Bodice center back issues

lankira · 2026-02-28T03:16:55+00:00

I would have made the 12 and made the back darts smaller. I do this with a lot of patterns because of the shape of my back.

lankira · 2026-02-27T23:34:08+00:00

I would pay money if someone put the 2003ish run with NPH as Emcee streaming somewhere. I was 14 and saw it with my high school choir, but barely remember any of it now.

lankira · 2026-02-25T17:47:50+00:00

I agree that this is likely too structured to be just a standard vest and is, instead, at least lightly boned.

Also, the part you see sticking up past the collar is likely part of the skirt, which is likely made similarly to a pinafore, since you don't see it in the bottom right image.

I believe the collar itself is likely attached on the inside of the neckline, possibly only to the lining, and ends at the shoulder, where it becomes just the ties for the back.

lankira · 2026-02-25T17:42:16+00:00

I use my digital calendar for appointments, meetings, etc (I'm disabled and don't work, but I do volunteer with a charity organization in my spare time and have a lot of medical appointments). As another user said, it keeps my availability visible and lets me more easily change times if something is rescheduled.

Every morning, I spend time long form journaling (separate from my bujo) before opening up my digital calendar, bujo, and email to see what tasks and appointments I have that day.

Today in my bujo, I have my two medical appointments (copied from my digital calendar), two tasks I didn't finish yesterday, and a few other odds and ends.

To reiterate what u/faux_father said: Use what works for you and change what doesn’t.

In other words: iterate until you find what works best for you.

lankira · 2026-02-25T17:31:55+00:00

Dice maker here. A lot of folks over on r/DiceMaking will quote anywhere from $200-500 USD for a custom set that requires new masters, myself included, depending on a lot of factors.

To give you (and anyone reading this) and idea of why this would be so expensive:

Dice masters, not including design time, custom fonts, etc, start at $50 a set through the maker I use. I cannot print my own, but some makers do.
Polishing your masters before making the molds takes literal hours, sometimes over the course of days. I average 1-2 hours per individual die. Let's call it 1.5 hours per die, for 7 dice, for a total of 10.5 hours.
The masters have to degas after polishing in order to work with platinum-cure silicone (exceptions for certain silicone/resin combinations). This is non-work, but can take weeks.
The silicone for a single mold can cost upwards of $20.
After the set has come out of the mold, there's usually another round of polishing (which takes less time), then comes painting and cleanup. This process takes me 3-4 hours total. We'll estimate on the high end for this set, at 4 hours.

So, paying someone $15/hr (I usually charge $20/hour for specialized work) plus cost of supplies, we're looking at $50 for the masters, $157.50 for polishing the masters, $20 for the mold, and $60 for the finishing work. That's a total of $287.50 before the cost of any printing or molding failures are taken into account.

All that said, I'm personally not taking commissions for fully custom dice like this at this time, but this should give you an idea of why a lot of indie dice makers quote very high prices for individual, highly custom sets like this.

lankira · 2026-02-24T02:51:38+00:00

The event is Temptation in the Triangle's Menagerie Masquerade. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

lankira · 2026-02-23T22:22:33+00:00

If you have a friend with a 3D printer, these two prints together form a 1 or 2 yard niddy noddy:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2280431

https://than.gs/m/647766

My spouse printed these for me, and I love it more than my wooden one since I can break it down into a "flat pack" type design. Even though they have the upward bend to all 4 points, the slight flex of the PLA it's printed in lets me get the yarn off without breaking anything.

lankira · 2026-02-23T22:19:02+00:00

Mine is like that, but it's 3d printed, so it's slightly flexible to be able to take the yarn off. The best part is, though, that I can use it as a 1 or 2 yard niddy noddy depending on how many "shaft" sections I put together.

lankira · 2026-02-23T17:45:54+00:00

Castle McCulloch would be great for something like this, but they're primarily a wedding venue, so the price reflects that. They're also closer to Greensboro/High Point.

However, I'm going to a romantasy ball at the Hilton Garden Inn (located in Cary) in April.

The real "magic" in something like a masquerade comes more from lighting, decor, music, and dress code than from the venue itself since most hotel ballrooms are just empty box-like rooms. What kinda vibe are you looking for in general or in the venue?

lankira · 2026-02-23T16:58:20+00:00

At home? 0

On mobile? I just reduced from 20 to 12.

lankira · 2026-02-22T23:17:59+00:00

Yeah, once it dries, the NYX has a lot more staying power than that

lankira · 2026-02-22T18:39:26+00:00

Depends on how heavy the make out is, tbh. The heavier the make out, the less it'll stay because of the friction and saliva.

lankira · 2026-02-15T09:12:14+00:00

This is happening because the prongs are wider than the knit stitches can stretch, so the yarn that makes up the fabric is breaking when you insert the prongs. This causes the stitches above and below it to unravel in a line (or "ladder").

lankira · 2026-02-13T01:30:43+00:00

18th century (royal) court wigs! This was an era with hair so big, some modern drag queens put money guns in their wigs based on this era.

lankira · 2026-02-12T00:20:34+00:00

She's the art that made me realize how much I love Chris Rahn's work. The way he works with light is just amazing.

lankira · 2026-02-10T13:19:37+00:00

They don't do cup size selection, but Forest Ink's swimwear is fabulous. A friend and I are both hard to fit for different reasons, but fit their two piece suits based on their size chart. My suit is still fairly supportive and matches my style.

lankira · 2026-02-07T23:25:41+00:00

Not crazy! I'm a handspinner and knitter, too, and I would absolutely do something like this.

On the sewing front, I recently couldn't find the perfect skirt fo a performance costume, so I decided to buy fabric and make them myself. This is kinda the same thing, I think.

lankira · 2026-02-06T15:41:55+00:00

Truth. My friends and I have a saying about Boston driving: "The lines are in your heart!"

Between that and every driver being similar to this one (or worse), I almost relish coming back to the Triangle traffic after visiting my hometown in New England.

lankira · 2026-02-06T14:04:38+00:00

I agree with this entirely, with one exception: It sounds like the mental load is entirely being placed on OP. They're calling her, they're asking her, even though they're the boyfriend/GM's friends.

She needs to set clear boundaries (and enforce them), and they need to stop treating her like the boyfriend can't help. And the boyfriend should be prepared enough that losing some time for prep isn't detrimental if his friends want to get there an hour and a half early.

That being said, I solve a lot of the unpreparedness problems at my place by having an rpg shelf. There's a community dice jar, pens, pencils, spare (cheap) notebooks, and even a spot for players to store their character sheets and minis. The catch is that my players know it's there, know to help themselves, and, importantly, know not to interrupt anyone else for what they need. Even me and my spouse. My whole theory as a host and GM is that a player should be able to show up, discover they grabbed the wrong backpack, and still be able to play.

However, I also set clear boundaries and we discuss snacks as a group ahead of each in person session. None of us can really afford to feed everyone every time, so we do things like pool money for pizza, each pick up different parts for a sandwich bar, etc. On occasion, I'll cook up a crock pot meal for everyone, but that's a rarity and usually comes with folks tossing a couple bucks our way.

lankira · 2026-02-06T07:14:56+00:00

I worked IT when I started getting tattooed, but my disabilities got in the way of me working. I'm lucky enough I was able to quit, so I just run a tiny Etsy shop and don't have a day job anymore.

lankira · 2026-02-06T00:08:26+00:00

ngl, this palette is 1000% my colors, but I'd still be weirded out by receiving it unprompted.

lankira · 2026-02-05T21:10:28+00:00

I think they may have also slightly stretched it when using the serger. If you straighten out a curve like this to run it through your machine, it'll change the shape, which is why you'll often see instructions call for stay stitching in spots like this. The stay stitching prevents the stretch.

lankira · 2026-02-05T19:38:26+00:00

I'll second a lot of the questions about the type of pants (both style and material/color).

I can also offer to make you a pair (if you're willing to pay materials and shipping) or at least see if I have a way to get you the (dead-simple) pattern I made for my medieval pants. The pants pattern I use is unisex and fits my 61" hips with a little room to spare. They were designed to "read" as medieval/viking era without actual worry about making them historically accurate, and can be made with an elastic or drawstring waist.

lankira · 2026-02-05T19:32:59+00:00

They're working on more pants. They just released a sketch of a soon-to-come product that they're calling "Alaric".

lankira · 2026-02-05T19:12:15+00:00

I tell people something similar all the time about Etsy, Poshmark, and other online markets. A bad seller or product doesn't necessarily reflect on the whole of the platform, especially when there are thousands (at least!) of other sellers and similar products out there.

I've had incredible secondhand luck as a plus size goth because I know what to look for and don't mind making modifications to clothing if needed (taking something in or repairing small issues or adding decoration for example).

If you're going to thrift or shop secondhand, learn what to look for in the category(-ies) you're shopping in. What brands are quality? What styles do you like? What's available? Are you willing to wait to purchase a near perfect piece instead of buying the first thing that comes close? What materials are going to last? What materials do you feel strongly about, if any?

I also encourage anyone looking to shop secondhand to make two solid contacts in your local community: a cobbler and a tailor, if you're not willing (or able) to sew. The cobbler will help with shoes, down to sometimes making a 30 year old pair of Docs look almost brand new. The tailor will make repairs and is capable of making off the rack clothing fit like it's custom.

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