#the crazed sewing kit ii

[elsewhereuniversity]

Archivist, I beg your assistance. Like any creative, I got into The Flow while sketching out of doors. One of the Gentry came upon me, saw my works before I could close the sketchbook, and demanded I make Her the dress I had drawn. Please, might I check out the sewing kit for a time? I'll bring it back. Even if I don't come back to stay.

Certainly you may have it, and I hope that its every eccentricity can be be turned towards your task, somehow. With all the best will in the world, you shall receive (and please, do not feel obligated to return them):

The sewing kit itself is bundled into a hatbox, lovingly hand-embroidered and fitted with many separation trays. An unusual amount of separation trays, in fact, which always seem to be the right shape to contain the new horrors I keep dropping in there.

A golden needle hanging on a loop of glowing white thread like a pendant on a necklace. The needle is perfectly sharp but will never injure the owner - although I don’t know how it will interact with the thimble that guarantees a needle will injure the owner.

A set of needles made from the bones of an unknown creature, which if used to draw blood can then use it as if it is violently crimson thread

A single tapestry needle, which also clearly drew blood at one point; the blood is OA- and really should not be, although I do not know if that’s the fault of the needle

An unusable thimble that cannot be removed from the little paper bag it is in, and burns anyone who makes the attempt

A thimble that guarantees you’ll prick your finger, and in exchange can push a needle through virtually anything

A needle threader that will always measure out the exact length of thread you need, but which will occasionally simply delete the needle’s eye 

A seam ripper which cuts through any and all charmed thread as if it is normal, although it’s rather dull when used on normal thread

A small turtle with a shell just magnetic enough to hold pins and needles; I believe it may be made of metal, but the enamel covering (if it is so) is almost impossibly well done.

A piece of partially used tailor’s chalk which causes the wearer of any garment it’s used for to contort hideously and violently

Three pieces of tailor’s chalk which will always draw lines which are precisely where they should be and last exactly as long as you need them

Pattern weights shaped like rare frogs, which cheerfully and constantly critique finished projects

A packet of various pattern pieces which appear mundane until one attempts to figure out what they’re patterns for, at which point they begin to take rather distressing shapes

One cherry wood button bearing the insignia of a hart rampant, which calms the heart and breath and mind when touched

Seven black buttons which appear to be perfectly normal, except that when sewn to a stuffed animal they begin to blink in a way that makes it obvious they are eyes, and have been the whole time

A spool of thread that is a lie

A spool of thread that is impossibly fine, and extremely sharp under tension as a result

A ribbon that affixes itself to one’s person in the most visually pleasing shape and color it is able to.

A ribbon of faintly glowing chartreuse, indistinguishable from glow-in-the-dark trinkets except that it doesn’t require any light to maintain its glow

A great length of copper wire, entirely wrapped in blue string, which has minor protective qualities

Two spools of what is either crimson thread or fine copper wire, which seems to change at random

High-strings from a once high-strung individual, invisible but very tensioned

A fork with a simple rose design on the handle, which if jammed into the workings of a machine will fix any (non-fork-related) problems

A sewing tin that eats scraps, and may take your fingertips with it if you’re not careful

Copper knitting needles fixed together with resin, which now seem to operate as a kind of dowsing device

Srossics, which are dull on the insides and sharp on the outside, but cut through daydreams well enough

[graduationwietskevanbraak]

Berlin Woolwork + now

During the nineteenth century, sampler making and cross stitch went into decline, due mainly to the craze for Berlin woolwork which took over from the 1830's. Ornate designs from nature were painted or printed onto canvas in Berlin, then sold throughout Germany, Britain and America. Stitchers would cover the designs with woolwork, often in tent stitch or half cross stitch but sometimes in cross stitch, to produce many articles for the home - footstools, bellpulls, purses, cushions, firescreens, pincushions. By 1840, 14,000 patterns for Berlin woolwork were available in England, all simple to stitch from a coloured chart, but offering subtle shading and increased realism. When improvements in dyeing techniques produced vivid new thread colours, such as purple, magenta and violet, the increased scope and excitement gave further impetus to the widespread craze for Berlin woolwork.

But embroidery as a pastime was to lose popularity rapidly in Europe and America later that century, in spite of the efforts of William Morris (1834-96) and his Arts & Crafts Movement, and especially William's daughter May, a leading exponent of embroidery. The death knell sounded for domestic embroidery, and the hand stitching of clothing and household linens, when in 1828 the first embroidery machine was invented by Joseph Heilman, then American Elias Howe invented the domestic sewing machine, manufactured by Isaac Singer from 1851. As women began to acquire factory-made and machine-embroidered clothing and linen at a reasonable price, their skills went into decline.

World Wars I and II consolidated the decline in Britain as women were needed to support the war effort, and embroidery featured less in schools. Those who still had some leisure time and a love of needlework would produce patriotic samplers commemorating events such as the coronation of King George V1 in 1937, though the preference was for free-style embroidery rather than cross stitch. In Britain, cross stitch hung on through the thirties, forties and fifties, with the help of pre-stamped cross stitch kits: crosses were printed onto the fabric, then stitched over.

Cross stitch as we recognise it today was re-discovered in the sixties, when increased leisure time was a factor in the revival of counted cross stitch for pleasure. Once again, stitchers were working from charts, and early kits from this period offered copies of traditional samplers, taking cross stitch back to its roots. Happily for us addicts, over the last thirty years the explosion of interest in the craft has seen a flourishing of every conceivable type of design - offering something of interest for all tastes and skills.

Jo Verso

https://www.thecrossstitchguild.com/cross-stitch-basics/stitchers-study/threads-of-history-by-jo-verso.aspx

[elsewhereuniversity]

put the high-strings in the sewing kit so we can have an emperor's new clothes situation

Done! I like where your head’s at.

[elsewhereuniversity]

A charm to pass on: A ribbon, or a bow tie, or an armband. In short, a piece of cloth that will tie itself to you in the most aesthetically pleasing style it can find. Shifts colours for said purpose. It was originally made for a single extravagant night, but now it seems to long to show itself, and its skills, off. I see no reason to deny it that pleasure, so please find someone who will use it to it's full, beautiful potential.

I will place it in the sewing kit for the moment, but if there is someone else who would put it to better use I will see that they have it.

[elsewhereuniversity]

I offer a charm I don't need anymore, a long blue string wrapped tightly around copper wire. A bird gave it to me. I never saw them again. It has guarded me well, but I think it's time to let go.

I will tentatively place this into the second crazed sewing kit. Perhaps it will lend a measure of safety to the kind of projects the eventual owner will set their hands to. And if not, it surely can’t hurt to have a charm of protection nearby.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Here's another item for your sewing kit, I was gonna use these buttons as eyes for a teddy bear I was making for my nephew, but I found that if you attach them to a stuffed animal, they blink. Hopefully someone can make a nice, blinking teddy bear with them

I love the concept, and your optimism! I'm certain they will be put to use that benign, and absolutely nothing else.

[elsewhereuniversity]

A gift for you, Archvist: a button, made of cherry wood, with a hart insignia. I do not know its significance, but I have held it tight in my hand on more than one occasion, and it has calmed my unsteady heart and eased my unsteady mind. Don’t worry. I’ve found medication to take its place in my hand.

I am glad for you! I will add it to the sewing kit.

[elsewhereuniversity]

A pair of ornate silver scissors, freely given. They are always as sharp as you need them, but there are perpetually rust and gold coloured stains on the blades. Be careful to put them away before you go to bed, lest they decide to commit a crime

Another for the sewing kit! It will be in good company there, since many of the kit’s items are perpetually on the verge of crime at all times.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Here, for the sewing kit. A spool of impossibly fine thread. I've tried to use it myself but it keeps slicing through the fabric I'm sewing it into... as well as the needles used in putting it in the fabric. It's becoming a bit of a pain since I tried grabbing it without gloves and cut two fingers by accident.

A natural fit for the second cursèd sewing kit; surely there exists someone who can put this to dreadful use.

[elsewhereuniversity]

For the sewing kit; three pieces of tailors chalk enchanted to always draw the correct line and not smudge or wash out until needed. A set of pattern weights shaped like rare frog species, they like to give advice on the colour and cut of any finished garments (you can follow the advice or not, they won’t mind too much). A packet of pattern pieces for various garments, nothing special but may be useful. Please make sure whoever ends up with these takes care of the frogs!

The second sewing kit grows.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Are you still collecting things for the sewing kit? I just happen to have a spool of thread that is a lie. I'm not sure how this will affect any project, but I hope it will be of use to someone.

I do not seek them out, but as long as they continue finding their way to me I will continue to place them together. This shall join the rest.

[elsewhereuniversity]

oh no I'm perpetually late to the gifting as always! here's an extremely blessed seam ripper to deal with all your cursed thread needs! Unfortunately it's been the bane of my unlife so treat with care and keep it wrapped in this handkerchief-sized portion of my burial shroud for insulation purposes please. oh no I'm going to be late to the memorial! - once a tailor twice a guest

I cannot wait to see how this reacts to some of the threads I have received, particularly the ones of unspecified natures.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Would you mind terribly if i took the hovering pen off your hands? I want to get a look at the enchantments and see if its gyroscopically stable- i’m building a rube goldberg machine as part of an ...assignment that could benefit from components like that. Worst comes to worst, it would be a fun curiosity to play with while procrastinating essays. I’m willing to offer two spools of red thread that turns to copper wire and back for the sewing kit you’re making in exchange.

By all means; I wait with bated breath to see what comes of your [ominous pause] assignment!

[elsewhereuniversity]

Archivist, I hear that you are creating an, interesting, sewing kit. Well, I offer you a collection of embroidery needles hewn from bone I found in a dusty old box in the cellar. I know not from what bone these are made of, but they seem to have some sort of enchantment that allows them to use blood as if it were thread. I must admit, they do create such a deep vibrant red that is hard to rival, but they are a bit overeager when it comes to drawing blood.

A cousin to that one thread that unspooled the sewer’s own tendons! If they didn’t share the same maker, then the makers shared the same macabre bent.

[elsewhereuniversity]

For the second sewing kit: a fork with a rose engraved on the handle. It…seems like it shouldn’t belong, I understand, but if it’s jammed into any machine’s gears the thing’ll fix it real quick. It’s been a lifesaver with thread snags

It goes with these tools as well as any other, I suppose!

[elsewhereuniversity]

A friend for the sewing tin friend! There is a very small turtle, whose shell is magnetic enough to hold needles. It has a helpful nature, and will slowly walk to wherever you need them to be so that you can pick up or put down a needle at the right time while you work on your project. It cannot be harmed by the sewing tin who eats fabric scraps, so they bonded. It can't save you from pricked fingers, but it will give you a tiny kiss, and doesn't that just make it all better?

Several little creatures in this second sewing kit; hopefully they all get along!