This is a modified Russian Settlers' Dress blouse from Folkwear, which I am ornamenting with my own designs pulled from my favorite book series of all time, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
April 6, 2025
Slowly but surely, I've been getting the embroidery done. I'm well over halfway and hope to be finished with this sleeve by the end of the week since I don't have any knitting obligations. I'd like to figure out a way to transfer the X's in washable ink to the fabric directly for future projects instead of using the waste scrim and a chart (vintage cross stitch kits have this) but I'll do the other sleeve the same way I've dont this one for consistency's sake. Plus I don't want to go down some crazy problem solving rabbit hole when I do have a method that works fine. I'm a bit further along than this after a long trip to AZ, but I didn't get that much done in the car.
March 21, 2025
I've made a lot of progress in the last week. I got the pattern pieces cut from a lovely white linen I had in my stash. The drape and weight of linen feels so good in the hands and on the body.
Instead of learning to cross stitch evenweave with this huge project, I decided to buy some waste canvas instead and I'm glad I did. It only took about a half hour to get it aligned and basted down and it's already saved me so much frustration. I did not realize when I made the design that it would be a whopping 10.5 inches long on the 14 ct! I'm actually pleasantly surprised - I was concerned that the design would not be ~dramatic~ enough for my tastes but I definitely don't think there's any danger of that now. Now it's a matter of getting the embroidery done. I'ts a slow but enjoyable process without a lot of decisions to make.
March 14, 2025
I've had the idea for a fluffy sleeved blouse to wear under stays and vests with a Book of the New Sun motif for awhile, but today I finally picked a pattern and finalized the embroidery designs. The right sleeve will have an image of Severian's executioner's sword, Terminus Est and the right will have his arms from the tomb in the Necropolis. As with most historical patterns for the masses, the actual sewing should be an increadibly easy and forgiving assembling of a few large rectangles of linen, but the embroidery might be a bit more of a challenge as I'm only cross stitched a handful of times and never on evenweave. I'll need to be careful to make sure the designs are marked out and aligned well so that they end up centered on the shoulder. B
Even better is that this will end up being a stash busting project! I have several yards of white linen and plenty of black embroidery floss so I should be able to get started this weekend! I probably will attempt some basic embroidery on evenweave first just to get a feel for it though.