#hand-sewing

a second bone fish is born! 😍😍😍

i sewed him mostly on sunday and then added some stitches and flipped it inside out and stuffed it today after work! 🥰

im really proud of him because i am really bad at sewing 🥹 but i ONLY stabbed four fingers and no toes this time so I think there is improvement

more pictures of the process below the cut bcs I didn’t want to spam

also, water master, pls forgive me, I still don’t have a pin cushion so it had to be you🥹

(Yes, Ghost fans, you are 100% correct about the inspiration. The rest of you...look, I'm sorry, I'm me, it can't be helped.) Regardless of source, though, I think we can all enjoy having the option of letting our clothes swear for us in a discreet way, right?

Because my #1 rule of crafting, as with most things, is that you should be having fun and yes, that includes shit you intend to wear. And I hope you get some inspiration to do weird shit to your clothes, too.

So go ahead and read if you're interested, share if you want to help me spread this blog to more people, and if you really enjoy my goofy content, consider dropping a tip in my Ko-Fi or supporting me on Patreon.

I’ve officially posted my very first sewing pattern to Etsy! 

I worked very hard to make sure that it is easy-to follow and comprehensive, so I hope that someone can have a lot of fun working with it! The pattern was also made with hand-sewing in mind, so you don’t even need a machine (I certainly don’t have one)!

It was such a lovely day this afternoon that I took my tea and sewing outside, but Athena typically does not approve when I have a lap that is not full of cat. I only finished one seam! At least I got a chance to wear my felted poppy.

I did a ton of hand-sewing on Marilyn - practically everything was hand-basted before machining, and all of the hems and most of the edges were finished by hand. It's one of my favourite parts of the process, and gaining confidence in this area has been a big boost to my sewing more generally.

I didn't like hand-sewing at all until I invested in great needles. My favourites are the Japanese needles sold by Susan Khalje, who was one of the first sewing writers I followed. They seem expensive, but I look after them and I expect this little pack to last years and years. I also love Bohin betweens (size 9) for general-purpose sewing and milliners needles (size 10) for basting long seams.

The other thing that made a big difference to my hand-sewing was finding the right thimble. I tried many different styles and sizes, none of which I liked, and finally made my own. It couldn't be simpler - just a folded scrap of suede that I pinned around my middle fingertip and then seamed by machine. Other thimbles were uncomfortable and I tried to persevere with them, hoping I would adjust and get used to them. With my own little suede one, it was love at first sight - thick enough to protect my skin and thin enough that I could feel the needle accurately, small and light enough to preserve my dexterity, and so comfortable and unobtrusive that I often walk away from my sewing with it still on my finger.

Now available with Giant Pockets!

In my craft blog, I continued the t-shirt modification project I started a couple weeks ago, now adding pockets and some decorative elements. Like all of my sewing posts, everything is done by hand with a minimum of equipment, and like all of my experiments, I also talk about where I fucked up along the way, while being very serious and professional.

My light died at this point and my camera wouldn’t focus right, so all of my photos of this part look like a dying man’s fever dream, so I’m just going with the one that makes the process clearest even if it isn’t very pretty.

Let me know what you think, tag me if you make one so I can see it, and please share this post for further reach! If you like my work, I have a Ko-Fi, or I'd love you to join our Patreon community. I also sell personalized tarot readings.