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Alternatively titled: Stepping away from toxic content culture. Or: The dangers of consuming too much content aimed at Instagram marketers.
I’m not leaving Instagram, but I’ve re-evaluated my relationship with it. Over the last couple of years, I’ve felt shackled by content culture, and it became very toxic.
A lot of this is my fault because I watched a lot of Instagram marketing content that was aimed at small businesses and influencers who use Instagram as a marketing tool. Candidly, this is because I was thinking of starting a small business (but I’m not anymore). The trouble with watching all these Instagram marketing tutorials is that they blurred my understanding of what Instagram is for. They made me think that the goal of using the platform is to increase your following for its own sake.
⚠ Geek content ahead! ⚠
This post is about geeky tech stuff.
If you're not into that, maybe skip this one! (What's this?)
If you're not into that, maybe skip this one! (What's this?)
I’m so excited about this new website, I can hardly even express it. Over the last week I’ve been furiously, obsessively, hyperfixatedly putting this thing together, and I am so happy about it.
I’ve been on the web since around 1997. To me, that era of the late 90s to early 00s was the golden era of the web. All those little websites that were entirely mad, entirely chaotic, and entirely human. I guess it helped that everyone was a nerd too, so it felt easier to connect to people.
I’ve recently been feeling nostalgic for the web of that time, and I’ve since learned I’m not alone in that feeling. A few months ago someone pointed me in the direction of the 512KB Club, which showcases websites that are less than 512KB in size, and although I love that, that didn’t exactly scratch the itch for me. Then last week, I stumbled upon the idea of the Indie Web, which led me to the idea of the Small Web… and well, let’s just say I was overjoyed to discover that there is a movement of people building little personal websites in the old-school hand-crafted way. That there exists a rebellion against the huge siloed internet giants that do all the hard work for you, and take away all of your creative freedom, while simultaneously turning you into a data object. Armed with this knowledge, I’ve spent the last week voraciously learning and building myself a brand new website.
I keep thinking about the Pinyon Pants by Sew Liberated. I’ve been fascinated by every pair I see on Instagram. I bought the pattern – and even got the printed copy (I never do that!) but I haven’t started on them yet. I haven’t got the fabric, and I’m mid-way through another project right now. But this Pinyon Pants pattern, man. I feel so excited thinking about it.
There’s something about this moment between committing to making a pattern and actually starting work on it that feels so optimistic. This huge sense of potential. At this moment, the trousers I end up making from this pattern could be perfect, fit me like a dream, and be the best garment I’ve ever made.
Here’s another sewing pattern review for you: the Natalie skirt from Forget-Me-Not Patterns. I made it in this beautiful lightweight denim, and I’m over the moon with how it came out!
Full disclosure though: I am a part of the Forget-Me-Not patterns Insider program, which means I get free access to their patterns in exchange for social media posts about my makes. This blog post isn’t related to the programme though - I just want to talk about my new skirt y’all!
What fabric and size did I choose?
I made my Natalie skirt in the A-line view and the shorter length. I’m 5'6", for reference.
I finally used that yarn that I bought in Singapore ten thousand years ago and knitted the Rizzo blouse designed by Poison Grrls.
The construction of this was new to me, and I’ll be honest, a bit of a mind-bender at times. First you knit the back shoulders separately, and then join them; then you pick up stitches to knit each front shoulder separately, and then join them. Meanwhile, you’re also keeping track of increases for sleeves and an eyelet pattern on different counters. I actually ended up creating a spreadsheet to keep track of things at various points! I’ve been knitting for 11 years now and I’m only just starting to realise that I prefer charts to written instructions.
As an experiment, I set myself the target of taking a garment idea from concept to actualisation in 3 days. And I did it! Well - actually it took me 4 days. But that’s far better than not doing it at all, which is what happens to all my other ideas!
Behold, my self-drafted A-line princess seam dress:
I ended up deviating quite a bit from the original design. Below are my original sketch, and a technical drawing of what I ended up sewing. The princess seams and the flared skirt stayed, but I ditched the side panels, the racer back shoulders, and the keyhole opening. I added a centre back zipper and a boatneck.
Recently I pattern tested the Esti co-ord for Tilly and the Buttons. As I was sewing from a pre-release copy, it wouldn’t really be fair for me to review the pattern until I make a copy from the final version. But I can say that this is a solid, simple pattern, excellent for beginners! There are no closures; the top just slips over your head, and the trousers are elasticated.
I tested the cropped length view - I can’t remember for the life of me why I chose the cropped length, when crop tops aren’t really my style! But at time of writing, it’s super sunny and warm in York, so a breezy belly is comfortable. Come autumn though, I will use my leftover fabric to extend the top, so I can tuck it in for that faux jumpsuit vibe.
Recently I was lucky to be sent an advanced copy of the Auri jacket pattern from TAUKO Magazine Issue 7. They let me choose which pattern I wanted from the issue, and I couldn’t resist the Auri with its wavy lines and colour blocking opportunities!
What fabric and size did I choose?
I used Sevenberry cotton twill. I actually bought a little extra twill in yellow to add the optional ruffles, but in the end I decided to keep it simple and focus on the green and blue.
This is a size 2. I chose the cropped length, full sleeve view, with no ruffles. I lengthened the sleeve by 1.5", which is a standard adjustment for me.