expiationnet | let your merchants scream where you can't hear them

[ AWWWWW SCOTT SO CUTE

Sandry gently closes the door behind him and gestures to one corner of the table for him to place the cookies. ]

Oh that's wonderful, thank you! I have cold tea to drink in the warm weather, but can also make hot tea, plus herbed water and plain water. If you're ready, we can begin right away! Do you have any experience with sewing?

Cold tea sounds good, yeah.

[There's something about Scott right now that is less extrovert, like he's following her lead on everything and doesn't want to overstep. It's a little different from how he normally carries himself. He places the basket where she just mentioned, before looking over at the table with a small, if slightly awkward smile.]

I don't, no. This will be my first time trying to make anything, honestly. [He lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug.] Never really had the interest before.

[But at the same time, he's determined and he's taking this seriously, with Scott moving to the table to start on this.]

[ Luckily for Scott, Sandry is a good leader when it comes to sewing. She guessed he probably wouldn't have experience sewing and prepared some fabric to practice on. ]

I'm glad I'll be able to teach you! Take a seat and I'll grab us some tea.

[ She moves to the kitchen area while Scott takes a seat and pours two glasses of tea, bringing them to the table and setting them down on coasters. Then she takes her own seat. ]

We'll start by learning the basic sewing stitch called a "backstitch." I've prepared some practice materials.

[ She hands him a pincushion with two needles, a spool of thread, and a couple scraps of fabric, and places a pair of scissors between them. The next part she does by example. ]

First we need to thread our needles. Draw and cut about this much thread, it's a good amount to work with as a beginner sewist; too little and you'll constantly be needing to re-thread your needle, too much and it'll be hard to draw and easy to tangle. Then, just thread the end of your thread through the needle! If the end of the thread is looking a bit split then you can cut it off or use a little condensation from your glass to twist it back together. Give it a try.

[ She's made it look easy since she's done it so many times, but threading a needle can often be the hardest part of a sewing project (or at least the most frustrating), so she wants to give him time to try before moving on to actual sewing. ]

[Long time ago, he probably would've started zoning out at the word 'backstitch,' but no, he's here and he's trying. Plus, he's not so rude that he would ask Sandry for help and go over to her house and pay zero attention to everything she's saying. That's real asshole behavior that he's not going to cross. Instead, he takes the pincushion, a certain seriousness and focus to the young mutant as she starts leading by example.

Okay, threading the needle. Yeah, he's heard about this before at least. And he's seen this on TV before.

Carefully, he takes the thread and the needle, trying to push it through the small opening and... it's taking him a hot minute, his tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth as he tries to get this done. The part of him that would be frustrated over something like this is quiet, shoved away, because this is important to him. It's a good thing too, because wow this is difficult.]

Just give me a second...

[He mutters quietly and after a few more tries, Scott actually manages to get the thread through and a relieved sigh breaks free from him. H-hey, he did it!] There!

[He's so proud...]

[ Sandry claps for him, but there's genuine pride and joy in her smile, rather than anything condescending. ]

Some people say threading the needle is one of the hardest parts of sewing, and I believe it can certainly be one of the most frustrating. It does get easier, but sometimes the thread just doesn't want to cooperate.

Now, we can get started learning the stitch!

[ Sandry picks up her own scrap of fabric and folds it in half. ]

We're going to start by folding our practice fabric in half, and then pull the needle through it, leaving a tail of thread like so. Then we're going to go just a little ways and push the needle through, pulling the stitch tight but not letting the tail of thread pull through. Then we're going to come up again, the same distance. This time, instead of continuing forward, we're going to backtrack to where our previous stitch went down through the fabric, and go down as well. Then, we'll go twice the distance forward, and come up further than we had gone before. Then backtrack to where the previous stitch went down. See?

[ She's demonstrated the stitches slowly, turning the fabric over to show Scott both sides as she sews. It's a basic stitch, but she doesn't expect it to come naturally to someone who has never sewn before. ]

[She's really sincere about it. His cheeks redden just slightly, a proud looking flush staining his face momentarily as he nods to her words. Not that Scott imagined himself being an utter failure, but things are also going smoother than he thought. Maybe this won't be a pain in the ass-- okay, he shouldn't have those thoughts when Sandry really seems to love doing this.

Okay, next steps...

He takes the practice fabric and starts listening, trying to follow her directions. It's definitely easier when she leads by example and while it takes a bit longer for Scott to get in the swing of things, he actually manages to get the stitch done. Wow, amazing, and he hasn't even poked himself in the finger once.]

This isn't so bad...

[He comments with a small smile, showing Sandry the fabric and the stitch he managed.]

[ Sandry watches Scott's progress on the stitches carefully, seeing if she needs to advise him in any way, but he's doing a great job! She grins at his comment. ]

It really isn't! And now you know how to hand sew! Certainly there's more complicated stitches, but nothing we'll need today. The backstitch can carry you through most sewing, so you can consider yourself a sewist from here on out. Are you ready to move on to sewing the scrunchies, or do you want to practice a bit more?

Seriously? It's that simple?

[A relieved little sigh escapes Scott, the teen almost slumping in his seat from sheer relief. He thought it was going to be way harder than that, with him making multiple mistakes. Maybe it's too early to celebrate, since he still actually has to make the scrunchies, but he's feeling really good about this.]

You're great at teaching, Sandry. [He compliments before nodding, straightening up once more.] Let's get started on the main shit-- stuff.

[ Sandry doesn't comment on his swearing. She's heard it before, certainly, but also there's a lady-like quality in her that both won't repeat it and won't acknowledge it. It simply isn't polite. Anyways. ]

Thank you for thinking so! I do love sewing.

As for our purpose here today- [ Sandry slides over a set of fabric and thread ] let's start with this one.

I've cut the fabric out already. You'll want to thread your needle with the matching thread, then fold the right sides, as in, the side with the vibrant pattern, together to make a long, thin rectangle, then sew the long end together, leaving a gap where I've marked with chalk. You can see it's about an inch gap. Sew up to one end of the gap, tie a knot, cut your thread, and resume sewing at the other side of the mark. We need a gap in the side here for us to turn the fabric to the correct side. Once you finish this sewing I'll show you the next step!

[It doesn't take long for Scott to get back into the zone, immediately picking up his thread and needle while listening to her instructions. She is honestly good at explaining things and he finds himself getting into a small rhythm as he pulls his needle through. Huh, maybe girls-- err people that sew are onto something when they say they enjoy this.

...Not that he wants to make this a habit! Special occasion or whatever.

But the teen really is taking this seriously, concentrating on his work. It's only when there's a small break, or where he's comfortable enough to multitask, that he starts talking again.]

So, did you always enjoy sewing?

let your merchants scream where you can't hear them

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