Advancing Autumn Attire

by **Rosela** on November 2nd, 2013, 4:37 am

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Timestamp: 1st of Autumn, 513AV

As per her usual habit, Rosela was in the shop's back room on her day off. Today in particular though, she was doing more than keeping up with her inventory. With the change of the season came her autumn line, and a significant amount of work in getting it up and going.

She needed to finalize her master designs, actually start making them, and switch out the clothing on the floor. She didn't anticipate difficulties with any of it, as the season change was becoming old hat anymore. She still felt rushed and continually pressed for time, but the anxiety of 'will they or won't they like it' had vanished. Her sales spoke for themselves.

Kicking off her sandals, she put her feet up on a box next to her desk, which currently contained thick winter furs. She'd need them before too long, but they could be safely left alone until winter was closer at hand. Twirling one lock of hair between her fingers, Rosela inspected her autumn designs. These were the womens', with purples, reds, and browns abundant. The top design was a floppy skirt cinched in by a black band above the breasts. A stylishly short jacket completed the look and kept it relatively warm. Inspiration striking, Rosela picked up a pencil and altered the flowing lines of the bottom of the dress, making it slightly longer.

Putting it aside, she moved onto the next design. This was of a knee-high skirt, more straight-lined than she usually went. The top was very boxy, meant to de-emphasize a woman who'd found herself with an abundance of curves. The bottom of the skirt, below a thin black belt, fell in straight folded layers, the layer just above the knees slightly higher. Putting her pencil down lightly upon the paper, Rosela added billowing at the shoulders, with rounded black cuffs. A knotted scarf of the same material was drawn in around the neck and Rosela moved it to the 'completed' pile with the other design.

The next two designs were added without comment, and the next, an experimental pantsuit was given rolled up cuffs at the bottoms, instead of a straight hem as she originally planned. The design after, a short skirt with black leggings, received a hard black line for a belt and a discreetly folded collar. Several more designs were approved before she stopped again to add loose, doodly indications of vine embroidery around the right side of a dress's bust.

The remainder of the designs were one by one approved, and Rosela gathered all of the papers up into a single pile once more. The easy part was over - now for the actual work.
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by **Rosela** on November 2nd, 2013, 4:39 am

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The chair had been moved across the room for better access to her work table, and Rosela stood over an expanse of fabric pinned to her planning board. Tongue sneaking out between her teeth, she leaned over the desk as she worked. Four hands were carefully holding, cutting, and re-pinning the outline of the fabric, while the other two kept her held up from the desk. This process would be repeated in several size variations as well as colors. Everyone needed trousers, dull though they were to make.

She was working on the less interesting items first, hoping to use her momentum to power through them. Then later, when she was more tired, she could use the inherent interest of her more fanciful work to keep her going. It was quite ingenious, so she felt, but it once again threw into sharp relief the need for an assistant. If she could just pass off this miserable work to someone else...

One side done, she spun the board to easily work on the opposite side and watched the shadow underneath flicker by.

"You guys must like autumn, right? All those fallen leaves to hide under?"

"We do not hide." Unless she was mistaken, Rosela could hear a touch of insult in their voice.

"Yea, yea, you know what I mean."

"We have no preference on the season of year."

Rosela hummed in interest, but did not respond as she continued cutting. A few chimes passed with only the steady sound of scissors cutting through cotton. Two hands plucked along the edges, removing the pins, and the fabric was fully cut out. The scraps were piled up and put aside, and two hands picked up the edge of the fabric for pinning.

So you can't touch anything, right?" She asked into the darkness.

"We are not capable of physical touch."

Sighing, Rosela pulled up the chair behind her. "That's what I thought..." It wasn't the first time she wished the shadows could help her, and the wish would likely remain for some time, or at least until she broke down and got some manner of help.

Whipping a needle out of her pincushion, she threaded it deftly and knotted the end. The dullest part of the entire process was next, backstitches. Feet and feet of backstitches. Popping the needle in, she pulled the thread all the way through, then pushed it back through the fabric. Readjusting her grip, she pushed the needle through again, further down than the first stitch. Again, she pulled it through, and pushed it back in, closer agin the the first stitch. She repeated the process again, and again, the entire way up the pantleg, where she knotted the thread off and shifted the fabric to move to the other side.

Looking up at the bolt of fabric, all of which would become trousers, she sighed deeply, and reknotted her thread.
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by **Rosela** on November 2nd, 2013, 4:39 am

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The slaps of her sandals echoed around the back room. One by one she popped her knuckles, rolling her head on her shoulders. Entire bells of trouser-making had left her stiff and tired. Deciding she needed a longer break, she migrated slowly to the front of the shop.

The afternoon was high, and she lingered in the doorway, watching the people go by. She didn't like being out in the front of the shop when people could see her; it made her feel like she was misleading people into thinking she was open. Thus far, her small Open/Close sign had deferred people away.

Clapping two hand abruptly to get herself moving, she first went to the back of the women's section, the trousers. Most of these would stay, but a few of the lighter, breezier versions would need taken back. Fingers fluttering, she moved along the row, picking up two stacks of trousers as she moved. When she reached the end of the section, she circled back to the workroom, dropping the stack on the desk.

Back in the front, the blouse section was getting a more thorough sorting, with nearly half the stacks getting picked up. Two piles balanced between four arms, she teetered back and set them on either side of the pants pile. When she returned to the front, she was surprised to see an Akalak peering in the door, breath fogging up the window of the door. Rosela stopped short but it was too late. He started gesturing wildly and she could hear him shouting for her.

Plastering on her professional smile, she moved to the door and opened it just enough to speak through.

"I'm sorry, we're-"

"Do you have vests? I need a leather vest."

"We do...have those... But I'm afraid we're closed for today. We're doing inventory."

The Akalak's face scrunched up unbecomingly. "I just need to pop in and buy it. Just one minute..."

She did consider it, if only for a brief moment. It was hard to turn away a sale, but she needed her days off. "I'm sorry... If I let you in, I'd have to let everyone in. We open tomorrow at the eighth bell."

"Seriouslyyyy?" He whined, sounding far younger than he looked.

"I'm afraid so. Your leather vest needs will need to wait another eighteen hours." Giving him her best apologetic look, but failing to look entirely contrite, she slowly, but resolutely shut the door and turned away, moving back towards the women's dresses.
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by **Rosela** on November 2nd, 2013, 4:40 am

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Explicitly summer items successfully packed away, Rosela turned to the smaller stack on her table. They were the items she'd selected to be carried over to autumn, provided they got a little extra work. There weren't many in this category, but any amount of work she could cut out would be of use.

The first was a flowing, fluttery blouse, the deep purple of Akajia Hearts. She could get away with it as an autumn look, but she needed to tone down the fluttering and give it some sleeves. Getting up, she pulled out the black cotton and pinned two layers of it onto the board. She began the process of making a new shirt, pinning the pattern, cutting, then pinning the two sides together. It was a very short shirt, and would fall just to the ribs. It should also fit tightly, limiting the flutter to an acceptable area between the end of the shirt and the bottom of the black overshirt.

Knotting off the black thread through her trusty needle, she started pulling backstitches through the seams of the shirt. Seams done, she pinned up an inch hem on the bottom of the shirt and the sleeves, and sewed them in place with herringbone stitches. Making another pass to be sure she didn't miss any pins, she snapped the shirt inside out and took a look. It seemed plain on its own but...

Stuffing the fluttery shirt inside the new black one, she pinched the pair by the shoulders and held it up. The effect looked good, and acceptable autumn-oriented. She folded up the two together and put it aside, mentally marking it for the window display.

Three re-hemmed skirt, two shirts, and one pair of trousers given a fur lining later, Rosela stood again, stretching. It was well past lunchtime now, and her stomach made a loud proclamation of the lateness of the hour. Giving into temptation, she stood to leave, already mentally reviewing her lunchtime options.
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by **Rosela** on November 2nd, 2013, 4:41 am

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"I can't - mmf - make everything black," Rosela protested between bites.

"Black is classy and sleek: your very words." The shadows were being unusually vocal in their preference for black clothing to be on the floor, and Rosela could only huff irritably, coloring in the ruffled design on her sheet with a sunny yellow.

"Classy and sleek when used in the right place. A lot of it is very stark. Totally a winter look."

"In a general sense, the autumn season is only a milder version of winter."

"Twist things as much as you want; the little black dress line for Beautyfest is the most you're getting this season."

That seemed to shut them up, and Rosela flipped through her designs again. At long last, she'd finished the trousers, and it was getting close to dinner time. She was taking a break to work on the much easier task of designing.

"What about dark blue? I think you guys would like dark blue."

There was a brief silence, and Rosela wondered if they were talking it over.

"Dark blue is acceptable. It is the color of Mother's earthly skin."

"Dark blue it is..." Rosela intoned and pulled out the last design still waiting for a color choice. "Don't ever say I don't take your suggestions into consideration."

Designs fully complete, there was no putting off more sewing. Moving back over to the design board, she began pinning together the two halves of the skirt, leaving the second layer, what would be an asymetrical length of emerald green ruffles, folded up in the corner.

With practiced, mindless motions, she pulled the needle through the fabric in rows of backstitches, up one side and down the other. She folded the top over the tie, setting it in place with Sturdy backstitches. Normally, she would have used herringbone, but they weren't nearly strong enough to hold up in an area that would be enduring a lot of movement.

Skirt now complete, she folded it and set it aside, pulling over the dark green bundle of fabric and pins. Carefully unfolding it, she laid it out over her lap, putting two feet up on the box of winter items and crossing them. Ruffles were tedius, but easy for the nice effect they made.

Weaving her needle through the fabric, she set about putting in the basting stitches on each level of the ruffles, leaving the ends trailing and unknotted so she could pull them out. Choosing a thread color closer to the fabric, she folded over the top edges of each ruffle, two hands running the needle back and forth in backstitches and another pair keeping the fabric straight and tight. Each layer was flipped up as it was done, the basting thread pulled out with a dramatic flourish.

Soon enough, all rows were complete and she set another row of back stitches between the top and the base skirt, just below the tie. Flipping up a few layers of ruffles, she sewed in a series of small knots to keep the ruffle layer from completely flying away.

Leaning back to peer out the small, high window, Rosela did her best to judge if it was late enough to go for dinner. It felt only a few bells ago that she'd eaten lunch, but her mind could easily play tricks on her when she was too invested in her work. Standing up, she flapped the dress out to fold it up, putting it at the top of the pile of dresses and skirts to go out. A small snack couldn't hurt, and she'd come back for a few more bells and be done for the night.
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by **Taylani** on November 12th, 2013, 9:05 pm

Rosela

Skills :

Lores :

Notes :

Solo Advancing Autumn Attire