#nonbinary clothes

So, I haven’t posted anything about hanfu before but I wanted to because I’ve come to a couple of realizations in the process of the last few months.

As context I’d like to mention that I’m a nonbinary person and I’ve always felt so alien in clothes of any kind. Going into any store was a chore for me because I spent hours just debating with myself whether to take this or that before I even realized I was NB. The fight afterwards was real. Everything was so gendered. I spent some years just choosing any kind of simple masculine clothes that would conceal my curves and just not loving clothes in general. But some time ago I decided to make a purge in my closet and get rid of everything I bought to hide myself and start wearing what I really want to wear even if I have to wear a binder (I got one now which, wow). But I still had some misgivings. And in the midst of this self-realization hanfu appeared. Like a ray of sunshine shining upon my poor self.

I’d always loved fantasy clothes because they experimented with more than daily wear will ever give you but you know, FANTASY, so it’s not like I could wear them. I play MMOs and some are chinese and furthermore had hanfu in them, but because I was playing games I didn’t associate the clothes in there with something real I could wear. I did save this image from one of them, Justice Online; and tons of screenshots of the webcomic Fox Spirit is the Best Actor, in which the protagonist wears tons of modified hanfu because he comes from the past.

I also had a fascination for kimono but only from afar, because they’re too rigid for me, it’s just variations of the same thing all the time. I do like haoris though, and I have a couple I LOVE. But you can’t make a full wardrobe only with haori. Then I realized every image I’d been saving for MONTHS was hanfu. Everything was hanfu! And it made me feel SO good about how I could represent myself and my body. This article in New Hanfu encapsulates my feelings very well: https://www.newhanfu.com/28151.html

After that came the research, the buying of a couple of things and the dispair at the prices of them. I bought a couple of things off Aliexpress, which I do not recommend, basically because the prices are crazy expensive (at least for the clothes that don’t come in packs, because I tend to only like one thing out of a set and etc), and also because I am not completely sure of where they come from (have they been bought and resold? Am I paying the original maker?). I got an under shirt in white, a shan and a modified cross collar shirt, as a base and to take patterns off them. But there was so little I liked and even less that was sold separately and at a good price AND in organic fabric, because lately I’ve had a gripe about it, that I decided to start making my own. I looked for pattern books but I’m broke so I decided to make the executive decision to just try to download the ones I saw in NewHanfu and try to size them to my size. Long story short: it didn’t work very well, nothing sized up like it should and I got SO confused by the process. But I managed to make two things with fabric I had saved for years because I knew I wanted to make something with them but didn’t know what.

First I tried to make a banbi similar to this one I don’t even remember where I found:

I had this beautiful fabric made out of shantung or wild silk that I got for cheap some years ago because the store got it from another one that closed. And first mistake is that I didn’t have enough fabric. Always buy at least two metres of fabric for hanfu! (This is for me as well as for whoever might be reading this). I had to go buy more and obviously they didn’t have it BUT I got lucky and they had the same kind of fabric but with the fibres switched around. If you know how shantung works it may have two colors woven together so that when the light hits it and the fabric shifts the color changes too. I had one with a red base and yellow overthread and they had one the other way around. So I got it and decided to do a two color banbi. My second mistake might be considered not looking for a real pattern and making my own off of another but the real one was underestimating the rigidity of the fabric. It... doesn’t fall. By now I’ve resigned myself to just wear this at special occasions. Shantung is ALSO difficult to work with because any hole you make in it you’re gonna see FOREVER. So it’s not very forgiving for first timers. Lucky me. It did end up coming together but I had to alter it (meaning I made it and had to take it apart because I made it too big and also the side seams were A MESS). (It’s still a mess inside, no one look!). I do plan to adorn it with some kind of embroidery (hides the mistakes AND looks pretty: genius) but for now it’s finished. Here is a picture of it (do forgive the trousers, I do not have a lower garment for it):

(Also, if any of you know about hanfu garment construction and see something blatantly wrong or have ideas on how to improve it or style it better, plase do hit me up).

The second thing I made was even more fraught with mistakes. I tried to make a ru as a jacket with some jeansy cotton fabric I had from years ago which was AGAIN too little (again, always buy at least 2 metres!!!). Luckily they did have some more for me and I actually ended up getting everything they had left. Which was, uh, not great for my anxiety because I couldn’t buy more in case I fucked up. Again the pattern was adapted from NewHanfu and here the mistakes were MORE evident. The process was much easier but the end result worse. It looked great, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t wide enough for my body. Or so I thought. So I had to alter it (aka take it apart) and add some extra pieces under the armpits (this was SUCH a mess). And when I thought I was finished I tried it on and realized the REAL PROBLEM was that It didn’t have enough width for the neck. And that was the point at which I decided to buy a pattern book for hanfu (https://www.amazon.es/Hanfu-Pattern-Making-metric-English-ebook/dp/B086Q2G5CN/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=hanfu+pattern&qid=1649097916&sprefix=hanfu+pat%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-2). I wanted the modernized hanfu version but only this one is in ebook so oh well. But now I know the damn ratio of the collar of a coat/jacket, which is (if I’m not mistaken) 1/2 of your neck + 4. Which is 6 whole centimetres more than the collar of my jacket. Which means I still have to take it apart AGAIN. But it did come out cute. Maybe I’ll add the extra centimetres and find out I no longer need the extra pieces on the sides, who knows. Moral of the story: do take measurements of your own body as you make a pattern, not like me. I did not. And ended up regretting it. Also DO NOT simply resize patterns like I did. Do compare the measurements you end up with with your own body. But here you have some photos of it (again, do excuse my jeans):

I am now in the process of taking this apart and also of waiting for real physical patterns I ordered from taobao through an intermediary (also a BEAUTIFUL shan in cotton, the only thing I found in an organic material I liked) while I bemoan the lack of songku everywhere. Seriously, the skirts where the only thing I didn’t like about hanfu and I was so sad there were no pants and then I found out Song style pants existed and fell in love and no one has any! I mean, there are a couple in taobao and I suppose I did find a pair in Aliexpress (do not recommend to order rn, they’re having tons of problems with shipping and I myself am waiting for three packages that are surely lost) but none at all were in organic fabrics so I just decided to make my own. So I will probably be able to make them several months from now when my patterns arrive, because there’s another covid outbreak where my intermedary lives. Joy.

Hello!!! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'd like to preface this post by saying that I'm a slow maker and a procrastinator and so, I've only managed to make 4 articles of clothing in the last 8 months. I've bought fabric for some more but my brain looks at them and goes "uh, another time" and so, it's been left for later.

For those of you who saw my first post but not the second: my patterns arrived!! I got them from this wonderful shop in taobao and they've made my day. I've only so far used two patterns and I've had to cut them all out first, which, given I bought 9, it was a lot of work. So I only started to use them later in the last 3 months or so.

The first thing I made after april was a short, sleeveless beizi. It could also maybe be called a parallel collar banbi? As I make modified clothing as the mood strikes me, please take with a grain of salt all the names I use to refer to what I make, if someone in the comments corrects me, please do listen to them! Now, I got some stripy transparent viscose (rayon in some places) for cheap, which was why I made this. It needed its own pattern that I had to make myself, as at that moment in time I still hadn't received the ones I ordered so if anyone wants it, do tell me, I'll send it to you. It's very cute and comfortable and you'll see I french-seamed it. I discovered, in the process of making the previous banbi, that I absolutely hate sergers. So this is how I've made all my clothes since. I also had to finish the edges by had, as the fabric was very delicate and couldn't withstand the force of the sewing machine. But it came out very nice and airy and it's quite comfortable. I'm going to modify its pattern later to make a bijia, as I don't have a pattern for it, and I think it'll work nicely.

The next thing I made was still without a pattern and it was... challenging. I wanted to do kind of a banbi to use as a top in summer. I made it myself and then used a cross collared shirt I had as comparison, to see if it made sense. As I wanted a wider design on the collar, as in more open, I could only do so much with it. I had to modify it a little bit after I thought it done but it came out nicely. The only thing I'm not really happy with is the collar, as I wanted to make it with two fabrics, but I didn't want the one complimenting the main one to be "inside" as I've seen in many pieces similar to this one. I don't know how that is made and I certainly don't know how it should be made in this position so I just, rolled with it. I think I will unpick it in the future and make it another way, I don't like how it falls against the fabric, it kinda becomes taught and bunches, even if from afar one can't see it. If anyone has any idea how to make this better, please do hit me up xD Currently it's sandwitched between the collar and the body, kinda like a second collar, but because it falls to the other side it gets warped. Also, I wanted to do this in a nicer fabric but I was aware enough to try it with this one first, which was cheaper, in case something went wrong xD The other one is already cut and is only waiting on me thinking how to make the collar better. I made this with the beizi in mind so there's a picture with the two of them. Below another with the beizi and the nice fabric (it has fishies!!!).

Look at my happy face :DDD

Finally, the next thing I made using the pattern I got from the shop, and I made some pants!!! I had to adapt the pattern a bit, because it was for long pants and I wanted shorts for summer (and the fabric I had wasn't enough to make long pants, so shorts it was). I had to raise the crotch some, because the cut I made fell just at that line and it would have become a skirt (as you'll see in the first photo, the second is of the modified crotch) but the rest I made according to the pattern. I do have the slight suspicion though, that either I read the instructions wrongly or they were wrong because it came out very tight and I didn't see an opening anywhere but the waistband so I have to check on that (I added an opening on the side and put in a zipper). I also wanted to use a different fabric that I purchased just for this but I got very afraid of fucking it up so I got another fabric that I had destined for something else and used it as a trial. It did come out quite nicely, though I know I'll be making a couple of changes to the other one, that has already been cut and is waiting for the perfect moment.

I think you're getting my color palete from this, no? xD

And the last thing I finished last week and I also used one of the patterns I bought, the one for a shan, more specifically, and is the one that so far I love the most. I made it as a jacket with a cotton flannel I bought specifically for it and that I had my eye on for half a year and it's beauful. I love it. It's so soft, it's my favorite thing. They say cotton is cold and it sure doesn't give me much warmth outside but at some point I might give it a lining in linen, which is a termo-regulator fabric, and so that'll hopefully fix the issue. Right now it seems there's no linen in the stores because people don't think of linen as a winter fabric here, which it absolutely can be, so I'm pondering whether to wait until they stock it again or buy it in another country and have it delivered. Whichever's cheaper I guess. I'm just sad I forgot to add pockets ;__; (And I'm certainly not going to unpick it to add them now).

Do forgive my posing prowess, as it is nonexistent. To this one I added an interlining for the collar to stiffen it, as that's something I noticed I should have done with the previous jacket. Jacket I'm currently unpicking to fix it once and for all :D This one was also french-seamed and let me tell you, my sewing machine did NOT like that at all. I'll have to plan for it in future projects xD I am thinking of adding a belt to this one, as I think it would make the sihouette better when it's closed, but we'll see.

I want to make more pants in the future, as it's getting quite cold over here, so i have that to plan for, but for now I have a couple of short pieces I have to sew before the weekend so that will have to wait. Maybe I'll post something over here asking for help, because there's some pants I don't even know how to name or how to look for them xD

Nonbinary pride flag, part of my lgbtqia+ puzzle collection, available in all my shops, link in source. 

tired of every swimsuit having like the tiniest band of fabric between the legs? being made of the thinnest, clingiest material? suiting only tits and smaller ones at that? having absolutely no room for any kind of packing or concealing without wearing like a thousand layers and having every damn strap show? being made for only two genders on top of all that?

then i invite you to suffer with me by enjoying these imaginary garments that i really, really want to exist. they’d all have room for tits, no tits, dicks, no dicks, packing, padding, augmenting, and concealing. they’d be made with comfortable, all over elastic and thick material. they’d be in ever smoothing, life saving black. and they’d be customizable so that you could present however the damn fuck you wanted.

and they’d be hot as fuck (and, as always, moderately 40′s inspired)

stay tuned because i still want to design some outdoor outerwear to go over them.

check these characters out at thistleandspade.com

I think that wearing layers might help, or wearing clothes that are less form-fitting.  If any readers have other suggestions, please send them in!