JJ CeleryMar 7

To my non-sewing friends I thought I'd explain.

A thread chicken is a "game" sewists play when they can see the thread is running out, but they keep going regardless hoping to finish before the thread does run out.

Modern sewing machines use thread on top and the bottom. The bottom thread is wound from the main spool onto a tiny plastic spool called a bobbin.

The bobbin is in a casing under the sewing machine foot, so not visible while you're sewing.

https://mastodon.ie/@jjcelery/116189242628972318

JJ Celery (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image You wouldn't take me for a person who enjoys extreme sports but I just played - and won - bobbin chicken on a buttonhole :d20: #sewing

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Show threadJJ Celery

Therefore playing bobbin chicken is a more extreme version of thread chicken: you won't know if you won or not until you're finished sewing the seam and check underneath. You can't usually tell you ran out while you're sewing.

Now onto buttonholes. Some machines have buttonholes done in several steps, but mine has a one-step buttonhole. This makes it faster and more consistent, but also makes it impossible to resume making one if you ran out of either main or bobbin thread.

#sewing

Mar 7 at 9:25pmWeb
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

No, if you fuck up a buttonhole you have to start over. You must undo all the stitches, and then hope you didn't damage the fabric, and try again.

The buttonholes are made out of tiny stitches that are very very close together and it's A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ARSE to undo them. It's min 20 mins of work. You should do everything to never have to do that.

So playing chicken on a bobbin thread you can't see run out, on a stitch that will take you forever to fix?

Brave or very, very stupid.

#sewing

Show threadJJ CeleryMar 9

Himself has just sent me an absolutely perfect video demonstrating the feels when you play thread chicken and it's  

Enjoy!

#sewing

Show threadGranny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)Mar 9
@jjcelery omg the feels on this one! The suspense!
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 9
@artcollisions right?! Who needs crime dramas now 😂
Show threadGranny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)Mar 9
@jjcelery EXACTLY!
Show threadFrank SkorniaMar 9
@artcollisions @jjcelery If sewing became a category in the Olympics, Extreme Bobbin Chicken would have to be one of the events.
Factors would include winding the bobbin, thread choice (you can choose a thinner thread, but will your stitches break?), and percentage completed.
Show threadLIΞBΔCHMar 10
@artcollisions @jjcelery Almost unbearable!
Show threadGranny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)Mar 10
@liebach @jjcelery You get it.
Show threadMark DennehyMar 9
@jjcelery One does simply exit vi it seems :D
Show threadMattChippyteaMar 10
@jjcelery I don’t need this kind of stress
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 10
@Wifiwits I don't think anyone does but the thread gods clearly don't care for our mental wellbeing 🥲
Show threadLeoniekeMar 10
@jjcelery The feels!!
Show threadDavidMar 10
@jjcelery So, was anyone else holding their breath?
Show threadGondor1d ago
@jjcelery
Everyone with an FDM 3D printer can relate. 😁
✊🏼
Show threadBruce Heerssen 23h ago
@jjcelery
Reminds me of running out of gas and coasting into the gas station.
Show threadGranny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)Mar 7
@jjcelery or very optimistic
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7
@artcollisions sometimes being overly optimistic is quite comparable with stupidity 😂
Show threadGranny Art (Shrimp) (Joni)Mar 7
@jjcelery true. And yet.
Show threadyour auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦Mar 7
@jjcelery i’ve lost that bobbin chicken game so many times, i start out with a fresh bobbin every time i use buttonholes. i also reinforce with a woven even if the main fabric is a knit. am just too much of a klutz. been surprised by how great twill tape is great for that. but tbh buttonholes give me agita.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@blogdiva I normally would have wound an new bobbin myself, but honestly this project has been so trying that I just went "ah fuck it" and went ahead regardless. Sheer foolishness.

I'm definitely not gonna make it a habit 😂 And yes, always fuse, and I also go for a woven fusible for buttonholes and openings on knits - big fan of the extra stability.

Show threadIris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)Mar 7
@jjcelery @blogdiva I'm mostly self-taught and I have no clue what a fuse is in sewing. What does this mean?
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@iris @blogdiva fusible interfacing is special fabric-like product that has heat-activated glue on it. You fuse it to your main fabric using an iron, and sometimes extra steam.

It changes fabric properties by making the fabric stiffer, or preventing it from stretching in one or more directions, or giving it more "body".

There's a great little intro guide in Seamwork magazine that have some photos of effect of interfacing on swatches of fabric:

https://www.seamwork.com/fabric-guides/how-to-choose-the-best-interfacing-for-your-sewing-project

How to Choose the Best Interfacing for Your Sewing Project

The ultimate guide to choosing the right type and weight of interfacing.

Seamwork
Show threadIris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)Mar 7
@jjcelery @blogdiva ah, that makes perfect sense, thank you.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@iris @blogdiva there's many different kinds but most common are woven, non-woven, and knit.

Woven mimics a normal fabric. I have some cotton percale fusible interfacing that's great for cuffs, collars, and waistbands.

Non-woven is most common, and typically doesn't stretch, but also prevents fabric it fuses to from moving on the bias.

Finally knit is meant for knit fabrics that stretch, and also for very "gentle" bulking up of very fine fabrics, often in tailoring.

Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@iris @blogdiva You don't usually need much per project, which is good - interfacing is usually pricey! - but it makes a lot of difference on how "professional" an item looks, and how it behaves when wearing.

Hope this helps! 😊

Show threadvicarvernonMar 7
@jjcelery 3 times my bobbin ran out today, 1st and 3rd I was using the remainder of already loaded bobbins, the 2nd time I didn't wind enough on for what was needed. The 3rd was a different colour.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7
@vicarvernon I'm sorry for your pain and I cringed on your behalf from over here 
Show threadvicarvernonMar 7
@jjcelery more frustrating than painful. One of the fleeces was terrible at creeping under the foot, so the stripes on the tartan are 'off' at the hem. I'm going to see that every time I use it. That is going to be painful.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@vicarvernon I did my first fleece project just last week and couldn't get the seams under the arm to square to save my life  

Hem on a tartan? I'm not sure if I'll ever be brave enough for a tartan 

Show threadvicarvernonMar 7
@jjcelery it's not pretty, but functional.
Show threadvicarvernonMar 7
@jjcelery the circled area of hemming on the red tartan is out by about 5mm, whereas the oval is almost spot on. The blue fleece moved on the thread line as indicated by the pink arrows.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@vicarvernon oh it's on the inside! It's the worst - only you will ever know, yet it irks. But hey, I got just the thing for you, let me dig out the toot...

Ah there it is:

https://eldritch.cafe/@sinituulia/115740383995708393

resist the urge 😉

Sini Tuulia (@[email protected])

And, at the end, quite sweet despite the patina of the era: "WHEN you have completed your dress, it may not be perfect in every respect, but if you have been careful, it will surely be very nice, and something of which you may be very proud, because it represents much care and thought. Finish it well to the last loop, and sew in the dress shields. Take out the basting threads, be sure that the seams are finished, and that it is all in “‘apple-pie order.” Don’t point out to people any defects that may exist. Do not lift up the overskirt to show that the underskirt is pieced down with goods of a different kind. Do not show that the under-arm pieces are faded. Do not tell anybody that the full front covers buttonholes that are torn out. Do not say that the beautiful bias band around the bottom of the skirt hides a ghastly muslin gap. --"

Eldritch Café
Show threadvicarvernonMar 7
@jjcelery essentially these are just fleece blankets. There is no inside, other than how they're rolled up.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@vicarvernon updated the earlier toot with a link, but posting it here too in case you don't get a notification:

https://eldritch.cafe/@sinituulia/115740383995708393

Sini Tuulia (@[email protected])

And, at the end, quite sweet despite the patina of the era: "WHEN you have completed your dress, it may not be perfect in every respect, but if you have been careful, it will surely be very nice, and something of which you may be very proud, because it represents much care and thought. Finish it well to the last loop, and sew in the dress shields. Take out the basting threads, be sure that the seams are finished, and that it is all in “‘apple-pie order.” Don’t point out to people any defects that may exist. Do not lift up the overskirt to show that the underskirt is pieced down with goods of a different kind. Do not show that the under-arm pieces are faded. Do not tell anybody that the full front covers buttonholes that are torn out. Do not say that the beautiful bias band around the bottom of the skirt hides a ghastly muslin gap. --"

Eldritch Café
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@vicarvernon and also, this:

https://mastodon.ie/@jjcelery/115837709097988557

JJ Celery (@[email protected])

Content warning: Very minor spoiler for "The Outfit"

mastodon.ie
Show threadvicarvernonMar 8

@jjcelery too late! I'm fallen. Learn from me, for I cannot learn from myself.

Why is it always the few things that you get wrong that fix themselves in the mind rather than the myriad things that you get right?

Show threadJJ CeleryMar 8

@vicarvernon well if tou cannot help yourself I will do it for you and pretend not to see mistakes you have pointed out.

These are the finest tartan fleeces that I have ever seen! 

Show threadvulgalour - Free Range QueerMar 8
@jjcelery There's no beating the feeling of winning at thread chicken either. Pulling the garment from the machine after finishing the stitches and having the tiniest bit of bobbin thread come with it, leaving an empty bobbin? Almost a religious experience.
Show threadAngldst... Imperio TyrannisMar 9
@jjcelery ugh, can relate! unstitching buttonholes is distinctly unfun. So is unstitching/unravelling serged seams. :-(