#stitch witchery

[arukou-arukou]

The single greatest thing about being a craft person is having other (presumably craft) people acknowledge my crafts in real life. In the checkout line over the last several days when I’ve been wearing my sweater around, several people have asked “Did you make that? It’s beautiful.” Yes. Yes I did. Allow me to preen like a bird in front of you and explain to you where you too can find the pattern and make your own. Would you like to talk about different needle brands next? Or how about how you too have had secret dreams of running away to run a goat farm with your queer platonic life partner? 

[discountalien-pancake]

Nicole Rudolph made a buttonhole tutorial so go forth and learn how to sew buttonholes by hand from someone who is much better at them than I am.

[stitchwitchsapprentice]

"From Scratch" Quilting

Wanted any easy place to return to where I could showcase my quilting process, especially since I haven't made it to any quilt shows since COVID. So here it is!

For my "Mad Hatter Tea" quilt, I worked with my comisionee to design a pattern that really fit the theme.

Then I went through fabric swatches, and added color. Obviously, we wanted this one to be very bright and colorful.

And here's the final result.

Other Quilts

These are some other quilts I've made in the past, though they use fewer techniques.

Simple Quilts

And these are some much simpler designs. This is the type of thing we usually include in our "sacred reading kit" giveaway on Reading Circle Temple.

The so called "Crazy Quilt." No pattern at all, but a good way to use fabric scraps. (This is actually the first quilt I made!)

The "jelly roll quilt" (named after the rolls of strips you can buy in the store). Most quilters will be familiar with this very simple pattern.

And I had to show my friend my modeling the one I made for my husband.

And the hankie-butterfly quilt. This one is a common pattern too, with variation. You'll recognize I used this technique in the Mad Hatter Tea Party quilt as well.

Current Projects

I'm currently in the process of finishing up a quilt-as-you-go that I'm titling "Red, White, and Moo." (I guess I should set a July 4 goal!)

Quiltography

I've also developed a hobby of quilting maps, which I will likely make into a larger quilt, once I have made enough.

This is a top-down view of a theater stage. The black lines toward the bottom are the black curtains, and if you look closely, you can see lights embroidered at the top.

This is the tram system in one of my countries, which is a very mountainous area. Hopefully the cameo from my cat makes up for it being messy and upside down!

[thepomegranatewitch]

fun facts with Sahar, because no-one told me!

I line dry my family’s clothes as much as possible to save money (less electricity and less wear on the clothes), to sunbleach stains (two toddlers), and for the environment (less manufactured energy more wind and solar passive energy). In summer it also helps cool my home like a swamp cooler.

I installed a new laundry line with a fancy pulley system so I can hang while standing in one spot. The usual cotton rope I buy wasn’t available at the store, so I bought sisal rope - apparently more sun resistant, and it’s not plastic. I hung it on an overcast day. A week later, I had to tie a slip knot in it and pin it because it was too slack.

The next day, it rained.

Sisal swells in moisture.

The hook I used to hang my pulley was unhooked by the sheer tension and the whole thing collapsed in freshly forked dirt. Even untying the slip knot was not enough to rehook it. I installed a new hook and used some chained up carabiners to rectify.

So here is the proper way to install a laundry line, particularly for sisal:

Ensure the drill is drilling in (not out), and using a ladder or otherwise boosted drill a pilot hole with a screw shorter than your hook into a solid support. I used a fence post and a shed roof on a post.

Screw a heavy duty hook in to the support. Repeat between 20 and 100ft away with another pilot hole and hook.

Hook the pulley assembly onto the hook, then run the rope around it. Gently pull it to the other hook and repeat with a second pulley. Tie into a big loop using a square knot, so the tension on the knot pulls it tighter instead of loosening once you have weight on it.

Using split rings made into a chain, or a length of chain that can fit over the hook, attach a chain to the hole in the pulley assembly with a carabiner. I recommend about 18 inches of chain. This should be at the spot you intend to stand while hanging laundry. ALWAYS STORE ON THE LOOSEST CHAIN LINK.

On a particularly dry day, go out and loop the carabiner to the hook. Retie your laundry line to its tightest. Rehook at end of chain so there is lots of slack in case of high humidity.

When hanging laundry, unhook chain and rehook at appropriate chain link or carabiner for the day’s humidity to be taut but not overtight. Every item or three you hang on the line, attach a carabiner to the lines. This helps keep the two lines of the loop together instead of tightening the empty top and slackening the loaded bottom.

Empty line, ready to hang laundry.

Image description: a closeup of a plastic laundry pulley on a sunny day, parallel to a fence with scraggly bushes. Another house and blue sky is visible in the background. The pulley is looped with sisal rope tied in three square knots with a curled 8 inch tail. Close to the pulley are black, brown then red to purple carabiners in rainbow order. The pulley is attached to a silver carabiner, which is in turn looped onto a white plastic covered hook screwed in to a 4x4 wooden post. A chain of 18 metal split rings dangles from the carabiner. The line has a slight parabola but is clearly taut.

Empty laundry line, ready to hang.

Image description. The same laundry line, taught with a slight parabola, at a different angle. The viewer is looking at a simple square blue grey shed that has the other end of the laundry line hooked to the far left roof corner. From right to left in background are visible a bush blooming with dark purple flowers, five tall skinny cypress trees, the shed, a mass of overgrown wild radish and a yellow blooming succulent, oak trees in full dark foliage, and some empty garden beds. The sky is bright blue and cloudless.

The line at rest, ready for storage.

Image description. The same laundry line at the same angle looking at the shed. The chain is visibly hooked at the furthest end from the pulley so the line has a deep slack in it.

[goingsparebutwithprecision]

@jonaldronaldrolkientolkien

The Fish Jacket in all its glory!

I don't know what to say.. I started the jacket 10 months ago. What a journey! I'm so proud and happy!

Thanks for your lovely and kind words and the overwhelming interest! Happy stitching everyone.

[off-brand-adorabbit]

I think I’ve spent six hours hunched over this today and my back is killing me. It’s time to stop for the night, and Rock agrees. This should be easy to finish before may.

[arukou-arukou]

On Ravelry, I usually tag things by yarn weight and project type. Unfortunately, this means I have a vast number of favorited projects that are tagged “fingering socks,” “fingering shawl,” “fingering hat,” and last, but not least, “fingering gloves.” It sounds like I’m putting together a uniform for giving or receiving a little something something.

[discountalien-pancake]

How to sew “French” seams (in french they’re known as English seams, so…) by hand!

It’s actually really straightforward, at least to me. You sew each seam twice, which is extremely annoying, but other than that it’s not actually difficult.

Some basic guidelines you’ll want to keep in mind:

french seams are best for light-medium weight fabrics. With heavy fabrics you’re better off binding the seam allowances with thin ribbon.

not great for dramatic curves but soft curves can be managed with a narrow allowance.

you will be doing a lot of running stitches. Having a beading needle can be helpful for this because you’ll be able to take more stitches in one pass.

narrower final seams look prettier but are more fragile. fabrics prone to fraying (dupioni, charmeuse, linen, loose wovens, etc) need a wider seam allowance than fabrics that resist fraying (crepe de chine, cotton voile, knits). I recommend 10mm seam allowance for fabrics that don’t fray too much, and 12mm for ones that fray more (trust me, the 2mm makes a difference).

you can french seam knits! By hand! Keep in mind that you will want to use a blunt needle, like a small size tapestry needle, and you must use a backstitch for any seams that need to stretch parallel to the seam.

If you are seaming something that needs to be hemmed, i recommend doing the hemming first, before sewing panels together. If facing or binding the hem, you can do that before or after.

Start by laying your pieces right sides out, wrong sides together. Pin (or baste) along the seam line. For french seams, it does really help to cut pieces out with exact seam allowance so that you can simply align the cut edges.

Stitch parallel to the edge and seam line, a couple millimeters shy of dead center, closer to the edge than the final seam line. It may help to trace the secondary sewing line onto the fabric. Use a running stitch for this unless seaming knits or other stretch fabrics along a seam that needs to stretch in the direction of the seam. If the direction of stretch is primarily perpendicular to the seam, go ahead and use a running stitch. This line of stitching will almost never be subjected to strain, so a finely spaced running stitch is all you need. You can also use lower quality thread for this if you don’t have a lot of the nice stuff.

Press the seam allowance to one side, then the other. Really pull the layers away from each other to get the crease as close to the stitching as possible. Hold the two panels wrong sides out, right sides together, with the raw edges trapped between.

Starting from the hemmed edge, if there is one, anchor your thread in the seam allowance and whipstitch the hemmed edges together at the seam line.

Stitch along the marked seam line, which should fall outside of the raw edge. If you didn’t offset the first line of stitching enough, you may find this difficult and end up having raw edges poking through. You can use a fine running stitch for seams that won’t take strain, and a backstitch for seams that need more strength. You should use stronger, nicer thread for this as well. I like running stitch for this especially because that means i can use one length of thread for the entire length of the seam. Backstitch uses approximately triple the length of the seam + a tail, which becomes extremely unwieldy with long skirt seams, for example.

I end the line of seam stitching with a few backstitches.

Press the seam allowance to one side and marvel at how tidy they look. If the garment is mirrored, make sure the seam on the other side is ironed the other way.

Pictures below bc tumblr isn’t letting me rearrange them on mobile for some reason:

Last pic is showing a backstitched final seam. I only did that for the two side seams on the bodice because those are most likely to experience strain. All the skirt seams (6!!!) were running stitched.

In my experience, a french seam is one of the most comfortable seams to have against the skin. Ideal for shirts, fancy chemises, lingerie, etc.

I hope this explanation helped a bit! Truly the only thing you need to pay attention to is starting right sides out.

Go forth, make pretty slips and chemises!

[veteratorianvillainy]

Since it doesn't look like anyone else has added it, I want to say that he does also knit and the sweater he completed during the Olympics is... impressive

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A post shared by Tom Daley (@tomdaley)

10 pounds says terfs start arguing men have an unfair advantage in knitting next

[vashti-lives]

The absolute vindication wanting a random sewing notion and not wanting to go to Joann’s and then finding in your stash an unopened vintage package of it, that you only bought because it was at a garage sale in a zip lock baggie with a bunch of other vintage bias tape and hem you bought, also for no real reason.

AND THEN you decide to also use the vintage bias tape!

10/10 crafting moment.

[thealchemickalwitch]

What if - instead of a poppet representing a person - you put two cross-stitches together as a scenario or future and then stuff it with according ingredients?

Has anyone tried this?! Someone let me know??

[comfortabletextiles]

After I had this post on my dash, I kind of got obsessed with this.. (and screamed at @cephalopodvictorious about it)

But getting into this without some practice would be turning leather into trash, and that would make me sad.

So I went on the artists website and bought a very small pattern!

And today I went to the local leather shop and bought a bunch of stuff

The tan one is und dyed cow hide and the grey is dyed lamb.

The cow is now dyed Petrol and I wait for it to dry 👀

[lunarcrown]

I just saw another person on Instagram who did a dungeon master tango cosplay based on my design and on a cool pattern from wasyago and it was SUCH A COOL THING TO WAKE UP TO

The fact that y’all do irl stuff with things I’ve drawn, like cosplays or making “powered by redstone” stitch witchery is EXTREMELY cool and humbling 🥹🥹🥹🥹 THANK U SO MUCH

[qipsir]

Small Business masterlist for myself and a streaming community I'm in

Not a small business but this is essentially Craigslist or Ebay but free and local https://freecycle.org/

Note: to my knowledge, most of these are American brands

Gonna make a separate post for occult stuffs

Artists

Afternoon Fika - queer artist in Sweden, sells a lot of plushies

Alpaca Sews - plushies and stationary

Brothersmake - 100% recycled plastic products, you can donate your plastic (UK based)

Cellsdividing - really cool artist I got a keychain, sticker, and 2 shirts from

Katrina Wold - the cutest cat stickers I ever did see

Lumichen's Art

Lilac Fox Creative - divorced mother trying to support kids

Sara Day Art - currently fundraising for Gaza

Liz Schmidt - canine circus, website closed at the time of this post, linked to caard profile

Lunakia Art - keychains, prints, desk mats, etc

MPgautheron - skull stuff

Ivory Owl Co - genuinely one of my favourite artists their style is so cute and they wield watercolor really well

Lyric Stitches - plushies, totes, sensory pillows, and more

Vincent Trinidad - someone pointed out his art on a shirt in a tiktok video so I'm putting him here cause the art's funny/cute. Not really a small business

Jojoes Art - THE galaxy wolf artist. Art got stolen and sold worldwide (can't find his post of that but I found his fire/ice wolves)

Clothing

Assk First - brand advocating for consent

Playing Possum Clothing Co. - will cut the tags off clothes for you if you want

Wicked Clothes

Spicy Wear - owner made a boxer line with a pad holder and a pocket for an ice/heat pack because his girlfriend likes wearing his boxers and can't on her period

Time Capsule Design - has plant shirts that's a subtle way of advocating for abortions and body autonomy

Cruel Daughter - VERY pricey, but everything is crocheted (for anyone who doesn't know, unlike knitting, crochet cannot be done by machine)

Borderline Punk Design - clothing, communication card, and stim toys

Phantomassy - glasses friendly alt/fantasy masks

LoudBodies - women-owned, up to 10XL, free custom fitting

Hail Satin Corsetry - minority-owned, made to create functional pieces of art

Bibi Pins - pins + compression items (I got compression gloves and elbow brace, didn't do anything for me and the brace was uncomfortable but the designs aren't bad)

WitchVamp - size inclusive and has bifurcated joggers (not sure what that means but hell yeah)

Planetofkind - face masks

Freethesheep - anxiety loungewear

Rebel Youth Apparel - alt unisex swimwear

Kamala's Kloset - NOT ONLINE a boutique specifically focused on gender affirmation

Jewelry

Spooky Kawaii - site says hypoallergenic jewelry. I'm personally not sure how you can know that but yeh

Himawari Jewels - handmade in Czechia, worldwide shipping, message social media for customs

KindastrangeDE - witchy and gothic jewelry

Feral Hag - bone jewelry, has deer rib hair sticks

Cords Club - hypoallergenic jewelry + flat back studs

Schatzhaus - wire wrapped jewelry

Fire And Bone - jewelry made from fossil and bone scans

VonKreep Art - spiky and bone jewelry

Corvus Cornyx - followed because they made their own finger splints and they look cool

Mushroom Zen - glass jewelry

Strange Adornments - oddity/bone jewelry

Shower + skincare

Nole - solid shampoos + solid conditioner

Kitsch - solid shampoo/conditioner, skincare, shower body stuff

Moon Shine Suds - fantasy creature blood bag bodywash

Molly Bubbles Soap Co. - all sorts of things, most well known for magnesium lotion

Jelly Wax - hair removal wax, advertised for beginners

Madani Naturals - hair care for curly hair + african net sponge

Cee Cee's Closet - where I got my african net sponge, also jewelry + bonnets

Bellanomi - african skincare brand, also known for net sponges

Base Laboratories - piercing care

Scents

Lovesick Witchery

Birch & Besom

Household stuff

Oak & Willow - from their home page "Welcome to eco-friendly living made affordable" > Note: if you are in America and really don't have the money to buy housecare for yourself, you can sign up for a list so that someone can buy a housecare package for you and you get it for free

Living Pantry - family-owned eco-friendly shop

HoldOn Bags - compostable trash, pet, and ziplock bags

Trashie - has a take-back bag for you to donate your clothes + electronics

ForgeCore - 3D printing files

Skyclad Apothecary - aka Zero Waste Apothecary on social media, bulk herbs, oils, spices, clays, all sorts of stuff

Gneiss Spice - magnetic spice jars + organic spices

Curious Hawaii - home decor made in Hawai'i

Darby's Crochet Corner - crochet plushies

Warm People Co - mostly blankets and some clothes

Understory Labyrinth - self watering ceramic pots for carnivorous plants

Cosmetics

Esoes - 'safety lipstick' w/ drug testing strips, bluetooth panic buttons, etc

Sushyglow Cosmetics - has been DRAGGED online by haters and for what? 12/10 company, well known for its bloody lip tints, I love 'em, my friends love 'em, cannot recommend enough

Sunset Makeup - coloured foundations for cosplay, GOOD COVERAGE WHITE FOUNDATION

Catacomb Cosmetics - nonbinary-owned, my friend made this company! They're super cool. Not a whole lot of stuff but the stuff they do have is lovely

Console Skins

Petimint

Other

A Wild Offering - yarn, roving, ceramics, and clothing (currently closed)

Artixan - fidgets and accomodating water bottle bags + weighted leaf pillow

Blooming Earth Herbal - herbal shop w/ skincare and tinctures and things

Cycora - textile recycling

Lair of the Llama - yarn and roving

Palestine Soda - drinks that donate profits to Palestine

Simply Earth - DIY stuff like purfumes

Swanson's Fabrics - digital/in person thrift store for yarns and fabrics

Sunburst Trading - Sterling Silver Gemstone Jewelry, Crystals, Authentic Fossils & More, formerly cystal cavern imports

Urial Magic - forest whimsical leather bags

(not all are women owned but many are)

[jacksoneblackburn]

THIS IS A JACKS LORE DUMP. VERY, VERY LONG OVERDUE, JACKS LORE DUMP.

This is a certified out-of-character post (also, small irl update)

Jacks was born in the 1700s, specifically 1789, October 31. Jacks is one of the time displaced kids at Camp Half-Blood, and is still getting used to how to use devices. They were kinda confused when Leo [Valdez] handed them a talking brick that made beeps and music.

After one day, after getting claimed by Apollo, they ended up becoming a medical assistant in their village. They were amazing at healing people. Some called them a "healer." Other said they were a witch that immediately needed to be executed by cutting off their head.

They (they being the village, not Jacks) ended up deciding to go down the witchery path when Jacks healed someone's arm, which was mauled by a Lycaon disguised as a regular wolf, and reattaching the dude's arm back onto his body without stitches. Not the smartest move, but then again, the person who got mauled was Jacks's first (secret) boyfriend.

(Quick b-t-dubs, Jacks is descended from Erebus and Hephaestus)

So, when they strapped them to a log, surrounded by spears and tinder, Jacks wasn't sure what to do. They could control small amounts of fire due to being a descendant of Hephaestus, shadow travel because of Erebus, and heal themself if they needed a way to fake dying (somehow).

They decided the safest option was hiding in the Underworld, shadow travelling down there. When they shadow travelled into the underworld, they were immediately met with good news, and bad news.

Good News? There was no longer a bloodthirsty mob after them with flaming torches.

Bad News? They were stuck in Erebus's pocket dimension in the underworld.

Now, I'm not sure if you have been stuck in utter, and complete darkness from 1802 to 2021 (~219 years), stuck at 13 and not being able to think properly, going insane due to isolation for what felt like eternity. But for Jacks? They mentally and physically stayed the same age for years.

They never grew up, they were alone and afraid, forgotten by everyone else until they were able to escape (somehow, idk, I'm working out the details on that as we speak).

When they managed to get out, Nyx and Erebus decided to have Mercy on Jacks, giving them a bracelet that transformed into a small, beaded bracelet, where if you snapped off a bead, the bracelet would transform into a Stygian Iron sickle, kinda like those farmer ones where you can hold it in one hand.

Not that it helped Jacks's situation, but at least they had a weapon to protect themself from everything around them.

Fast forward a few months, specifically a month (and a day) before their birthday, they make it to the rumored Camp Half-Blood. They've heard of it during school at some point through myths and rumors. Also, supposedly George Washington was a demigod, but they never taught that in their school (the teachers were so uncool for that tbh).

When they got there, a teen, around the same age as them, with vitiligo and pink hair. He introduced Jacks to Chiron, and showed Jacks around camp, then introduced himself as Tyler (if you followed my blog for a bit, you know where this is going ;] ).

Tyler was a cool, awesome son of Demeter, descended from Aphrodite (his grandma's side). Jacks was from Pennsylvania and Tyler was from Canada. The two weren't too different either. Jacks, inevitably, started developing feelings for Tyler. Though the feelings were small, and sometimes went away completely, Jacks really wanted to date Tyler.

Tyler ended up asking Jacks out two years after they met, and have been happily dating ever since.

Jacks was afraid of the dark, because of the shadow dimension in the underworld, so Tyler made Jacks a candle that would never go out or melt so Jacks would never be in the dark ever again.

Present day, Jacks spend their time with their friends Nico, Percy, Thalia, Jason, Hazel, Annabeth, Magnus, Toast n' Donut (yes, they're frogs, again, idc), Koi, Xea, Tyson, Ella, Mrs. O'Leary (dogs count, idc), Leo, Will, Hilal Khalil, Tyler, and his adoptive parents Davey M[atten]. Red and John H[arriet]. Red

If you read this far, holy crabs do you have a large attentions span. Either that or you're a nerd like me :) (or you're one of my mooties)

I love y'all (platonically), be safe, and I'll try to upload more often every other weekend. I have school stuff and I'll try to post around 6-7 A.M. EST. Also, thank you for tagging me in stuff on both of my accounts ( @ghostkingdiangelo) and this account. I'll catch up on all mah schtuff soon.

Thanks for reading again!

@bright-side-of-the-moon

[off-brand-adorabbit]

take two, lets go