day fifty-five: so close
all that's left is sewing the point of the gusset
I'm really stoked to be coming to the end of this build; I've been using a huge needle to accommodate the handspun thread I've been using. (I did myself no favors by using the heavier spindles to make it.) The bigger needle makes it feel like I'm sewing with a steel fence post.
looks like pants
So right now I'm going to sew in the tip of that gusset and then pin the outside leg(s). I'm starting to get excited...
interlude: I decided to spend twenty minutes spinning some Manx fiber with my medieval spindle, and I was right. The heavier spindle didn't allow me to spin as finely as I wanted to. As usual, the medieval spindle was wobbly until I got a bit of cop on it, but it still allowed me to spin quickly and evenly.
Okay. Enough mooning around over my thread spinning. Time to sew.
later… I lied. I decided to ply the Manx singles I spun earlier and set the twist. That last bit is actually the easiest part of the process. I hang the skein of thread over the hook of a hanger, weight it with a small bag of quarters hanging off a hook, and steam it with a clothes steamer. I tend to ply fairly balanced anyway, so steaming and weight take very little time to set the twist.
I'm pleased with how it came out. It only takes about an hour to make a really usable length of two-ply thread — maybe 30 feet or so. Since I don't generally double my handspun thread to sew with it, that goes quite a long way. I still have plenty of undyed thread from Artifacts of a Life, but I can't use it for this project.
i’m really happy with it.
No more time for sewing tonight; I'm desperate for bed. But at least when I get back to the pants I'll have good thread to sew with.
Sewing later. Bed now. Night, y'all.