#you can crochet it you can knit it you can do tatted lace and so forth

[balkanradfem]

I keep thinking everyone knows the exact same information as me, but since I'm about to make more posts about textiles and clothing, as I'm reading the book on them, I'm going to write down some basic information, just in case it's not very common, because a lot of this I only gathered recently. If I get something wrong please correct me in a kind way!

So where does the clothing come from, and how do we make it? During most of the history, textiles were made by women, from natural materials; flax, wool, cotton, silk, jute. Recently we started using more synthetic materials, like acrylic, polyester, nylon, spandex. If you want to make clothing from the natural materials, like wool or cotton, they first need to be processed, cleaned and combed, then spun into yarn, or thread. Spinning is the process where women manage to pull a thin part of the material and spin the fibres into one consistent, firm thread. It's super impressive to watch them do it and I have no idea how they manage to make it consistent, I've not yet tried to do it myself.

Once the thread is done, it can be made into a textile by knitting, crochet, or weaving. There are also other more complex, decorative methods, like tatting or lacing.

For knitting, you need two needles, or a special circular needle, or, there are also knitting machines, which you can use to make woolen fabric. For weaving, you need a loom. For crochet, you need a crochet hook. While knitting and weaving can be done by a machine, crochet can only be done by hand. Woven fabrics are firm, sturdy, durable, and not stretchy, while knit fabric is the most stretchy and soft. I'm not sure about crochet since I only have one crochet garment, but mine is very sturdy!

All of these methods were historically done by women; families were able to grow flax plants close to their homes, and women would then create linens, woven textiles made from processed flax, which was used to make sheets and clothing. Linen was specifically useful in keeping people clean, since it's very good at absorbing moisture. Used as an under-garment, it was capable of absorbing sweat, and protecting the outer layers, which were not washed. Experiments have shown that frequently changing into clean linen was more effective at keeping clean than showering and then putting on the same clothing back on.

Women's ability to create clothing was sadly exploited, and women were even banned to sell it commercially, or from competing at the commercial market, but their husbands were allowed to profit off of their craft.

In the USA, cotton was the most produced material, however for this too people were enslaved and exploited; cotton took human labour to grow, harvest and process, it also required a lot of water, and caused destruction of environment, because of the chemicals used in it's growth, and the unsustainability of monocrops.

Creating a piece of clothing out of textiles, or sewing, is a process that still cannot be completely automated; while you can use a sewing machine, you cannot make a machine that would produce a whole garment out of textiles. No mass-produced piece of clothing was sewn by a machine, it always has to be made by a human being. This is why a lot of the sewing labour is currently outsourced to third-world countries and companies use modern slavery in order to create fast fashion; there is no machine that can do it, so by the rules of capitalism, the companies are trying to get that labour as cheap as possible, often at the cost of human lives.

We didn't use to have as many garments as we do today, in the 18th century people would have two outfits, one for normal days of the week, and one for Sunday. The clothing they owned was usually made to fit them exactly, either by a female member of the family, or a seamstress, and these garments were made to last them for decades. As clothing became cheaper to buy than to make at home, and more of it became mass-produced, people started acquiring more of it, but also using it for lesser period of time. This would eventually grow into a bigger problem, due to the amount of chemicals and labour used to grow, process, dye and sew the garments, and the amount of waste we were starting to accumulate.

Introduction of synthetic materials, like acrylic, made the yarn and the textiles much cheaper, however it lacks the important properties natural materials have. Do you ever notice how synthetic garments sometimes continue smelling bad even after you wash them? That is because they'll absorb sweat, but become hydrophobic when wet, meaning they will take in your sweat, but refuse to let it go once they're in the water. This means that the longer you have them, the worst their stink becomes. This, of course, can be hidden by the generous use of scented fabric softener, but it won't exactly make the garment clean. This information I've learned recently, but it helped me identify what were the most synthetic pieces of clothing I had. Acrylic clothing had also proven to shed 1.5 more microplastics than any other polyester when put into the washing machine.

Having our clothing grown, processed, spun, woven/knit, and then sewn far out of sight, it's possible to lose the sight of where it came from, or how it's made. Only by trying to do it yourself, or learning closely about the process can one learn to appreciate what a monumental task it is, to create fabric, or a garment. Other than the synthetic textiles, of which I still know very little of, all of the natural clothing is a product of plants and animals, it takes land, farming, agriculture and water to grow the plants, raise the animals, and then labour to process and spin the fibres. It's also something people used to do in their gardens, inside of their homes, something that was normal for women to do, and to trade for anything else they needed, saving them from having to work for wages. Women making fabric was always to the benefit of everyone around them, while m*n taking over the industry and doing it commercially, ultimately brought slave labour to a lot of people, cheap and low quality garments to the select few, and money to the hands of the exploiters.

Being curious about clothing and what becomes of it, is a big benefit to the environment and the future of the earth! Knowing what the textile industry is doing, and how does it affect the planet, can be a great motivator to try and sew, or upcycle and mend clothing, or create garments. It's presented to us as something women were forced to do in the past, and it's connected to 'feminine hobbies', but in actuality, it is power to create something humans cannot do without. Women in the past used it's power too, whenever they could. And we are the only ones who ever used this power for good.

[scribblesandknots]

You know how, for a long time we didn't know nålebinding existed and people thought that those red socks were knitted and it turned out they weren't, they were made by nålebinding, you just had to know very specific details to tell which craft they were made by?

(these socks:)

I know a little bit about a lot of different fiber arts. I know: knitting, crochet, spinning, tatting, bobbin lace, needle lace, embroidery, and a little nålebinding.

Inspired by these socks, I want to create the most archaeologically confounding frankendoily out of all my crafts, and then I want to immediately commit it to a bog, for preservation. A tatted motif at the center, with a bobbin lace round around it. Maybe there's a knitted border with a crochet edge. Some needle lace motifs hanging around, but like, I'm gonna mix Romanian point lace with Battenberg styles. Something's getting embroidered somewhere. Idk.

And I'm gonna make the whole thing out of the most historically generic white cotton thread I can find, something that could maybe have been used hundreds of years ago so you can't tell when the frankendoily was made. Maybe I'll even make it over different decades of my life. Also I'm left handed, but I can do most things right handed too, and some of the crafts look slightly different depending on which hand you used as your dominant hand.

And then the whole thing is going in a bog, because bogs are really specifically good at preserving cloth, and I will go quietly into the void at the end of my life, knowing I leave behind me a very specific kind of chaos and confusion for some very specific future kindred soul.

If anyone has any additional crafts I should learn for the frankendoily, I'm all ears.

[thehistoricalfrog]

If you do multiple or i forgot one please write in tags

And Please reblog so more poeple can vote i would love to know what the demographic of lacemakers on tumblr is.

[starswallowingsea]

I have been thinking about what types of notions and things the craft dorm (what I've been calling the Shu/Izumi/Kuro/Mao dorm) would have in their respective kits and ended up making some collages with my thoughts. In order it's Shu, Izumi, Kuro, and Mao. Longer explanation below the cut.

Shu:

Since he canonically makes lace I put all sorts of different lace making tools on his. In the english server it got translated as crochet and crochet lace can be absolutely gorgeous and it's pretty portable so it makes sense, hence the steel hooks. The other lace making tools are bobbins and a bobbin pillow and a tatting shuttle. While tatting is the "lesser" form of lace making compared to crochet and bobbins, it's by far the most portable as the thread is wound around the shuttle and to me Shu would probably do tatting on the plane to/from Japan and France. Also included for him are pretty generic sewing notions, your pins and pincushion, scissors, a needle and thread, t-pins, and beeswax. T-pins can be used to block the lace as well, and the beeswax is for hand sewing. Fun fact but if you run your thread over beeswax a few times before starting to sew it'll help strengthen your thread and prevent it from splitting! Shu also heavily prefers working with natural fibers over synthetic.

Izumi:

Guy absolutely uses DPNs (double pointed needles) for his knitting, at least when it comes to socks and hats. I believe in some of the examples of his knitting we've seen he has done cabling so a cable stitch holder is there as well, though I can imagine he does it without it too if it gets lost. He also has a ball winder and I wish I had thought to put a swift on here too but like Shu, he prefers to get natural fibers over synthetic and hand dyed wool is great but it comes in hanks which areeeeeee hard to work with so a swift and ball winder would be necessary for him. Also included are more t-pins, a blocking board, stitch markers, and yarn needles.

Kuro:

To me, Kuro is the type of guy to make scrap quilts with left over fabric from the outfits he makes for his friends (and also out of like old shirts his sister has grown out of), so he has a huge scrap fabric pile he's constantly thinking about what type of blocks to make them into. I feel like he'd also make his own appliques for these quilts and would use basting spray to hold those down, obviously. Also the type of guy who just carries spare buttons on him in case of an emergency. Also has a seam ripper, scissors (thread, fabric), a tailor's measuring tape, and a cutting board.

Mao:

I know he doesn't really craft but to me? He's a crocheter. He tried knitting once and failed very badly but crochet (in my opinion at least) is a lot easier to grasp for beginners and I think he made the dorm a few dish cloths at first but mostly makes amigurumis now of his favorite manga characters, as well as little toys for his friends, hence the safety eyes. Probably works more with synthetic fibers due to ease of accessibility and variety of colors, though he tries not to buy too much of the same color unless he knows what it'll be used for. Also has stuffing, yarn needles, stitch markers, and a little crochet hook carrying case.

General Notes:

There were some things I didn't think to add until after I had already finished all of these collages, and some things that were things I thought everyone would have. To start, Shu would obviously also have a blocking board for his lace blocking, and as mentioned earlier Izumi would have a swift. Shu probably also has a swift and ball winder or just borrows Izumi's when he buys anything heavier than thread for crochet (which isn't often so I'm leaning more towards borrowing). Kuro would also have a bar of beeswax for the same reason as Shu, as well as maybe a thimble? Though I suppose it depends on how much he cares about his fingers being callused from the needle. Shu has a thimble. I also think all four of them would have some sort of project bag, whether it's just an old backpack or something a bit more expensive, they all have something that allows them to take their crafts on the go.

Anyway that's all I had but please tell me your thoughts if you want :3

[wistsandmagic]

Sometimes the 'expectations' of the yarn-workers' community irl astounds me. I had to go to Michael's this morning to pick up a special-order yarn that I have been waiting for FOREVER (as in like 5 months at this point) ...and while I was there I of course went to go look at the in-stock yarn. (CHRISTMAS SALES YES!!!)

Here I am, dressed in glittery jeans, my pseudo-binder and an Unnus Annus hoodie, baby-gay rainbow converse, bright-ass blue hair yanked up in a messy ponytail out of my face, transformers mask, and not exactly looking either feminine or masculine, puttering around with my cane and a few skeins of clearance cotton yarn in my arms. The looks I got this Sunday morning, let me tell you.

One sweet little old lady came up as I was digging through the crochet thread, trying to find the gauge I need, and asked me if I was looking for something for my 'sister or mother...or perhaps my girlfriend?' Because she'd be happy to help me find it. She was sweet and quite frankly thinking I was a dude was oddly gratifying, but...still. Dudes can't crochet? Or knit? Really? I told her it was for me and I had JUST found it, but she was so kind for asking if I needed help, and the look of UTTER SHOCK on her face was...disconcerting.

Another middle-aged lady was trying to find a very specific wool yarn. I heard her talking to herself trying to find it, and since I knew where it was, I told her. Her EXACT WORDS WERE "you must come here with your girlfriend a lot if you know that!" she wasn't being cruel, I don't think. But when I told her I knew because I used that yarn myself for a crochet blanket project, she looked dumbfounded.

Even the CASHIER told me I 'didn't look the type to work with yarn' when I went up to cash out. She was smiling and I think she meant it in a good way? She sounded very approving, but...what, exactly is the 'type' to work with yarn? Literally any-freakin'-body can do it if they want to. Men, women, third-gender, children, adults, teenagers, little old grandmas with knitting needles out the wazoo, young dads trying to keep track of rowdy toddlers, punks with mohawks and spiked collars, biker-dudes with more tattoos than bare skin, picture-perfect barbie girls, nerdy dudes with glasses, football jocks, flaming LGBTQA folks, children with clumsy fingers trying for the first time, the disabled in all our various forms, the neurodivergent in all our various modes, the happy, the sad, the sick, the well, IT DOES NOT MATTER. YARNCRAFT IS NOT A GATED COMMUNITY. Whether it's crochet, knitting, tatting, armenien lace, or something else, it doesn't matter. if you feel like working with yarn, you should be and are welcome.

Quit giving shocked looks when someone who doesn't fit your narrow ideal of someone who enjoys working with yarn in their hands buys yarn. Y'all are the reason so many people are afraid to TRY it, much like any other thing that doesn't fit some narrow 'ideal' of the 'type' of person for whatever it is.

I'm not displeased that people thought I was a dude. I'm nonbinary, if I manage androgynous when I am definitely female-body-shape leaning because I am chonk and I have boobs bigger than hell in a handbasket, I am happy! I'm not happy about the evident split-second judgement.

Be better. Period.

[redwinterroses]

rant warning ahead, i have a lot of thoughts about this au. it’s probably gonna get pretty sewing-nerd-y too so be prepared lol

first up: tools. i imagine that very talented stitchworkers don’t need tools, but most stitchers (or unstitchers) do. things like needles, looms, you get the idea. probably not real needles, more metaphysical, but my point still stands. there are all sorts of different needles depending on the craft and the user’s persona style. WAIT what about things like sewing machines?? like maybe they could exist but since stitching is yknow, illegal and all that, i’m not sure. idk but its definitely A Concept that would be very fun to dive into.

also! knots! if someone were to be taught stitching, (which i feel like at least one person on the hermitcraft server is currently being taught), i think that they would definitely start with knots. connecting two pieces of reality but only at the corner seems like a great way to teach a beginner. i think you probably could just use knots as your main form of stitching but it takes more effort. also also back to the whole “you’re either born with magic or you’re not“ thing. consider: a lot of people are born with it, but most don’t know they have the ability. theyve never tried, never even considered it because of how much it’s frowned upon. developing an ability you didn’t know you had takes time, but having someone experienced to help you along certainly helps.

obviously there are different types of fabric when it comes to stitching irl, so how would this translate to the AU? think how some types of fabric frays very easily, but how some doesn’t fray at all. some fabric rips, some doesn’t, some stretches, some doesn’t, etc.

different! stitches! are! definitely! a! thing! like backstitches are for bigger projects or stuff more likely to get ripped or unstitched because they’re more sturdy, whipstitches are for the finishing details or the edges of a project, (also for embroidery-style stitching), running stitches are more practical and less precise, etc. i would absolutely keep going with different stitches but i don’t wanna get too too ranty lol

strands vs. threads: another thing that people who don’t sew probably won’t know!! basically one thread has six strands and you can separate them depending on how thick you want the line of string to be. so like, 6 strand sewing is for big projects, and two strand sewing is for tiny in-reality adjusments. stuff like changing jellie’s fur pattern to mess with scar or drying a wet sponge. (one strand sewing isn’t a thing, your thread will rip. use this information how you will.)

patches! most reality patches are made of the same material as the original, but there are definitely some stitchers who prefer to make flashy noticeable patches made of way different material that stands out. put a patch of the nether in a spot where the overworld reality tore. you get the point.

different styles of stitching! i know this has already been brought up but i want to go more in-depth with it.

cleo’s stitching is ABSOLUTELY embroidery. there’s literally no question about it. i feel like grian stitches with both embroidery and knots. Im thinking xB felts. idk why. mumbo is probably still learning but i think he would mostly just use sewing. scar can practically do it all, he’s a jack of all trades type. his go-to is sewing though. i know you already said x and ex work best with knitting, but honestly i think crochet suits them better. zedaph probably works with lace-sewing best. (is there an actual word for that? i feel like there is.) stress weaves.

random thing that i just thought up: certain hairstyles are associated with stitchworkers, and can be used as signals. the most obvious one is a braid/braids, especially for weavers, because well. its practically just weaving except with hair. stuff like doing hair can also help people hone in on their craft because yes.

told you it’d get rant-y. this is the shortened version. i have adhd ok

i love this. i love many elements of this and will definitely possibly maybe sssstteaalborrow them. XD

[revelationoh]

“grandma” crafts ranked by how afraid of them i am, from least to most

knitting – i watched a woman painstakingly knit her own wedding dress on instagram. the only reason i am not viscerally terrified of knitting is that i can knit and have therefore accepted the horror into my heart, 4/10 for effort

crochet – THERE IS ONLY ONE HOOK. HOW. HOW DO YOU DO THAT. but again, i can single chain enough to seam my knitting, so we’re relatively cool 6/10

embroidery – it’s so little and so detailed???? literally you do that with a tiny needle and it looks like it could walk off the fabric. you’re a witch i don’t make the rules. i mean, we’re all witches, but you especially 9/10

spinning/weaving – literally you are making something out of primordial fluff. this by definition makes you a god, i’m pretty sure. y’all are incredible and i am in awe 10/10

tatting or handmaking lace by other methods that aren’t knitting or crocheting – part of me is also always going to be convinced you’re a spider god but in a cool way. definitely the most intricate products, and the fact that i can’t parse how they come into being is why i fear and respect you. 11/10 you incredible terrors

cross stitching – THIS IS FORBIDDEN MAGIC. WHAT ARE YOU. ALL THE LITTLE SQUARES???? 1000/10

[comeandreadawhile]

Clone Social Media : Hobbies

The phenomenon starts with the intention to show the civilians of the Republic the men behind the armor, as well as an encouragement for the men to do the things they enjoy when they have the time to in lieu of sitting around cleaning weapons for a third time that day.

Scratch that—the phenomenon starts with High General Kenobi, on a rare day of leave, teaching his Marshal Commander how to bake. Said Commander’s men were happy to taste test the flurry of experimental confections that pervaded their leave days in the following months. News spread fast of Marshal Commander Cody having a knack for baking, and so followed the spread of troopers attempting to make their own treats and/or branching off into other things the civilians called “hobbies” whenever what they could get their hands on afforded them.

The phenomenon kicked off when Padawan Commander Tano began a social media account with the intention of using it as a public diary, her first post was a picture taken of some of the 501st—with permission, her caption says—as they went about retouching paint scuffed in their most recent battle. The men are relaxed, some with paint smeared on their hands and cheeks and seemingly reacting to some joke or story told outside the threshold of the camera, and it’s an almost startling difference from the image of rigid lines of men, faceless in their full kits of white plastoid, that the civilians are used to. Tano’s second post is a video clip of one Captain Rex, with one General Skywalker sitting on his back counting reps, doing push-ups; the video was captioned “Another day in the G.A.R., restless in hyperspace.”

The digital diary continues from there, videos and pictures of specific locations posted only after reaching a safe distance to do so, never sharing anything mission critical—past, current, or hypothetical future. Eventually she shows the men under her how to make their own accounts, and other Jedi and their own troops follow suit. The 212th then takes it upon themselves to post pictures of the little cakes their Marshal Commander has gotten so proficient at making, and, when General Kenobi creates a joint account titled “command_212”, convince Cody to post pictures of things he bakes before they are distributed—even in the process of baking, if the fancy strikes him.

So Marshal Commander Cody shares pictures of his experiments, of recipes he finds that turned out well, of recipes that didn’t because of some error or other that he’s determined to give another go, with the occasional cryptid picture of General Kenobi taking his tea in the barrack’s kitchen. As time goes on those pictures shift to Obi-Wan covered in flour, or a shot taken from several feet away of Cody sneaking batter captioned “caught red-handed in the red velvet”.

As Marshal Commander of the 212th has taken to baking to relieve stress, the Commander of the 104th has turned to needlecraft and yarnwork.

The 104th retaliate the populatrity of the 212th’s command account with the domesticity of their own, despite the vaguely threatening possibilities of knitting and sewing needles. Boost and Sinker run the majority of the account, although all OG members of the 104th have access to it; they post pictures of the things Wolffe makes them, of General Plo covered in the lengths of scarves he’s received, of Comet in the ever-growing swath the gifted blankets with the current tally in the caption (his toes were off the floor by blanket burrito 6). The holonet at large loves Plo almost as much as his men, and once a week they post him saying some piece of sage wisdom—or utter nonsense, as the mood strikes—as the war goes on. After months of asking for a face reveal and requests for the patterns people are sure Wolffe uses, they make the most Force-forsaken tutorial videos as an all-in-one series.

“HOLY **** HE’S CASTING ON 12 TO START—“ “WHAT A MAD MAN!”

“So when you get to this row here you’re going to knit 3, purl 3–“ “TRANSCENDENT!” “—yes, thank you, and then keep doing that until you reach the end of the row...”

“Oh, OH MAN HE’S GONNA DO IT!” “HE’S GONNA CHANGE COLORS!” “Holy **** man he’s gonNA YOOOOOOOOOO!”

Cody is then issued a challenge by the holonet to learn to knit. He learns to crochet. Because Obi-Wan knows how to crochet. The holonet loves video snippets of them progressing on projects together. They also love the videos Ahsoka posts of Cody attempting to teach Rex, and praise the absolutely completely unrelated hat she later posts a picture of; it covers her Montrals with enough room for a few years’ growth. Anakin gets yarn stuck in his mechanical hand because he forgot to put his glove on before attempting to craft.

The real throwdown happens when the account for the Coruscant Guard posts videos of Fox aggressively tatting while venting about the lack of funding for proper security and surveillance tech.

Each posts sees a comical increase in the surfaces covered in lace doilies and runners, as well as a new topic for Fox’s venting.

A picture of an pillow embroidered with “Kriff the Seppies” is briefly posted to the 104th’s account before being taken down and replaced with a censor bar. Rumors begin to circulate when Senator Chuchi posts a picture wearing a gifted lace shawl; Senator Amidala comments on her confusion being resolved as to why Riyo kept bringing little baskets of crochet thread with her before a senate meetings.

A competition for ship nose art starts up, many votes going to the 501st, and the holonet’s heart once again melting at “Plo’s Bros”. Personal art begins popping up soon after. Fives starts posting spray paint tutorials, Rex and Hardcase become popular for clean graphic art. Bly gets his hands on metallic paint and the crowds go wild. Kix has taken his clean haircut game to the next level.

And then Colt and Shaak Ti make an account to post art the Littles make, most of them representations of their older brothers with wishes of safety and good luck, and of the only Jedi they’ve ever known, sometimes creatures they studied in their preparation for worlds outside of Kamino. Of batches passing their final tests with a congratulatory post.

Suggestions and instructions are sent out for clones who want to take and sell commissions, allowing them to finally make some money; most Jedi are more than happy to help make sure the finished work mails out properly to the buyers.

Ships of the non-nose art kind surface on the holonet. It’s generally agreed upon that command_212 is run by husbands, and Aayla is the protector of the 327th and Bly’s heart, even if she’s a clumsy menace around his artwork (caf spilled over a drying watercolor can be interesting or terrible depending on the circumstance). No one can agree whether Skywalker is married to his captain or Senator Amidala, but everyone agrees that Ahsoka is their baby. The holonet declares Plo to have Big Dad Energy. Shaak Ti’s Big Mom Energy is a friendly rival. The Jedi council has made no official statement denying or denouncing these attachments.

Public interest begins to shift from producing more soldiers to making sure the ones the Republic has stay alive, when the realization hits that within a couple of years the children posting art and losing teeth would probably be losing blood and brothers on some far away planet. Of making sure the men are eating well instead of just surviving. Well certain account-holders don’t post for a while, grieving a loss, posting again to reassure their followers they’re alright, the public questions what’s being done to keep the men emotionally and mentally well outside of the hobbies the public knows them for. “Born to handle any stress” is very much the wrong answer.

Pressure is put on the Chancellor to let the Separatists sucede, no one quite sure anymore why allowing them to would be harmful when at worst new trade agreements would need to be brokered; if they want to leave so badly, let them. And let the men have their hobbies.

(Sad thoughts ahead)

Sometimes commissioners never receive their orders, simply a refund with a letter from that clone’s Jedi after the latest battle ends. Any money they’d made would be split however their closest brothers decide.

The channel that always posts pranks and spray paint tutorials makes a post saying they’d be away to look after their sick little brother. It’s the last post they make.

The Coruscant Guard’s account stops posting a few nights later.

After Order 66 goes out, a new account goes up posting any pictures and cute videos of Aayla. Reposting old ones that the public is sure they’d seen somewhere before, posting new ones of funny faces and ridiculous videos of silly dances. The last one is the only one captioned, “she wasn’t a traitor.”

The account is deleted the same night, and the one of the 327th’s adventures never posts again.

Wolfpack_104 does not post, but is still there.

Command_212 is deleted almost immediately the night of the order.

Years go by, almost sixteen, and only after Vader already knows she’s alive does Ahsoka post again. It’s a picture of her, and Rex and Wolffe onboard the Ghost in hyperspace captioned “Was never a traitor. Always the little sister even if I’m four years older. In case you’re wondering, Rex still draws and Wolffe still knits when we can nab the string and flimsi.”

[shyrose57]

Apparently Starlit Boutique is on the brain today. Anyways, ideas!

1. The actual terminology for crocheting equipment is “crochet hook” not “crochet needles” (sorry, nitpicky stuff but I actually crochet). Tommy knows this. All of the people online that he talks with on the sewing forums know this. Unfortunately, most people that walk into his shop don’t know what crochet is and call it “knitting” and his hooks “needles”. One afternoon he had had enough of it and showed the offending customer the difference by attacking them with a knitting needle and a crochet hook to show them the difference. Said customer was a fae and tried to complain to Eret who just sat there sipping her tea and told their advisor to look into getting Tommy more crochet hooks.

2. The only time that Tommy thought that he had found something that was completely unnatural, it was a completely normal butterfly. A bit unusual in that area but there was absolutely nothing magical about it. Tubbo tried to tell Tommy this but Tommy swore up and down that it must have some sort of powers, how else would it have gotten into the shop. (Tubbo looking around at the various open windows that a bird and a ladybug fly in through: Ah yes. How on earth would a butterfly get in here.)

3. Tommy learns about the new fad of digital fashion and is very confused about why people would turn to that when he can actually make pieces like that. This makes its way out of his normal sewing forums and over to the costumery and high fashion forums as well as a few pictures and of his more recent pieces (pictures are without the “specialty” fabrics but he has learned that some of those fabrics show through on video well enough for marketing purposes). Cue Tommy getting dozens of orders of specialty costumes, commissions for high class events and seemingly endless invitations to fashion shows around the world.

4. While Tommy’s main skill is tailoring, he also has tried making any number of other things: hats, boutonnieres and corsages, lace-making, tatting, wire craft, stuffed animals, making buttons… you name it he probably has tried it once or is planning on trying it at some point in the future

5. A lot of the more obscure rumors about what Tommy was were started by Tubbo just because he wanted to create chaos. These included: sea monster that learned that breathing air is better, a dozen raccoons, a sentient stuffed animal, two small trench coats in a boy and literally just “Tommy? Doesn’t exist. Never heard of him before in my life. Oh him behind me that’s making that jacket, that’s Tomathy. He’s a new hire ever since that last guy left”

6. Customers come into his shop with weird requests all the time and he always thinks that he’s heard the weirdest thing only for a new request that’s even odder to come in. One time a customer ordered a scarf and gloves set made with the sound of the universe, promising to get the fabric to him that week. The fabric literally made sound every time he touched it but he figured that it was just his synesthesia. (Also I just decided that tailor!Tommy has synesthesia in this because it gives him even more ways to ignore the weirdness going on. What do you mean that touching that fabric shouldn’t make you hear the sounds of your happiest memories? Of course it would, it always has with him.)

7. Tommy started teaching Michael how to sew whenever Tubbo and Ranboo brought him to the shop. He likes to lay in the scraps of whatever project Tommy is working on and try to thread the giant plastic needles Tommy gets him, just like Tommy himself did when he was younger.

8. Sam helped Tommy to figure out a portable workshop that doubled as a wardrobe so that he could make clothes and alterations while out with clients that couldn’t come to him for whatever reason. It has just as much time and care put into it as any of Tommy’s individual works as well as holds far more than it logically should be able to.

Might send in more ideas later today. Just know this was getting long on its own

Starlit Boutique is always on the brain.

1: Eret's out there just condoning violence. Oh? Tommy stabbed a man? What a guy, let's give him more things to stab people with. It's very neat of them.

2: That meme, but it's Tommy looking at the somewhat rare butterfly while his wide variety of supernatural friends are in the background: Is this magic?

3: He just keeps tripping into fame and fortunate. At this point, a magic lamp might as well fall out of the sky and smack him in the head, and he'd accidentally trick the genie into giving him whatever he wants without twisting it against him.

4: A plethora of talents-did he pick these up because of some odd request? Did he just decide to do it out of spite or boredom? Who knows.

5: At some point he slips in the 'rumor' that Tommy's just a really oblivious human-it's the only one that people immediately dismiss, despite literally considering every single other one. Tubbo refuses to explain why he's cackling.

6: Ah, I love that! I don't know much about it, but it's a very cool idea.

7: Adorable! Maybe Michael picking out a favorite fabric of his own to lay in and practice with. What's a baby eldritch's favorite fabric?

8: We're all for defying logic around here, and how better to do that than magical wardrobes? Also, Sam and Tommy bonding, we love to see it!

[saurons-pr-department]

Do you have tutorials for tatting that you use? I've been thinking about learning, but it's been hard to find tutorials or books on it, much harder than knitting or crocheting.

I do!

Here's a playlist on shuttle tatting by a woman named Bryce Adams. She also does bobbin lace and some historybounding stuff.

Here's another channel called Frivole. She has load on tatting. I've only watched one or two by her, but this one was very helpful in understanding what is going on with the knots because she uses a huge shuttle and cord.

And here's a helpful video on how to start needle tatting

I also have a book called The Encyclopedia of Needlework. I have a physical copy, but BEHOLD! A link to it online! This book is old though, so the descriptions of things can be a little out of date in terms of terminology. And by old I mean 1886. (It also has loads of other things besides tatting. I'm really enjoying it). If you are interested in a physical copy, there's loads of reprints. Mines from 2011

[dollsahoy]

Yeah, I’m weak.  There’s nothing quite like old fake flowers, though.  And at least the laces are all in relatively short lengths?  So they can get all used up on doll clothes quickly...um...at least...’quickly’ whenever I get around to using them...  Not sure what I’ll do wit the tatting/crochet thread.  The roll of mesh is going with the Halloween decorations.

And there was a lot of cloth!  I haven’t measured all of it--there’s probably a yard and half of the flocked! leopard print, at least two yards of the rose print, and maybe three yards of the purple--people who have better ideas of these things than I do, is the purple “so out of date it’s acceptably ironically trendy again” or just “so out of date”?  I haven’t estimated how much of each of of the polyester fleeces there is, there’s barely more of that blue flora than what you can see (will be good for doll clothes), there’s scads of the double knits in the second to last photo, and maybe four yards of the pinwale corduroy in the last photo...the kiddo’s probably going to get at least a pair of pants from that...