She put up her hand, not that she needed help, but she wanted to ask the professor some questions. [b] "Professor, do you make your own clothes with these? I mean you have us learning and this is very interesting things, but we are wizards and witches so I was curious to do you use these yourself for your clothes? Do you feel it is better than magically sewing? Also, what sorts of outfits have you made?


Turning back to her sewing machine she had forgotten everything the professor said to do, her mind on the clothes clearly, but she looked at the board and was determined to figure this out. She loved designs and styles, the magazines she would look at and dream about wearing some of those clothes, if she could even make some of her own replicated styles, well this was something she didn't want to fail.


Taking the bobber she placed it in the holder just as it said and checked to make sure she had it correct. Pulling the thread out she closed one of her eyes and really looked to try to get the thread through the needle. This wasn't an easy task but soon she had done it.

Hearing another student she looked up and smiled, "Patrick here watch mine." She was almost finished anyway, she just had to press the foot pedal which would get the needle to do exactly what he just asked. As she hit the foot pedal the needle moved and the spindle did exactly what the professor said it would.

This might have just become her favorite so far.

As she waited for the class to continue, Emmalyn noticed Bel looking a bit out of sorts again. She tried to make eye contact to see if she wanted help, but gave up after a few moments. Deciding she would just go and see, Emmalyn slipped from her chair and slowly skipped her way over, still humming her little tune.

"Did you get stuck again?" She asked while looking over her progress. "Oh, I see" she pointed to the thread coming up from the bobbin in the case and the thread from the spool. "You need to put this through the eye of the needle." Her finger marking the little tiny hole near the tip of the needle. "Then make sure your spool thread is through the machine, like so." She continued to follow the line of thread from the spool through the different hooks and turns.

She waited a moment for Bel to check her machine. "Then all you need to do is GENTLY press the foot pedal." She eyed Bel. "Like super gentle. No motocross stomps" a smile spread across her face. "The pedal will cause the needle to drop down to where the bobbin is and pick up the threads together." She thought that sounded correct. She was so used to just letting her hands lead the way, she didn't really think about the steps as individual.

Yeah, see, a little explanation went a long way sometimes. It was a little strange knowing all the ins and outs of a sewing machine, especially when everyone else in your family was pureblood and cared little to know about Muggle Contraptions.

But then you remembered your mother....and her mother.......and suddenly everything fit in place.

Not particularly interested in that line of thought, Jessa instead turned her attention back to the Professor who seemed just about ready to move on. That was her cue to remove her foot from the little pedal thingy. She would just....go ahead and assume this was enough thread. It wasn't like she didn't know how to add more should she end up needing it.

As instructed, the Ravenclaw inserted the threaded bobbin into the bobbin holder. Being completely honest, if the Professor hadn't reminded her it was near the metal plate just underneath the needle, she probably wouldn't have remembered. There was only so much attention a young child could pay when she was in no way keen to learn. She slipped the metal plating back into place after securing the bobbin, then looked up to see what else they would be needing to do.

Oh, they were finishing up the threading. Jessa pulled the end of the thread that was on the spindle through the slot directly above the metal plate then with MUCH concentration managed to get the thread through the eye of the needle--yet another thing that would have been easier if she just animated the thread but whatever.

Annndddd back to the foot pedal. This time, it didn't seem like she'd be needing to press it for all that long.

SPOILER!!: All the kiddos who have finished! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

Ohh, they get to move on. Emmalyn wiggled in her chair with delight as she followed along with the professor. They were getting so close to actual sewing and her fingers were itching to get to work. She slipped her threaded bobbin into the lower bobbin holder and slid the plate back on. Then she pulled the thread, put it through the eye of the needle, and gently pressed the foot pedal to complete the process of intertwining the spindle and bobbin thread. She hummed all the while, a cheerful smile on her sweet little face.

Wanting to make double sure that her machine was threaded properly, Emmalyn traced her finger along the thread, eyeing the the little hooks and levers. She could feel the slight hum of the power in the pedal under her foot, just waiting to be released in a creative explosion. She then turned her attention back to the fabric on the table. So much potential. So many projects waiting to be made. She was ready for whatever instructions Professor Stewart threw at her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterloo

Professor Stewart was moving onto the next set of instructions but Max hadn't even used his foot pedal yet. After seeing what happened to the Hufflepuff, he'd been too anxious to. He had however, overheard the Professor's words of advice that gently does it.

He took a breath and lowered his right foot down onto the pedal just a smidge.

The battery powered machine whirred to life and thread spun slowly onto the bobbin. He tried to keep the pressure as steady as he possibly could and felt cramp forming in the sole of his foot. Arghhhh!!

He wasn't sure how much thread was enough for the purpose of the lesson, but Max decided what he had would have to be enough and used the scissors to cut the thread. He then took the bobbin off of the winder just like the Professor had done.

The threaded bobbin had to go in the little compartment near the needle. Right. He slid the metal lid open, inserted the bobbin and then closed the lid back up.

"This is a lot of effort," Max thought out loud, rubbing the back of his neck and taking another deep breath. "Poor muggles."

What was next...?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pucki

Ok.

With fingers awkwardly fumbling around the machine in front of her, Shera took her time as they moved on to the next steps. Scissors cut thread, bobbin removed from the bobbin winder, bobbin thread put into the bobbin holder.

How many steps were there in this process? If Shera was being honest she couldn't remember the first steps that she had gone through...

Slip the cover back on, pull the thread out of it and put the thread through the eye of the needle. Shera assumed that was the little hole in the needle. Seemed easy enough. It really wasn't.

What felt like a million attempts later she glared at the thread in front of her as it once again veered off to the side. But she could do this. So she tried again. And again. And again. Thankfully, she'd managed to succeed before needing to ask one of her friends or the professor to help out. It was relief that she could do this seemingly easy step.

Last step, press the foot peddle.

So she was done.... but.... was she sure that she had done everything correctly? She slowly raised her hand waiting for the Professor to pay attention to her and check the machine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Welp. They were a hopeless lot, considering the professor had to explain everything a second time, and then her following instructions were stated so carefully and with great emphasis. So at least they were all stupid together. That was something.

Katy nodded politely at the professor and turned her attention back to her sewing machine. She could figure this out. It was in her blood or something, right? She picked up the bobbin, or what she supposed was the bobbin, and plunked it on the bobbin winder. Easy enough. Now the thread required winding, and then the end was strung through the needle...

Or no, she had to advance it with the pedal? Katy pressed it, and nothing happened. Blergh. Checking the cord, she realized she'd plugged it into the jack wrong. Katy replugged it and tried the pedal again. There we go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Sewing machines and sewing.

Now that was an interesting subject. And a creative one at that. Cassie was curious as to what they would be doing at the end of the lesson though a part of her had a possible idea or two given the subject matter. Surely they would be making something or somethings. The Ravenclaw listened to the brief history of the sewing machine though she wasn’t all that interested in taking too much notes on that information. The process maybe, but it didn’t seem like the past of the sewing machine would play that important of a role in what they would be learning.

Machine on flat surface…check.

As said, Professor Stewart had already had that done. As for the batteries, Cass had experience with that sort of things so it wasn’t a new thing, but being shown the exact type certainly helped. She put them into her machine as directed. That was easy enough, as was the attaching of the foot pedal into the machine. The seventh year careful to put it into the right jack as she listened to the explanation as to why there were two of them there. She simply nodded as Professor Stewart checked up on them.

Yep…she was good.

No…she didn’t have any questions.

Moving onto the thread, Cassie looked beside her sewing machine to see what her options were. She settled onto bright purple, putting it on the thread spindle and proceeding to follow the rest of the directions. End of thread into hole in the bobbin spool…catching it as it came out of the other end…putting the bobbin spool into the bobbin winder. Everything looked all alright there too as it settled down into place.

As they moved onto the next set of instructions it started to get real. The seventh year grabbed the end of the purple thread carefully to keep a hold of it as she moved her left hand to the power button, switching it on. Even warned what was going to happen, Cass was mildly surprised as the machine set into motion and the thread starting to be added to the bobbin. She let it do its thing for a bit, winding bit by bit until she had a decent amount of thread on the bobbin to be ready for whatever was to come next.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

So far so good.

Cassie looked around her work area for said scissors, eventually finding them and picking them up from the supplies. Snip…snip. She cut the purple, roughly where Professor Stewart had demonstrated on her own work. The thread from the bobbin was now very much separated from the thread still on the spool. So now she had to remove the bobbin from the bobbin threader. Her hand wrapping around the bobbin and carefully slipping it up from where it had previously rested.

Like…so.

Thankfully the thread was still very much threaded around the bobbin and not coming loose now that it was cut and moved. Following along to the next step, Cass slid the metal plate away as directed and added the threaded bobbin to the bobbin holder of the sewing. Then the cover was slid back on beneath the needle. And finally grasping the loose end between her fingers…between her nails actually given the slippery and thin nature of the thread, she pulled it through the required slot and finally fiddled with it and the eye of the needle.

One…two…three times until it was finally through and secure.

And a slow, cautious step on the peddle got it all situated as Professor Stewart directed.

All set.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Okay. This would be so much easier with magic, and she was so glad that most of the time when she did it, that she used magic. She did of course do it by hand when she was at home. But it was so much easier doing it with magic. One had to really concentrate whilst doing it by hand, and it was kind of giving Hattie a headache. She'd need to be careful. Headaches could be bad news for her. It would hopefully be okay. Surely they had to be nearly done now. She wanted to get to the fun bit of sewing, and that was not setting up the machine.

Picking up her scissors, Hattie cut the thread when she was happy with how much of it was on the bobbin. And then she removed the bobbin. She was pretty good at this, but was still being careful. She didn't want to make a silly mistake. That would be terrible. She tilted her head as she located the the mental plate that was underneath the needle of her sewing machine. She slid it outwards, and then carefully put the bobbin into the machine. She then slid the metal plate back over the slot. Perfect. That was good.

Leaning in close, she pulled the end of the thread that was in the spindle through the slot in the metal plate. That seemed kinda complicated, but it was going okay. Carefully, she inserted that thread through the eye on the needle. It was kind of hard, and took a few attempts but she eventually got it through. That made her happy. She was happy with how she was progressing so far with setting up her sewing machine.

Finally, she pressed the foot pedal again, so that the two lots of thread were all together. Perfect. Had she done it right? She thought so anyway. But she made sure to double check everything to make sure she'd not missed anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dokimoto

She still felt frustrated at how much work this all was, but getting the go ahead from the professor was a relief.
Okay. Let's get through this.

Kye followed along, locating the needle at the front, and sliding the little plate out. Okay, bobbin placed, thread through here, and throooouuuuuughhhhhhh the eye. Miss. Nope. Missed again. Aaand fourth time's the charm. Embarrassing. Finally, she was all set, and pushed the pedal.

Oh thank the stars, it worked. Sigh.of. relief. Kye felt very much so ready to move on past the building of the machine stage, and hoped that she would enjoy the clothes making aspect. Obviously, she would rather be using magic, but you never know... Maybe this would come in handy someday... somehow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by debpetrisor

Scissors. Now that he'd finally mastered Diffindo, they were going to use scissors, because of course, Muggle Studies. How did muggles manage to survive without magic?

They don't know it exists. Right.

Feeling very much like a true muggle, Daehyun cut the thread with the scissors, and proceeded by removing the bobbin from the winder by slipping it out the holder. The threaded bobbin went into the weird, scary machine, with a bit of difficulty till he'd found the right place. He let out a sign in relief when he did, because Merlin, it was a lot of work to do to get the machine ready. The thread on the spindle went through the spot above the metal plate that he'd pulled out, and through the eye of the needle.

Phew. Pressing the foot pedal, he was happy with his work.

If all these steps only prepared the sewing machine, he hoped the actually sewing wouldn't be as difficult.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Yeah, see, a little explanation went a long way sometimes. It was a little strange knowing all the ins and outs of a sewing machine, especially when everyone else in your family was pureblood and cared little to know about Muggle Contraptions.

But then you remembered your mother....and her mother.......and suddenly everything fit in place.

Not particularly interested in that line of thought, Jessa instead turned her attention back to the Professor who seemed just about ready to move on. That was her cue to remove her foot from the little pedal thingy. She would just....go ahead and assume this was enough thread. It wasn't like she didn't know how to add more should she end up needing it.

As instructed, the Ravenclaw inserted the threaded bobbin into the bobbin holder. Being completely honest, if the Professor hadn't reminded her it was near the metal plate just underneath the needle, she probably wouldn't have remembered. There was only so much attention a young child could pay when she was in no way keen to learn. She slipped the metal plating back into place after securing the bobbin, then looked up to see what else they would be needing to do.

Oh, they were finishing up the threading. Jessa pulled the end of the thread that was on the spindle through the slot directly above the metal plate then with MUCH concentration managed to get the thread through the eye of the needle--yet another thing that would have been easier if she just animated the thread but whatever.

Annndddd back to the foot pedal. This time, it didn't seem like she'd be needing to press it for all that long.

“Nicely done, Ms Walsh, Ms Toussaint, McNally, Ms Paton, Ms Atwater, Mr Yoon, Ms Cambridge! I’m pleased with all of you for working so hard to follow the instructions despite some setbacks.’’ Hearing Max’s words, she turned in his direction. Wonderful! He do had done an excellent job despite having some trouble. But she nodded in agreement. “This sort of thing gives you a deeper appreciation for Muggles, doesn’t it?’’ Noticing the raised hand, Kay excused herself. “All done, Ms Ben-Ari?” Eyes looked over the setup of the machine before a smile spread across her face. “Yes, everything is perfect.’’

SPOILER!!: Night! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionegold

In truth, Night wasn't actually so good at sewing or setting up a sewing machine. She'd seen her cousin do it a few times, but this next step was where it got tricky. She was good enough at following directions, but sometimes she really had to think about her steps, especially when there was a lot of visual/spatial activity involved. She felt sure she could get it, but it would just take a while. Maybe another demonstration.

Being Muggleborn, she felt really awkward asking for help. Would people judge her? Was it just like being a first year wizard from a magical family and struggling with spells, or would there be more of a stereotype and stigma if she, as a muggleborn girl, didn't really know how to set up a sewing machine?

Text Cut: Emmalyn

Ohh, they get to move on. Emmalyn wiggled in her chair with delight as she followed along with the professor. They were getting so close to actual sewing and her fingers were itching to get to work. She slipped her threaded bobbin into the lower bobbin holder and slid the plate back on. Then she pulled the thread, put it through the eye of the needle, and gently pressed the foot pedal to complete the process of intertwining the spindle and bobbin thread. She hummed all the while, a cheerful smile on her sweet little face.

Wanting to make double sure that her machine was threaded properly, Emmalyn traced her finger along the thread, eyeing the the little hooks and levers. She could feel the slight hum of the power in the pedal under her foot, just waiting to be released in a creative explosion. She then turned her attention back to the fabric on the table. So much potential. So many projects waiting to be made. She was ready for whatever instructions Professor Stewart threw at her.

Well, asking Emmalyn was definitely out of the question. Her friend was chugging along without a care in the world, and there would definitely be questioning if Night admitted she didn't know how to do it. Resigned, she raised her hand, hoping that the professor would see her before any of her classmates did.

What’s this? Night seem to need some help as Kay noticed she had progressed with the final instructions. “Let me help you finish up,’’ she offered. “First we cut the thread like so then we remove the bobbin from the winder. Slip the metal plate out.’’ With a soft click!, the late was out and the bobbin was in. Another click! indicated that that the plate was back in. “Next, pull the end of the thread that is on the spindle through the slot directly above the metal plate and then insert through the needle. Just one last thing. Press the foot pedal so that the two sets of threads intertwine. There you go! You’re all set.’’

SPOILER!!: Patrick! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson

Oopsie. He had gotten a bit ahead of Professor Stewart. But he figured that was just because he knew what he was doing. Sliding open the plate she was talking about he slipped the bobbin down into the bobbin holder. Now he just needed to pull the string around and place the plate back. He was really hoping they would get to sew something together. It was one of the harder parts for him.

Well, thats second to trying to thread the stupid needle. Bending his head down to become eye level with the needle he began to poke the thread toward the eye of the needle. First attempt, fail. He raised his head and sighed. Always the hardest part. Bending his head back down he tried again. Fail. Sighing he stood up, hoping that it would give him a second to clear his head.

Sitting back down he tried to thread the needle one last time. "huzzah" he whispered as it went through. Looking around the room he wondered if anyone had gotten the bobbin thread to come up. He raised his hand waiting for Professor, "uh, Professor, how do you just get the needle to go up then right back down? Just tap the pedal?"

“That’s correct. Just gently work on the pedal and the rest will be done.’’ Kay inspected his work so far and gave a nod of satisfaction.

SPOILER!!: Bel! <3

[QUOTE=Tegz;12306149]

SPOILER!!: professor

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

The professor was pleased to see that Bel was successful in following the instructions as she knew she would be. But then… Kay’s eyes widened suddenly. All the energetic pressing on the foot pedal that the Hufflepuff was doing would be enough to do that to any professor. Hurriedly but calmly she went closer to Bel’s desk and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ms Macindoe, that’s enough.’’ Her voice was firm. Now she was peering at the bobbin. “There’s still room for more thread but I would advise you to gently press on the pedal. You may stop when you see that the bobbin has reached its capacity. Try again. Remember, gently.’’

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Enough? Enough? It was enough? Was it enough for the bobbin, was she done, had she done it right? Was it--oh. Okay. Bel gave the professor a sheepish look. A little more and gently. Okay. Hopefully she wouldn't be losing marks for that.

SPOILER!!: Emmalyn & Olivia

And she was in luck because more people were taking pity on her. This just was noooot her area skillwise.

She looked at Emmalyn gratefully - lookatthat, already she was having a teammate helping her out! Hopefully Bel would be able to return the favour at some point.

"That makes sense... I think." The mess of knotted thread from things being... overfilled. "I'll give it another go and if I get stuck I'll call cooee and get your help with it. Thanks bunches, Emmalyn."

And the really beautiful older girl who she thought was a 7th year like her sister Serenity was giving some good advice too. Okay. Like a bicycle. She could do that.

Wait.

"This thread from the bobbin is going in fabric?" Bel looked between the bobbin and the spool of thread and had an aha moment. She'd just thought that the regular thread bit was what they would use, and maybe the bobbin thing was just.... storing extra for just in case.

"Working up to it. I'll give it a burl." Bel took a deep breath and then... very gently... veeeery gently... pressed her foot on the pedal. Not so forceful, not a kickstart, more like a little..... nudge.

The machine whirred quietly and the bobbin spun gently. Bel lifted her foot again and it stopped. Okay. Again. Gently again. The machine started and the thread wound on and...... Bel lifted her foot once the bobbin looked full and then looked at the older girl. Like that? Was that good?

"Thanks. What's ya name so I can thank you properly? I'm Bel." By the way. Bel wasn't one to just assume people knew who she was, since it was almost never the case and even when they did it was more like a pleasant and flattering surprise than an expectation. No notoriety here.



Oh no they were moving on again already. Good thing she had the bobbin bit done now. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully. Bel's eyes widened at the discovery that they weren't even dONE with said bobbin. It was going in a holder? Metal plate..... she looked for it, found it, and slid it back with so much force that it made a pinging noise which caused her to cringe. But it wasn't broken or anything. Phew. She snapped it back in place and then.....

... was lost again. Her eyes darted first to Emmalyn who was already busy carrying on happily, and then to the older girl (Liv). HEhhhhhhh so. So about that help. That help there. Some of that. Some of that would be loooovely.

“Yes, that’s the reason we have to fill the bobbin with thread.’’ The professor offered Bel an encouraging smile. “Nice work so far. Ms Phillips, would you like to continue assisting Ms Macindoe?’’ She didn’t want to intrude upon the teamwork that was going on here but if Olivia was busy with someone else, she’d be happy to step in.

SPOILER!!: Zita! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

She put up her hand, not that she needed help, but she wanted to ask the professor some questions. [b] "Professor, do you make your own clothes with these? I mean you have us learning and this is very interesting things, but we are wizards and witches so I was curious to do you use these yourself for your clothes? Do you feel it is better than magically sewing? Also, what sorts of outfits have you made?


Turning back to her sewing machine she had forgotten everything the professor said to do, her mind on the clothes clearly, but she looked at the board and was determined to figure this out. She loved designs and styles, the magazines she would look at and dream about wearing some of those clothes, if she could even make some of her own replicated styles, well this was something she didn't want to fail.


Taking the bobber she placed it in the holder just as it said and checked to make sure she had it correct. Pulling the thread out she closed one of her eyes and really looked to try to get the thread through the needle. This wasn't an easy task but soon she had done it.

Hearing another student she looked up and smiled, "Patrick here watch mine." She was almost finished anyway, she just had to press the foot pedal which would get the needle to do exactly what he just asked. As she hit the foot pedal the needle moved and the spindle did exactly what the professor said it would.

This might have just become her favorite so far.

“Actually, I would sometimes, especially when I was a teen but over the years, i’ve gotten very busy and so I don’t have much time for it now. I would indeed say it’s better than using magic because I loved the hands-on experience.’’ Even if needle pricks were painful. “I’ve mostly made dresses, gloves and beanies. For some reason I’ve never been good at making trousers.’’ There was a keen look which she gave to Zita. “I understand you’re passionate about fashion. Have you ever made your own clothes before?’’ Besides the magical way, of course. “Two points for offering a demonstration to your classmate.’’

SPOILER!!: Lyn! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

As she waited for the class to continue, Emmalyn noticed Bel looking a bit out of sorts again. She tried to make eye contact to see if she wanted help, but gave up after a few moments. Deciding she would just go and see, Emmalyn slipped from her chair and slowly skipped her way over, still humming her little tune.

"Did you get stuck again?" She asked while looking over her progress. "Oh, I see" she pointed to the thread coming up from the bobbin in the case and the thread from the spool. "You need to put this through the eye of the needle." Her finger marking the little tiny hole near the tip of the needle. "Then make sure your spool thread is through the machine, like so." She continued to follow the line of thread from the spool through the different hooks and turns.

She waited a moment for Bel to check her machine. "Then all you need to do is GENTLY press the foot pedal." She eyed Bel. "Like super gentle. No motocross stomps" a smile spread across her face. "The pedal will cause the needle to drop down to where the bobbin is and pick up the threads together." She thought that sounded correct. She was so used to just letting her hands lead the way, she didn't really think about the steps as individual.

Wonderful! Lyn was helping Bel as well though she knew Olivia still could. “Another three points, Lyn. Ms Macindoe? I think you’ll be able to get the steps completed now.’’ She winked.

* * * * * * *

“Well done, everyone. We have completed the first practical aspect of our lesson. Before we move onto the second practical, I have one question for you. There is no right or wrong answer because this will come based off of your own observations. Meaning, I would like you all to share your opinions… about what have you noticed about the changing trend in muggle fashion over the years? Do you have a period of time that you enjoyed their fashion? What were the worst outfits? What is your overall opinion of their fashion industry? You are, of course, not limited to these questions.’’

OOC: Final call for catch up with the mini activity, dudes! You have 24 hours to do so

Seeing that Bel had things under control and Professor Stewart was ready to move on, Emmalyn made her way back to her seat. She did a quick glance over her threads to make sure nothing went out of place while she was away. Then it happened, Professor Stewart said the F word. Fashion. Her heart dropped a little. She had never been one to keep up with fashion. She was more of a comfort girl and use girl. As long as it felt good and served its purpose, she liked it.

She tried to think back about her Grandma Walsh. She was always up on the fashion trends and had encouraged Emmalyn to pay attention to them. But, that was years ago and Grandma Walsh had passed away when Emmalyn was six. She closed her eyes and tried to recall her grandmother's words.

“My Grandma used to always say that fashion was cyclical. That there were only a few different styles that seemed to repeat every 20 years or so.” That sounded right. “I like functional fashion. If I can’t move and play in it, I don’t want to wear it. I was never much into the tight rolled pants and skinny jeans.” She shook her head. “Have you ever tried to play baseball in skinny jeans?”Ugh, skinny jeans. They didn't even have pockets to put your candy in. "As far as the fashion industry is concerned, I wish they would ask real people what they liked to wear. Sure, models can walk down the runway in those clunky high heels, but how are they supposed to run? Nope, not useful at all." She blushed a bit after her mini fashion rant, and could feel the heat of her embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Tapping the pedal of the sewing machine he watched the needle go down and come back up. Holy smokes he had done it. Somehow on the first try the bobbin actually threaded up. Usually it took him three or four tries in order to get this to happen.

He looked up at Professor Stewart he remembers seeing some pictures of his mamaw on his mama's side wearing some pretty odd looking clothes. But his mama said it was because it was all about twrilly dresses. Raising his hand, "Well everything comes back. Like my brothers all had pictures of them in overalls. All my friends back home are wearing overalls again." Shrugging his shoulders he thought it was a bit odd. "Honestly I really enjoy the suits men wore of the 20s but i think for women its really cool to see how the idea of dresses only to pants dresses and skirts evolved." his cheeks turned red as he realized that he was probably the only boy who knew something like that.

Night was thankful that Professor Stewart didn't make a big deal about her being confused with the final setup. "Thank you so much, Professor. I'm just...out of practice, I guess." She didn't want to say that she'd never actually done it before. It was a useful skill to have, but not one that Night had ever had much interest in. And what was this about fashion?



Yes, Night liked Emmalyn's insightful answer. Like the other Hufflepuff, she wasn't exactly up on fashion trends, Muggle or otherwise. Nevertheless, she raised her hand, wanting participation points all the same.

"Fashion is kind of a social construct. Like, who actually decides what's cool? Look back a hundred years and you have girls just starting to define fashion for themselves, break out of corsets and the like. Before that, you have corsets and that's only in western countries. And then you look back at earlier times, like the eighteenth century for instance, when both boys and girls wore dresses as toddlers. Now, if a parent were to put a dress on a boy, he would be laughed at, and the parents would be seen as 'forcing the gay lifestyle on him' or something utterly ridiculous like that. So who decides these things?"

Oops, she was guilty of rambling again. And would anyone judge her for her defense of LGBT rights? Well, she hadn't really given much away, right? Whatever.

Maxton pulled the end of the thread through the metal plate and spent a tough few minutes attempting to put it through the 'eye' of the needle. Why was it called an eye though?

He shrugged and adjusted his glasses again, tongue sticking out in concentration. This whole process was FAR too fiddly. And this was just the setup! He dreaded the moment when they actually had to use the machine for actually sewing.

He pressed his foot EVER SO gently on the pedal and watched as the thread on the spindle twined with the thread from the bobbin. Okay, he was all caught up.

The Slytherin thrust his arm in the air to answer Professor Stewart's question. "My dad likes wearing leather jackets. He thinks he looks cool but I think he's too old." And that was his two knuts on the subject.

Shockingly, Scarlett knew exactly how to set up a machine like this. Her father had come upon one when he had still owned the secondhand bookstore. Someone had donated one, which was super weird, but since the shop was hard wired for muggle electricity due to its location, they'd set it up and played with it for a bit. Now, it was all coming back to her. Once she had it sitting on the desk in front of her, and batteries installed, she took the foot piece and plugged it in to the back of the machine. She gave it a test and watched as the needle moved in and out for a few seconds and smiled. Tongue between her teeth, she squinted and looked down at the bobbin in her hand and began the tedious task of threading it through. It took a few tries, but she finally got it through all the right holes and twists and turns. She placed the thread on the top of the machine as well, working it through THAT nightmare of hooks and had the two connected. Now to MAKE the bobbin.

She then, carefully, picked up the end of her bobbin thread and pushed down lightly on the peddle, watching it pick up the thread and connect the two as it moved along. Nice and simple. She kept going, not going TOO fast so it didn't tangle, and once she had an ample amount on her bobbin, she cut the string connecting it and took the new bobbin in her hand, turning it over a few times. She then popped open the bobbin compartment and thread it through. Why were there so many little turns and stuff the thread has to take? Once the bobbin was in place - not as bad as she had anticipated, honestly - she then turned to her attention to the thread. She picked it up and put it in the top of the machine and began moving it through the machine. Finally, after a few seconds of trying, she was able to get the small bit through the eye of the needle. She pushed down on her foot pedal a few times to get the bobbin and thread intertwined. There, done!

Now for the question. She sat back and thought for a moment before raising her hand. "Well, muggle fashion is ALWAYS changing. It comes and goes so fast, things go out of style before you can even blink," she explained.

Honestly Zoryn had been zoning in and out this entire time. Life was too short to pay attention in muggle studies. It was just so hard to stay focused and it's not like she was gonna need any of this in her future, y'know? Why would she sew her own clothes when she'd just buy them. PLUS, as a famous actress she'd probably get to keep her wardrobe from shoots anyways. All of this was doubly unimportant. But, like, no offense.

The Gryffindor only came back to reality upon hearing the question. Or really, questions. 'Cause Professor Stewart just fired loads of them. Despite this, Zoryn had one answer and one answer only.

"The only fashion that really matters is what Justine Janvier wears," everything else fell inferior to that and no other answer was acceptable.

Could they leave now? Was the lesson over?

It had taken Ronan a bit to figure out all the instructions, what with the bobbin going here, thread there and loopity-loop and zig-a-zig ahing. But finally, his sewing machine matched what it was supposed to look like and he was poking his fleece wishing it was any other fabric. Except corduroy or tweed, because blech.

And now they were being asked their opinion on fashion. "I like it when girls wear heels," he commented to one girl who seemed to have a real dislike for them. "It makes them carry themselves in a more graceful way. Besides, you'd be surprised what you could do in heels with enough practice." But that was enough about that.

"Fashion can also reveal a lot about one's socioeconomic status. I don't really know why, but the better a garment is constructed, more it costs. Also, if something is from a well-known fashion house, it tends to cost so much that only the economically lucky," read: wealthy "can afford it." Not that he was complaining, since he is one of those economically lucky, it was just something that he'd noticed over the years.

Garreth was lagging behind a little bit setting up his machine, but that's just because he was taking his time! He couldn't very well rush this kind of thing, lest he get himself into a tangle like he'd done before. And then he'd need to ask the professor for help again, and that just wouldn't do. By the time he finally caught up, the professor had already asked her question. Thankfully it was more a matter of opinion.

"Uhh.. I like Sweater Vests.." he answered after raising his hand, completely oblivious to how stupid he sounded. "When were they popular with the muggles? 1960's? Something like that?" he hadn't realized how hard he was going to struggle with this question until he'd started attempting to answer it. He directed some thought towards which outfits had been the worst. "I guess legwarmers were pretty silly.. But they're making a comeback now, I think." he couldn't help but smirk.

Hattie was glad that were done with his one practical bit. It had been pretty complicated, and she was so glad it was over. Now they were moving on to something else, and hopefully it would be a little more relaxing. She didn't like over working, not on a topic that wasn't really going to be an benefit to her. Muggle Studies was her less serious subject, and she didn't want to end up with a headache because of it. She listened to what her class mates said, silently nodding in agreement with what Emmalyn and Night were saying. Heels could be annoying, they were pretty, but could be annoying. She rolled eyes a little at Ronan. Of course he'd like heels. Had he even ever wore them?

"Whilst I do agree with Ronan to some extent, Emmalyn and Night are also right" The blonde began with a nod. "Heels are lovely, but can be painful. It's not very graceful to be hobbling around in pain" The best pair of heels wouldn't make a woman graceful if she couldn't walk in them. "Muggle fashion is constantly changing. What's in one year, isn't in the next, and to me that is weird. Like.... does that mean one has to constantly change their wardrobe. That just sounds expensive" And not a good use of money. And that was her opinion on the matter.

The Ravenclaw beamed at the seventh year. Did she mention how much she liked hanging out and being around the older and more mature girls. Less drama, well at least drama that she wasn’t pulled into. Always a relief honestly. Plus they had been there you know. The awkward year, fourth year. ”I’m a little nervous. Yeah. Beater.” She was still in shock over it. Especially after dropping the bat in tryouts. She was sure she wasn’t going to make the team not as a beater anyway. That was the only position she really tried out for.

She listened to the next part of the directions from Professor Stewart. Grabbing the scissors in her free hand she cut the thread. That was right, right? Her brown eyes moving up toward the front of the classroom. Then she slipped the bobbin out of the holder. Like so.

She kept watching Professor Stewart She was slightly getting confused by all the little details and areas. Juniper took the threaded bobbin into the holder. Popping the plate off and placed the bobbin in, and covered the plate back up. Geez this was a lot of work. Muggles always seemed to have it so hard. Really magic made everything so much easier. She had been saying this for years.

Pulling on the end of the thread, and inserted it into eyelet of the needle. PHEW! WERE THEY DONE YET? This was all very exhausting. Oh, the foot pedal, she pushed the foot pedal. Now everything was ready to go.

Oh, question time… Fashion opinion. Did the ravenclaw even have an opinion on Fashion? No not really. Other than making her feel inferior in her own family. *Sigh* Anyway… she stared at the front of the room. Waiting for this conversation to past. She had completely zoned out to it now.

Sitting here, Jessa couldn’t help thinking how much more her cousin would have appreciated and excelled in this lesson than her. To be sure, Arisa would’ve been hopeless at setting up a muggle sewing machine but other than that...this...all this fashion stuff......yeah that would’ve been her cousin.

“I’ve never paid attention to the fashion scene Professor. I can’t say I care much for it or that I really know what’s happening so any answer I give won’t be of much value in the discussion.” This statement alone hadn’t been very useful and it was only the disclaimer. Just imagine how much less useful an actual answer would’ve been.

It was interesting how some of the others knew and a part of her wondered how but at the same time....she wasn’t all that curious. Clothes weren’t her thing. She wore them fine enough and appreciated the odd new article or two that she received but she wasn’t Arisa Cambridge and felt this an entire waste of her brain cells.

Jessa was aware some were high key into fashion and that was good for them but her? No. Just no.

How much longer would they have to be here?

SPOILER!!: Patrick! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson

Tapping the pedal of the sewing machine he watched the needle go down and come back up. Holy smokes he had done it. Somehow on the first try the bobbin actually threaded up. Usually it took him three or four tries in order to get this to happen.

He looked up at Professor Stewart he remembers seeing some pictures of his mamaw on his mama's side wearing some pretty odd looking clothes. But his mama said it was because it was all about twrilly dresses. Raising his hand, "Well everything comes back. Like my brothers all had pictures of them in overalls. All my friends back home are wearing overalls again." Shrugging his shoulders he thought it was a bit odd. "Honestly I really enjoy the suits men wore of the 20s but i think for women its really cool to see how the idea of dresses only to pants dresses and skirts evolved." his cheeks turned red as he realized that he was probably the only boy who knew something like that.

Did Kay even think twice that it was a boy who was so knowledgeable about the trend? No, she did not. “Yes, overalls were very popular in the nineties, especially for boys and during the summer. Changes in skirts and dress fashion have changed and varied a lot between the 1920s to the present time. For instance, in 1920, skirt and dress hemlines rose and waist lines lowered to the hip. In the eighties, they were once more longer, featured straight lines and more designs.''

SPOILER!!: Night! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionegold

Text Cut: professor

What’s this? Night seem to need some help as Kay noticed she had progressed with the final instructions. “Let me help you finish up,’’ she offered. “First we cut the thread like so then we remove the bobbin from the winder. Slip the metal plate out.’’ With a soft click!, the late was out and the bobbin was in. Another click! indicated that that the plate was back in. “Next, pull the end of the thread that is on the spindle through the slot directly above the metal plate and then insert through the needle. Just one last thing. Press the foot pedal so that the two sets of threads intertwine. There you go! You’re all set.’’

Night was thankful that Professor Stewart didn't make a big deal about her being confused with the final setup. "Thank you so much, Professor. I'm just...out of practice, I guess." She didn't want to say that she'd never actually done it before. It was a useful skill to have, but not one that Night had ever had much interest in. And what was this about fashion?

Text Cut: Emmalyn

“My Grandma used to always say that fashion was cyclical. That there were only a few different styles that seemed to repeat every 20 years or so.” That sounded right. “I like functional fashion. If I can’t move and play in it, I don’t want to wear it. I was never much into the tight rolled pants and skinny jeans.” She shook her head. “Have you ever tried to play baseball in skinny jeans?”Ugh, skinny jeans. They didn't even have pockets to put your candy in. "As far as the fashion industry is concerned, I wish they would ask real people what they liked to wear. Sure, models can walk down the runway in those clunky high heels, but how are they supposed to run? Nope, not useful at all." She blushed a bit after her mini fashion rant, and could feel the heat of her embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Yes, Night liked Emmalyn's insightful answer. Like the other Hufflepuff, she wasn't exactly up on fashion trends, Muggle or otherwise. Nevertheless, she raised her hand, wanting participation points all the same.

"Fashion is kind of a social construct. Like, who actually decides what's cool? Look back a hundred years and you have girls just starting to define fashion for themselves, break out of corsets and the like. Before that, you have corsets and that's only in western countries. And then you look back at earlier times, like the eighteenth century for instance, when both boys and girls wore dresses as toddlers. Now, if a parent were to put a dress on a boy, he would be laughed at, and the parents would be seen as 'forcing the gay lifestyle on him' or something utterly ridiculous like that. So who decides these things?"

Oops, she was guilty of rambling again. And would anyone judge her for her defense of LGBT rights? Well, she hadn't really given much away, right? Whatever.

“Quite welcome. You can always practice later on during the term.’’ Because this wasn’t going to be the last that they deal with a showing machine.

“Fashion has many influences,’’ Kay agreed. “From music stars to movie stars, there is always a period of time where they assert their influence. For instance, in the 2000s, Kate Middleton set quite a fashionable trend for women all around the world. Women often went for similar styles she wore. Over the years, fashion’s become evolved and persons have it firmly in their mind what a girl or a boy should wear. It’s become their mindset of what’s right and what’s wrong.’’

SPOILER!!: Maxton! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterloo

Maxton pulled the end of the thread through the metal plate and spent a tough few minutes attempting to put it through the 'eye' of the needle. Why was it called an eye though?

He shrugged and adjusted his glasses again, tongue sticking out in concentration. This whole process was FAR too fiddly. And this was just the setup! He dreaded the moment when they actually had to use the machine for actually sewing.

He pressed his foot EVER SO gently on the pedal and watched as the thread on the spindle twined with the thread from the bobbin. Okay, he was all caught up.

The Slytherin thrust his arm in the air to answer Professor Stewart's question. "My dad likes wearing leather jackets. He thinks he looks cool but I think he's too old." And that was his two knuts on the subject.

Kay laughed her soft laugh. “Leather jackets are, as you put it, cool. It was punk fashion in the 1980s that brought this type of jacket into style. There are still a great deal of older men who wear them to this date.’’

SPOILER!!: Scarlett! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Shockingly, Scarlett knew exactly how to set up a machine like this. Her father had come upon one when he had still owned the secondhand bookstore. Someone had donated one, which was super weird, but since the shop was hard wired for muggle electricity due to its location, they'd set it up and played with it for a bit. Now, it was all coming back to her. Once she had it sitting on the desk in front of her, and batteries installed, she took the foot piece and plugged it in to the back of the machine. She gave it a test and watched as the needle moved in and out for a few seconds and smiled. Tongue between her teeth, she squinted and looked down at the bobbin in her hand and began the tedious task of threading it through. It took a few tries, but she finally got it through all the right holes and twists and turns. She placed the thread on the top of the machine as well, working it through THAT nightmare of hooks and had the two connected. Now to MAKE the bobbin.

She then, carefully, picked up the end of her bobbin thread and pushed down lightly on the peddle, watching it pick up the thread and connect the two as it moved along. Nice and simple. She kept going, not going TOO fast so it didn't tangle, and once she had an ample amount on her bobbin, she cut the string connecting it and took the new bobbin in her hand, turning it over a few times. She then popped open the bobbin compartment and thread it through. Why were there so many little turns and stuff the thread has to take? Once the bobbin was in place - not as bad as she had anticipated, honestly - she then turned to her attention to the thread. She picked it up and put it in the top of the machine and began moving it through the machine. Finally, after a few seconds of trying, she was able to get the small bit through the eye of the needle. She pushed down on her foot pedal a few times to get the bobbin and thread intertwined. There, done!

Now for the question. She sat back and thought for a moment before raising her hand. "Well, muggle fashion is ALWAYS changing. It comes and goes so fast, things go out of style before you can even blink," she explained.

“That is indeed true! This does not only apply for clothing but for shoes, jewellery and hair styles as well. There is always something new that comes along that becomes the next big thing.’’

SPOILER!!: Zoryn! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Honestly Zoryn had been zoning in and out this entire time. Life was too short to pay attention in muggle studies. It was just so hard to stay focused and it's not like she was gonna need any of this in her future, y'know? Why would she sew her own clothes when she'd just buy them. PLUS, as a famous actress she'd probably get to keep her wardrobe from shoots anyways. All of this was doubly unimportant. But, like, no offense.

The Gryffindor only came back to reality upon hearing the question. Or really, questions. 'Cause Professor Stewart just fired loads of them. Despite this, Zoryn had one answer and one answer only.

"The only fashion that really matters is what Justine Janvier wears," everything else fell inferior to that and no other answer was acceptable.

Could they leave now? Was the lesson over?

Kay nodded. “Often our taste would be influenced by a single person rather than following a trend that a group of persons is already following. Their fashion choices are so intriguing that we can’t help but be completely fascinated by them.’’

SPOILER!!: Ronan, Lyn, Hattie! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

It had taken Ronan a bit to figure out all the instructions, what with the bobbin going here, thread there and loopity-loop and zig-a-zig ahing. But finally, his sewing machine matched what it was supposed to look like and he was poking his fleece wishing it was any other fabric. Except corduroy or tweed, because blech.

And now they were being asked their opinion on fashion. "I like it when girls wear heels," he commented to one girl who seemed to have a real dislike for them. "It makes them carry themselves in a more graceful way. Besides, you'd be surprised what you could do in heels with enough practice." But that was enough about that.

"Fashion can also reveal a lot about one's socioeconomic status. I don't really know why, but the better a garment is constructed, more it costs. Also, if something is from a well-known fashion house, it tends to cost so much that only the economically lucky," read: wealthy "can afford it." Not that he was complaining, since he is one of those economically lucky, it was just something that he'd noticed over the years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

Seeing that Bel had things under control and Professor Stewart was ready to move on, Emmalyn made her way back to her seat. She did a quick glance over her threads to make sure nothing went out of place while she was away. Then it happened, Professor Stewart said the F word. Fashion. Her heart dropped a little. She had never been one to keep up with fashion. She was more of a comfort girl and use girl. As long as it felt good and served its purpose, she liked it.

She tried to think back about her Grandma Walsh. She was always up on the fashion trends and had encouraged Emmalyn to pay attention to them. But, that was years ago and Grandma Walsh had passed away when Emmalyn was six. She closed her eyes and tried to recall her grandmother's words.

“My Grandma used to always say that fashion was cyclical. That there were only a few different styles that seemed to repeat every 20 years or so.” That sounded right. “I like functional fashion. If I can’t move and play in it, I don’t want to wear it. I was never much into the tight rolled pants and skinny jeans.” She shook her head. “Have you ever tried to play baseball in skinny jeans?”Ugh, skinny jeans. They didn't even have pockets to put your candy in. "As far as the fashion industry is concerned, I wish they would ask real people what they liked to wear. Sure, models can walk down the runway in those clunky high heels, but how are they supposed to run? Nope, not useful at all." She blushed a bit after her mini fashion rant, and could feel the heat of her embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Hattie was glad that were done with his one practical bit. It had been pretty complicated, and she was so glad it was over. Now they were moving on to something else, and hopefully it would be a little more relaxing. She didn't like over working, not on a topic that wasn't really going to be an benefit to her. Muggle Studies was her less serious subject, and she didn't want to end up with a headache because of it. She listened to what her class mates said, silently nodding in agreement with what Emmalyn and Night were saying. Heels could be annoying, they were pretty, but could be annoying. She rolled eyes a little at Ronan. Of course he'd like heels. Had he even ever wore them?

"Whilst I do agree with Ronan to some extent, Emmalyn and Night are also right" The blonde began with a nod. "Heels are lovely, but can be painful. It's not very graceful to be hobbling around in pain" The best pair of heels wouldn't make a woman graceful if she couldn't walk in them. "Muggle fashion is constantly changing. What's in one year, isn't in the next, and to me that is weird. Like.... does that mean one has to constantly change their wardrobe. That just sounds expensive" And not a good use of money. And that was her opinion on the matter.

Heels! These were what Kay was passionate about more than a dress. “Heels are an integral part of fashion. In the 1920s, women's shoes would often be made with high as well as wide heels whether it was a pump or loafer. In the 1930's, strapped heels and pumps became extremely popular but in the 1960s, black slip-on boots were popular for both men and women while heels became thinner on pumps. It wasn’t until the 1980s when pumps were made with even higher and thinner heals that they became a hit.’’ Quite the evolution of heels, wasn’t it?

“Branding, yes. Branding is important because persons would show them off to show that they can afford these expensive brands. Unfortunately, there are many imitations out on the markets today.

“I understand what you’re getting at, Lyn. Some persons prefer the ‘loose’ clothing, it makes them feel comfortable rather than something that spans them. As for heels, sometimes it takes a great deal of time to walk in them, for others it doesn’t take such a long time.’’ Easy to see that the Puff was not a fan of heels and that was fine. “Ms Paton is also correct. Heels can be quite painful especially if they are rather thin. For this reason, some women would rather wear platforms.’’ Like her, for example. “Some would not change their wardrobe often. If someone finds that a particular type of clothing suits them or they’re comfortable with it, then they will stick with it regardless of fashion changes. That is, until they are ready for a change. I think we’ll find this is mostly true for older folks. They don’t care very much for fashion.’’

SPOILER!!: Garreth! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compootor

Garreth was lagging behind a little bit setting up his machine, but that's just because he was taking his time! He couldn't very well rush this kind of thing, lest he get himself into a tangle like he'd done before. And then he'd need to ask the professor for help again, and that just wouldn't do. By the time he finally caught up, the professor had already asked her question. Thankfully it was more a matter of opinion.

"Uhh.. I like Sweater Vests.." he answered after raising his hand, completely oblivious to how stupid he sounded. "When were they popular with the muggles? 1960's? Something like that?" he hadn't realized how hard he was going to struggle with this question until he'd started attempting to answer it. He directed some thought towards which outfits had been the worst. "I guess legwarmers were pretty silly.. But they're making a comeback now, I think." he couldn't help but smirk.

“That’s correct, the 1960s. Now, in addition to sweater be worn just for fashion purposes, they were used by athletes notably by cricketers and golfers. Leg warmers are indeed making a comeback and they are mostly used for dancers. They are used to supposedly keep leg muscles warm and to prevent cramping or other muscle injuries.’’

SPOILER!!: The Silent One! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry

The Ravenclaw beamed at the seventh year. Did she mention how much she liked hanging out and being around the older and more mature girls. Less drama, well at least drama that she wasn’t pulled into. Always a relief honestly. Plus they had been there you know. The awkward year, fourth year. ”I’m a little nervous. Yeah. Beater.” She was still in shock over it. Especially after dropping the bat in tryouts. She was sure she wasn’t going to make the team not as a beater anyway. That was the only position she really tried out for.

She listened to the next part of the directions from Professor Stewart. Grabbing the scissors in her free hand she cut the thread. That was right, right? Her brown eyes moving up toward the front of the classroom. Then she slipped the bobbin out of the holder. Like so.

She kept watching Professor Stewart She was slightly getting confused by all the little details and areas. Juniper took the threaded bobbin into the holder. Popping the plate off and placed the bobbin in, and covered the plate back up. Geez this was a lot of work. Muggles always seemed to have it so hard. Really magic made everything so much easier. She had been saying this for years.

Pulling on the end of the thread, and inserted it into eyelet of the needle. PHEW! WERE THEY DONE YET? This was all very exhausting. Oh, the foot pedal, she pushed the foot pedal. Now everything was ready to go.

Oh, question time… Fashion opinion. Did the ravenclaw even have an opinion on Fashion? No not really. Other than making her feel inferior in her own family. *Sigh* Anyway… she stared at the front of the room. Waiting for this conversation to past. She had completely zoned out to it now.

No opinion nor thoughts? Well, at least none to voice aloud? This was fine with Kay. Perhaps for the next question answers would be volunteered.

SPOILER!!: Alexa! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Sitting here, Jessa couldn’t help thinking how much more her cousin would have appreciated and excelled in this lesson than her. To be sure, Arisa would’ve been hopeless at setting up a muggle sewing machine but other than that...this...all this fashion stuff......yeah that would’ve been her cousin.

“I’ve never paid attention to the fashion scene Professor. I can’t say I care much for it or that I really know what’s happening so any answer I give won’t be of much value in the discussion.” This statement alone hadn’t been very useful and it was only the disclaimer. Just imagine how much less useful an actual answer would’ve been.

It was interesting how some of the others knew and a part of her wondered how but at the same time....she wasn’t all that curious. Clothes weren’t her thing. She wore them fine enough and appreciated the odd new article or two that she received but she wasn’t Arisa Cambridge and felt this an entire waste of her brain cells.

Jessa was aware some were high key into fashion and that was good for them but her? No. Just no.

How much longer would they have to be here?

“That’s fine, Ms Cambridge. Maybe you will now that we’ve dealt with this topic? Also, it would be useful as it can help you to properly blend into the Muggle world when you have to be out there.’’ Just a little advice.

* * * * * * *

“Today we’ll be making something simple since it’s the first time that many of you are using a sewing machine. It’ll come in handy for winter: fleece hats! As before, we’ll walk through the steps together. Don’t worry about not being able to follow everything properly or even successfully making the hat. It’s the practice that makes perfect and you’ll have time to do so for the rest of the term.

“First, I would like you to choose from the many fleece patterns on your desk. And I want you to place it flat, with the right side facing upwards.’’ After giving that instruction, Kay headed back to her desk. She had chosen the purple pattern with the peace symbols on it. It was placed the right side up.

“Take your measuring tape and measure out twenty four inches wide and fifteen inches wide. You can mark where the measurements end using pins. Just stick them on the fleece.

“Next, cut six inches from bottom of fleece to make cuff. Fold pieces in half so wrong sides are facing up.’’ The professor took another pause here after finishing the steps herself to stand up. “Please raise your hand if you need assistance.’’

OOC: And so our main activity begins This will last for 3-4 days where I’ll be posting small amounts of instructions each day except for tomorrow-Sunday- since I’ll be super busy. You may use this video for a better understanding of what your kiddos are doing.
PS: Feel free to finish up with the mini activity for your own sanity

..................

...............................

Huh, wait, what?

Oh. Natalie spaced out for a minute there. Or like, several minutes. She had heard the professor start talking about muggle fashion and TOTALLY zoned out. It wasn't intentional, but she had started thinking about what she was going to eat after class. Then she thought about how she'd probably take a nap... and it all went downhill from there.

Anyway, her mind was back now that it was activity time again. The Slytherin tuned in just in time to hear Professor Stewart instructing them to grab a piece of fleece. Natalie grabbed the one on top, which happened to be the one with peace signs on it (not her personal favorite, but she wasn't too fussed about it) and grabbed the measuring tape to measure it out. And marking it with a pin..? Okay. Natalie stabbed the pin through the fabric. Done.

Okay, not done. Natalie watched the professor as she continued and cut off a chunk of the bottom like she had. She didn't measure it first, but... it looked good enough.

Hats. Yes, that was a fantastic idea for a first sewing project. No arm holes to worry about, no exact sizing to deal with. First thing she would need to do is choose her fabric. There were so many to pick from, each special in its own way. Emmalyn thought hard about about the fabric options. The flowers, although very cute, could prove difficult to line up correctly on her final product. She felt the same about the skull pattern. Neat little rows of design were great, but hard to match up perfectly on a curved pattern. After judging the pros and cons of each pattern, she finally settled on the soccer balls. Soccer was one of the sports she used to play back home. It would make a nice reminder of her old teammates.

She grabbed her fleece off of the pile and laid it out flat, right side up. Using her measuring tape, she very carefully measured out 24 inches wide by 15 inches tall. She placed pins to mark her measurements, then searched the table. “Fantastic” she mumbled as her eyes spied the edge of the rotary cutter under another stack of fabric.
Placing the blade of the rotary cutter on the edge of the fleece, she skillfully cut her twenty-four by fifteen rectangle out of the fabric.

Next, she needed to cut six inches off of the bottom of the fabric for the cuff. She once again pulled out her measuring tape and pinned off six inches. She grabbed the rotary cutter and made a smooth cut down the twenty-four inch length, exactly six inches from the bottom. She smiled at how quickly the project was coming along and wondered if she would have time to make a second hat. The owl fabric had been a close second choice and a person could never have enough hats.

Moving along, she folded both pieces in half, short end to short end, with right sides of fabric now facing each other. Emmalyn looked up to Professor Stewart. “Professor? Would it be okay if I made two hats today? If there is enough fabric left over.” She hoped the answer would be yes.

Ooh, yay. Praise from an older student, and a fellow Hufflepuff at that. She beamed at Hattie.

“Quite welcome. You can always practice later on during the term.’’ Because this wasn’t going to be the last that they deal with a showing machine.



Night liked the professor's response to her answer. Social influencers...that was a good point.

The next step was easy. Well, it would have been, if Night were good at making decisions. Did she want pink, or horses for her fabric? Or maybe dogs? Ah, this was hard. Finally, she settled on a fabric with live action dogs in snow. Maybe there was a spell to animate them later? She'd have to ask Professor Marchand when she got the chance.

The cutting and folding was easy too, and Night finished quickly. She waited patiently for instructions, because she was too lazy (and it had nothing to do with the fact that she didn't really know how to do it, nope, not at all) to get started on the next steps.

Harriet was pretty glad that they were going to be doing something with the machines they had set up. It would have been disappointing to do all that work and then not to do anything with it. Not that Hattie planned on needing to manually set up a sewing machine again. She was going to be 17 in a few months, and then she'd be able to do it using magic again. That would be so much better. But she was kind of excited to see how she would make her little hat. It would be useful when it began to get colder. Firstly she had to pick her pattern. Hmm. She went with a nice yellow colour. It would match her scarf, and that would be great.

She sat back at her place, and then put her piece of fabric, the right way up, o paying careful attention to make sure it was the right way up. Wouldn't want to go wrong at this point! She then got her measuring tape out, and began to measure the correct size. She didn't want to get it wrong. She marked out each side of the correctly sized fabric with a few pins, making sure they were carefully pinned into the fabric.

Hattie then began to carefully cut her fabric, making sure she didn't cut too much. She didn't want to make a mistake, that would be terrible. Finally, the folded the sides up, so that the wrong sides were facing up. And then she awaited the next set of instructions.

And now it was the part Max had been dreading. The actually practical. He'd found it a struggle simply trying to setup the sewing machine, he had a feeling this part was going to be an even bigger nightmare even if the Professor did say fleece hats were simple.

The fourth year chose the pattern with the skull and crossbones on it, deciding that one looked the coolest out of the bunch. He placed it right side up and used his measuring tape to mark out the size Professor Stewart had instructed.

He measured six inches from the bottom of the fleece and cut the section in order to make a cuff.

He had another glance around the classroom, sizing up what the other kids were doing.

Did Professor Stewart have any idea just how difficult all that was? In all honest the first time the instructions were given on how to put the machine together she hadn't even attempted to try. What she had done was watch as the professor performed each and every single step and wrote down detailed notes whenever she had paused along with a poorly drawn out sketch next to each step. This might not have been the best way to go about it... but it was her way and at least she would have her notes to always look back on should she need them. And she did need them...badly.

It had taken her nearly forever to get the thing assembled correctly. Or well what felt like forever... which when you're a very energetic eleven year old isn't very long at all. It had taken her so long in fact that she had completely missed the first question that was asked because she had somehow missed a step and had take apart what she had completed in order to fix it. Not to mention that she had a huge issue with the bobbin thingy and getting the thread through it correctly. It would have been much easier to just raise her hand and ask for help like she normally did but so many others were doing that and she had the directions right there in front of her written out on parchment.

So it was with the stubbornness of a little lioness cub that Rylee kept at it until she finally had the machine set up and in working order. Good thing too since Professor Stewart was talking again and they were about to move on!

Fleece hats! That sounded like fun! Selecting the fleece pattern with all the brightly colored animals on it she laid it down right side up like they were being shown. She paused to quickly take down the rest of the notes before continuing on. Using the measuring tape she marked out the length of twenty-four by fifteen using the provided pins. Next she measured six inches from the bottom where she had to cut the fleece to make the cuff, folding the pieces in half so the wrong sides where showing.

So far so good. This part was definitely much easier than putting the machine together had been. Hopefully the rest of the process would go as easily as this.

Oh fleece hats….

FUN. NOT. At least it wasn’t going to be too hard to do then. Maybe. So the first thing she had to do was pick out one of the patterns. Though personally, Juni didn’t like any of the provided fabric as they came.

The ravenclaw picked out the white background with the stars. She would just add a few modifications to the fabric. Mostly just color modifications. Nothing too hard. White wasn’t her color. She pointed her wand at the fabric, said the incantation “Colovaria.” and changed the white background to black. Then she changed all the red and blue stars to silver by doing the same. She looked it over a few times to make sure she changed all of the stars to silver. Maybe she would add aninmate charm to it later. Just for fun.

There now that looked so much better. More her style. She flipped the right side so that it was facing upward. Grabbing up the measuring tape she counted out a rectangle, twenty four inches by fifteen inches. Using the pins to mark off the lines and cut it out. Then she measured out 6 inches from the bottom, and made a cuff. And folded it in half with the other side facing up.

Fleece hats!

Well, he liked beanies... but he doubted he'd be able to make something he would actually wear in public, so instead he was going to have fun with it.

Scanning the fleece patterns that were available to be used, he chose the pattern with puppies (because who in their right mind didn't like puppies?), and spread it flat over the desk, with the right side facing up. Using the measuring tape - a very muggle one, mind you, not the kind they used to measure in magical shops - Daehyun measured with great care the twenty four and fifteen inches, and used pins to mark the measurements. Measuring another six inches from the bottom of the fleece, he followed the professor's instructions and cut into the fleece, neatly folding the pieces in half, their back side now facing up.

Deep breath.

Following precise instructions, he could do. But he feared the moment he'd have to use the scary sewing machine.

Skylar was trying REALLY hard to focus and pay attention. It wasn't as if they were playing a game, so perhaps Stewart had learned her lesson and realized that inviting a magical entity to be a part of a Muggle Studies Lesson was completely contradictory and irresponsible of her. It seemed weird for a sixteen year old to be judging the responsibility of an adult, but what could she say? Not all adults were responsible.

Thomas Saint of England. 1970. Wait. Singer and Elias Howe? Was that why there were sewing machines with the the name SINGER on them?! Also, were these electric sewing machines? Because it would be super counter-productive to go back to using machines from near two hundred years ago, when an electric one would be faster. Not as fast as like magic, but close. Though she wouldn't be surprised if Stewart went about doing things the long and exhausting way, but she was REALLY trying to reserve judgment and start on a fresh slate.

Oops, were they already up to making the fleece hats? But she hadn't even finished setting up her machine yet!! Or offered her opinion on the fashion industry. First things first though, she could totally set up the machine.... Batteries inserted, check. Now, connect the jacks and it seemed like it was straight forward enough, except that she tried to jam the wrong jack into the wrong hole.... and of course it wouldn't fit, to which the sixth year quickly rectified by placing it into the correct hole and perfect. Spool of thread, which of course, Skylar chose green, although she was tempted by the gold thread because thinking of you, Hattie, but Slytherin Green first and foremost. Maybe if she had time she'd come back and do another with gold thread.

Bobbin spool. That was a fun word. Bobbin. Right, licking her fingers, she found it easier to grab the end of the thread to feed it through. And now holding the end of the thread, she flicked the power switch. That was obvious at least, still thinking about bobbin her way through this class. Oh, wait, that's kind of what she was doing? Press the foot pedal and well, OF COURSE she pressed the foot pedal a little too hard and the needle went up and down at like lightning speed... UH ..... *insert WHAA face* Immediately releasing her foot, she frowned at how tangled it was so quickly. She hadn't even been pressing the pedal that long, but because she'd had it super fast... also, her finger may have been a little too close to the needle and pricked it just slightly, to which she pulled it back and stuck it in her mouth. It wasn't bleeding that much though and she could handle it ... she'd broken bones before, so a little blood was okay, just gotta take it slow. Pity it was Muggle Studies class and she couldn't use magic to conjure a bandage, but maybe.... Using her non-injured hand, she rummaged through her sack one handed. Ah, a little cloth pad would work, to which she wrapped around carefully, tucking it underneath itself to secure.

Okay, lightly press the foot pedal. Got it. And she did so, winding it much easier than before and the threading was complete... Changing trends in the muggle fashion industry. Something that Skylar scribbled down on her spare bit of parchment.

SPOILER!!: Notes about the changing trends

It seems that Muggle fashion is cyclical, in that while some trends will die, in years, they resurface and they might be slightly different and more stylish, but the base in the same. The fashion industry is interesting in that it allows you to express yourself more freely than just wearing the same uniform every day, which doesn't show everyone's unique personalities

What pattern for her fleece hat to choose now? Skylar was of course tempted by the soccer balls, because sporty and closest to quidditch which would be representative for a quidditch captain, but then the pink one with the hearts. Or maybe the stars? She was a star... or at least she liked to think so. Ultimately, since she had picked green for her thread, she decided the sporty one would fit better with that pattern and so fleece #6 it was, as she placed it right side up on her desk. Twenty four inches wide, by fifteen inches and stuck them carefully with pins. Now to cut off six inches from the bottom of the fleece... something she didn't measure, but just estimated. It didn't have to be perfect six inches, right? Hopefully not. And time to fold the pieces in half. And wait.