#this is just embroidery thread and needles from Walmart too. you don’t need any of that fancy ‘darning thread’

[seenoweevil]

Currently in the process of darning my shoes

[donnajons]

Leave Paris, Move to Gotham Chapter 2

So, this is over due, but it’s here and it’s alive! I couldn't  post all the tags, it was a fully mess. Please tell me what you think about. it

It was too late to change her last name.

 Her landlady registered her under that name, so the bills came under that name. Her boss, Miss Prince, wrote her checks under Marinette A. Wayne, and she got a fake ID under that name and her photo. 

But why the last name Wayne was such a bad thing? 

Well, turns out that the last name was well known in Gotham thanks to an eccentric playboy billionaire, whose company hold the 87 percent of the jobs in the Gothic city. At least twenty people asked her if she was related to Bruce Wayne last week. Even Miss Prince asked her if she was one of Bruce’s children. Apparently, the man had adopted a dozen children with black hair and blue eyes like her. 

Well, she couldn’t change her last name, but she had the option of change her appearance. That was one of the reasons why she changed her hair color to a pastel pink. She kept her bangs just to divided in two and hold them with pins, so she could show her forehead. The pink was a good choice. It made her look like a totally different person. The only thing that didn’t match were her black eyebrows, but she didn’t want to dye them too. 

After paying and say goodbye to Selena, Marinette still had more than a hundred dollars in her pocket, and it was still early, so after a whole internal debate and some encouragement from Tikki, Marinette went to a Hobby Lobby and bought a bag of embroidery thread and some needles. She felt guilty when she gave the money to the cashier and walked home with her knew embroidery set. A strong part of her wanted to go back to the store and return the threads, but Tikki was stronger than that part of her. 

“Remember, Marinette. You deserve to have pretty things and hobbies. You can buy embroidery thread and not feel guilty about it. Think of all the pretty pattern that you can sew in your clothes! Tell me one.”

Marinette smilled. What would she do without Tikki?

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 Marinette was nervous, and this time it wasn’t because of Char Noir, the miraculous, or money. 

The Pink haired girl was about to ask her boss if she could use the sewing machine in the back to fix some of her clothes in her free time. It wasn’t that her clothes were ragged. The thing about her clothes was that they were too plain. She bought them in the discount section of Walmart in the men’s and women's section. Some of them were way too big for her, and others were just… not her style. After she came back from the store and checked the miraculous box, Marinette started to decorate her clothes… well the ones that fit her. That’s why she wanted to ask Miss Prince if she could use the sewing machine, so she could fix her clothes. 

It was lunch time, and Marinette was as ready as she could be.

“M-miss Prince.” Her voice lacked confidence even though her boss was kind to her.

A tall woman with black long hair turned around to see her.

“Oh, Marinette. You change your hairstyle! Pink suits you well!”

The girl shyly moved a piece of hair from her face. “T-thank you, Miss Prince. Miss Prince I-I was wondering if you are okay with it, but of course if you don’t that’s fine. I would totally understand, and I don’t want to bother you…”

For someone that wasn’t a native English speaker, Marinette knew how to bladbling like a pro. 

Miss Prince put a hand on her shoulder and said “Hey, breathe. You can’t ask me what you want if you don’t breathe, breath, Marinette, breath.”

And she did. 

“Good. By the way, your English is getting better. You’re speaking more fluently.” Her boss smiled, “Now, tell me what you need.”

Marinette took a deep breath, “I-I was wondering if you could let me use the sewing machine on the back. I want to fix some clothes that I bought, b-but of course it would be in my lunch break and only if you let me.”

Quickly, Miss Prince smiled to her. “Of course, you can use the sewing machine but not at lunch time. You are a young woman still developing, so take your last hour to fix your clothes.”

Marinette opened her eyes in surprise. “B-but, Miss Prince, we have some clients at 3:00. You told me that you want me to take measurements and star the pattern for their suits. I could fix my clothes tomorrow if you let me.”

Her boss choked her head, “And you will, but you will only take measurements. I have seen your work. You are quick and precise when you take measurements. It would take at most ten minutes per customer. The pattern will take you less time. Now, don’t argue with me and eat something.”

As Marinette walked to the back store, she couldn’t help but be grateful for having a great boss like Miss Prince. She was always comprehensive and kind to her like the time she forgot her money lunch. Miss Prince bought her favorite sandwich and didn’t took it from her paycheck. Oh yes, Miss Diana Prince is an excellent boss by caring about her employees, well employee.

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Bruce Wayne was a patience man… most of the time. 

There were just a few things that could make him lose his cool. One of them was getting gala clothes for his oldest sons. Tim and Damian, his youngest, were easy to dress because they had a style. While Tim liked a more classic suit, Damian preferred a little bit more extravagant style and yet elegant. This was what made easy to dress them: they had a good taste in fashion. His oldests, for the other side, had not taste whatsoever. Dick was too extravagant for his own good (If it wasn’t for his father and Alfred intervention, he would be planning on buying a pink suit with falcon feathers. His next son wasn’t better. Jason’s concept of a suit is a clean letter jacket, jeans, and a bow tie. 

There was only one person who could help this fashion disasters, and that person… wasn’t, Bruce.

Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman, has a boutique with pretty high standards, and by God’s sake, the warrior was the only one that could tame his sons and at the same convince them to use a fucking tuxedo.

“On other news, there has been another victim from the mysterious serial killer, The Jewel Panther, this time on the city of Nice, France. The victim was a nineteen-year-old Japanese girl and was found on a local jewelry store in the same way the other victims of the Jewel Panther. We recommend all young ladies from the age of thirteen to twenty-two that have Asian heritage, fair skin, prominent freckles, black hair, and blue eyes to take precautions in France and neighboring countries…”

Bruce turned off the radio.

It was bad enough that the league didn’t want to take that case, but to hear it repeatedly was just tiring. The league didn’t consider this Jewel Panther to be a menace worthy of them. He was “too normal” for they, but what could be normal about a fucking serial killer that some how ripped off all the organs from the thoracic are of the victims without making an insertion of any kind just too leave their skin flawless.

That wasn’t fucking normal.

Bruce finally arrived at Diana’s boutique where his oldest sons were waiting for him.

“Finally, you are here. Two more minutes and I was going to leave.” Jason, his second oldest, reclaimed the three men got inside of the boutique. “For somebody that preach about responsibility, you’re late.”

“Knowing that you two aren’t a bit punctual, I told you two to be here by two thirty. You will probably arrive at two fifty. We have an appointment at three.”

“You know I would be offended if it wasn’t true.” Dick said as he sat down on one of the chairs. “So does Diana have the suits?”

“No, she is going to take your measurements to make them from scratch.”

“Do we have a saying on the style” Jason asked without hope because he knew that answer would be:

“No.” Unexpectedly, this answer came from Diana Prince, who got inside the room with a small, very small girl.

“As long as I am alive, you two will dress properly… at least just for the gala. For what you two are wearing, I cannot do miracles.” Diana said as she looked like them like if she was judging their appearances (Little note, she was.)

She got an offended hey from the brothers at what she only smiled.

“This is Marinette. She will take your measurements in the changing room. Marinette can you take them there?”

The small girl gave a shy nod “I-if you could follow me.” She said with a thick accent that neither of the brothers could identify came from. Dick and Jason followed the tiny girl.

Once his sons were gone, Bruce asked Diana “Since when do you hire help?”

“Since the business grow up” Diana knew that tone. It was the I-know-that-you-doing tone.

“Not likely, you like to do your clothes by all yourself. The only people that you have ever hired is a few Amazonians, and she has a French accent. Her physique is not anywhere near an Amazonian.” He gave her the look again. “So, what’s her story?”

Diana signed. He wasn’t the best detective just to don’t live it up.

“It’s good that you bring up the topic because I was going to tell you anyway.” She stood up closer to him “Three weeks ago, she came up looking up for work. You should have seen her. She looked so lost and even thinner than she is today. She told me she needed a Summer job, but by Artemins’ sake, she looked like she was starving for weeks. It was obvious that the money was for food and a place to sleep.” She bit her lip. “Her story had holes like how her parents haven’t move from France yet because they were busy or how she couldn’t give me her ID because she lost it in the airplane, but what gave it away was her last name.”

Bruce lift an eyebrow, “Her last name?”

“Her full name, or the name that she gave me, is Marinette A. Wayne.”

Marinette A. Wayne. What are the chances?

Bruce was about to ask when Diana interrupted him.

“I asked her if she is related to you. I mean at the time she had all the Wayne’s characteristics: black hair, and blue eyes. She seemed like one of your children, but she told me that she wasn’t related to you. She didn’t even know who you were until I told her that Bruce Wayne was a rich influence man that basically rules Gotham, which makes it even more weird.”

“There is a lot of people with the last name of Wayne, what would be weird?”

“Because, not offence, but anyone knows that the last name Wayne bring problems in Gotham. Nobody in their right set of minds would move to Gotham having that last name.”

She had a point. The Wayne family had a lot of money and prestige, but they also had an immense number of enemies. Having that last name was dangerous, and more for a teenager without supervision.

“What are your theories about her?” Bruce asked her.

“She is an immigrant, maybe illegal if she didn’t want me to see her ID. Probably from France, her accent gives her away even though she tries to sound Chinese. She is running away from somebody because her parents are not in the picture. She is always alert and ready to hide. I have seen how she shakes and jumps every time something makes a loud noise. She cries in the bathroom sometimes. She is trying to survive, but she can’t do it alone for more effort she tries to put in.”

Marinette had another characteristic of the Wayne family: Psychological trauma.

“You said you were going to tell me eventually, why?”

Diana stopped for a second.

“I’m leaving for France after the gala for two weeks. If the League doesn’t want to do something about the Panther, I will. Those girls didn’t deserve that end, and their sisters don’t deserve to live under all that fear,” For the look on his face, Diana could tell that he was with her on this. “and that’s why I need you to ask you a huge favor.”

She put her hand on his shoulder.

“I need you to keep an eye on her while I’m not here.”

“You want me to babysitter her?” Bruce asked her.

“Not babysitter her, I just make sure that she is fine without letting her know. I will leave Gotham with more peace knowing that you and your sons will keep tabs on her.”

“And what would be the excuse to come to your boutique for three weeks? Another suit?” The trillionaire asked her. He was on board to keep an eye on this girl because somehow this girl reminded him of her other daughters… I said somehow.

“The boutique will be closed, so I’ll give her three weeks in advance and the materials, so she can work from her apartment. I also will talk to her about a mandatory Summer fashion course in Gotham University that will began a week before I go. I understood that your son, Damian, is taking Summer classes there to get ahead. So that would be a good excuse to keep an eye on her. Don’t you think?”

Bruce smirked. Diana was a sneaky woman.

“You planned this pretty well, didn’t you?” 

“I like to be prepared. You better than no one should know it. So, can I count on you?”

Diana offered her hand to him, and Bruce willingly accepted.

“You can go without worrying about her.”

Diana gave him a small smile. “Just please, don’t adopt her before I come back. You have enough children.”

 Bruce was used to this constant running joke about his obsession, as Jason liked to call it, but never tease Bruce Wayne about adopting more children because it would end in him preparing the adoption papers.

“You are very funny.” Diana could swear that she saw a little smile on his face. “Lets go, before my kids start bothering your ward.”

The two of them started walking to the changing room. “I wouldn't be worried about her. Under that shy face, I can see a ferocious warrior. I kinda want to teach her how to fight when I come back.”

“Carefull, you may end up having a daughter” This time she could swear over Athermis that she saw a smile on his face.

Diana just smiled. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

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Diana was right about her; Marinette was good at taking measurements.

It took her eight minutes to get Dick’s and another eleven to finish with Jason. It could have been eight, but the man was too ticklish and too tall. She had to stand up on two boxes just too get the measurements of the two men.

“Soo, do you like working with Diana?” Dick said trying to break the ice. Noone have something since they arrived to the changing room, well except a few reprimanding words from the little girl with pink hair. 

Marinette finished taking the last measurement from Dick’s waist. She tried not to look at them in their eyes. The less attention she got, the better.

“I-it’s good. Miss P-prince is a kind boss.” She said as she wrote down the measurement on Diana’s notebook

 “How long have you been working with her?”This time it was Jason who asked.

Was this an interrogatory?

“N-not long. Three weeks I think.” 

“That’s good. Does she gives you a discount in the store?” The man with a few white hairs asked again.

“I-I don’t think so. We have never talk about discounts, but she lets me use the sewing machines to fix some oversized clothes and finish the embroidery. She also buys me lunch most of the time and doesn’t take it out of my paycheck. So I guess that’s better than a discount.” She kept her look on the notebook even though she finished writing down on it. 

Dick and Jason shared a look. The way that she said the part about the lunch was, sad and full of gratefulness. Both men look at the girl more carefully. She was thin, at the point that they could see the bones or her hands. Maybe they should avoid that topic.

“You said you put embroidery on your clothes. Are those like the ones that you have on your blouse?” Dick asked pointing at her.

She looked down her clothes. She was wearing an orange blouse with pretty blue patrons on the collar. 

Marinette gave a shy nod.

“Did you used a sewing machine?”

She shocked her head.

“No? Well, I’m impressed. This is a pretty good job. Do you think you can put something like that on my suit for the gala?” 

Marinette’s blood cold down and her heart almost stopped. The idea of disobeyed Miss Diana terrorized her. 

“I-I don’t think that Miss Diana would let me. She already has your suits figured out.” She passed to them the photos of the suit. They looked really formal, elegant, and expensive… and boring for Marinette’s taste. 

“In your opinion, what would you change about the suit. In the hypothetical case that Diana ask you to make some adjustments for the suit.” Dick asked her. 

“I don’t know if I should. I-I may get in a problem.”

“You won’t. That’s the beauty of the first amendment. Tell us your thoughts, Stephanie. It’s not like Rovin Rotten it’s gonna appear.”

Marinette didn’t understood the reference, but somehow it gave her the it gave it the valor to tell what was on her mind.

“I-if was unto me, I wouldn’t change the design of the suits, but rather the materials. Like for example for you uhm…” Marinette pointed at the tallest.

“Jason”

“Yes, Jason, Sorry. I would change the material to a more shining, like the leather jacket that you are wearing, but it’s not actually leather. It’s lighter. And you…”

“Richard, but call me Dick.”

“Right… W-well Dick, I’m t-thinking that you would look good with some metallic blue embroidery pattern on the lapel, and...and the pockets…. But I-I guess the original design is more proper for that kind of gala.“ She could feel how her face redded at the look of the two men.

“You know…” Dick said as he gave her a polite smile… “your ideas are pretty good. Maybe if we tell Diana about it, she could put ‘em on the suit.”

No, what if she gets mad? What if Miss Prince gets so mad at her that she decides to fire her?! How could she keep the miraculous box safe if she didn’t have money to sustain herself?!

“N-no. I-I don’t want to disrespect her. S-she worked so hard in those designs.” 

“Never be afraid to speak your mind if you think that you can improve something” Marinette’s blood cooled again. She quickly stood up and bowed. It was forced habit that she did every time she apologized.

“Hey, Diana. We were just takin’ with your talented girl. She has great ideas.” Jason said.

Diana crossed her arms and gave her a sneaky smile. “Is that so?”

Marinette wanted apologize, but before she could even open her mouth, Dick spoke.

“Yeah, she is talented. Like the ideas she has for our suits. I bet that you heard them?”

The woman nodded. 

“I did, and I think they are really good ideas. You have a lot of future in the fashion field so much that I want to talk to you about a great opportunity to improve your career. We can talk about it after  our guss are gone, which remind me did you finish taking their measurements?”

Marinette couldn't believe this. It was too good to be true. Maybe it was true, and miss Prince wanted to talk to her about something good, but there was also the chance that she wanted to be alone with her, so she could fire her in private and not in front of her clients. 

“Marinette.” She turned at the Diana and the other. Their faces seemed concerned. “You okay?”

She spaced out. She should stop doing that.

“Y-yes, I just got lost in translation. I finished taking their measurements.”

“If we are no longer needed, my sons and I will leave.” Bruce stepped up avoiding to look at the girl to not make her uncomfortable.

“Of course, we will have your suits for the first fit in by Friday.” She and Bruce shaked hands.

Marinette saw his two sons stand up and cme closer to her. Maybe, this was the last time that she would see them again.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie.” He put his hand up waiting for a high five. “Pss, this is the part you high five me back.”

The girl shakingly high fived him.

“Hey, I want a high five too.” Dick put up his hand, and Marinette awkwardly high fived him.

“Dick, Jason we got to go. Alfred is making dinner.”His sons left the room while saying goodbye to Diana. Then Bruce turned to Marinette to shake her hand. “Miss Marinette it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will meet again.”

“L-likewise, Mister…”

“Bruce Wayne, but call me Bruce, Miss Wayne.”

Marinette opened her eyes while open. Bruce Wayne as the Bruce Wayne, and he knew her last name. 

“P-please, c-call me Marinette.” 

The man just smiled and left the room letting Diana and Marinette alone.

So the worst things that could happen today may happened at the end. She may lose her job and get sued by the Bruce Wayne for taking his last name, and lets not forget that she is using a fake ID. Scratch that, she is an immigrant. Marinettes has seen enough news to now that that country is in thin line with immigrants She was in soo many problems.

“Marinette,” The older woman took her purse. “What do you think if we go out for dinner?”

Well… Marinette didn’t expect that.

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Marinette couldn't say no to miss Prince. She was just too nervous to reduce the offer.

The restaurant was fancy and expensive. Only the beverage was worth more than three months of rent. The people there were dressed in fancy outfits from Versace to Oscar de la Renta; it made Marinette feel underdressed with her orange T-shirt and cheap jeans. 

“So, Marinette, you told me you are interested in the fashion field.” Miss prince said as the took a sip from her glass of wine. 

“Y-yes miss Prince. I do ever s-since I was a little girl.”

“And what do you plant to accomplish them?”

Marinette froze. What were her plans?

Months ago, she had a prosperous future. She commissioned big pop and rock stars like Jagged and Clara. She won many design competitions from Gabriel Agreste. She was building a name, but now, all her work and effort was worthless. She had to start all over again, but the difference now is that she didn't have the same motivation. Before Gotham, she did it because she has her parents supporting her. Today, she did it to hold to the little sense of normality in her life of chaos.

“I-I don’t know ma’am. Maybe I could start by designing clothes and maybe sell them on Etsy. I h-hadn’t have the time to think through it. Moving here was too time consuming.” The girl said as tried not to shiver. If Miss Prince was going to fire her, Marinette hoped that she did it quickly, so she didn’t have to live with this fear any longer.

Miss Diana put her glass down. “Marinette I’m am gonna be sincere to you. You have talent and dedication. Those two qualities can get you somewhere good, but that can bring you to the glory, to your golden dream is passion. And by Arthemis’ sake, you have more passion than a hundred people together. I have seen how you enjoy creating new clothes and fixing them like if it was a way to get away from everything. That’s why I want you, if you allow me, to support you to become a fashion designer.

Okay… okay.... That took Marinette by surprise. She expected miss Prince to fire her for over speak, not to offer her support. 

“I-I.. Y-you want to help me?”

Diana smiled. “Of course, in fact, I have a proposition to you.” 

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Marinette locked the door of her apartment, put her key pack at her purse, and started happy dancing.

Diana (she insisted to be called by her first name) told her that after the Wayne’s gala she was going to close the boutique for three weeks. While this made Marinette sad because she would have to live from her saving can, what Diana told her next made her really happy. Diana offered her to work with her not for her. 

Here was the deal, for the next three week after the gala, Marinette would be working on her usual tasks but at her apartment while she attended a course about fashion design in Gotham University, fully paid by Diana. At the beginning, Marinette refused telling Diana that she felt that she would be abusing her kindness, but the older woman said that she saw this as an investment. Paying for her education was an investment so Diana and she would sell her clothes on her store under the girl’s name. They both would win. Marinette gets an education, and Diana a new brand for her boutique.

For Marinette this was like a dream come true. In fact, this was the best thing that has happened to her since… well since she defeated Hawkmoth. She will be studying in one of the most prestigious schools of fashion in the world, and if everything goes well, she will sell her clothes at Diana’s boutique, which is one of the most prestigious boutiques in the US.

“I still cannot believe it, Tikki!” Marinette said to the goddess, “this feels like a dream come true!”

The Kwami giggled, “I’m so proud of you Marinette! You deserve this!”

After putting her pajamas, Marinette let her body fell on her hard bed. She smiled like in a way that she hasn’t in the last month. “Tikki, please tell me that this is not a dream.”

The Kwami turned off the light and put a blanket over her body. “You aren’t dreaming, but you should do it soon. Diana wants to hear your ideas for the suits tomorrow morning.”

Marinette closed her eyes while she smiled. For the first time in a long time, she felt that she could just fall asleep and worry about nothing.

“Hey, Tikki?”

“Yes, Marinette?” The kwami said as she lay beside her hodder’s shoulder.

“Thank you for everything.” 

The kwami gave her a kiss on her cheek. “You don’t have to thank me for everything. You deserve the best.”

Eventhught her apartment was cold, sink in the kitchen dropped all night, and her neighbors screamed like if they wanted to kill each other, Marinette felt more at peace for the first time in ages… 

Sadly this wouldn’t last long.

@cyborgcandy 

@mikantsume @cyborgcandy @northernbluetongue @mystery-5-5@livpc @serina-leigh @tazanna-blythe @blue-peach14 @justarandomtumblerblog@fantasticfourintraining@indecisive-mess-named-me @xxmadamjinxx @ captainmac6 @luckysouleaglenerd@sidefrienda@mindfulmagics @komaedasnatched @adrienne7698@akira-daiyamondo-suta @raingirl0135@kittyotakunoir666 @a-cat-with-a-knife l@thebananathatwrites@howtoshuckatlife @dolph1nch1ca1@spicytacos @re-side-this @emocinamonroll@mystery-5-5 @spicybelladonna a @salladanne @mjisntme @lunar-wolf-warrior @tazanna-blythe @yin-390 @constancetruggle @celestiacq @laurakinneylance @roseinbloom02

@literallytryingmybestbutok @ellerahs @felicityroth @liawinchester67 @octoberscorn @eliza-bich @chrismarium @captainmac6 

[ladywinchestersstudio]

Snitches Get Cross Stitches!

Another VERY favorite thing of mine to do is cross stitch. I’ve had a lot of people say “oh, I wish I could cross stitch.”

Honestly? It’s about the easiest stitch you can do. 

Supply List:

Embroidery Hoop (they’re fairly cheap, come in various sizes and materials (such as plastic and bamboo) and can be found at pretty much any store. I’ve even seen them at WalMart.)

Embroidery Fabric (I’ve gotten mine from Joanne’s, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby)

A Pattern (more on that later)

 Embroidery Thread/ Floss (it comes in every shade of the rainbow, is EXTREMELY cheap and can be found nearly anywhere)

Sewing Needles 

Time and patience.

When it comes to selecting the pattern, it depends on your skill level. You don’t want to pick anything too difficult and get discouraged right away. A lot of craft stores sell kits that come with everything you need, that’s an excellent launching pad if you’re just starting out.

If you’re a little more advanced and you’re looking for fun patterns, Etsy has some really good ones. They have everything from rap lyrics, to swear words and even seasonal stuff. Just depends on what you’re looking for.

Pinterest also has easy to follow (and free!) patterns to follow. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Each little square is a stitch, and how you make the stitch is so easy, it should be criminal. 

Take your needle and thread it. Knot it at the end and find your starting point (your pattern will usually tell you where to start. Personally, I like to work from left to right). Then you make an X with your needle and thread. BOOM, you’ve just done your first cross stitch!

Now, you’ll need A LOT of time and patience; a lot of mishaps can happen and that’s okay! Your thread/ floss WILL knot, you can lose your stitch count....shit happens! When I get frustrated, I just walk away for a while and it’s no big deal. Your project isn’t going anywhere, it’ll be there when you get back. I promise!

When you’re done, you can display your project however you like. The easiest way is in the hoop, which you can just hang up, like so.

Or you can put it in a frame like this

If you guys want to see more patterns that I’ve used/ that I’m working on, let me know and I can make this a 2 part blog!

Hope you guys enjoyed this! Please don’t forget to like and share with your friends and followers and if you want to see more crafty content from me, hit that follow button!

See you guys for the next one!

DIYers:

@flamencodiva​, @sandlee44​, @screechingartisancashbailiff​ @algud​

[smilingsarah10]

How to make a Tshirt quilt

So I just finished my first and second TShirt Quilts and I typed out how I did it to one of my very dear friends and then sent it to another of my very dear friends so now I’m posting it because maybe you want to know how as well. I’m posting that ramble right here under the cut. I think I’m funny, so even if you don’t want to make a blanket, you may enjoy reading along. If you are using this as a guide, keep in mind that my friend is better at sewing than me so while I explained a lot, it’s by no means perfect if you’ve never touched a sewing machine. 

Alrighty I made two blankets with 5x5 blocks cut straight to about 14 inches. What I used was a rotary cutter and mat, a straight edge, scissors, interfacing, regular thread in whatever color you have, a sewing machine with regular needle and foot, quilting thread, a singer walking foot and 14/90 needle, an old blanket to use for a middle piece, and I went and got cotton flannel from joanns but honestly if you've got old cotton sheets or any sheets really you can use that as your back, and bias tape for finishing the edge. My finished measurements for one quilt was 65 by 65 in and for the alpha xi one was 67 by 66.5. It all depends on the length of the seams.

First you gotta gather your tshirts. Had I had the knowledge I do now, I might have done a 5x6 but the size on the 5x5 is good for short people. Tall people just have to suffer as per usual. For one blanket you'll need a minimum of 25 shirts. Find a piece of cardboard and measure out a 15x15 or 16x16 inch square. Cut your cardboard to size. It doesn't have to be perfect because you're going to have to cut again anyways. Lay your cardboard square centered over your design and mark around it with washable marker or felt tip marker or chalk. Whatever you have, you won't be able to see the lines when it's cut anyways more than likely. If youre using a rotary cutter, you can zip around the cardboard square with that, if you're not, scissors (and a friend to make it go faster) works too.

Once you've got your squares roughly cut, it's time to lay out your design for your quilt. Clear out enough space on your floor where the whole quilt face can lay. Then get at it figuring out what layout works best. If we were getting crazy with different size designs, the layout would require a lot of math. Since our quilt pieces are cut even, we get to avoid that shit. 🙌

When you get to a point where you love the design you've come up with, it's time to add interfacing. I stacked my quilt piecing by column and write down the overall design on a piece of paper. You can stack by row or column, it just depends on which way you'd like to sew them. We'll get to that. I got the 99¢ interfacing from Joanns at half off. I needed 20 yards (I ended up using scraps for my last 3 shirts though which was fine. You won't be able to see it and it sews the same regardless of whether it's Frankensteined to the back or not) but 10 dollars was easy to pay for that.

Interfacing is annoying. Don't worry about trimming it off just yet unless you need scraps to finish interfacing all your shirts. Once they are interfaced, the rotary cutter and straight edge becomes your best friend. You want to make all of your shirts as square and even in size as possible. If you pick a size the first time you square, you only have to cut once. Don't be like me and square and then pick a size or you will be crying over your rotary cutter as you try to cut to a certain size and realize you squared so small that you have to cut way shorter than you wanted and you end up cutting 50 shirts 3 times. If you rough cut to 16 inches, square to 15. If you rough cut to 15, square to 14.

Stack your pieces back into their rows or columns as you cut them. Then, after decades of cutting and cursing the elder gods (cutting alone took me 3 days) you're finally ready to start pinning and sewing. Get out your machine and test it on a scrap piece of fabric. You should have plenty of old decimated tshirt parts to use as testing. Find a straight stitch setting and tension you like. Then pick up your first stack of quilt squares.

If you sorted into rows, you're going to lay them out on a table how they would look horizontally. You'll flip the second in the row face down on the first in the row while the first in the row faces upwards. Pin where you want your seam on the right side and then go sew the seam. If you're doing columns like I did, you'll lay out the column vertically like how it would appear on the quilt face. You'll keep the first piece face up but flip the second piece so that it's top is face down and even with the bottom of the first. Pin across the bottom where you would want your seam. I used a half inch seam on my first blanket but ended up liking the 1/4 inch seam better. They both required the same amount of work so it's however you want to do it. You can use whatever foot and thread that you want. No one will see the thread when it's done anyways.

Continue to pin and flip pieces down the line, sewing them one at a time until all 5 rows or columns are complete.

I had a picture but it must have been on Snapchat cause it's gone. You're a competent seamstress though so I'm assuming you've followed up to this point. Now you're going to iron all the seams you made flat. Get out your iron and get to it.

Once your seams are ironed out, it's time to start attaching your columns or rows. You're going to use the same process you used for the squares but on a larger scale. Lay out the pieces on the floor or a table. Flip one piece onto the one beside it. Pin where you want your seam and sew away. On mine, I found it more manageable to see column E to column D then Column C to B then B to A and then attach the two pieces. Once you've got those sewn together, iron the seams flat on the back and give a whoop whoop because your quilt face is DONE and you're about 2/3 done with the entire quilt!

Here's where the quilt can get expensive if you don't have the equipment you need. You're going to want something for a middle layer. We had so many old blankets laying around that I didn't have to buy any middle fluff and it worked like a charm. The flannel cotton my mom made me get made this project relatively expensive (4.99 a yard and we got it at half off and I needed 10 yards, that's 25 dollars or 50 if you don't have a coupon, yikes) Instead, if you have old full or queen sheets laying around, just use them. Or, go to Walmart and get a jersey sheet in a full or queen. It's gonna cost WAY less and it's gonna work the same regardless.

Once you've assembled your three layers, you're going to want to cut everything relatively even. It doesn't have to be pretty, just even enough that you can sew it together.

Then you're gonna make a quilt sandwich. Put your middle piece on the bottom and your quilt face (facing up) on top of that. Then you wanna safety pin the shit out of those two pieces so nothing slides around. I pinned at every pin intersection and the middle of each piece, then about two inches in from all the edges. Once you're pinned to your discretion, take whatever fabric your back piece is and line it up face down on top of the other two pieces. You're going to be leaving one side open to flip your quilt right side out, so decide now where you want your bias tape to go. You'll pin where you want your seam on every side except that one. Then, it's time to sew your quilt. Here I used a half inch seam because my middle blanket was cut fractionally shorter than the other two and my mom was worried that I wouldn't get it sewn in (it's not a huge deal if this happens it turns out) but use discretion when picking your own seam.

I also used a walking foot, a heavier needle, and quilting thread. It made the process a little easier. I would recommend the quilting thread and a pack of needles (I ended up breaking 3 but didn't use more than one roll of thread) but it's really up to you whether you think you need the walking foot.

So then you sew your three sides. The magic happens when you flip your quilt the right way (reach in, grab the corners that are away from you of the quilt face and pull them until it's the correct way) and you fall in love with all the hard work you've done! But you can't stop here! Take your bias tape and pin it to the unfinished edge. You can use however big or small or colorful you want. I matched mine to my quilt backing. I used a zig zag stitch because getting both the front and the back of the bias without being able to see the back is tricky. Go slow and don't get frustrated if you need to use a seam ripper and start over a few times. Once it was done, I trimmed the bias and just stared at the glory for a moment. Only one step left: attaching the three layers better. You can do this in two ways and it's really up to the quilt maker how it goes. You can either sew across your seams on the front face to give the back the same boxy look. That's what I chose to do. Or, if you've got embroidery materials handy, you can sew individual knots in your seams to hold the pieces together. I was going to do this but my dad insisted I do the first one. It's really the same. And then you're done!! Your closet is cleaner, your bed is warmer, and you've leveled up your textiles skill! Pat yourself on the back!