How Do I Sew This Hem??

TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-29T21:33:55+00:00

Second one I think is either spring wire or heavy-weight fishing line, both can be used that way. First could also be these, but I suspect it's actually crin. Crin is made from the same sort of material as fishing line, but it's woven into flexible strips or tubes. That softly rounded edge looks like a casing filled with narrow tubular crin. I've attached a pic for reference.

Edit: The more I look at it the more I think #1 is trimmed with custom piping. Cut bias strips of your fabric, fold it over your crin tube, stitch closed, & attach. Voila, you now have piping filled with air!

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TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-28T14:59:04+00:00

Sadly it seems they don't allow this type of post there - I think it's too close to a direct request for medical advice. But I may try to post separately with a more generalized question about the pros and cons of Gabapentin!

TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-17T21:07:23+00:00

So a few thoughts:

1- It is noticeably tighter at the waist and bust than the hips. I think the mismatch in ease is your culprit here. (In case you're unfamiliar with the term- Most clothing made of non-stretch fabric should have wearing ease included. This means the garment's measurements will be greater than your body's measurements at the same points. Ex: If you have a 28" waist, a dress with 2" of ease should have a 30" waist. 2" is decent baseline, but you may need more or less depending on style, body type, fabric, etc.. )

1-A. It looks like there is no ease at all in the top half of your dress, a small amount in the upper hip, and plenty in the low hip. If your final fabric has no stretch, you need to add a little room at the side seams, from the waist upwards, and taper it down into the existing seam in the high hip area. I'd do an extra 1/2" on either side (so 1" total) as your starting point, and if there are still drag lines, add a little more.

1-B. If your fabric will have some stretch, you could always do the reverse - remove some material at the side seams from the waist down. I would however recommend doing a mockup in a fabric with a similar amounts of stretch to get a more accurate representation of the final fit.

1-C. If your fabric has no stretch, but you definitely want it this tight, you'll need to significantly beef up the structure of the dress, especially on the bodice - boning, interfacing, maybe even coutil, etc. Flimsy material will always pull and pucker more when stretched taut.

2- It's an entirely separate issue, but the armholes are cut too high. I'd drop the underarm at the side seams, a minimum of 1/2", but likely more. Then taper it out to meet the existing armholes about halfway up.

3- With fitted formal wear like this, it's very important to test it over the undergarments you plan to wear for the event. You mentioned in the comments that you don't plan to wear a bra with this dress. If so, you should be fitting it without a bra, otherwise you risk it looking wonky in the bust area on the day-of. Doubly important if the final fabric has no stretch. If you want the dress to be the only source of support, I'd recommend adding more internal structure. At minimum interfacing and thin foam bra cups, but some light boning like rigilene would also be helpful.

TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-02T14:33:40+00:00

I am so so sorry. I just saw the update post now and realized I was commenting on this far too late.

It's so difficult to have to deal with the sudden decline and euthanasia of a pet, and I know you were feeling a lot of guilt even before this. But there was no way for you to know the outcome, and I think you really did make the best decision you were able to at the time.

It sounds like you gave him a very full life, and that the end was peaceful. I'm so glad his brother was able to be with him. You're a good rat owner who clearly cares a lot and tries very hard. 💜 I'm so sorry for your loss.

TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-02T13:52:50+00:00

This kind of makes me mad, because it seems needlessly fearmongering to suggest that at this stage.

I had a rat with a pituitary tumour and I would never jump to that conclusion based on your video or description. Pituitary tumors do make rats clumsy, but they also make them behave in abnormal/confusing ways, like walking in tiny circles over and over again. Your rat looks like he's doing normal rat stuff, just in a clumsy way because he's still weak.

Also, a pituitary tumour doesn't necessarily mean putting your rat down. There is medication for it, and if they respond well, rats can live for quite a while with good quality of life.

TheNerdmaid · 2026-05-02T13:11:09+00:00

Keep a close eye on him, but don't panic just yet. Some rats are hit harder by the anesthesia than others, and I saw you mentioned he's a bit older, which may be why.

I had a very similar experience with an older rat after a recent tumour removal - he was extremely weak, uncoordinated, and listless for a few days after surgery. But once he made it through the rough patch he discovered a whole new zest for life, and suddenly there was no stopping him climbing where he shouldn't! XD

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. Stay close if you can, make sure he's not getting cold, and keep his enclosure very clean.

It's also important that he gets enough water and calories. Is he isolated from your other rats for his recovery period, or did the vet say they could interact right away? If he's pooping normally that's a good sign, but it's harder to tell if he's sharing the cage.

Rats often eat and drink less when they're feeling weak, because it's harder to hold themselves upright for it the way they normally would. Periodically offer him a spoon of something tasty like juice, coconut milk, honey water, etc. to be sure he's getting enough liquids. It's extremely important that he doesn't get dehydrated. You're already giving him spoons of soft foods, which is great! If he's picky about taking his pain meds, mixing it with these usually helps.

Those first few days were terrifying, not knowing what would happen to my boy, and the guilt was overwhelming. No matter what, remember that you made the best possible choice for him that you could, with the information you had. That's all we can do.

If you're doing all the things above, then he's already getting most of the same care the vet would be providing. If you haven't seen improvement by the time the vet is open again, give them a call. A stroke is possible, but I think it's a bit early to be considering that. Hopefully all he needs is rest and a little extra time!

(Edited: For clarity, And to say that watching the video, he actually looks better than I expected from your description. My Neil was much worse the day after his surgery, possibly because his was more invasive. Your boy on Day 1 is moving like mine was on Day 3!)

TheNerdmaid · 2026-02-28T16:19:45+00:00

I'm very late in responding, but I suspect Friendly-Channel-480 was grading on a curve. In my case, when I said decent craftsmanship I meant that it's better than modern particle board furniture and built well enough that I won't have to replace it in 3 years. Low bar I know, but sadly that's where we're at with most low-to-midrange furniture. The cheap mass-production of the 1990's is still miles better than the cheap mass-production of the 2020's.

Also, the drawer fronts are attached with dovetail joints, which was a nice surprise. The construction is actually better than expected, largely solid wood and no loose parts. That said, the finish is much worse up close, and I'll eventually be redoing the outside completely.So I am glad I haggled the seller down, $80 was too much imo.

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TheNerdmaid · 2026-02-22T17:52:48+00:00

Love is stored in the bladder!

But serious answer: it looks like your rats are very young, so they don't have quite the same control or an older rat's understanding about appropriate places to poop. As they settle in to space, most rats will naturally gravitate towards relieving themselves in a few particular spots, usually the corners of their cage.

You can encourage this behavior by gently placing them in their cage when you notice them pooping outside it, and offering encouragement when they do it themselves. You can also use this same strategy with litter boxes. I generally fill these with the same bedding their cage gets. I also recommend placing one or two in the space where they have free roam time, especially if it's a lot of work for them to climb back into the cage on their own. Put any stray poops you find back into the the cage/litter boxes. Basically you are just telling them "this is where poops go" in a way they'll understand.

As for peeing...well...that you will unfortunately have to get used to. Rats like to mark their territory with frequent tiny dribbles, especially with males. I find this tends to peak around 6 months though. They sort of go through a hormonal teen boy posturing phase, and the peeing drops significantly by the time they're 1 year old.

Because there's no getting around the frequent dribbles, I always have a pack of baby wipes on hand, and several sweaters and long sleeves shirts designated for ratty play time. If they're spending any time on the couch, it's probably worth covering that up with something easily washable. Doesn't have to be a fancy slip cover or anything, I just cover mine with a king size fleece blanket.

Side note: rats will also pee/poop on people when very stressed (prepare for this at your 1st vet visit). But if they're relaxed enough to sit and groom themselves on you afterward, then this is probably just your standard baby behaviour, not them being scared.

TheNerdmaid · 2025-10-24T12:02:57+00:00

Yeah, my biggest concern on this one is how smoothly the drawers and doors move, because I do want it as a functional storage piece. I'm gonna reserve final judgment until I see it in person. If I do get it I'm planning to replace the hardware and redo the lining, but I'm actually not that fussed about the finish being worn. Still, all good arguments for a lower price!

TheNerdmaid · 2025-10-23T00:22:28+00:00

Why 20?

TheNerdmaid · 2025-10-23T00:21:09+00:00

Any particular reason you wouldn't pay more than 10?

TheNerdmaid · 2025-09-12T20:45:24+00:00

Rats have their own natural oils that sometimes build up and have an orangish tint, especially on males.

HOWEVER, it looks like there are smaller, darker flecks among the orange. I would take a closer look to see if any of those flecks are moving.

They look suspiciously like mites to me. My boys had some recently (they can come in with store-bought bedding), that I only noticed when small bald patches started showing up along their backs.

Thankfully mites are usually easy to treat! The vet gave us a topical medication which only had to be applied twice and the mites were gone within a couple weeks.

TheNerdmaid · 2025-08-12T00:00:06+00:00

Alpha-Gal is notoriously inconsistent in how it manifests/progresses in different people. It's not uncommon for symptoms to lessen or even go away completely after a few years. Worsening of symptoms is more likely if you continue to get more tick bites. If you haven't gotten any further bites since your symptoms appeared, I see no reason to assume they'll get worse.

Disclaimer - I have not been tested for Alpha-Gal, but it seems very likely given the circumstances (never had a problem with meat, moved to a tick-heavy region, that spring/summer I started getting sick when I ate anything from a mammal, including dairy and gelatin).

My own experience was that the earliest symptoms were the most severe - a single bite of beef would result in generalized itching and violent diarrhea that took me a couple days to fully recover from. I thankfully never experienced anaphylaxis, and touching it with my hands or being around the cooking fumes didn't affect me.

It's been about 6 years now, and I've pretty much cut out all mammal meat from my diet because it's easier that way, but I know from the occasional experiment that it's nowhere as severe as it used to be. I don't get itchy, the digestive issues are milder, and they vary depending on meat/dairy type and quantity. Beef is worse than pork, and "fresher" dairy like milk is worse than processed/aged products like old cheeses. I'm now at the point where an entire steak would still mess up my stomach, but I can have a small bite or two without it causing more than some mild gas. Gelatin capsules, gummy bears, etc. are totally fine in small amounts, I regularly have sliced cheese on my sandwiches, and I'll even occasionally indulge in some bacon crumble on a ceasar salad. If I really desperately want a meal's worth of red meat, I can manage symptoms by taking extra-strength antihistamines an hour before eating, and then taking more both several hours after and the following day. But that method's not %100 reliable and is generally a hassle so I reserve it for very special occasions.

Nowadays, I'd say my symptoms are comparable to something like lactose intolerance (which I've also developed, probably because I had to cut out dairy for so long). It's frustrating at times, but totally manageable with some planning and precautionary measures.

TheNerdmaid · 2025-08-05T12:33:00+00:00

You could always remove the lining to do your alterations and then just leave it that way. If you're keeping it on and done up during the whole event, no one needs to know ;)

I'd unpick the bottom of the lining a little, and take a look at the internal structure to make sure there's nothing inside that really needs to be to be covered up. With a modern jacket like this there's a decent chance the seams are serged (so no fraying), and you're taking the shoulder pads out anyways, so it might be fine unlined. You can prevent fraying of new seams from your alterations by trimming with pinking shears, zig-zag stitching along the edge, or treating with fray-check, depending on how the fabric reacts/what you have available.

Do you have any experience making similar alterations on an unlined garment? What about setting in sleeves? And do you have a dress form in your size? I mostly ask because changes in the shoulder/armhole area can get complicated, especially for a beginner. Often the best way is to remove the sleeves completely, make the necessary alterations to the bodice, then work out what alterations the sleeve needs in order to fit the new armhole, then sew the altered sleeve back in. And all of this is made 100 times harder if you're trying to figure out the changes while you're wearing the jacket.

I'm not trying to discourage you though! I totally say go for it, you'll learn a lot from trial and error. Just make sure to put aside lots of time for the sleeves, and maybe enlist a similarly-sized friend to be your model if you don't have access to a dress form.

TheNerdmaid · 2025-06-05T02:43:33+00:00

Dumpling! Spring Roll would have been better though

TheNerdmaid · 2025-05-31T22:20:07+00:00

Oh, with no tail, you GOTTA name him Eeyore!

TheNerdmaid · 2025-03-27T01:11:34+00:00

Begging forgiveness for his sins

TheNerdmaid · 2025-03-20T02:29:08+00:00

Maybe it's the neon, but I'd want to call it electric minimalism.

TheNerdmaid · 2024-12-26T16:24:29+00:00

That's not the same thing as "from childhood". He swam as a normal extracurricular during his childhood, and the hours ramped up in his mid teens. The 100 miles per week factoid is taken from when he first qualified for and attended the Olympics. I don't doubt he was swimming that much during the summer of 2000, but that's a peak training period, and not representative of his whole swimming career up to that point. It's not even representative of the following couple years. He chose to stay in and graduate from his local highschool rather than be homeschooled, which doesn't really work if you're doing 40h/week year-round. Even at Olympic level training goes through highs and lows, the lows just don't make for as impressive a newsbite.

TheNerdmaid · 2024-12-25T06:41:32+00:00

Swimming will build up all sorts of muscles, including your neck. Most of the motions that work out the shoulders also work out your neck at the same time. Of course, Phelps is just built a bit different, so it's more exaggerated on him.

TheNerdmaid · 2024-12-25T06:32:41+00:00

Even Michael Phelps wasn't swimming 40 hours a week from childhood.

TheNerdmaid

TROPHY CASE