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It is *evident* that the fact that the living room table is covered in bits of cardboard and bookbinding paper means that I'm cleaning up my desktop, right?

As in “making a small chest of drawers to store some of the samplers and small containers of ink that I currently have in a mess on the desktop” :D

The current status is that 3 out of 4 drawers are done, one is nearly done, and the structure to put them in needs to be redone from scratch, because my measurements have been way too optimistic and the drawers don't fit :(

But I've started to put some of the ink samplers in one of the drawers, and those are fitting just fine. Also, *all¹* the colours!

¹ actually just above half of the colours available in that line of ink

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Io sono pieno di pezzi di compensato, barre di ferro e simili ma la situa è analoga.



Dear lazyverse, I've just read blog.prosody.im/great-invitati… and prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_inv… and I don't understand one thing: can this be used to generate an invite for an user that already exists and has been using the account for a while, but needs to reconfigure an xmpp client on a new phone?

of course they don't know their password, but I would have to reset it from prosodyctl anyway.

#xmpp

#xmpp

reshared this

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Adding a new device via invitation is not currently a thing. Password resets links (which work almost the same as invitations) are.

Generate a password reset link with this command:

'prosodyctl mod_invites example.com --reset username'

I haven't extensively tested it with clients or invite UIs beyond Snikket, though. Feedback welcome 🙂

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

I add to the excellent @mattj explanation that both invitation things are very familiar to @snikket_im admins ...
in reply to Roberto Resoli

@mattj fosstodon.org/@snikket_im/1122…


@shuro Snikket is XMPP for people who don't know what #XMPP is 🙂

If you're happy with Conversations, continue using it! Snikket is more limited because it focuses on a specific use case.

If you want an easy-to-use messaging solution for a group of people (e.g. family, friends, clubs), plus companion apps and easy onboarding without forcing people to learn what a "XEP" is, then Snikket is here for you: snikket.org/start/

We just want XMPP to reach beyond the tech crowd.


in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

No, but there is also a module where the admin can generate a password reset link for that user. Don't have the name in my mind ATM and can't comfortably research as I'm AFK.


Calibro 35 - Traitors

youtu.be/Unw6JRCjmsM

#mastoradio #fediradio



kickstarter for a (famous) webcomic

Girl Genius has a new kickstarter out, to print the next volume

kickstarter.com/projects/girlg…

for those few who don't know, it's a great steampunkish #comic that has been running for years and is published online at girlgeniusonline.com/ and then on paper, funded via kickstarter one volume at a time.

And usually there would be no need to promote them or anything, they have enough devoted followers that they fund on first day, but this time they have a pretty high stretch goal to be able to print *two* volumes at the same time, and it would be really, really nice if they did manage it!

reshared this

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

kickstarter per un webcomic (famoso) in inglese

È aperto il nuovo kickstarter di Girl Genius, per stampare il prossimo volume

kickstarter.com/projects/girlg…

per quei pochi che non lo conoscono, è un #fumetto steampunk che va avanti da anni, pubblicato online su girlgeniusonline.com/ e poi su carta, un volume per volta finanziato su kickstarter.

Di solito non ci sarebbe il minimo bisogno di fargli pubblicità: hanno abbastanza lettori fedeli da riuscire a finanziare la stampa il primo giorno, ma stavolta hanno aggiunto uno stretch goal per riuscire a stampare *due* volumi allo stesso giro, e non sarebbe per niente male se ce la facessero!



The case for #Pyra. is. done.

It could have been neater, and maybe tomorrow or next week I'll unpick the binding on the raw edges and sew it again, because it's ugly, but the size is just right and it works.

Only took 3 attempts to get to the right amount of ease :)

There will be pictures (and a blog post). Not today :D

#sewing #MYOG

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

OTOH, there are pictures of one of the things that I used to postpone the third attempt at the case.
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

In compenso, ci sono foto di una delle cose che ho fatto nella settimana anziché cucire il terzo tentativo della custodia.


mastodon.online/@annaghughes/1…

io ho deciso per #sculo


tired: it's pronounced S Q L

wired: it's pronounced sequel

inspired: it's pronounced squirrel




It's time for a new #pizza post!

Right out of the oven!

in reply to Fabio

@Fabio @albertuxone e io ho invitato questo pisano qui per una pizza a casa mia questa primavera. ma non se lo merita!

(explanation for people who don't speak italian: I invited albertuxone for homemade pizza this spring, but I'm having second thoughts on whether he deserves it)





I've found out what the issue with the #tea shop was: they had to restore the website from backups and some user got stuck in the process.

I've now procured more tea (by preparing a list on the website, printing it out and going to the shop. yes, it's close enough that I could just go there without visiting the website. I could.)

@Naomi P do you want some tea? I'm making an herbal one, since here it's evening, but it can turn into whatever you want during the internet trip :)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Ho scoperto qual'era il problema col sito del negozio di té: hanno dovuto recuperare il sito da backup e qualche utente è rimasto incastrato nel processo.

Ho procurato del té (preparando un elenco sul sito, stampandolo e andando al negozio. sì, è abbastanza vicino da poterci andare anche senza visitare il sito. volendo.)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Oh, thank you! But I have an oversufficiency at the moment, so will have to pass.


#sewing update

the corded petticoat is done! And today I expect to finish the hem on the chemise (I'm almost halfway through it), so there will be some cutting fabric time this afternoon, and that may be either the lining for the #AugustaStays or the cartridge pleated skirt.

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

aaand the chemise is also finished!

and then I just didn't have the energy to do anything that required concentration like cutting fabric, so I just did a bit of lucet

(the 3 metre piece has been finished yesterday, now I've started a 1 metre piece for the front lacing)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

e ho finito anche la sottogonna!

e poi non avevo le forze per fare qualunque cosa che richiedesse attenzione come tagliare stoffa, quindi ho fatto solo un po' di cordino a lucet.

(il pezzo da tre metri è stato finito ieri, adesso ne ho iniziato uno da un metro per l'allacciatura davanti)



body functionality, politics (Italian), silly, gross
Thanks to a conversation at the dinner table, I now have a mental image of a character in the style of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upo… with the face of Salvini (Italian racist politician) that looks for alien bacteria in the gut and, if he finds any, orders an immediate, human rights violating, expulsion that manifests as travelers' diarrhoea.
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

funzioni corporee, politica, stupido e schifoso
Grazie ad una conversazione a tavola, adesso ho un'immagine mentale di un personaggio stile Siamo fatti così con la faccia di Salvini che controlla se ci sono batteri stranieri nell'apparato digerente e se ne trova ordina un espulsione immediata in violazione dei diritti umani, che si manifesta come cagotto del viaggiatore.

reshared this




Getting to the laundry place 5 minutes before it closed on Saturday morning to give them 4 heavy-ish carpets to wash (while they were still on the car rather than having to walk there while carrying them later). done.

(we called when we got on the car, to ask whether it was ok, and the owner of the place knows us well enough that there wasn't any time consuming procedure, we just dumped everything in there and then she will deal with them when she opens next week. but still, it felt wrong.)

in reply to Yaku 🐗

@Yaku @rapitadaglialieni

Come alla posta il primo del mese (qui a giugno arrivano un po' prima delle 6 che è già chiaro).




#sewing update

The cording on the petticoat has been completed, I'm now doing the vertical seams (hopefully today), and then I have to gather or pleat or something the top and it's done.

I'm cutting a second attempt at the pyra case: I've cut almost everything, but I've just misplaced one of the fabrics I want to use. The inventory says it's in the box I've been looking for it.

I've printed almost all of the hexbin Standard Compliant pattern weights, I've cut enough felt for all of them (I think, I didn't exactly *count*), and I've been using the first one and it works nicely. It's a good excuse to buy new washers the next time I'm at the shop, right?

Related: if you have recommendations for places in Europe that print small amounts of hexagonal #stickers and don't require me to provide a multi layer PDF file (or a tutorial on how to make those with inkscape or other Free Software) I'd be happy to hear about them :)

And thanks to a couple of movie nights¹ at my mother's I'm close to the 3 meters of lucet cord I plan to use for the back of my Augusta Stays. That I still need to cut lining for, why do you ask?

¹ 17:30 - 19:30 or so counts as night, if you're watching a movie, right? :D

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

it had fallen to the bottom of the box

(I keep fabric vertically in the box so that I can see all of it at a glance, but this one was especially slippery)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

era caduta sul fondo della scatola

(ripongo la stoffa verticalmente nella scatola in modo da riuscire a vedere tutti i contenuti a colpo d'occhio, ma questa era particolarmente scivolosa)

Unknown parent

Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Kermode nope, too little time for work that requires active concentration

sewing, and especially handsewing are more compatible with those times when the brain wants to switch off :)



when you've been using a #vim -like editor all day and you open #nano

#cli #cliproblems #musclememory



Stanotte mi son sognata che, per celebrare un anniversario o qualcosa del genere, #trenord chiedeva ai suoi clienti di inviare foto scattate in stazione o sui treni, purché non si vedessero persone, da mettere in un apposita galleria, e stavo suggerendo a @LaVi 🕊️📚🐈 di inviare la sua collezione di foto del cartellone dei ritardi di Saronno

reshared this

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

tempo fa avevo detto a @LaVi@livellosegreto.it che con quelle foto poteva pubblicare l'almanacco dei ritardi #trenord😆
Unknown parent



I'm taking a break from historical #sewing to make myself a case for the Pyra¹ that I've just received (YAY!).

Which means working with technical materials.

Which means that two needles have already been broken, and I've just decided to sew the raw edge binding by hand, even if I know it will be painful, because I don't want to deal with another fiddly seam by machine.

¹ handheld gaming console with a full keyboard designed by retrogaming enthusiasts.

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

and the size was just a tiny bit too small. tomorrow(?) I'll try again with a pattern that is just a tiny bit bigger.
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

ed è venuta di misura un pelo troppo piccola. domani(?) ci provo ancora ingrandendo il modello di un filo.


Am I the only one who finds using spray starch almost as fun as using spray paint?

(yes, one day I will try real starch)

(yes, one day I will be ironing and starching my shirts more than an hour before I need to wear them)

(today is not that day)

in reply to rag. Gustavino Bevilacqua

@rag. Gustavino Bevilacqua non so, il problema è che abito in collina, non nelle zone da risaia, credo che darò la priorit๠al piantare il mio lino, filarlo e tesserlo, prima di pensare a produrmi il mio amido.

Però potrei fare quello di patate, anche se credo che ingiallisca un po'.

¹ quello richiede “avere un posto dove piantare il lino”, e ancora sono ben lontana dall'averlo. Diciamo che non è in cima alla lista :D



Asking people who use #screenReaders: what is the best way to add #AltText to a QR-Code? Are the screen readers clever enough to recognise it as such and offer to read the contents or follow the link? Does putting the content of the QR-Code in the alt text help? or would it make it worse, especially if it is an URL?

boosts are welcome

(the whole point of the post that prompted this question was posting a QR-Code, so no, I couldn't have just posted the URL)



#sewing update? sewing update!

I suspect that the body of the shift is a bit too wide at the top, but I haven't tried it on yet to find out. It's only missing a hem at the bottom, and then it's done, however (and I'm sure I can adjust the width so that it is wearable anyway).

I haven't done anything on it (nor on the #AugustaStays), however, because I've spent most of my sewing time on the corded petticoat, because *I want to know* whether it will work and how it will look.

And I'm happy to report that I've just finished the next to last section of cording, only 3 more 3-metre-long seams and then I can finally start on the assembly.

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

aggiornamento sul #cucito? aggiornamento sul cucito!

Sospetto che la sottoveste sia un po' troppo larga sul busto, ma non l'ho ancora provata per esserne sicura. Manca solo l'orlo in basso, e poi sarebbe finita (e ho fiducia del fatto di poter sistemare in qualche modo la circonferenza in modo da poterla indossare comunque).

Però è un po' che la ignoro (così come sto ignorando le Augusta Staus), perché la maggior parte del mio tempo-cucito in questi giorni è stato passato sulla sottogonna cordonata, perché *voglio sapere* se funziona e che aspetto ha.

E sono felice di annunciare che ho appena finito la penultima sezione di cordonature, mi mancano solo 3 cuciture da 3 metri l'una, e poi posso finalmente iniziare la costruzione.



TFW you wake up in the morning, try to login on your computer and the h key on your keuboard doesn't work.

so you connect a spare keyboard (cheap gaming keyboard with blue keys, way too noisy for regular use) to a free USB port, login, open a few things and then try to write again with your keyboard, and it works.

disconnect the spare, start having breakfast, post a few things on the fediverse, now the s and the f keys no longer work.

Connect the spare, use it for a while, try the original, it works. And then it stops.

I'm wondering whether I should move elsewhere my keyboard and just resign myself to use the spare today.

(I know what caused the issues, there may have been an accident in the weekend, and a replacement has already been ordered and may even be delivered today or tomorrow, and then there will be time to try and fix the original one.)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

TFW ti svegli alla mattina, cerchi di fare login sul computer e il tasto h non funziona.

quindi attacchi la tastiera di scorta (una da gaming economica, con tasti blu che sono troppo rumorosi per l'uso regolare) ad una porta USB libera, fai login, apri un po' di cose, provi a scrivere di nuovo con la tua tastiera e funziona.

stacchi quella di scorta, inizi a fare colazione, postare sul fediverso, e smettono di funzionare i tasti s e f.

Riattacchi quella di scorta, la usi per un po', riprovi l'originale, funzona. E poi smette di funzionare.

Mi chiedo se sia il caso di staccare l'originale e per oggi rassegnarmi ad usare quella di scorta.

(So cosa causa il problea, nel weekend potrebbe esserci stato un piccolo incidente, ed è già stata ordinata una nuova tastiera che potrebbe essere consegnata oggi o domani, e poi ci sarà tempo per provare a far rifunzionare l'originale.)

Unknown parent

Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Kermode it was hot water that had been used to clean a jar of jam¹, but basically the same thing, except with more sugar.

Not that I would ever do anything like that to my keyboard!

¹ as in: when there is just a bit of jam left I don't bother with removing it with a spoon, I just pour boiling water in it, let it dissolve and then drink the result as if it was an herbal tea.



Ricevo, e credo che sia utile per un po' di vittime di #trenord qui sul fediverso

prealpina.it/pages/lombardia-t…

“La norma nel prevedere la necessità di richiesta dell’abbonato reindirizza la misura compensativa del disagio a chi effettivamente lo ha subito, diversamente da quanto accadeva con il vecchio bonus.”

che credo voglia dire, più o meno “speriamo che la maggior parte dei pendolari si dimentichino di chiederlo e/o non vengano a sapere di doverlo chiedere”

se ho ben capito le istruzioni su come fare la richiesta sono già su regione.lombardia.it/wps/porta…

@LaVi 🕊️📚🐈 @Fabio #trenò

reshared this

Unknown parent

Elena ``of Valhalla''

@LaVi 🕊️📚🐈 @Fabio mi pareva tempo fa di aver trovato su uno dei siti istituzionali (trenord o regione) che i treni soppressi contino uguali ai treni con più di 30 minuti di ritardo, ma adesso non ho il link sottomano (e non so se le nuove regole siano cambiate).

Comunque c'è il fatto che quei dati non dicono che i treni in ritardo sono ovviamente soprattutto in ora di punta (anche per ragioni ragionevoli, tutto sommato), e che quindi impattano molte più persone rispetto ai treni in orario alle 10 di mattina o alle 8 di sera.



Forgotten Yeast Bread - Sourdough Edition


Posted on March 23, 2024
Tags: madeof:atoms, craft:cooking, craft:baking, craft:bread
Yesterday I had planned a pan sbagliato for today, but I also had quite a bit of sourdough to deal with, so instead of mixing a bit of of dry yeast at 18:00 and mixing it with some additional flour and water at 21:00, at around maybe 20:00 I substituted:

  • 100 g firm sourdough;
  • 33 g flour;
  • 66 g water.

Then I briefly woke up in the middle of the night and poured the dough on the tray at that time instead of having to wake up before 8:00 in the morning.

Everything else was done as in the original recipe.

The firm sourdough is feeded regularly with the same weight of flour and half the weight of water.

Will. do. again.


blog.trueelena.org/blog/2024/0…



It's not even April, and I've brushed and steamed the wool skirt I've worn all winter, and mended the small bit that needed mending, and it's ready to be put away for the warm season.

Last year I think I postponed doing it until June or even July.

I'm counting this as a huge success :)

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Ah, ironing board. Having one would probably help me with my garment care. The kitchen table is not ideal.
in reply to Lars Wirzenius

@Lars Wirzenius yeah, it helps, mostly because you can wrap the thing around it, and only have one layer under the iron.

Mine is just a hand-me-down that isn't even 100% stable, but it already makes a difference.

And then there are the taylor's ham and sausage that I made for pressing while sewing, but sometimes they get used also for ironing sleeves and other small or curvy bits: I don't know if they're worth having if somebody does not sew, but they can help.



@LaVi 🕊️📚🐈

#trenord, ma prima che fossero semre in ritardo :D



JKR, personal

Disclaimer: I've only read canon Harry Potter once many years ago, and what I remember may be seen from fanfiction-tinted glasses.

What really throws me off about the whole JKR thing is that I remember her famous book series as being about people fighting against a group that was defined by having discrimination against an unprivileged group as their main objective. In a mid-quality YA fiction way with lots of problems and plot holes, but still, the Big Bads of the story were the ones doing the discrimination and then even killing etc. of members of a minority.

And then later in her life she goes and basically joins the Death Eaters?

Enrico Zini reshared this.

in reply to Hypolite Petovan

JKR, personal

@Hypolite Petovan otoh Hermione can also be seen as the one that basically really saves everyone (almost to Mary Sue levels, at times), so an empowering character rather than one that is stuck under oppressive gender roles.

(but here I may be misremembering thing and being influenced by the fact that I may have read a few Hermione based fanfictions. just a few :D )

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Elena ``of Valhalla'' You aren't remembering wrong, remember the Time-Turner intrigue? Turns out Hermione literally had to go back in time to be able to study for more classes.


and this morning I successfully prepared my #tea

and then left it in the kitchen (luckily I had to go there some 10 minutes afterwards, so it didn't cool down too much)

#tea
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

e stamattina son riuscita a prepararmi correttamente il #

e poi l'ho dimenticato in cucina (per fortuna ho dovuto tornarci 10 minuti dopo e non si era raffreddato troppo)

#

reshared this



You have performance problems in your app.
You think "I know, I can fix them using threads".
Now yuo hvea npareermcof smloprbe in uoyr app.

Alessandro reshared this.



And I think it's time for a new #sewing update.

The shift is progressing nicely, I'm quite happy with the way the sleeves look, and it's getting close to being all assembled together.

In the weekend I've finished the market bag, which means that in category “long straight seams” I've started to work on a corded petticoat.

I've worked on it for more than one hour, and I'm about half through the first seam.

Maybe I should have done it by machine? But at least it is nice and relaxing work, even if it's going to take forever.

As for the lining of the stays… look! a squirrel!

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Also, have I ever mentioned that I have the Italian translation of the famous Reader's Digest sewing book, and that when I write these posts I often have to go through it to find the Italian terms I need for the translation?

Yes, I have learned the basics of #sewing in Italian, but everything else in English on the internet, does it show? :D

reshared this

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Ah, e ho mai detto che ho la traduzione italiana del famoso libro di cucito di Selezione dal Reader's Digest, e che quando scrivo questi post spesso lo uso per trovare i termini italiani che mi servono per la traduzione?

Sì, ho imparato le basi del #cucito in italiano, ma tutto il resto in inglese su internet, si nota? :D

in reply to Ashnee HS

@ashneehs
Ditto for me with machines like lathes etc.

It took me a lot of time to discover that a gib is called "lardone".

yt.cdaut.de/watch?v=jRTHjP0sC-…

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

stesso problema anche con la maglia e l'uncinetto.
Avresti dovuto vedere la faccia della commessa a cui ho chiesto dell'interfaccia fusibile 😂 tutt'ora non mi ricordo come si dica in italiano
in reply to Vi 💙

@Vi 💙 credo che sia teletta termoadesiva

o almeno lo era ai tempi della traduzione del libro :D

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Vi 💙 forse anche interfodera, sempre termoadesiva (ho cercato su un negozio di tessuti dove so che ce l'hanno)
Unknown parent

Elena ``of Valhalla''
@Kermode here on the fediverse there are quite a few people who do all of the things I do (and even better)

in reply to Diego Roversi

the animated gif was too big for friendika. Let's try with a scaled down version:

#cat

#cat


Low Fat, No Eggs, Lasagna-ish


Posted on March 10, 2024
Tags: madeof:atoms, craft:cooking
A few notes on what we had for lunch, to be able to repeat it after the summer.

There were a number of food intolerance related restrictions which meant that the traditional lasagna recipe wasn’t an option; the result still tasted good, but it was a bit softer and messier to take out of the pan and into the dishes.

On Saturday afternoon we made fresh no-egg pasta with 200 g (durum) flour and 100 g water, after about 1 hour it was divided in 6 parts and rolled to thickness #6 on the pasta machine.

Meanwhile, about 500 ml of low fat almost-ragù-like meat sauce was taken out of the freezer: this was a bit too little, 750 ml would have been better.

On Saturday evening we made a sauce with 1 l of low-fat milk and 80 g of flour, and the meat sauce was heated up.

Then everything was put in a 28 cm × 23 cm pan, with 6 layers of pasta and 7 layers of the two sauces, and left to cool down.

And on Sunday morning it was baked for 35 min in the oven at 180 °C.

With 3 people we only had about two thirds of it.

Next time I think we should try to use 400 - 500 g of flour (so that it’s easier to work by machine), 2 l of milk, 1.5 l of meat sauce and divide it into 3 pans: one to eat the next day and two to freeze (uncooked) for another day.

No pictures, because by the time I thought about writing a post we were already more than halfway through eating it :)


blog.trueelena.org/blog/drafts…

#6


Elastic Neck Top Two: MOAR Ruffles


Posted on March 9, 2024
Tags: madeof:atoms, craft:sewing, FreeSoftWear
A woman wearing a white top with a wide neck with ruffles and puffy sleeves that are gathered at the cuff. The top is tucked in the trousers to gather the fullness at the waist.

After making my Elastic Neck TopI knew I wanted to make another one less constrained by the amount of available fabric.

I had a big cut of white cotton voile, I bought some more swimsuit elastic, and I also had a spool of n°100 sewing cotton, but then I postponed the project for a while I was working on other things.

Then FOSDEM 2024 arrived, I was going to remote it, and I was working on my Augusta Stays, but I knew that in the middle of FOSDEM I risked getting to the stage where I needed to leave the computer to try the stays on: not something really compatible with the frenetic pace of a FOSDEM weekend, even one spent at home.

I needed a backup project1, and this was perfect: I already had everything I needed, the pattern and instructions were already on my site (so I didn’t need to take pictures while working), and it was mostly a lot of straight seams, perfect while watching conference videos.

So, on the Friday before FOSDEM I cut all of the pieces, then spent three quarters of FOSDEM on the stays, and when I reached the point where I needed to stop for a fit test I started on the top.

Like the first one, everything was sewn by hand, and one week after I had started everything was assembled, except for the casings for the elastic at the neck and cuffs, which required about 10 km of sewing, and even if it was just a running stitch it made me want to reconsider my lifestyle choices a few times: there was really no reason for me not to do just those seams by machine in a few minutes.

Instead I kept sewing by hand whenever I had time for it, and on the next weekend it was ready. We had a rare day of sun during the weekend, so I wore my thermal underwear, some other layer, a scarf around my neck, and went outside with my SO to have a batch of pictures taken (those in the jeans posts, and others for a post I haven’t written yet. Have I mentioned I have a backlog?).

And then the top went into the wardrobe, and it will come out again when the weather will be a bit warmer. Or maybe it will be used under the Augusta Stays, since I don’t have a 1700 chemise yet, but that requires actually finishing them.

The pattern for this project was already online, of course, but I’ve added a picture of the casing to the relevant section, and everything is as usual #FreeSoftWear.


  1. yes, I could have worked on some knitting WIP, but lately I’m more in a sewing mood.↩︎

blog.trueelena.org/blog/2024/0…



Denim Waistcoat


Posted on March 8, 2024
Tags: madeof:atoms, craft:sewing, FreeSoftWear
A woman wearing a single breasted waistcoat with double darts at the waist, two pocket flaps at the waist and one on the left upper breast. It has four jeans buttons.

I had finished sewing my jeans, I had a scant 50 cm of elastic denim left.

Unrelated to that, I had just finished drafting a vest with Valentina, after the Cutters’ Practical Guide to the Cutting of Ladies Garments.

A new pattern requires a (wearable) mockup. 50 cm of leftover fabric require a quick project. The decision didn’t take a lot of time.

As a mockup, I kept things easy: single layer with no lining, some edges finished with a topstitched hem and some with bias tape, and plain tape on the fronts, to give more support to the buttons and buttonholes.

I did add pockets: not real welt ones (too much effort on denim), but simple slits covered by flaps.

a rectangle of pocketing fabric on the wrong side of a denim

piece; there is a slit in the middle that has been finished with topstitching.


To do them I marked the slits, then I cut two rectangles of pocketing fabric that should have been as wide as the slit + 1.5 cm (width of the pocket) + 3 cm (allowances) and twice the sum of as tall as I wanted the pocket to be plus 1 cm (space above the slit) + 1.5 cm (allowances).

Then I put the rectangle on the right side of the denim, aligned so that the top edge was 2.5 cm above the slit, sewed 2 mm from the slit, cut, turned the pocketing to the wrong side, pressed and topstitched 2 mm from the fold to finish the slit.

a piece of pocketing fabric folded in half and sewn on all 3

other sides; it does not lay flat on the right side of the fabric because the finished slit (hidden in the picture) is pulling it.


Then I turned the pocketing back to the right side, folded it in half, sewed the side and top seams with a small allowance, pressed and turned it again to the wrong side, where I sewed the seams again to make a french seam.

And finally, a simple rectangular denim flap was topstitched to the front, covering the slits.

I wasn’t as precise as I should have been and the pockets aren’t exactly the right size, but they will do to see if I got the positions right (I think that the breast one should be a cm or so lower, the waist ones are fine), and of course they are tiny, but that’s to be expected from a waistcoat.

The back of the waistcoat,

The other thing that wasn’t exactly as expected is the back: the pattern splits the bottom part of the back to give it “sufficient spring over the hips”. The book is probably published in 1892, but I had already found when drafting the foundation skirt that its idea of “hips” includes a bit of structure. The “enough steel to carry a book or a cup of tea” kind of structure. I should have expected a lot of spring, and indeed that’s what I got.

To fit the bottom part of the back on the limited amount of fabric I had to piece it, and I suspect that the flat felled seam in the center is helping it sticking out; I don’t think it’s exactly bad, but it is a peculiar look.

Also, I had to cut the back on the fold, rather than having a seam in the middle and the grain on a different angle.

Anyway, my next waistcoat project is going to have a linen-cotton lining and silk fashion fabric, and I’d say that the pattern is good enough that I can do a few small fixes and cut it directly in the lining, using it as a second mockup.

As for the wrinkles, there is quite a bit, but it looks something that will be solved by a bit of lightweight boning in the side seams and in the front; it will be seen in the second mockup and the finished waistcoat.

As for this one, it’s definitely going to get some wear as is, in casual contexts. Except. Well, it’s a denim waistcoat, right? With a very different cut from the “get a denim jacket and rip out the sleeves”, but still a denim waistcoat, right? The kind that you cover in patches, right?

Outline of a sewing machine with teeth and crossed bones below it, and the text “home sewing is killing fashion / and it's illegal”

And I may have screenprinted a “home sewing is killing fashion” patch some time ago, using the SVG from wikimedia commons / the Home Taping is Killing Music page.

And. Maybe I’ll wait until I have finished the real waistcoat. But I suspect that one, and other sewing / costuming patches may happen in the future.

No regrets, as the words on my seam ripper pin say, right? :D


blog.trueelena.org/blog/2024/0…

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Julian Andres Klode 🏳️‍🌈 OTOH, today I was wearing the same outfit with black wrist warmers that looked a bit like sleeve protectors, and it felt *very* vintage office.


Jeans, step two. And three. And four.


Posted on March 7, 2024
Tags: madeof:atoms, FreeSoftWear
A woman wearing a regular pair of slim-cut black denim jeans.

I was working on what looked like a good pattern for a pair of jeans-shaped trousers, and I knew I wasn’t happy with 200-ish g/m² cotton-linen for general use outside of deep summer, but I didn’t have a source for proper denim either (I had been low-key looking for it for a long time).

Then one day I looked at an article I had saved about fabric shops that sell technical fabric and while window-shopping on one I found that they had a decent selection of denim in a decent weight.

I decided it was a sign, and decided to buy the two heaviest denim they had: a 100% cotton, 355 g/m² oneand a 97% cotton, 3% elastane at 385 g/m²1; the latter was a bit of compromise as I shouldn’t really be buying fabric adulterated with the Scourge of Humanity, but it was heavier than the plain one, and I may be having a thing for tightly fitting jeans, so this may be one of the very few woven fabric where I’m not morally opposed to its existence.

And, I’d like to add, I resisted buying any of the very nice wools they also seem to carry, other than just a couple of samples.

Since the shop only sold in 1 meter increments, and I needed about 1.5 meters for each pair of jeans, I decided to buy 3 meters per type, and have enough to make a total of four pair of jeans. A bit more than I strictly needed, maybe, but I was completely out of wearable day-to-day trousers.

a cardboard box with neatly folded black denim, covered in semi-transparent plastic.

The shop sent everything very quickly, the courier took their time (oh, well) but eventually delivered my fabric on a sunny enough day that I could wash it and start as soon as possible on the first pair.

The pattern I did in linen was a bit too fitting, but I was afraid I had widened it a bit too much, so I did the first pair in the 100% cotton denim. Sewing them took me about a week of early mornings and late afternoons, excluding the weekend, and my worries proved false: they were mostly just fine.

The only bit that could have been a bit better is the waistband, which is a tiny bit too wide on the back: it’s designed to be so for comfort, but the next time I should pull the elastic a bit more, so that it stays closer to the body.

The same from the back, showing the applied pockets with a sewn logo.

I wore those jeans daily for the rest of the week, and confirmed that they were indeed comfortable and the pattern was ok, so on the next Monday I started to cut the elastic denim.

I decided to cut and sew two pairs, assembly-line style, using the shaped waistband for one of them and the straight one for the other one.

I started working on them on a Monday, and on that week I had a couple of days when I just couldn’t, plus I completely skipped sewing on the weekend, but on Tuesday the next week one pair was ready and could be worn, and the other one only needed small finishes.

A woman wearing another pair of jeans; the waistband here is shaped to fit rather than having elastic.

And I have to say, I’m really, really happy with the ones with a shaped waistband in elastic denim, as they fit even better than the ones with a straight waistband gathered with elastic. Cutting it requires more fabric, but I think it’s definitely worth it.

But it will be a problem for a later time: right now three pairs of jeans are a good number to keep in rotation, and I hope I won’t have to sew jeans for myself for quite some time.

A plastic bag with mid-sized offcuts of denim; there is a 30 cm ruler on top that is just wider than the bag

I think that the leftovers of plain denim will be used for a skirt or something else, and as for the leftovers of elastic denim, well, there aren’t a lot left, but what else I did with them is the topic for another post.

Thanks to the fact that they are all slightly different, I’ve started to keep track of the times when I wash each pair, and hopefully I will be able to see whether the elastic denim is significantly less durable than the regular, or the added weight compensates for it somewhat. I’m not sure I’ll manage to remember about saving the data until they get worn, but if I do it will be interesting to know.

Oh, and I say I’ve finished working on jeans and everything, but I still haven’t sewn the belt loops to the third pair. And I’m currently wearing them. It’s a sewist tradition, or something. :D


  1. The links are to the shop for Italy; you can copy the “Codice prodotto” and look for it on one of the shop version for other countries (where they apply the right vat etc., but sadly they don’t allow to mix and match those settings and the language).↩︎

blog.trueelena.org/blog/2024/0…



/me rants at aspell for daring to suggest “sexist” as a correction for “sewist”

sewist. it's a word. learn it.

and no, it's not “sewer”. I'm not a sewer, ok.

(go and suggest a patch for the dictionary file rather than ranting on the internet? naaaaaa, too much effort :D )

reshared this

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

/me gesticola col bastone contro aspell che suggerisce “sexist” come correzione per “sewist”

sewist. è una parola inglese. imparala.

e no, la parola giusta non è sewist. non sono una fogna, ok?

(alzare il culo e preparare e suggerire una patch ai file del dizionario, anziché lamentarsi su internet? troppo sbattito :D )

reshared this



Vendo macchina da cucire Singer 8280 usata

Chiedo 100 euro trattabili, consegna in zona Varese / Como (se proprio
proprio necessario si può organizzare per zona Milano).

Mi pare che sia stata comprata nei primi anni 2000, il modello era in
vendita e presente sul sito singer fino all'anno scorso.
Ovviamente è ancora presente il manuale originale, completo di istruzioni di
manutenzione base.

Non la uso da qualche anno, ma era perfettamente funzionante e ad una prova
veloce mi pare che lo sia ancora.

Ulteriori dettagli nei commenti

#mastoMercatino @Il Mercatino del Fediverso 💵♻️

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

@Elena ``of Valhalla'' hai ragione. Purtroppo lemmy non permette di visualizzare più di una immagine nel post di apertura.

Grazie mille per la segnalazione. Devo modificare la descrizione del canale... 😬

in reply to Poliverso - notizie dal Fediverso ⁂

@Poliverso - notizie dal fediverso ah, uops.

Grazie per l'aggiornamento delle istruzioni!

Prova di inserimento di due immagini in un commento, per vedere se invece lì appaiono :)

(stavo per chiedere, ma così ho già la risposta :) )

in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

Ero un po' impensierita, perché a marzo inoltrato non mi si era ancora palesata "la cosa da imparare a fare quest'anno"¹, ma ieri @valhalla e @mercatino credo mi abbiano risolto il problema 🥰

¹ anziché fare i "buoni propositi" d'inizio anno, che tanto poi restavano propositi, da qualche tempo ho iniziato a provare a imparare una cosa nuova ogni anno.



@LaVi 🕊️📚🐈I think I know somebody else who could use that excuse :D


that's the new excuse for Deutsche Bahn: Service is interrupted due to a giant cat sleeping on the tracks.

@LaVi
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla''

"Our train has been cuddled into Lake Como. We apologize for any inconvenience."

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