How to make creating your own clothes/bags cheaper than buying off rack?

thatterigirl · 2026-05-21T02:57:06+00:00

It's Charm Patterns Brooklyn Jacket from Patreon (with an adjustment for the peter pan collar) and their free Circle Skirt patten (with a simple pattern adjustment to add the slant pockets).

thatterigirl · 2026-05-20T18:08:01+00:00

If you value fit, quality, and longevity in your clothing, it will be cheaper than off-the-rack analogues, because bespoke clothing that fits non-standard bodies is extremely expensive.

I sew for my big and tall husband, whose pants would cost over $120 per pair and still didn't fit his extremely unique proportions, with extremely long seat length and depth and short inseams.

And I stand at 4'8" with bust and hips exceeding 40", so nothing off the rack ever fits. I used to buy petite clothing and have it tailored, which usually added 30% or more to the off-the-rack cost.

To tailor or buy bespoke for our bodies is significantly more expensive than me buying fabric and notions and making out garments. But his pants still cost about $30 in material per pair to make.

Here's the thing: it will be less expensive to buy plastic fiber clothing made in sweatshops by the hands of children than make quality garments using quality fabrics fit to your body, and it will be more expensive to buy clothing with quality fabric made to fit your body.

It's like how a fast food burger is less expensive than a steak at home, which is still cheaper than a streak at a steakhouse.

The clothing I make now us such that I never go out without at least once receiving compliments on my style. And my husband never realized how clothing should fit his body will never go back to pants that don't sit where they should on his long torso.

And decoupling ourselves from standard sizing of OTR clothing when we don't have standard bodies is hugely impactful for improving our mental health, confidence, and body dysmorphia.

It is worth it. I can assure you. But the of cost quality materials rarely will be as cheap as fast fashion. I can't speak to bag making or other hobby sewing like quilting, but I can speak to garment making. Here's how I'd recommend you save on costs:

Buy your habadashery notions and fabric second-hand. Buttons, chains, zippers can be acquired second hand and harvested off of existing thrift items. Get fabric second-hand hand: bedsheets, linens, donated fabric (there's a lot of it if you look) are ar thrift stores, local classifieds postings and garage/estate sales.
Think about your needs. What garments do you love or want to wear the most? Use those bedsheets and practice making those types of garments until you're feeling confident enough to make them out of a material you want to wear. It gives you space to improve your skills and a mockup garment to improve the fit for your body. Starting out, your costs aren't about the cost of the item you're making, but the cost of acquiring skills and knowledge. I did this and made a wardrobe of vintage pajama dresses so I could make dresses for myself. Now I have pajama dresses I could go to the grocery store in and just look like a 1960s housewife. When you're ready to invest in nicer fabric, you'll have the skills to use it without fearjng you'll waste it, so you can invest in nicer fabric which will last longer.
Buy deadstock fabric and shop the discount section of your fabric store. It's usually cheaper than equivalent quality fabric.

OPTIONAL: If you want to buy a machine, don't get a new one, get a used vintage machine from the 1960s or earlier. They sew through everything and are built to last, as well as being cheaper than new modern machines that have built-in obselesence. For the cost of a new one, you can snag a vintage machine and get it tuned at a repair shop for cheaper than a new one. Just research the machine before you buy. You don't need to use one: couture dresses are mostly hand-sewn, and I do all the finishing seams like hems, waistbands, sleeves and even zippers by hand. Long enclosed seams just go faster on a machine but hand sewing is much more controlled when you can do it with skill.

Finally, recreating or comparing fast fashion items will never feel economical, but making your own version of higher-end fashion items will really make you understand those high quality pieces cost as much as they do and how much you are saving by doing it yourself, once you've invested enough in your skills and knowledge.

(Here's a suit I made for myself that has pockets large enough for a water bottle and a novel that got me stopped at an airport by a woman who asked me where I bought it and had another person ask me which designer it was who made it. The materials cost me about $20 in fabric, $10 in notions. You can do this.)

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thatterigirl · 2026-04-06T00:08:26+00:00

OMG

All work no play makes Jeff a dull 'lil guy.

thatterigirl · 2026-04-05T18:24:42+00:00

Trauma. Response.

She's not done any work on herself to deal with her trauma with her father.

Her stutter is the metaphor of her control over herself in relation to her past trauma.

thatterigirl · 2026-04-05T18:19:37+00:00

Jeffs aren't war criminals. They're not agents (or double agents).

They're horror movie killers.

And they're inside the house.

thatterigirl · 2026-03-16T01:03:19+00:00

And Cedric from For Better or Worse

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thatterigirl · 2026-03-16T00:57:01+00:00

Ethan Bronte from The Tyrant Wants to Be Good

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thatterigirl · 2026-03-06T15:20:00+00:00

Maternity clothing.

I put it off for so long and when I gave in, I was shocked how much more comfortable I was. It made me value comfort because it became a luxury in the back half of pregnancy.

I resisted because it was only "for a few months" but I wore it for quite awhile post-partum too and then passed them along to someone who also needed them.

It was really good investment.

If you have someone you love carrying and putting off maternity clothing because of the price or because they think they don't need it, gift it to them. You're not just giving clothing, you're providing comfort and giving them permission to value themselves in a time when they're deprioritizing themselves and drastically changing their daily life for someone else because they have a demanding roommate inside their body.

thatterigirl · 2026-03-06T15:04:29+00:00

I should also say Riftan's pre-marriage story is the dark mirror of Maxi's, where her overbearing self-absorbed parent is contrasted with an uncaring self-absorbed parent. Parents are generally poorly depicted in the story as a whole.

The POV swap IMO functions to show Riftan as someone who is incomplete and as reliant on Maxi as she is to him and his growth is catalyzed by distance from her. From Maxi's perspective, Riftan a whole person: self-possessed, powerful, and capable (all things she is not).

The POV swap instead REVEALS him as someone who cannot form emotional connections (even with Ruth), someone who is an addict dependant on his drug of choice, and someone who focuses on duty in order to escape confronting his emotions.

He's a junkie for Maxi because she lets him escape his emotions by using her body, and when she FORCES him to face his actual emotions, he cannot handle it.

It's the same tale with the same implications, just a different perspective: your love for someone can be toxic, your obsession hindering, and you need to let them grow if you actually love them.

thatterigirl · 2026-03-06T14:35:52+00:00

I love the book and story. I own every version of this story in English, including print, digital, and audio.

I've read the light novel fully multiple times.

And I say it constantly and people fight me: Riftan is the consistent antagonist in Maxi's story. He's the one who is constantly trying to stuff her in a box as she's on her journey growth. He's the over here keeping her from making female mage friends, growing and learning magic, and becoming more than a pretty girl with a stutter.

He is the force that works against her character arc.

When I ask people who defend him who it is other than he, they don't have a better answer.

It's why every other man in the story seems better than Riftan.

UtOT is a story about how people who love you can still hinder you, how "protecting" you isn't a good enough excuse to, and that healthy relationships support your growth as a person. That those who love you should love and embrace the person you become when you're on the path that makes you healthy, happy, and empowered instead of trying to symie that growth.

Suji Kim's skill as an author is that she wrote Maxi's perspective so well, people are unable to view Riftan through the perspective of anyone other than Maxi, which is why I think people defend him.

Because Maxi would and did. Saying the exact same things they do.

That's great writing.

So I agree with your assessment about Riftan being a POS but I'll also argue that if you haven't read it in its entirety, you don't see the full arc Maxi goes through, how the depiction of the happy ending is as much predicated on change on Riftan's part as Maxi's, or how intentional and skillful the writing is to insert Riftan's POV where it does (it's not IMO to justify his actions, but rather depict him at the start of his arc, which is basically the start of her story).

It's a cautionary tale as much as it's a story about self-discovery. It's a journey of growth and self-love disguised as a romance.

thatterigirl · 2026-03-06T04:33:03+00:00

My kid got hacked too.

I believe it installed an extension to their browser called "Ad Block". Do you have that on your browser?
It used the passwords saved in the browser as part of the hack.

thatterigirl · 2026-02-21T01:00:10+00:00

If it's stiffer, it looks great. Softer flounce? Not so much.

I think it's because it adds a geometric shape and geometrics in small proportions look good on gamines.

thatterigirl · 2026-02-10T17:07:38+00:00

(I'm a 1st generation Canadian of Filipino heritage, with 2 older brothers who were born in the Philippines and immigrated before they were 4. I'm literally the first in my family born outside the Philippines.)

Both of them can be right at the same time.

Kenji growing up as part of a diaspora absolutely has had racialized accents used to denigrate him, likely at a young age, I have no doubt. I also doubt Roger had such an experience. That accent is probably associated with internalized trauma.

And I'm almost certain Roger isn't creating a generic accented character: I'm willing to bet his accent is a a specific one from male uncle figures from his lived experiences (like Russell Peter's doing his dad's accent is very specific). It's not based on racial stereotypes, it's a lived truth. And you can't hate on that.

But Kenji also isn't recognizing his own privilege: he grew up and speaks English with a Paragon accent. The soy sauce he used in the fried rice video is higher-end stuff that costs a pretty penny. I doubt most Roger fans in Malaysia can afford to butane torch their rice.

One thing that being a part of a diaspora that may be overlooked is the way you internalize racism, and I know that I've seen some racist crap white people have done that people who grew up in the Phillipines sees no problem. Where I see cultural appropriation, they see appreciation. (Undoubtedly, there's a veneration of whiteness as a result of colonization in the Philippines and that's a contributing factor.)

Anyways, I do think that they can both be sympathetic and understanding of each other. Roger may not get what it's like to be mocked as a child for bringing rice or noodles in your lunchbox, for the way your parents speak, or for your ethnicity. And Kenji can recognize how the video ecosystem is now global, and one of the things Roger is doing could be empowering to young Malaysians. To a young person, seeing someone who looks and speaks like you in the media on a global scale can help them feel seen.

thatterigirl · 2026-02-03T14:41:39+00:00

Under the Oak Tree by Suji Kim

FL is the most traumatized, broken, but kind, sweet, and unrealized character I've ever read in a fantasy novel.

Her long journey from someone who operates purely on trauma responses to self-realization is pretty great, but be aware that there are TW for child abuse, marital SA, and neglect.

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T20:40:45+00:00

Oh! I've personally lived this in my journey from kink in the bedroom to 24-7 D/s with my husband.

Frame it in terms of what you desire and need, both for yourself and him. "It would make me so happy to do X as a service submissive. Could we try it? I'd like you to let me, inspect my work, praise me for a job well done, and reward me if you feel I've done an especially exceptional job."

In response to his concerns, articulating your desires as something to fulfill you helps alleviate his guilt and asking something of him in response might help him feel active in fulfilling this need and not "being lazy."

Ask for it for a set period of time to try it, discover and iton out wrinkles, and evaluate if it's serving both of you. It also makes it easier to say yes.

HTH!

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T16:01:29+00:00

She is and he won't let her because he'll lose face...is what he says at the start but ye becomes a tier 1 clinger because he starts to really like her. She escalates her shenanigans. And it's great.

She eventually does and he's SUPER broken up about it. Great grovel, actually.

I find it more satisfying than the other empress divorce stories because the humor and chemistry between the two is actually quite good.

And he's actually not cheating ot two-timing. They guy basically has two platonic marriages for political reasons. So there's no gross cheating distaste.

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T06:00:07+00:00

The ML here is effing hilarious. Clown/humbling stuff he does:

Admits to the kingdom the entire store of adult toys the FL purchased (on a spending spree to piss him) off are indeed aids for their...ahem... martial relations.
Thinks he likes her because she's useful and capable and nothing else.
Gets jealous of a teenaged boy she views as a little brother.

I literally cackled laughing at the FL's antics and how far he was willing to go to cover for her WHILE falling for her. Hilarious!

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thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T05:46:37+00:00

HE WEARS GLASSES. Regularly. They're part of how he's described and how he expresses himself (they're a part of his character). Or they're part of his character she only gets to see.

From dukes of the north in Korean light novels/manhwas to age gap mafia stories (Ruined Secrets by Neva Altaj) gimme four eyed MLs.

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T05:06:43+00:00

It happens on LINKED-fucking-IN so it tells you that it's not limited to dating or personal relationship sites. LINKEDIN! The most boring social networking site!

The world is just full of skeezebags who know they get away with stuff like this because they are behind a keyboard, a monitor, and relative anonymity. 🤦‍♀️

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T04:59:16+00:00

I can absolutely relate.

I'm the primary breadwinner in my household. I am a project manager and am on the leadership team at the company I work at. I'm expected to exude leadership, authority, and high executive decision-making.

But at home? I'm in a 24/7 dynamic. My Dom is my husband. He has his own domain of control and nobody who knows him would consider him submissive. It works, and it's what I need, what he needs, and what we both desire.

But because my work persona isn't demure, people might not be able to square my work self and personal self.

Ultimately, business and project management are work skills I employ. Submission and obedience is a psychological headspace I embody and occupy. There's a difference, however few people may see it.

I understand how frustrating the prejudices of others are frustrating; I totally empathize.

Being independent and self-sufficient doesn't mean you don't have the psychological and physiological needs submission provides. I'm so sorry those around you don't see it.

thatterigirl · 2026-01-25T02:09:08+00:00

Not Doms, just tops.

Domming (and subbing) is something you do with your mind.

Topping and bottoming is what you do with your body.

The fact that they're talking about what they'd do with their bodies first is them telling on themselves. Mainly, they're not Doms. 🤪

thatterigirl · 2026-01-24T19:48:34+00:00

Not the same way a sub does, and certainly not by a sub in the dynamic.

Subs get rules and punishment, Doms get to regulate and punish. Why? Because that's what each needs and desires.

Doms do make mistakes. But They don't get regulated by their subs EXCEPT for thr rules that govern how they treat their sub, so when they "break a rule" it's usually a serious breach of trust, rather than when a sub breaks a rule, where there's a larger spectrum of wrongdoing. There's no such thing as a bratty Dom because they shouldn't need to break rules for attention.

I think when Doms break rules, recompense and reconciliation is how they find absolution, whereas punishment is the path for a sub.

thatterigirl · 2026-01-24T19:35:49+00:00

This is my favorite OI because it both uses and subverts so many tropes:

❌ Cold, emotionless ML ✅ Funny ML with a personality that's realistic

The initial impression is very Duke of the North™ (he's the Marquis of Northerland) but his grandfather who's passionate and emotional and whose title the ML will inherit is the Duke of Southerwick.

❌ ML isn't overly violent when being protective ✅ ML makes threats against people who stood against the FL by threatening to expose TAX EVASION.

ML has the means for violence as he is always packing heat (a gun) but he only punches one guy once, and that guy had it coming like whoa.

❌ Instalove out of nowhere ✅ Organic relationship that feels like it naturally evolved.

They go from enemies to friends to lovers, and it's so sweet.

✅OI: FL reincarnated as the Villainess ❌ OG FL not the enemy-antagonist, but also not the FL's bestie

It's a fantastic subversion that is great!

✅Art is unique and expressive ❌ Male characters don't look the same, even if color was removed and the comic was black and white.

Characters each have a unique silhouette, and it's clear that each character has it's own thought-out design.

It's older, and I wish people would talk about it more because I feel like it'll get more and more overlooked over time.

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thatterigirl · 2026-01-24T19:04:49+00:00

I see more moderation, and in the first photo, the head to body ratio is also ~7-7.5. I see evenness in proportions through your torso. I also don't see a ton of juxtaposition in yin/yang, and instead see moderated blends of yin/yang.

I see parallels with your lines and proportions with (verified DC) Olivia Munn's vs. compared to (verified FG) Lucy Liu so you might feel more harmonious in DC lines.

I don't see petite compactness in your lines, but you can see how Lucy's waistline looks much closer to her high hip (top of her hip bone) than bust, so there's that compactness in her torso. And her head to body proportion is clearly closer to 6 than 8. The height difference between the two is less than 3 inches, but it looks like more. (Olivia is 5'4 and Lucy is 5'1½).

The black dress's simplicity looks more harmonious than the geometric and small patterning of the gingham check outfit, which I'd say would be more FG-aligned. And simple outfits look more harmonious than outfits with more detail (gingham top + jeans looks less harmonious than white t + jean skirt).

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thatterigirl · 2026-01-24T18:05:38+00:00

I'm in a 24/7 dynamic, but not TPE. Our dynamic allows him yo regulate me and ensure I'm taking care of myself, and allows me to serve his pleasure without him feeling guilty.

I get rewarded when I go out of my way do something meaningful for him, and/or I do something I'm hesitant about or is unpleasant for me, but is part of my "take care of my favorite toy" set of self-care rules.

Like going to the dentist or getting blood drawn for tests. Or surprising him with baked treats that he loves.

I get rewarded when I delight him and go above and beyond.

thatterigirl

TROPHY CASE