother calls, 'very devout'. My mother says this is why she respects Beth so much, because Beth practices her beliefs everyday, not just on Sundays like some people.

And so, Beth and I have started to read the Bible together at least a little bit everyday. But reading with Beth isn't like it is in church at all; she actually makes it fun! When we're finished with our daily passages, she even lets me ask all sorts of things about our reading, and never, ever sighs impatiently. I think this is what my mother means when she says Beth practices everyday because most grown ups I know do not like it when you ask so many questions.

I think Beth might be the kindest woman in the entire world, and I must say, if we all must become grown ups someday, I hope that I am like her.

Goodness, I miss you so much; it feels like it's been years since I've seen you, rather than a week. I hope I receive a letter from you soon, and you simply MUST tell me what is going on with everyone in class.

Sincerely,

Flora Belle

Thank you again to @antiquatedsimmer for the bible pose pack who without this scene would still just be fever dream in my head. Be sure to check out my lovely friend's other pose packs here!

[steddieas-shegoes]

homemade with love

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'stocking'

all of my holiday drabbles will be from the bear hugs universe. many of them could probably be read standalone, but will make the most sense and be enjoyed best if you read that first!

rated t | 582 words | no cw | tags: established relationship, fluff, good parent eddie, good parent steve

🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦🧦

Eddie is sitting at the sewing machine when Steve walks in the kitchen, humming to himself with his tongue poked out in concentration. Steve doesn’t say anything, doesn’t want to interrupt whatever he’s so focused on.

The whirring of the sewing machine is loud, and Steve is a little worried it might wake Sawyer up after he just managed to get him to sleep for the night, but just as he’s about to say something, it stops. Eddie holds up what he’s working on and grins.

“It’s perfect.”

Steve raises a brow as he steps closer to see what he’s been working on.

It has the shape of a Christmas stocking, but it looks like-

“Rory gave me her old hockey socks to turn into a stocking for Sawyer. I fixed the hole in this one,” Eddie points to the gold one that’s taking up the backside of the stocking. “And sewed them together. The top part is the special ones we got her for holiday camp last year.”

“I see,” Steve takes it into his hands and flips it back over to the front. Eddie’s embroidered Sawyer Munson in gold to match the back. “He already has a stocking, though.”

“But that’s from a store. This is handmade. Way more special.”

Eddie is so excited, and Steve thinks it’s amazing the time he’s put into it, but one thing is at the front of his mind. Something that he knows Eddie didn’t purposefully ignore.

“Is Rory getting one?” Steve asks.

Eddie’s face falls.

“Shit.”

Steve smiles sadly. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t forget. I swear.”

“It’s okay. Rory has a special stocking so it wasn’t your first thought. I just wanna make sure it is a thought,” Steve says before kissing Eddie’s forehead and walking over to the fridge to get a drink.

Eddie is quiet. The sewing machine doesn’t start back up.

Steve looks over and sees him biting his lip, trying to hold back tears.

“Baby, it’s okay.” Steve walks back to him and pulls him close, holds his head against his stomach and runs his fingers through his hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t want her to feel forgotten,” Eddie admits, voice broken.

It was one of the biggest holdups they had with having a baby. They never wanted Rory to feel like they loved a child they had together more than they loved her. She would always be their first.

“She doesn’t.”

“I asked her for her old socks to make this! What if she thinks I love him more than I love her?”

Steve huffs out a small laugh. “She knows you love her so much. You don’t need to worry, baby. We could grab my old socks and make her one?”

“Could we?” Eddie tilts his head back, looking up at Steve with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Sure. I’ll get them now, but she’ll be dropped off soon so you may wanna wait to make it.”

Eddie nods and hands Steve the stocking he made for Sawyer.

“I’ll clean all this up and then make pancakes for dinner,” Eddie says excitedly.

Steve shakes his head fondly. “Just try to keep it down. Sawyer’s sleep-“ A cry is heard from Sawyer’s nursery and Steve sighs. “Never mind.”

Eddie gives him an apologetic smile, but continues his tasks.

Steve stops at the fireplace before going to Sawyer’s room, hanging up the new stocking and wondering how he got so lucky to have all this love in his home.

[strontiumsun]

I was able to look up a guide for sewing booties so it closed correctly, but it’s pretty small. I don’t know how I could sew the leg to the foot with my machine. I’ll probably have to do it by hand which is a little frustrating. I might take a break from this today and resume on the 31st. We’ll see!

I have today and tomorrow off from work and I’m going to work on a sewing project! Specifically I’m going to try to make a plushie of my character Redburn.

My sewing machine

I asked @kaleidoru if they’d be up to making a Redburn model in Blender as an art trade. I used the 3D model on the site Plushify, which takes models and turns them into patterns.

Plushify wasn’t foolproof - it had a hard time with the head shape and gave me 2 different patterns for it. I have enough fabric that I think I can make both and see which looks nicer. I also made the fire patterns by hand so hopefully they work!

[inkskinned]

there are days that it is hard, and unfair, and some horrible part of me wishes i could have been born in a different world. i love being queer, i hate how others react to it. when i first came out at 15, my mom whispered: please don't say that. your life would be so much harder.

it is harder.

it is also a tuesday, walking my dog. we are both skiving off of work, and yes both of us have dyed hair and pronouns. mine is patchy - it was my first time trying bleach; i didn't have enough. theirs is a resilient toadstool green. a little girl comes up to us and asks um, excuse me? is your hair real? 'cause jason says you're a fairy.

it is sunday brunch, all of us talking over each other, overfull on love. she is trying out a new name today, and we made her a cake with today's name scrawled in shaky purple letters. she laughs so much she cries and then gets frosting in her hair. someone young at a different table keeps giving us these large, wide eyes: the same look we have all been on the other side of. the kind that says, breathless: wait, is that possible?

it is a half-fight in a supermarket because he loves "dance moms" and says abby's tiktok is funny and meanwhile i think the children in that show should be allowed to sue abby lee miller for child abuse. i tell him that it led to the casual acceptance of child harassment for mainly adult views; and then i am standing, suddenly, in someone else's thrown soda. there's a white lady standing there, furious, saying something about hell-on-earth. i had forgotten i was wearing stuff with pride colors. and then it is this: he had just been casually arguing with me - and within an instant, he squares his shoulders and goes after her like i am his sister

on saturday i sat in a circle while beca played with my hair and we were all over 30 and we laughed about how much happier we are being this old, how much more we appreciate our community. 25 minutes from now, we will be on stage to dance in baggy beige clothing, but for now we look on with envy to the dancers in loud-and-bright buttondowns. where are they getting these shirts! i cry, distraught. everyone laughs. one of our friends has a mushroom witch hat. this would have been cringey in high school, probably. instead we are all delighted with each other; happy just to be here and alive and moving

it's that last week my new friends cried with joy for me when they heard i'm getting top surgery. every so often i have the honor of being the first person someone feels comfortable enough to tell. i'm trying to make long fluttery butterfly wings to wear to pride; but i don't know anything about fabric or dye, so my friends have been sending me their personal advice.

i think in a different poem i would talk about how sometimes you walk into a room and put the mask back on. but i'm sleepy and my whole brain is fuzzy so i think in this one, it's a monday, and my dog and i took a nap on a couch, and i had missed texts from friends. i used to wake up lonely. i think this poem is about walking into a room and seeing someone and just knowing, the way you just-know-sometimes, and then giving them that little smile, and seeing them light up with joy and relief. it is how we always seem to be able to find each other in a crowded room. how we always seem to make friends with each other before even we know-it-to-be-true. it is saying: we're very different people; but i belong to you.

it is harder, yes. but it comes with a built-in family.

[fluentisonus]

working in a factory has you thinking so much about the insane chain of labor & transport that goes into making literally anything

[marzipanandminutiae]

so help me god if I tanked the chance for a well-paid job with full medical benefits, sick leave, paid vacation time, etc. because I hardly ever do machine seam-finishing

I'm going to be. really really really upset

[moe-broey]

I've hired this thing to stand there. Menacingly.

Wow, he's so good at tha--

Nevermind.

He also sits very politely though (needs assistance to do so, but hey! He's polite.)

[grasslandgirl]

uh oh having ideas outside of my realistic ability range (wanting to make a maxi skirt out of an old tapestry I got from a friend)

[officesupplied]

no I get that

[wool-string]

I haven’t taken Kei out in a while. He’s getting dusty.. so I took him out to pick some mint n make some lemonade

[antisocialxconstruct]

I might take a break from the puppy for a bit and ruminate on the pattern, what do you guys think I should shift my focus to in the meantime?

[loser-user-noaccuser]

I need to get a dress altered but all alteration places are unavailable for alterations or just for fancy clothes which is not what i need so like idk if i should just ask or if i should try find someone locally who could probably help me with it

[apuzzledprince]

guys the character hyperfixaction is starting to make me want to hand sew a plushie

[werebutch]

Slowly becoming a textiles artist that never really learned how to sew