Meanwhile, back at the hanten project…

Me: Dora, I need to sew that sleeve onto the body now.

Dora: Fuck you, you bitch. I’m comfy here. #sewing #hanten #CatsOfMastodon

It does my head in that this silk, woven by hand, dyed by hand 6 decades ago, using a mud dyeing technique lost none its colour. And yet a month old black cotton t-shirt can end up going grey in 3 washes.

They made shit to last. And we could too, if we bothered.

I don’t know if any of you were a little concerned with what would happen to the 60 year old tanmono of silk I acquired once it was washed…

But I was. I was scared witless. And apparently for absolutely no reason, since it washed beautifully and its colours stayed just as vibrant and rich as before.

And here’s what 12 meters of silk looks like hanging. #sewing #tanmono #silk

I hate that AI is being employed to take jobs away from people in the creative industries. Because these jobs tend to be jobs that are very fulfilling to the people who do them. And that’s a rare thing.

I hate that AI requires immense amounts of power to process and that hurts the planet.

I hate the fact that it can be used to generate what look like real accounts of politically or socially important things that have occurred when they haven’t.
2/

So the whole thread that emerged after the cats and bears video I posted yesterday got me thinking about the philosophical and ethical issues surrounding #AI.
As a technology, no matter how much I hate it, it’s not going away.

It’s what gets done with it - the intention behind its use - that becomes disturbing, right? As with any technology.

And sadly, our collective experience is that new technologies usually get employed, one was or another, to harm us.

1/

To say that any given search on the internet, using almost any browser, has turned into a challenge of sorting out the crap, I have noticed that if I put a date in my search - pre-2020, I get a lot less AI generated garbage. #Search

lemme tell ya, sewing in miniature is a real bitch! Respect for people who make doll clothes! #Sewing

So this is it in miniature. All the pattern parts work just fine. I’m deeply relieved. If anyone would like a full size, printable version of this, please let me know. #Sewing #ChineseVest #PatternDrafting

I spent all day doing it, but I’m pretty chuffed. It took me a while to regain my illustrator chops, but I managed to draft out what I think is a workable pattern. I’ve sized it down 50% and will have a go constructing it tomorrow.

Would anyone else like to have a go at a miniature one too? I would appreciate any feedback on the pattern since this is the first one I’ve constructed formally. #sewing #patternmaking

So, I have had one of those puffy filled vests for ages. It’s effective and black and it always gave me apres ski vibes, which I hate. Too sporty for my tastes. So a found this online. The proportions aren’t quite right, and it was - I’m ashamed to say - in the ‘fast fashion’ category, but I couldn’t find a pattern for this type of garment anywhere. I bought it to basically understand its construction and make more like it for myself. #Sewing

Now… shall we have patch pockets on the outside, or make useful ones on the inside? A coat without pockets seems a rather silly thing to me.

I do like the way the pockets break up the expanse of fabric. Hmm. What do we think?

#Sewing #Haori

In the continuing saga of the side seam pockets, I removed them. And as you can see, the line is back to pretty close to perfection. There’s still a bit of bagging on the sides, where the pockets used to be, but I’m pretty sure that’s from fabric stretching and it will wash back to flat. #Sewing #Haori

So, it’s almost done. The last and trickiest thing is left to do - sew on the collar, which needs to be done by hand.

I’m still not sure about the seam pockets. They went in easily, but they’re fucking with the line of the garment. If you look closely at the side seam, it’s sagging a bit. Probably not going to be obvious when it’s worn, but still. I’m wondering if it would be better to pull them out and make front patch pockets instead. What do you think?
#Sewing

Here is the first attempt. It needs buttons or snaps and pockets, but I’m very pleased with my labours. #sewing #aobaba

I’m finally getting around to drafting an ao ba ba pattern #sewing

Fuck this. I’m so over straight lines for today! #sewing

Even the larger pieces have turned out nicely! #sewing

But today was a new dawn, and here are some of the smaller pieces I’ve quilted, I think, quite successfully, for a first effort. As you can see, I’m using up some scrap fabric for the backing.
#sewing

I spent most of yesterday drawing lines.

And last night I had continuous anxiety dreams about not drawing lines straight enough. #sewing

So today I have a new project to embark on, using some of the fabric I purchased the other day.

I discovered that a lot of original han fu garments follow a similar structure as kimono: no shoulder seam, no inset sleeves. Of course, this makes sense, since many Japanese garments are the progeny of Chinese ones.

So I thought I’d have a go at making a padded tang-style jacket. Like this one. #sewing