Still need to whipstitch the loose edge of the herringbone tape in place so it doesn't wiggle about when worn and washed and become a lumpy nuisance. This should be mostly not visible from the right side, with fine careful hand sewing, but... With the soft linen there's going to be the shadow of it anyway! Less apparent than topstitching would be but being very even with it would still be good, so I left it for today instead of rushing it yesterday.
Yesterday's sewing: Put on the hooks onto the placket after topstitching the edges of it on both sides. The hook handles first just whipped on, sewn onto just the seam allowance, and then straight through in a little tack only. Attached a bit of cotton tape to hide the hooks and reinforce the opening without making it too bulky!
The way it's pinned to the shawl on my front, I can look down and gaze at its little crab face, gently pet it with a finger.
Accidentally knocked the other eye loose too, when dusting it, so now it's a rather empty gaze but still
Crab brooch my beloved
Ah heck, it's really really cold even with the radiators on. Is it really truly shawl and brooch weather already? The shawl to keep the torso warm, the brooch to keep the shawl in place and pinned to shirt front so it doesn't flop about?
Do I have any nice shawls fresh enough to wear them... And where is my crab brooch?
(Are the hashtags sufficient for people to filter out? I would assume so, since there's actually zero food depicted or much discussed, just mentioned? Can add more if required!)
He has his little post on top of the fridge from where he likes to stare at me puttering in the kitchen, and since I'm at exactly face nuzzles height for him, he'll often do so with abandon as long as I get close enough!
Three cats! Three!
My sewing threads for dark blue are both a little bit off from the skirt fabric colour, but... It won't be all that visible from a short distance, and will likely be obfuscated by the visual weight of the buttons as well. Which I need to order, the buttons.
Also: the phone camera likes to be very confused about what colour the fabric is, as per usual. It's a very very dark more indigo or teal than purple hued blue, and absolutely refuses to be perceived the same in artificial versus natural light! But pretty.
Yesterday's sewing: Making a placket.
Teeny tiny little eyes on by hand, sandwiching the placket rectangle with the eyes with the side front seam, sewing up the side front and front pieces of the skirt, ending up with a pretty opening.
Regrettably it won't be quite as pretty after I topstitch it, to make it behave better after washing!
A visual design gripe vis a vis graphic user interfaces & logos: What the fuck happened to all the corners?? Is everything just round now?? Are we allergic to corners and sharp edges, are we toddlers?
I swear to the gods once you can recognise a specific year or decade by the design decisions then that's too far. You're not supposed to spend much time staring at something you're looking at every day and go "Why the fuck is it like that?" unless you're very into that specifically! Why so round!
Hmm. Is the clip borked? it might be. The most simple explanation would be me failing at maths and inputting the wrong new dimensions for the export dialogue...
RE: https://eldritch.cafe/@sinituulia/117399819202027809
About eleven million years later I've finally overlocked all the skirt pieces and all the shirt pieces along all sides that need finishing. Have packed away the overlocker again, and hope I won't be needing it right away.
There are so many default or advised methods in modern sewing where it's assumed you're never ever going to back in and change the fit. As if it always makes sense to simply make or buy something new instead of adjusting, remaking or mending whatever you already have. In Victorian and even still Edwardian sewing, you sew most seams in such a way that it's possible to get to it and change it later, without having to unpick pretty much the whole entire garment - looking at you, bag lining 🙍♀️
In dressmaking school we were taught to sew the seam, then overlock it, but this was because it used less thread and took less time, and thus was more efficient and cheap and fuck everything else. It was maybe mentioned that if you were unsure about the fit, you'd fit first and only then overlock, but still. Motherfucker just finish the pieces individually and never have to do it again instead!
Further finishing every pattern piece before constructing thoughts:
It's quite nice when the pieces don't unravel or shed when handled, but also... If you make up something and only then finish the seams, together, and years later you want to go back in to adjust the garment fit or size... You need to unpick the damn overlocking or zigzag or seam binding and redo it! Tedious!
If all the pattern pieces are finished first, all you need to do is unpick and redo the seam stitching itself.
We'll see if I have the patience to overlock the shirt pieces, too. Ideally I would, but wow is it a bit tedious. Thank heck my rayon threads are pretty colours, so there's at least some serotonin.
Overlocking the skirt pieces. This is yet again one of those steps that are a little bit miserable to do (loud, dusty, the overlocker is a bit finicky to set up and run) but will make it much easier to sew everything together later... No raw edges shedding linen thread everywhere, not as much warping or stretching, constantly being aware of which side of the fabric you're on because my top and lower threads are a different colour...
And yet! Ah heck I need more tea.
