Sewing Update #4 + Reading!!
Feb. 19th, 2025 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitteringstarsThe Blouse
I am one last push from finishing this goddamn blouse. It really is one of those "trust the process" projects; after hours and hours of bitching and moaning about how absolute shit it looks, now that a lot of the finishing touches are being put on, it looks really close to a decent blouse. I've started incorporating french seams into another project I started as a relaxing alternative (more on that down below). All I need to do is figure out how many buttons I want to add to them, which will be the last bit of nerve-wracking I have on my plate. I've shortened the sleeves, so I have a bunch of extra fabric to work with to test my button-hole stitch.
If everything goes right, I should have it finished by Friday (potential foreshadowing)
Shiny Celebi Underskirt
My relaxing alternative project. I have managed to draft, mock-up, and sew most of this underskirt in less than 24 hours (non-consecutive). It's an a-line skirt, the first time I've ever self-drafted anything. I ended up following this tutorial, and I'm very satisfied with how it came out! I think it took me maybe no-more than an hour to do all the measurements, calculations, and drawing/cutting it out on butcher paper. The mock-up was fast and after just one last thing to add to it, it's going to look pretty cool!
The only thing I am going to change is the initial ruffle I was going to add to the bottom. From what I've read, most people suggest 2x the bottom hem to get nice ruffles, but I didn't like how it was looking. I've debating on upping it to 2.5 or 3x. 4x will be a bit excessive for my purposes, so I might just bump it up to 3x and then widdle it down if it turns out to be too much.
The fabric I made it with is a neat linen-cotton blend, so it frays like a bitch. I've defaulted to french seams, and my god does it take like a dream. The only thing that may give me a bit of trouble is adding a button placket to one side (I refuse to do zippers), but that should be easy once I do a bit of testing.
Reading!!
While I was working over the long weekend, my hold for the audiobook of Long Live Evil finally came in, and boy was it a ride. It's probably a new favorite reincarnation isekai alongside Villainesses Are Destined to Die and The Eccentric Duchess. Long Live Evil does so many things that I wish more modern incarnations of this genre do: the protagonist, Rea, is affected by her life in the real world and actively is focused on going home. We get main POVs from non-isekai characters, which gives us another view of her actions tinted by what was going on. Tropey stuff is both played straight while also properly explaining it.
I genuinely am thinking about adding this to my collection, and I'm hope book 2 of this series comes out in the next few years.
(Maybe I should start a Reading Bingo card come April)
I am one last push from finishing this goddamn blouse. It really is one of those "trust the process" projects; after hours and hours of bitching and moaning about how absolute shit it looks, now that a lot of the finishing touches are being put on, it looks really close to a decent blouse. I've started incorporating french seams into another project I started as a relaxing alternative (more on that down below). All I need to do is figure out how many buttons I want to add to them, which will be the last bit of nerve-wracking I have on my plate. I've shortened the sleeves, so I have a bunch of extra fabric to work with to test my button-hole stitch.
If everything goes right, I should have it finished by Friday (potential foreshadowing)
Shiny Celebi Underskirt
My relaxing alternative project. I have managed to draft, mock-up, and sew most of this underskirt in less than 24 hours (non-consecutive). It's an a-line skirt, the first time I've ever self-drafted anything. I ended up following this tutorial, and I'm very satisfied with how it came out! I think it took me maybe no-more than an hour to do all the measurements, calculations, and drawing/cutting it out on butcher paper. The mock-up was fast and after just one last thing to add to it, it's going to look pretty cool!
The only thing I am going to change is the initial ruffle I was going to add to the bottom. From what I've read, most people suggest 2x the bottom hem to get nice ruffles, but I didn't like how it was looking. I've debating on upping it to 2.5 or 3x. 4x will be a bit excessive for my purposes, so I might just bump it up to 3x and then widdle it down if it turns out to be too much.
The fabric I made it with is a neat linen-cotton blend, so it frays like a bitch. I've defaulted to french seams, and my god does it take like a dream. The only thing that may give me a bit of trouble is adding a button placket to one side (I refuse to do zippers), but that should be easy once I do a bit of testing.
Reading!!
While I was working over the long weekend, my hold for the audiobook of Long Live Evil finally came in, and boy was it a ride. It's probably a new favorite reincarnation isekai alongside Villainesses Are Destined to Die and The Eccentric Duchess. Long Live Evil does so many things that I wish more modern incarnations of this genre do: the protagonist, Rea, is affected by her life in the real world and actively is focused on going home. We get main POVs from non-isekai characters, which gives us another view of her actions tinted by what was going on. Tropey stuff is both played straight while also properly explaining it.
I genuinely am thinking about adding this to my collection, and I'm hope book 2 of this series comes out in the next few years.
(Maybe I should start a Reading Bingo card come April)
