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The worsted weight I'm using is thinner than the original yarn, but the measurements are coming out just fine. It leaves a little space between stitches on the bottom part. I expected this as the original bag is 100% cotton and likely made from dish cotton/kitchen cotton (aka Lily Sugar and Cream or similar). That would make the stitches press together a bit more on the 4.5 mm hook.

AND HOUR THREE:

We are officially going into less than $10 an hour in labor if you're selling it for $30. Shocking no one.

Literally on the next to last row of the open stitch rows. If i were ONLY stitching and not able to also do something else, I could have knocked out the entire rest of the body of the bag in this hour, but I get to tweak my pace as I see fit. Which I assure you the people making these for sub-par wages in 12-hour work day stretches* don't get to do.

Okay, the body of the bag is finished and I'm nearly done with the straps. I suspect the straps are attached using machine sewing, so I am going to call the time to make this bag at 5 hours. What's left is about 15 minutes at most, and as I've said, if I was only stitching and not also watching something, I'd have worked this up a bit faster.

So, $30 for a crocheted bag that takes 5 hours. The workers creating these bags won't be considering cost of materials, since they will be provided, so it's $6 an hour for just labor.

BUT. We all know Target isn't paying $6 an hour for labor because they ARE concerned about cost of materials and the cost of shipping to stores.

ALSO BUT. I seriously doubt the crocheters working on the bags that will show up in Target are getting paid an hourly wage. It's common in Chinese factories (and other factories) for handworkers to get paid per piece rather than with a set wage. Which means the workers are probably under a quota system to make X number of bags in a single day or week in order to get the highest pay they can. And no doubt if they miss quota, they not only don't get their full pay but get punished by having a percentage of their paid wages taken as well.

Look, I know most of us reading this aren't shocked by any of this or surprised. But also, Target is not only harming workers but doing so with a pretty little stamp from a so-called ally to handworkers through the Nest certification. And they only got THAT after two years ago when people pointed out 35 bucks for a granny square vest was labor exploitation, and then last year, they tried the "Oh, it's machine crocheted" bullshit on items made in chain stitch on knitting machines, thus making the garments very easily destructible. So, now they're getting a bullshit cert to try and cover their asses again because they'd rather keep exploiting people's skilled work than actually try to do a tiny bit better.

Anyway. Here's a rough of the pattern. I'm going to make another bag with some Red Heart Super Soft because I don't have dish cotton, but that should give me an idea of what I might need to edit for a final pattern. When it's done, it'll go up for pay what you will on my ko-fi.

P.S. Fuck that hashtag

What you need:

4.5 mm hook

Worsted weight yarn (approximately 300 yards) - dish cotton will get you the best dupe, as the original bag is 100% cotton

stitch markers to mark increases

Instructions:

Note: I chose to join and turn at the end of each round. A join and chain without turning (spiral rounds) may get a closer result to the original.

The first round is worked around both sides of the chain.

Ch 65. DC in third chain from hook. DC in each chain to the final chain. 3 DC in last chain. Place stitch marker in second of 3 DC cluster. DC across to the first DC. 2 DC in same place as first DC. Place stitch marker in second of 2 DC cluster. Join. Turn.

Ch 3. Work even for 2 rounds, completing rounds with a join and turning work.

Round 4: Ch 3. 2 DC in first stitch. DC to the stitch before marked stitch. 2 DC in that stitch. 1 DC in marked stitch. 2 DC in following stitch. Work to other end. 2 DC in last stitch before the join. Join. Turn.

Round 5: Ch 3. Repeat increase row. Join. Turn.

Work even for 7 rounds.

Round 13: Ch 4. Skip next DC. (DC, ch 1) in following stitch. Repeat () around. On final stitch, DC, ch 1 and join. Turn.

Round 14: Ch 4. (DC, ch 1) in next DC. (DC, ch 1) around, working all DCs into top of previous round DCs. Join. Turn.

Repeat last round 18 times.

Trim: Ch 3. DC in each DC and chain space around. Join. Turn. Repeat round once. Fasten off.

Straps (Make 2):

Note: Straps can be made however long you want. This is just my best guess accounting for possible stretch during use.

Ch 101. DC in the third chain from hook and each chain across.

Turn. Chain 1. Slip stitch in each DC across. Slip stitch twice in side of first DC, then slip stitch across bottom of DCs. Slip stitch twice in side of final DC and join to first Slip stitch. Fasten off.

Red Heart Super Saver, so it's never gonna die.

Adjustments to pattern as follows:

Don't turn. You want to join the last stitch to the first stitch, then chain, then keep going on DCs. For the mesh rows, join the final chain stitch to the first DC, chain 4, then DC in next DC.

Disney:

Lowho:

Disney:

Lowho:

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeaaaaaar

EVERY MORNING HE SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT HOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOU AND YOU HAVE TO GET UP

AND WHEN YOU PRESS THE BUTTON TO HUSH HIM HE SAYS “DEFTLY DONE, MADAM,” OR “IF IT’S NOT TOO FORWARD OF ME, THAT DID TICKLE, MADAM”

IT WAKES YOU UP WITH THE SOUND OF CHIRPING BIRDS BEFORE STEPHEN FRY’S VOICE

asking for a friend

@turniptitaness @coffeelovinggayidiot my loyal yaoi loving bestest of friends (affectionately!) can weigh in

EVERY MORNING HE SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT HOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOU AND YOU HAVE TO GET UP

AND WHEN YOU PRESS THE BUTTON TO HUSH HIM HE SAYS “DEFTLY DONE, MADAM,” OR “IF IT’S NOT TOO FORWARD OF ME, THAT DID TICKLE, MADAM”

IT WAKES YOU UP WITH THE SOUND OF CHIRPING BIRDS BEFORE STEPHEN FRY’S VOICE

asking for a friend

Happy Pride!

If you want to learn more about Shakespeare’s queerness I recommend Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare, by Will Tosh. I’ve just started it but so far it’s doing a great job examining what queerness looked like in Shakespeare’s time.

Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival

I will be at the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival this weekend, June 13-14, at the Downtown Ann Arbor District Library. I will also be running a “how to draw stick-figures” workshop on Saturday, June 13 at 11:30am. I realize that (a) this is very late notice, and (b) most of you aren’t in the Ann Arbor area, but if you are… stop by and say hello! I will have printed mini-comic versions of the above comic available!

Shakespeare Anyone? Podcast

No one listens to Hero, BUT Benedick takes Beatrice’s word. Yes, there’s a moment when he’s like “you don’t mean actually KILL Claudio, amirite ha ha ha?”

But when he realizes she is in earnest HER TESTIMONY IS ENOUGH.

“Enough. I am engaged.”

It is one of the only times we see a woman’s word taken at face value and action taken on her part.

I think what’s delicious about Ilya is his self worth related to these concepts. He thinks he’s lazy, messy, undisciplined. You listen, you don’t soeak. Yes. You need a haircut. Yes, Father. The problem is leadership. Yes, nod, yes. But repeatedly we are shown that Ilya is good. He’s an attentive lover, he’s a good friend. He tries to be a good son to a hard man. He gives his brother whatever he asks for. He inspires his teammates. He worries that Ryan Price’s book will fall on the floor and oh fuck Price is going to lose his place, I will help, oh fuck, I failed.

But his family tells him he’s no good, so it must be true. They have been the loudest voices in his life and that’s literally become his inner monologue. But then here comes Shane “I don’t know that side of you at all” Hollander and soon enough Ilya is monologuing into the phone on the street outside of his father’s funeral about how actually no. He’s given everything to his family. He makes everything perfect. And he couldn’t physically be there for his father all the time but he paid for it all. And yet they despise him. He knows why, or says he does. But I don’t think does, I think in that moment the seed is planted that Ilya is lovable. And he doesn’t have to be perfect, he doesn’t have to drain himself dry. The person who loves him is trying to fill his cup from thousands of miles away.

This one is more of a "light" theme, in the spirit of our literal ray of sunshine Alina Starkov! Impressionist paintings (especially Edgar Degas' Dancer paintings) and backstage life were huge inspirations for this board. I tried to emphasize more of the happier aspects of the fic, like the joy she gets from dancing, warm summer days, her found family, and her budding relationship with Aleksander, but still some shadows linger...

This is the "dark" theme: cool, austere, and brimming with unspeakable tension. It’s the smoky and shadowy nights that the darkling calls his own. And yet, there are moments of love and excitement. I was super inspired by the (relatively new) introduction of photography in the era as well as the darker side of life in the 19th century.

So if you like a slowburn romance with themes of duality, passion, and self-discovery with lots of dancing and carriages and repressed feelings, get your tickets for Pas de Deux!

Pairing: The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova x Alina Starkov

Rating: M (mostly for thematic elements)

Wordcount: ~28.5k words (and counting)

Additional Tags and Warnings: Period Typical Attitudes, Sexism, Some Racial Microaggressions, Discussion of Sexual Harassment and Exploitation, Gritty Things Related to the Ballet World, Power Imbalance, 19th Century Sugar Dating, Depictions of Social Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, Soft!The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, Angst, Fluff, Kissing, Gift Giving, Dancing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Pining, Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Romance. (Also Warning that I am terrible at updating)