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the-firebender-girl · 4 years

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I See the Light (Zuko x Reader)

Inspired by that one scene from “Tangled”

Note: This is my very first fic soo I do apologize in advance if it’s still bad and for the grammar mistakes which I could’ve made somewhere along the story since English is not my mother tongue. Feedbacks are appreciated and I hope you enjoy it♥️

-> In which Y/N is a part of Azula’s gang and also Zuko’s long lost childhood bestfriend who has had a crush on him since they were little.

The infamous banished crown prince is now back, up and running alongside his father and sister again. This news spread like wildfire all over the capital of the Fire Nation, both pleased and opposing reactions equal in numbers but alas everyone can see that Prince Zuko is now back in the Fire Lord’s good graces.

The noble families are preparing a ‘welcoming back’ celebration in his honor. Surely it was just another act to suck up and earn his favor, but whose to say that he can’t still enjoy it and bask in the festivities? after all he deserves this right? no matter what the means and motives behind it.

It was the morning of the day of the festival and Zuko is just about to begin his day after getting prim and pampered into his Crown Prince’s attire when he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

“Who is it?” He raised the tone of his voice a bit so the person behind it could hear.

“Why don’t you take a guess?”Is what he heard back, a voice that he hasn’t heard for far too long of a time answered.

Not waiting a second longer the person behind it swung his ornate door open and entered the room.

Y/N stood in all her glory wearing the finest of red silk traditional garment, hair neatly weaved into a braided bun. Her (Y/E/C) eyes twinkled with mischief as a small smile tugs the corner of her lips up.

She hums and take a good look at the grown boy in front of her, whatever journey that he’s been through surely did him good.

“You look good”

“Well I sure hope so, after all it’s my first day back as the crown prince isn’t it?” He replied sheepishly, cheeks tinted red at her compliment.

“If the verdict comes from me then it’s safe to say you’re ready to dazzle the whole kingdom and have all the maidens fawning all over you Prince Zuko” She said as she grinned a cheshire cat smile.

“Ughh stop with the compliments Y/N, I can’t even tell whether you’re teasing me or not anymore” He replied back as he rolls his eyes.

“It’s been a while since I saw you” All mirth lost from her tone as she whispers this out.

“Yeah.... way too long for my liking” His eyes softens as he stares back at her.

Their little moment was broken as Azula poked her head from behind the half-opened door and decided to join the party.

“Whatever is taking sooo long? you’re even worse than us girls when it comes to vanity, Zuzu” The princess said as she saunters in all cat like, movement smooth and calculated.

“I was done a while ago Azula, me and Y/N was just catching up” Zuko grumbled.

“Well do the catching up later then, we need to grace this festival with our presents”

“Fine by me, off we go now Y/N” Zuko said as he beckoned for Y/N to follow him.

Y/N falls in line besides Zuko and they exited his bedroom with Azula trailing not too far behind them.

———————————————————————

Despite it still being bright and early, the festival is already in full swing. Unlit lanterns decorated the streets, carts selling fire flakes, extra spicy fire noodles and various other traditional food can be seen here and there, the sound of singing and various musical instruments reverberated through the air.

Y/N walks side by side with Ty Lee, meanwhile Zuko chooses to position himself beside Mai in the back, Azula’s leading the pack all by herself in the very front.

The bubbly girl leans in to whisper in her ear, “Soo did the two of you get to talk?” Ty Lee asked curiously.

Y/N sigh, “No we didn’t, I was just about to when Azula decided to ruined the moment”

Y/N sneak a discrete look to the couple behind them who’s too busy basking in each other’s presence to notice, “And now he decided to spend the whole day with Mai instead” Letting a bit of annoyance and hurt creeps into her voice.

Ty Lee looks at her dejected bestfriend encouragingly, putting her small hand on one fo her shoulders and give it a few taps, “There there... i’m sure he’ll come around, this festival is gonna go on for a while, at some point he’ll be alone”

But she was wrong. Zuko was never alone, not even for the smallest of moment. He was always dotting on Mai, looking at her with this sparkle in his eyes. I guess even time sometimes can’t change some things.

———————————————————————

Night rolls around as the sky darkens and the streets are lit with the red and gold glow emited from the lanterns.

It’s now time for the finale and the highlight of this celebration that people have been waiting for the whole day. A boat ride across the small lake in the capital to watch the release of lampions into the sky.

Here they are now standing on the wooden dock and about to enter their respective boats when Ty Lee decided to do a little sprint towards Mai and weave herself right into her arm.

“I’m tagging Mai and it’s final! I miss her, I never got the chance to do any of the activities together earlier” She said, feet stumping like a child, lips pouting.

“Uugh fine do whatever you want, Ty Lee just stop with the antics” Azula said as she looks at her judgingly, “You won’t mind, would you brother?” A hit of teasing malice evident in her tone as she challenged him to say something back.

“No, of course not. I’ll take the boat with Y/N” He replied flatly, trying hard to maintain the tone of his voice and not give into her trap.

Azula claps her hands, “Well great then, that solves the problem, off you all kids go now”

“Wait you’re not going with us?” Y/N asked incrediously.

And to this the princess raised one of her perfectly groomed eyebrow, “And what in the world makes you think I would participate in such..... frivolous activity?” She bites back.

“Come on Y/N let’s just go, she has no fun bones in her” Zuko said as he gently tug at her elbow to stop what could be an escalating argument.

And so the prince and his childhood bestfriend make way to their boat. He goes in first then extend a hand out for her to take, to steady her.

“Thanks Zuko” She said gratefuly, after stepping into the boat and taking a sit.

“Couldn’t let you fall now could I?” He replied teasingly.

The two of them takes the paddles and row their boat towards the middle of the lake, trying to secure the best spot, which is left empty anyway once the people saw who’s currently on this boat. Some giving a small bow of their heads in respect as they passed.

“It’s peaceful out here” She started, slumping a bit in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Zuko sees her constantly shifting into different position asks, “You okay there?”

“Yeah it’s just that my body is kinda aching from the day activities and walking, I couldn’t really sit still upright now” She confessed a bit embarassed.

Zuko lets out a low chuckle and beckons for her, “Come here”

She throws him a questioning glance, to which he gives a nod.

Y/N gets up and wobble a bit towards Zuko, rocking their boat, and she almost took a tumble when his arms wraps itself over her waist.

“I got you,” He said, making her took a sharp breath as her cheeks flooded with warmth.

Zuko then guides her into a seating position in front of him, half cuddling her into his chest. Her head settling in the crook of his neck as he lazily drapes his arms on her side.

“Comfortable enough for you, your highness?”

She rolled her eyes and hit his chest playfully.

“As a matter of fact, I am very comfortable right now”

The both of them look at each other and share a smile.

“You must regret not being in the boat with Mai instead, this setting is a bit too romantic for two childhood friends isn’t it?” She asked, testing the water, head tilting a bit to look at him properly and try to gauge out a reaction.

“Well I already spent the whole day with her anyway so that’s fine, i’m usually not into this whole romantic boat ride thingy but I guess if it’s with you then i’ll just bear with it” He replied back in good humor.

She just hums back in respond and decided to let the comfortable silence envelops them.

The sound of pipa (琵琶) a four-stringed musical instrument with frets like those on a guitar could be heard through the air, followed by other instruments, and soft singing voices of the hired singers on a boat not too far from them.

All those days watching from the windows

All those years outside looking in

All that time never even knowing

Just how blind I've been

A melodious voice sings the first few lyrics out.

“I’ve never heard this song before, it’s lovely” Y/N said quietly.

“Yeah... me too” came his reply.

Now I'm here blinking in the starlight

Now I'm here suddenly I see

Standing here it's all so clear

I'm where I'm meant to be

Y/N takes a glance at Zuko, watching his features looking content and relaxed for the first time in a while. This boy doesn’t realize just how handsome he is, does he? how much power he actually has over her.

And at last I see the light

And it's like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it's like the sky is new

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

As the first light from the lampions started to illuminate the night sky, awed gasps can be heard from all around them.

Lampions are released to fly into the sky, bright golden glows surrounds the boat everywhere, it’s like the sun itself is here, in the middle of the night.

All those days chasing down a daydream

All those years living in a blur

All that time never truly seeing

Things, the way they were

Now she's here shining in the starlight

Now she's here suddenly I know

If she's here it's crystal clear

I'm where I'm meant to go

Zuko had spent a huge portion of his life wandering aimlessly. Yes of course he has the whole ‘chasing the avatar’ thing on his agenda and yet it never felt quite right.

But being here, with her, someone who probably knows him best of all the person in the world besides his uncle, for the first time he finally feels like he belong.

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything is different

Now that I see you

Zuko watches every emotion flickers across her face, it’s beautiful, she’s like a living art.

“Is this how uncle feels when it comes to his tea?” He wondered to himself.

He always knows that he loves her as a friend, he’d do anything for this girl, but could there possibly be something more between them? especially with this weird feelings that he now has in his stomach while looking at her, and the tightening of his chest, and how he felt warm watching her happiness at such simple things.

Now that I see you

“Stop looking at me Zuko, you’re staring at the wrong thing” She said embarrassedly, trying to hide her face into his chest.

“Nahh i’m mighty sure i’m looking at the right thing, what’s more worthy of seeing anyway” He whispers back to her.

She raised her face so fast she almost got a whiplash, about to retort something witty back when she sees the honesty in his face. How he actually means what he says.

“I see you too you know.... I always have, not the composed prince, just you, just Zuko”

Zuko raised one hand hesitantly, stopping it mid air to ask for permission and when she shows no sign of wanting to stop him, he lets his hand cup her cheek gently.

“I know... that’s why i’m scared to lose you, I thought by keeping this all to myself, I wouldn’t ruin whatever we have right now”

“Just let me in Zuko, that’s all I ask” Y/N said as she rubs a comforting touches on his arm.

“But what about Mai?” She starts again, “I thought you like her”

“I thought I did too, but it would never have worked out anyway between me and her, we both want and crave different things, and I was too scared to admit to myself that you’re what i’m looking for all this time”

“Soooo?” She asked, drawling out the O’s while looking at him expectantly.

“Sooo?” He said back, grinning at her clear frustration.

“Stop being coy with me! so where do we go from here?”

He takes both of her hands in his and clasp it firmly, looking straight into her eyes.

“We go forward, together.”

“Always?” She asked again, vulnerabilty evident in her voice, asking for his devotion.

“Always. Until the very end” He said in a final tone, giving her his promise.

And so the both of them shared their very first kiss, under the light of a thousand lanterns, and the moon in the distance as the witness of their everlasting promise to each other.

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ambivalent-anarchy · 3 years

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Body |Peter's Turn

Part 2 of 2 (Part 1 -> here)

Masterlist

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warning: none (suspicions of cheating but no actual cheating lol just a lotta funny miscommunication)

Anon requested- can I get a one shot where the reader does the body positivity trend with the new megan thee stallion song and the reader is insecure about how ppl will react to it?? Most importantly how peter will react to it?? K thanks

A/N- Part 2 cuz I immediately knew what I wanted to do with this the second I got the ask. (Peter's turn)

---------------------------------------

When Peter heard that you'd been nervous about showing him your video, he freaked.

He thought he'd done something wrong. That maybe he gave off weird vibes or that he'd said something before that made you think he wouldn't have liked it. Which definitely wasn't true. He liked everything you did.

Well, except that one time you got bangs. He didn't really like the bangs.

Anyway, Peter felt like he needed to show you that he was okay with it all. That he was down with anything you wanted to do or show him.

He looked in the mirror early that morning and decided.

Peter wanted to show what he had to offer.

He looked down at your TikTok "body" video on his phone. He could do something like that, right? He was completely clueless, but he could at least try his best.

He pulled out his phone and texted the one guy he knew could help him out.

PeterParkour🤟: i need u to teach me the lip bitey thingy

PrinceHarry👑: bro what

PrinceHarry👑: ???

PrinceHarry👑: what is that

PeterParkour🤟: like when u make yourself look all cool when u bite your lip

PrinceHarry👑: ...

PrinceHarry👑: oh

PrinceHarry👑: OH

PrinceHarry👑: 😂

PrinceHarry👑: lmao why do u wanna do that???

PeterParkour🤟: im trying to make a video for y/n

PrinceHarry👑: what kind of video 👀

PeterParkour🤟: NOT LIKE THAT

PeterParkour🤟: well actually

PeterParkour🤟: kinda like that

PrinceHarry👑: PETER WHATTTTT

PeterParkour🤟: ill explain later which penthouse are u at tonight?

PrinceHarry👑: the one closest to ur apartment

PeterParkour🤟: ok ill come over

Now, on your end, school was kicking your ass.

You weren't failing, but the amount of make-up work you had was so far through the roof that you might as well be. And the teachers were hellbent on making it the hardest they could.

To put it short, you needed a break.

And the second MJ heard your tired, irritated voice over the phone, she was on her way over with chips, dip, popcorn, and movies. If there was anything to calm you down, it'd be a nice movie.

MJ had gone to your kitchen to make the popcorn and you were laying on your bed finishing up some homework, when you got a phone call from Harry. "Hello?"

"I didn't know you and Pete were sending nudes."

You paused. "What?"

He carried on in a nonchalant tone. "I mean, I never took you guys as the types to do that, but damn, you two really surprised me. Dude's really over here asking for tips and everything-"

You sat up in your bed, alert and highly confused. "Okay," you said, taking a deep breath" ....what, again, the fuck?" Harry continued to ramble but one sharp scolding tone stopped him. "Harry, shut up."

He paused on the other side of the phone and then suddenly his voice came back, extremely hesitant. "...wait, was I not supposed to say anything? Did I just fuck up?" He sighed. "Oops.."

"No, Harry tell me what the hell you're-" BEEP. You looked down and saw that he hung up.

Just then, MJ opened the door, hands full with freshly popped popcorn. "Okay, ready to get the movie started?" She walked to the bed when she noticed that you were practically frozen in your spot. "Um, [Y/N]?"

You looked up with glossy eyes and she immediately knew that something was wrong. "Dude, what happened?"

You frantically shrugged a bit, and then let out a shrill laugh, half confused and half preparing for the worst. "Peter's- um... apparently... sending nudes to...me....Harry... someone?"

"What?"

Peter had finally made it to Harry's penthouse.

"So, nudes?," Harry chirped, very amused as he opened his door.

"What nudes?," Peter asked as he stepped into the living room. "What are you talking about?"

Harry paused. "Wait, what were you talking about?"

Peter only stared back in confusion, leaving Harry to pick through his own confusion fragments of information. He quizzically looked at him. "But-..the texts?"

"Oh!," Peter laughed, moving to sit on the couch. "No, I wanna make one of those thirst trap TikToks for [Y/N], that's all," he explained with a shrug and a bashful smile. "She made one for me, now I wanna repay the favor."

"Dude!," Harry hissed out. "You should've just said that!"

"Well, how about you just need to stop making assumptions," Peter said with a slight frown, not understanding why his friend was so wound up.

"Well, I had to since you kept being so vague!"

Peter rolled his eyes and started towards the refrigerator, if not to actually get something to drink, getting away from a crazed Harry for two seconds would be enough.

When he sat back down, Harry started to speak again. "So, what did you need me for?"

"Oh," Peter mumbled, shifting in his seat. "Well, you know how to do that sort of... stuff, right?"

"You mean looking like a fuckboy?," Harry snickered. "Yeah I'd say that's well within my reservoir."

Peter gave his typical bashful look. "So... teach me your fuckboy ways?"

Harry grinned. "Peter. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that."

You held your phone in your handle, looking at Peter's contact number hesitantly.

"Just text him," MJ said with an eyeroll.

"But what if it's nothing?! I don't wanna be the crazy girlfriend!"

"But what if it's something?," MJ added. "Cuz if you put it off now, and it actually ends up being something, you'll be even more miserable than you would be if you just found out now."

You took a long breath and nodded. "Okay then I'll text him."

"But if it is nothing, you'll look pretty stupid jumping to conclusions like that."

You sighed. "So, no?"

"But then if it's something-" she continued, getting deeper underneath your skin with each word. "-you'll look even more stupid because you could've found out sooner and you didn't."

Finally quieting down from her rambling, MJ noticed you glaring at her. You sighed.

"So...do I or do I not text him?"

"Oh nah, dude. I mean, I wouldn't. After all, I'm not saying that I think it's something," she said with a shrug. "I'm just saying on the off-chance that it is, you'd be in bad shape."

"Okay can we please stop playing devil's advocate with my life?!"

"You know I love watching you squirm [Y/N]." "Anyway, I'm sure Peter's not cheating. The boys were probably just doing something dumb and Harry just explained horribly."

You bit your lip. "You sure?"

She shrugged. "Pretty sure."

"Okay, now lower the camera just a little," Harry instructed. "You gotta show the v-line, but still leave enough for imagination."

Peter dropped his arm and his posture and shot Harry an incredulous glare. "Harry, if you focused this much in school I wouldn't have to tutor you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just keep going."

This was the third picture taken and though it was out of his element, Peter strangely felt very confident with what he was doing. He never saw himself as ugly, but he certainly never saw himself as hot either. Not like Harry. But looking at himself now, with Harry's corny chain necklaces on and his hair scruffed up in a way he's not used to, he knew one thing for certain.

He looked good.

"Okay," Harry said. "Now the last one, actually needs to be some dumb picture someone took of you in your gallery."

Peter frowned. "Huh? But I'm on a roll here."

"Yeah but the whole point is that all of these pictures weren't supposed to be taken directly beforehand," he pointed out. "Since you're breaking that rule, you gotta throw in a cute dumb one to throw off your scent." He smirked. "Also, you gotta show the ladies and gents that you have a softer, funnier side."

Peter stared for a moment. "..why do you have this down to a science?"

"Says the science geek?," Harry retorted.

Peter spent the night at Harry's and they drove to school early in the morning. He was glad that it was Tuesday because your schedules made it so that you'd both have lunch together every other day.

"You sure she'll like it?," he asked Harry as they walked down the halls before lunch.

Harry rolled his eyes with a laugh. "You know, she asked me the exact same thing for you when she made her video?"

Peter nodded quietly, still feeling a bit down about you feeling bad about showing him that video. "Yeah, I know."

"Jesus," Harry laughed. "You insecure little dweebs are made for each other!"

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment..."

"As you should," Harry said with a shrug, as nonchalant as ever.

The two boys walked into the lunchroom and to the table they knew best. You and MJ were already there.

Peter could tell just by the look on your face that something was wrong. "Hey," he greeted cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

MJ glared at him and he looked to Harry, whose clueless face was not helping.

Finally, you looked up and sighed. "Pete, be honest. Are you cheating on me?"

What.

"What?!"

You examined the utter shock and terror in his face. It didn't look fake. He looked saddened and scared as he began to ramble. "No no! I would never! What even made you think-!"

His eyes caught yours as you looked over towards Harry sittting next to him. Peter turned toward Harry and then looked back to you in confusion. "Wait, you think I cheated on you with HARRY?"

MJ bursts out laughing next you. "Jesus..."

Harry scoffed. "Well don't sound so excited Peter, jeez."

You let out a small chuckle but kept your eyes on Peter. "It's just... Harry called me and...said something about nudes and-"

Peter's face grew even more contorted with bafflement. "Nudes?!"

Harry hit his forehead, finally understanding what was happening. "Ooooooooh, me and my big mouth..."

All eyes turned towards him. "What, Harry?"

He sighed. "This is all just a big mix-up." Harry nudged Peter. "Just show her the thing dude."

"What thing?," MJ asked.

Peter fished through his pockets. "Okay," he mumbled, a bit shaken up by what happened. He took his phone out and handed it to you. "Here."

You looked up and saw Peter looking down at you, waiting for your reaction.

"So, this is what you were doing yesterday?"

He nodded.

You blew out a long breath of relief. "You're not cheating."

"God no, babe, I'd never cheat on you," he cooed, stepping over towards your seat. "I know you were really nervous when you showed me yours, and so... I thought I should repay the favor."

He didn't even have time to breathe before you were on him, wasting no time in bringing your lips to his. He kissed you back, mildly aware of the people in the lunchroom around the two of you, but he still didn't care.

Peter pulled away with a smitten smile until he noticed blood on his lip. He wiped it away with his hand and frowned when he realized it was not his own.

You almost asked what was wrong when you noticed him looking at you strangely, but MJ beat you to the punch.

"Dude, you have a bloody nose!"

You gasped, picking up a napkin from the table.

Harry laughed. "Did you really just get a horny nosebleed?"

"Horny nosebleed?," MJ snickered.

"That's not a thing," you scoffed. "...is it?"

"It actually is," Peter corrected, blushing profusely and rubbing his neck. "Just glad to know you thought the video was hot."

"It was really hot," you gushed.

Peter grinned and pulled you close. "Aww babe."

MJ rolled her eyes. "Okay lovebirds, get a room."

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Lol I know this was pretty trash but I was just trying to get to sleep while I was finishing this

Tagging: @allegra-writes, @allegra-soleil, @yumings , @hey-its-grey , @spideyyeet , @sunkissedspidey , @tommyunderoos , @chaoticpete , @sovereignparker , @thesherlockianavenger , @bubblebucky , @eridanuswave , @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr , @kidney9-9 , @gwenvrse, @the-weird-bisexual, @kelieah

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incorrectfeaquotes · 7 years

Note

Wowie u sew??? What a lucky duck! I've always wanted to get better in sewing but I'm so horrible at it. Do u have any tips for beginner seamstresses?

Oh boy do I.

Putting this under a read more cause this is basically Mod Sully’s stream of consciousness in regards to sewing:

Okay so, I kinda had an interesting time learning how to sew because I started with a broken sewing machine. Like, it couldn’t even sew for more than a few inches before it broke down. Total nightmare. Also when I began I had like the bare ass minimum of materials (regular scissors, a ruler, pencil). And it was a bitch to try to measure/hem/cut anything. So it was funny cause as I got better I also got better equipment. I actually redid some stuff for this year’s con and things came out sooooo much better.Granted, I’m still rather a novice myself (I didn’t start cosplaying until Junior year of college), but I’ll tell you some stuff I’ve been learning so you can benefit from my mistakes.

So here’s some of the Essentials that I’ve found to be super helpful:

Fabric Scissors. Trust me there’s a big difference between fabric scissors and regular ones. And once you have fabric ones, don’t use them for paper and stuff.

Water soluble fabric marker/pencil (I have a white one I usually use, then some blue chalk for white fabric. Don’t use pencil trust me on this one.)

Seam Ripper (super important. if you fuck up you can use this to take out the thread.)

Box of pins

Iron. Always iron your fabric before cutting or sewing. Also when using an iron, please test it on some of your scrap fabric first. You never know how it’s going to react to the material. This way you can find out what it can tolerate. I had some polyester-blend fabric that would get all gunked up somehow if I tried ironing it at too high a setting.

Masking tape (cause a lot of times you’ll need things to temporarily stick together and don’t want to get tape residue on it.)

Seam Gauge

X-Acto knife

Self-healing cutting board

Measuring tape (the tailor’s kind, not the construction worker kind)

Ruler, preferably see-through and a kind that won’t get cut into by an xacto knife

Test Fabric. I cannot stress this enough. I’m lucky cause I live in New York and we have an entire garment district full of fabric stores, but if you can find a Michael’s or a goodwill or something they’re also good places to check. In a fabric store you can usually find a discount bin with clearance fabric. You want to find something similar in consistency and stretchiness to your final fabric. I got some fabric for $3 a yard for my Foo Fighters test fabric.

One thing I’ve found particularly helpful is that you can get these little sewing kits at like Michael’s. I got one and have been using a lot of it to this day. It’s usually like a little pouch about half a foot long with some basics, like that little tomato you put pins in (which has come in handy for me) and some little spools of thread and a tape measure.

Not as essential but I’ve found to be lifesavers:

Drafting paper. This stuff is amazing for when you have to make your own patterns. I got like a huge roll for only five bucks, and it’s marked up in a grid in inches so it’s easier to make straight lines. Butcher paper works too.

Rotary cutter: For cutting long strips of fabric this saves me so much time and stress. Just be very careful not to cut yourself on it. It’s sharp! Also when you use a rotary cutter, have the cutting board underneath everything. Otherwise you’re gonna ruin whatever surface you’re cutting on top of.

So when I first started out it was with hand-sewing (the broken sewing machine wasn’t mine so I couldn’t always use it) which is a bitch a lotta the time. I mean, if you wanna do it I’m not gonna stop you. But I don’t really have any advice in this category cause all that time I just spent winging shit.

Okay so, Sewing Machine.

Some things that you definitely want a sewing machine to have are a Straight Stretch Stitch, Zigzag Stitch, and Overlock stitch (this is in place of a serger cause that’s like a whole nother machine it’s easier to just get a sewing machine with this thingy).

This is the sewing machine that I have. Again, only have a broken one to compare it to so I can’t really say if it’s better than most or not. I mean, I love it. Occasionally eats stretch fabric though if you’re sewing close to the edge of the fabric.

Also, when first starting out, don’t jump right away into your project. Get some scrap fabric and test out some of the stitching. Each one handles differently. And be careful to make sure you’re using the right foot and needle for the type of stitching (some need a twin needle and such.)

Stuff I’ve found useful:

In order to sew a straight line, you can use the Seam gauge to make some markers occasionally where the stitching is gonna go. Then, line the fabric up with the sewing machine (pay attention to where the needle is going to land. Always start sewing with the needle already dropped into the fabric). Take a piece of tape and place it alongside the edge of the fabric. Now when you’re sewing, just make sure that the paper stays right alongside that tape. Your line should be pretty straight! The gauge is just so you can occasionally look up and make sure you’re still goin the right way.

Also, if you put your needles in perpendicular to the direction you’ll be sewing, you don’t have to take the needles out as you go, you can just do that at the end!

I don’t know how other people do it, but when I have fabric that I’ve got to fold back to hem, what I do is put it on top of the pattern. The pattern should have the seam allowance on it marked. Then I stick a bunch of needles into it so the fabric and paper stay connected. Then, I use the rotary cutter/scissors to cut along the fabric so it matches up to the pattern’s shape. Then I take out the needles on one of the sides and start folding that side back to match up with the seam allowance, pinning a ton as I go so it holds in place, also putting some pins through into the paper too so it stays put for when I move to the other sides. This way you can make sure all your seam allowances are lined up!

If you want something to be symmetrical, make the pattern of just one half of it, then fold your fabric in half and pin it to the pattern. Once you’ve cut it out, if you unfold it it should be the full piece. This method also works for things like pants. Rather than cutting out both back legs at different times, you can just fold the fabric and cut through two layers to get two leg pieces.

Before you start sewing, make sure there’s enough thread in the bobbin. The bobbin’s the part with the string that goes inside the machine, rather than the spool of thread on the top (you use both). Sometimes you’ll be sewing a bunch of stuff and not notice the bobbin runs out, then you’re just left sewing completely unaware that nothing’s staying together and you gotta go back.

The sewing machine usually works with a pump. The harder you press down the faster it goes. Start out slow and then work your way to fast, but don’t go too fast cause then your sewing might get out of line if you’re not experienced with it.

Also keep an eye on where the fabric meets the needle and make sure the sewing machine continues to push the fabric forward. If it stays in one place, that means it’s stuck inside the machine. Fortunately with most sewing machines you can take the top part off that area and go inside and fish out the fabric. But there’s a good chance the fabric will be ruined.

Also, you will never have picked up all the needles. There are always going to be needles on the ground.

When you join two pieces of fabric together, make sure it’s on the side you’re going to have inside the clothing. In general just always make sure you’re sewing on the side you need to sew on.

Always cut a little bit more initially than you think you’ll need. You’ll narrow it down more when you get it over the pattern.

With stretch fabric, use either a zigzag stitch or straight stretch stitch. Also, if you attach stretch fabric to non-stretch fabric, it’s not gonna stretch anymore regardless of the stitch.

There’s a way to make it so that the stitching doesn’t show on the outside. It’s called facing, and I haven’t really mastered it yet. There’s tutorials for it online though.

If you have to sew designs to something, like letters or a patch, I’ve found that Heat n Bond works really well. It’s got this web stuff on the back that, while not permanent, keeps whatever you’re attaching stationary on the other fabric so you can sew it into place. When I do these things with stretchable fabric a straight stretch stitch is the best. You’ll have to go slow and also occasionally pick up the foot to slightly adjust the fabric for turns and such.

Also, since I’m doing cosplay I’m gonna reiterate something I remember reading a while back: Cosplay can be only two of these three things: Cheap, Fast, and Accurate. If you’re like me and want to go the Cheap and Accurate route, don’t be like me and start planning early. Don’t fall victim to Con Crunch.

Okay, that’s all I got for now, but if you got any other questions feel free to ask!

#ifeaq not quote #sewing #Anonymous

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