#pattern-making
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Building a better hi-viz vest:
I wear a hi-viz vest 5 days a week for something like 4 months every year. They're mandatory for the entirety of the Bard on the Beach build and strike, which means I live in the thing through rainy early spring, hot late spring/early summer, and the rapid shift from warm and dry September to rainy and cold October.
My first Bard season, I had a cheap mesh one. It was cool on hot days, but otherwise sucked. The two pockets were as perforated as the rest of it and barely usable because any weight in them stretched the whole vest uncomfortably. When I left it in my cubby with a snack wrapper in the pocket and a mouse chewed right through the fabric, I didn't even bother patching the hole. It wasn't worth the effort.
This past season, I picked up a sturdier surveyor's vest with a ton of pockets.
I loved the general layout, and having a heavier garment that could handle carrying a good amount of snacks, tools, and other essentials without becoming uncomfortable was worth sacrificing ventilation. I was really happy for the first month, and still liked it well enough by late fall.
Minor annoyances piled up over the season: the velcro in the small chest pockets scraped my hands raw if I had to reach into them too often; the radio pocket's strap was bulky and loose; the pen pocket had poorly-sized slots and I dropped things every time I leaned forward; the cheap, sloppy construction failed to hold up to hundreds of hours of outdoor wear. It was clear that this vest was a decent facsimile of a well-designed, well-made work vest, but what I actually wanted was the real thing.
So I've started making my own. I'm using the almost-good-enough surveyor's vest as a starting point, redesigning the features that don't work, and building the whole thing out of much better materials, with better techniques.
This is my first time self-drafting a pattern. I'm glad I started with an incredibly simple garment and an existing shape I could copy. It's been challenging and fun just getting the patterning done.
I started by copying the surveyor's vest's two main shapes (rear panel and front panel) onto some kraft paper I'd saved from a parcel.
The weird tabs on the side and the extra rectangles on the bottom are fold-over lining segments I'd planned to use to reinforce high-wear areas of the interior with the heavier exterior fabric. I'm currently leaning towards cutting them off and sewing them to the lining before sandwiching the layers together, as I suspect the cleaner fold-over seams aren't worth all the extra work. We'll see how they make it into the final product.
For fabric, I grabbed:
Black bull denim for the exterior (this is a new-to-me weave that uses a heavier 3-to-1 twill weave than regular denim, and is dyed a uniform colour instead of having a dyed warp and white weft)
Blue linen for the lining (I splurged on a 100% flax handkerchief linen, since at least some of the lining will be sitting against bare skin on really hot days)
Fluorescent yellow waterproof nylon for the fluorescent component of the hi-viz stripes (I don't care about the waterproofing, but this type of nylon is what you get in work rain pants and jackets, and it's generally easy to keep clean and has good abrasion resistance)
2" wide Iron-on 3M reflective striping for the retroreflective component of the hi-viz stripes
This is also the first time I've had to follow federal safety regulations while designing a project. I'm using this guide to make sure I'm getting the hi-viz components right:
I'm also generally sticking to the design on the original surveyor's vest, since I know it conforms to the relevant standards.
While I was buying fabric, I found a bunch of gridded freezer paper in the sale bin for $1/dozen sheets. I grabbed it after a cursory google turned up a bunch of folks talking about how great it is for pattern-making.
I transferred my original rough patterns from the kraft paper to the freezer paper, using the grid to tidy things up and make them symmetrical.
The cool thing about freezer paper (and butcher paper, which I'm pretty sure is the same thing) is that it has a plastic coating on one side. You can draw on the other side, cut out a pattern, and then place it plastic-side-down on your fabric and iron over it. The heat melts the plastic just enough to have it stick gently to your fabric.
This makes it much easier to cut pattern pieces out of the fabric, because the pattern can't shift around and you don't get the distortion that can come with pinning. I switched to using a rotary cutter to cut out patttern shapes earlier this year (thanks, quilting!), and that plays very well with the freezer paper because my quilting ruler lays flat over it without being thrown off my pins.
I was able to measure and cut a clean and even seam allowance all around the pattern and then peel off the freezer paper without leaving any residue behind. It's reusable (I've already used the front panel piece twice), and honestly feels like a magic trick.
I'm now using it to pattern all of the pockets for the two front panels.
That's the next big chunk of the project, with a planned 4 pockets on the left side and 3 on the right. I'll be lining all of them for comfort and durability, and incorporating the fluorescent and reflective stripes directly into their construction.
So far, this is a fun and challenging off-season project. I'm really glad I don't actually need to use it until mid-March. The lack of deadline means that I can let myself get fully absorbed in the process and all of the things I'm experimenting with as I slowly pull it together.
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My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.
Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?
What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?
Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.
#I have a bit of a problem with giving everyone the same speech patterns but on god I try#Bc genuinely. This is the no. 1 most important thing while writing fanfic#If you can make a character sound like they would say that it doesn't matter if they actually would#My posts#Writing wise
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ppl were drawing mikus from all over so heres habesha miku and her lil twin sibs rin and len!!
#this trend sparked so much joy in my soul#i saw many fun cute and silly mikus#i love drawing habesha clothes but a lot of them require small detailed embroidery that makes me go insane#this is why ppl use pattern brushes cuz damn i had to simplify everything basically#also im bad at writing amharic and tigrinya oops!!#this was fun it got me outta a slump i was in all damn week#interestingly... their faces look a lot like my siblings and i? i didnt mean to do that at all tho... huh#my art#hatsune miku#kagamine rin#kagamine len#vocaloid
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Really says something about the dire state of offerings for men interested in sewing their own clothes that even searching things like "interesting men's clothing patterns" brings up articles with links to four or five whole websites that primarily offer admittedly nice but practically identical patterns for making button-ups and work pants and maybe a varsity/bomber jacket if you're lucky.
(Branching out into historical costuming for everyday wear is like your one shot at variation, and even then, the ratio of men's to women's patterns on every website is frustrating to say the least.)
Patternmakers as a trans man I am begging you. Give me a little more to work with here.
#can you tell i have been browsing patterns today#anyways after i make some progress on jonathan i'm going to buy some loud weird prints and at least jazz up a pants pattern#i want to have clothes that i like but god is it hard if you lean masc and also like fun
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*through tears* HER LITTLE POG CHAMP
#anyway shout out to my big sis for getting me some offical arcane knock-off pogs. I realise the caption makes no sense without that context#and very little sense even with it probably. ANYWAY THAT ARC HUH#im fine. I'm okay. I'm NORMAL :)#Finished the episode and immediately started drawing this. Hope to render it a bit more#Arcane spoilers#Arcane#arcane season 2#arcane s2#arcane season 2 spoilers#jinx arcane#isha arcane#isha and jinx#AUAUAUAUUAGH familial tragedy gets me like no other#Fan art#Fanart#Jinx#Artists on tumblr#My art#Paint the town blue#The message hidden within the pattern#Spoilers
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here's my wonderful isopod child, handcrafted in leather
#art#leatherworking#isopod#marine life#he was super fun to make and i learned quite a bit#honestly id love to make another#id need to check the pattern designers website but i think im allowed to sell these as long as i repurchase the pattern every few sales#if thats the case i'd totally take commissions to make these#its a lot of work but its fun!#also yes he is a bag#there are attachments for a strap and a zipper on the bottom#ill reblog and link to the pattern i used if anyone wants to know where i got it
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i love the headcannon that both tim and cass look scarily alike, to the point they could be twins.
like they both share the same general lithe build, they’re the same short height, cass has a short bob while tim has his baby mullet, their training is similar due to their backgrounds with lady shiva and the loa, and (depending on your headcanon) both waisan- so i can definitely see instances where they’re confused for each other or where they mess with everyone around them.
cass on patrol in red robin gear so tim can go on a date with bernard:
random thugs seconds away from being one hit k.o’d: yo since when did red robin start melting into the shadows like an eldritch horror?
jason: hey tim -
cass: wrong.
jason: no, im pretty sure you’re tim, i gave you that scar right there in your neck
cass: nu-uh, this is from cain
jason:
cass:
jason: well this got awkward…
steph hugging tim from behind: hey babe
tim: wrong wayne
steph: ew, i should’ve known, your ass isnt nearly as —
tim walking away with his fingers in his ears: lalalalala im not listening to you
damian: i think you’re the only one in this family i respect
tim who has been silently hanging out with him for the past 3 hours: aw thanks damian, i’ve come to love you like a brother too
damian: drake? i thought you were cassandra, my apologies, i retract my previous statement
tim: don’t care, you love me, don’t try to deny it
lady shiva hugging both tim and cass: my beautiful twins, such well trained weapons, unfortunate that you both ended up with cain
bruce pulling his children back: tim isnt yours…
shiva: well that cant be right, he’s s the spitting image of my sister carolyn, and that birth was far too painful to only produce one small child
tim: woah full circle, my drag-sona is called caroline, maybe you are my mom, i wouldn’t put it past janet drake to adopt
bruce: tim no, you’re not even the same type of asian
cass: too late, we’re blood
shiva: see!
#this is just silly dont take it too serious#also idc if shiva is a bad mother in canon dc needs to stop villianizing all woc they create#because its a continuous pattern in making them cartoonishly villainous mothers#and im sick of it - let talia and shiva be maternal#dc#cassandra cain#tim drake#robin#red robin#blackbat#batgirl#batman#batfam#bruce wayne#jason todd#damian wayne#red hood#stephanie brown#spoiler#stephcass#bernard dowd#timbern#lady shiva#david cain
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Several weeks ago one of my coworkers called me over into her cubicle and gave me a very unexpected gift. Her mother passed away recently, and she'd been packing stuff up at her condo to give to relatives and sell, so the home could be sold. The mother was an avid knitter and crocheter, and when my coworker came upon her stash of equipment, she told me, she "immediately thought of me as someone who might get some use out of it."
So, I have inherited a varied collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks, cable needles, sewing needles, and, best of all, now-out-of-print pattern books, mostly for blankets, because that was what this lady loved to make most. Plus, I also have a bunch of gauge swatches she made, pinned to little bits of card covered in perfect schoolteacher handwriting setting out the patterns they were made to test.
And also...
My coworker brought another bag, full of yarn and...knitted blanket squares. Her mother's last started project, before she got too sick to continue. And she asked if there was anything I could do with it.
It turned out, there are twelve completed squares, and I quickly located the pattern book they are from amid those given to me. It's a book of 60 patterns, meant to be put together however the maker wishes into blankets of 20 squares. I figured out which of the numbered patterns were already made, and selected eight more that I thought might go well with them.
So now! I am working on completing! My coworker's mother's last knitting project!
And I really am feeling very good about doing it.
#kidk says stuff#knit#i love making blankets anyway and these patterns are honestly cool#i already have most of the equipment i'd ever need but i still feel warm and fuzzy having this old gal's stuff too#my coworker thought of me ;__; she's seen my scarves and the table runners and stuff i have in my cubicle#she gave me precious things from her mother's beloved hobby because she 'knew i wouldn't let them go to waste'!#i feel very much like a human being and a member of a community because of this idk it's just nice all right?#crafts#blanket completion project
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may i introduce..
THE phRATS
#crochet#dan and phil#dnp#phan#mine#this took me months to finish#so at some point I really couldn’t bring up the Motivation to make another set of clothes … sorry phil#maybe I’ll do it at some point in the future tho!#I made sure to at least give him a pride flag tho 😅#(the pattern for the rats is by ComplicatedKnots on YT and I thought of everything else by myself)
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#danny phantom#my little pony#mlp#danny fenton#sam manson#tucker foley#before you make fun of me it's actually worse than it looks#ive spent like every warmup the past 2 weeks drawing ponies#anyway please enjoy permanent knee high socks phantom#(it's his fur pattern but does that really matter)#zilly art
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not strong enough!!✨
#knitting#wip#knitblr#boygenius#the pattern is Not Strong Enough on ravelry✨#ngl my main thought making this is how good everyone in boygenius would look in tank tops😌#like. julien baker and her little muscular arms in a tank top is a distracting visual. surely that’s why it took me so long to knit this😅
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How does one make miniature clothing for dollhouse dolls?
Dollhouses have been a popular pastime for centuries, and miniature clothing for the dolls is an essential part of creating a realistic and charming scene. Making miniature clothing may seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools and techniques, it can be a fun and rewarding project. In this guide, we will explore the steps to make miniature clothing for dollhouse dolls. Continue reading…
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#Buttons#Cutting#Dollhouse dolls#Embellishments#Fabrics#Hand-stitching#Hemming#Lace#Machine-stitching#Measuring#Miniature clothing#Miniature dressmaking tools#Pattern-making#Ribbon#Seam allowances#Sewing#Trim#Velcro#Zippers
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(You see a vision of the unending present.)
Got inspired by @tawnysoup's drawing of what the Bigfrin boss fight looks like from the party's POV, and I thought "what if Siffrin had a special attack like the King lol". So here you go! This would probably show up when Siffrin tries to loop back.
#art#in stars and time#isat#isat fanart#siffrin#siffrin isat#isat siffrin#isat spoilers#act 5 spoilers#isat act 5 spoilers#bigfrin#Also fun detail I noticed while looking at the battle portraits#When Siffrin makes an attack against themselves the orbital patterns in their body turn red#Where when normally they're grey inside Siffrin's body while being red on the outside of Siffrin's body
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i heart these rivals so much. maybe they'll kill each other. maybe they'll kiss. maybe they'll make ou
#ghost's doodles#lego monkie kid#lmk#shadowpeach#lmk sun wukong#lmk macaque#sun wukong#six eared macaque#love how these two show how different my art tends to be. either wholesome cute stuff or Absolute shitposts#i need them to do stuff to each other Really bad you guys have no idea#on another note for those who read these tags: i am making shadowpeach plushies#who knows how long those will take... but im sure i can get everything patterned right before they come in after new years#im so freaking excited!!!!#merry christmas btw. shadowpeach fans get a tasty treat lol#also the second shadowpeach was in ref to a twit trend going around. it got 2k+ likes..................
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soriel week 2024 day 1: together! 💜💙
#soriel#sorielweek#soriel week#soriel week 2024#undertale#undertale art#undertale pacifist family#toriel#sans#papyrus#frisk#flowey#neue femur#undertale fankid#undertale fanchild#soriel fankid#soriel fanchild#pixels#soriel family my BELOVEDS#I finally have an outfit design for older papyrus! now I don't have to keep drawing him in his completely unchanged battle body!! \o/#before anyone asks yes his other pocket does say 'dude'. and his trousers have a fire pattern past the knees#I also figured out how to make my older frisk's hairstyle look less goofy and I'm very happy about it. love that lanky beanpole
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Dazai canonically rambling about his loved ones at every possible opportunity is so dear to me.
Mori knew a lot of the things he did about Oda because Dazai told him. Akutagawa also knew about Oda and how important he is to Dazai because of Dazai's ramblings. Random, unnamed PM members know about Oda being very dear to Dazai, because Dazai praises him and talks about how great he is.
Chuuya knew straight away that Dazai had been speaking about him to the ADA. It wasn't something he expressed feeling betrayed or suprised about. It was just an immediate understanding that of all the ways they could probably have known about him and his ability despite it being confidential information in the PM, Dazai's ramblings were most likely the reason.
The way that Dazai speaks about Ranpo to quite literally anyone who will listen. To Fydor, to random cops, to Atsushi.
Dazai canonically brags about the people he cares about in an 'omg omg omg my person my people I love them look how amazing they are' way.
#this is so dear to me#i could go on and on about all the random comments dazai makes about his loved ones#Like yeah#the obvious comments about knowing Chuuya's breathing patterns and stuff#but also just#the completely unprovoked information he drops#I just think its cute that he loves them so much and so actively notices details about all his people#port mafia#armed detective agency#dazai osamu#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bungo stray dogs#oda sakunosuke#bsd odasaku#chuuya nakahara#ranpo edogawa#fydor dostoevsky#character traits
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