The special occasion [Crafting, Solo]

[vixi]

Time was really not on Vixi's side as she rushed out of a nearby shop, her arms stacked the to the top with fabric, sciross, and anything else she would need for the night. She had been lucky, the sun was just lingering over the high walls of the city and it had been the last store to be open, another few minutes and her luck would have been exguisted like a candle. Huffing and puffing as she went Vixi hadn't found a moment in which she could have taken a breather, running all the way from Nisha's house Vixi had made great time getting across the town but now she could feel the wear and tear upon her legs. Normally Vixi was used to taking long walks around the country sides, taking in the sights and sounds of what is... or what once Britian but running with all her might was not something she had adapted to. Naturally Vixi wasn't the person that would be picked for sports for more than reasons that her physical attributes but long, quick paced dashes through dimly lit streets were not her strong suit.

Having come to a stop by the entrance of a nearby Inn Vixi took a few seconds to take in some air before her vision faded from her, already she had cleared a good two miles to the store and back, something she thought she could have never done but here she was... though where was it she was really going? Being in such a hurry she had lost sight of where she would even start with the bolt of silk in her arms... she could always go back to Nisha.... No... she wanted to surprise Nisha.... The shock of Nisha asking her to the upcoming winter ball had almost giving Vixi a stroke, even now her heart still fluttered at the idea of it all... part of her was unsure... but she had already said yes and Vixi never went back on something once she agreed regardless if things changed later on, always true to her words... she often thought of it as a flaw in her own character but it was who she was.

Turning her head towards the loud sound coming from the Inn Vixi could smell the strong scent of liquor in the air even from how far she was, whoever was in there was certainly having a marry time. Sighing heavily she knew what she needed to do even though she wasn't very fond of it, she needed a place to work, a place where Nisha would not find her yet... and known Nisha she was hiding around a corner right now watching her, one might though such an idea a tad creepy but Vixi thought it was reassuring that any moment she was in danger Nisha would slam through a wall and defend her. It gave Vixi more confidence than normal knowing she always had back up though it wasn't as though she was a changed person, she knew her eyes would still drop to the floor once she walked inside the building....

"I just need the room for the night.... I just need the room for the night." Vixi repeated in her head over and over, taking a deep breath she took a large stride and walked through the swinging doors of the Inn.

Things had gone... well better than she had thought as she laid the material out on a soft cotton bed of a small tavern room, it was the cheapest one they had and after all the materials she had bought it was the only one she could have. Really the room was way more than she could afford but she thought the Inn keeper saw what state that Vixi was in and gave it too her for a lowered price, regardless she had what she needed now, a place to work and the materials she needed. The ball wasn't that far off and with the distance to get there calculated in she was sure that they would be cutting it close... even still... the idea of Nisha actually asking her... like...a date.... Falling backwards next to the bolt of silk, her hands covered her blushing cheeks, letting the soft texture of the bed swallow her up. Vixi knew she needed to get to work quickly... but she was tired... over heated and blushing like the sun... all of this was becoming to much for her... but she couldn't let Nisha down...she wouldn't.

Sitting up Vixi picked up the materials, taking them over to a nearby dress she laid their across and took a seat in the small oak chair that was provided with the room, she had all night to work on the dress and with a great deal of will power she was sure that she could get it done... no way she was going to let Nisha down... she didn't want to see Nisha upset....

"Alright... lets do this." Vixi raised a pair of scissors into the air.

Pulling bolt of silk in front of her Vixi rolled its length out till it was around her height, already she knew her measurements so there was a step she could skip, even though it was much taller than her already she would need to tuck in some parts and let out together to form the dress not to mention this was just the front, she would have to do the same to the back side. With the scissors in hand Vixi started went about cutting an outline that formed in her mind, the edges of the dress and how they would fit together, she knew it would have been easier to trace it out with a pencil but it would ruin the material of the cloth, which defeated the purpose in the first place.

[vixi]

"Snip, snip here, and a snip, snip there...tra-la-la." The small tune rang in Vixi's head as her hand worked quickly around the length of the bolt of silk, she had forget how much she enjoyed making dresses, it was only when she had made Nisha's dress that the faint summer memories came back to her. It seemed like every day she would wake up to her aunt standing over the sowing waiting for Vixi to get up and make clothes with her, though they were doll clothes she loved every second of making them, though it was most likely the time she spent with her aunt than anything else. She wondered how her aunt was doing, if she had found out what had happened to her, maybe she was at her bed side right now, holding her hand wishing that she would wake up. Having almost cut in the wrong direction Vixi snapped herself out of her thoughts, where she missed her aunt she needed to keep focused otherwise the dress would be ruined, she only had so much silk and she would need most of it to create the outfit.

"I could go for some tea right now...." She mumbled to herself as the first cut out was done, at this point it looked little more than a bolt of silk with a giant hole missing it in but as she would cut and sow the overall picture would become clear of what it was going to become.

Placing the first cut out on the bed Vixi repeated the same step she had done before though using more of the silk bolt, the last piece was ripe with a hole in its center though the left over scraps could be made into a bow, she was thinking. Her aunt had always told her 'waste not, want not' she had to use as much as she could when making an outfit, letting as little as she could go to waste, it was hard when one didn't have a talent in managing what resources they had but Vixi could mentally see the image what she she had before her. The cut out for the second part didn't seem to take as long as the first part, most likely because she had a greater idea of what she was doing this time around, taking the second piece she laid it down on top of the first. Making sure they looked similar she cut away off, or odd strands till they matched up, it wasn't prefect but she was going to be able to hide the small mistakes when she started to sow them together.

Reaching for the needle and a spool of thread Vixi took the end peice of thread and wetted it with her mouth, for one reason or another it made it easier to put it through the eye of the needle, as if she needed to waste time trying to get a small thread into a almost as small hole. With one surprising try Vixi was able to get the thread into the needle hole and tie it there, if not it would just come apart with the first stroke of her hand. Placing the two peices of the dress on the table Vixi lined them up once again, doing a double take to make sure that nothing would be sticking out once she was done. Seeming satisfied with her results Vixi folded the edges of one side of the fiber in towards where it would be facing her once she was wearing it, creating a small lip to which would give her a place to thread the two pieces together. Going slow as to not mess anything up, Vixi made her way around the edge of the fabric, when she reached a new section she would once again fold the fabric and start the process over again, a few times she had to back track and restart a portion but overall it was coming out to her liking. Having to cut out slits for where her arms would be took some more time, but had she not her dress wouldn't be very mobile, resowing the arm holes after a cuts she found that they were much more flexible now, even looking nicer than before.

Working her way around the dress Vixi started to add more details using the small scraps of silk she hadn't used left, making sure not to the touch the last chuck till she started on the skirt. While Vixi wasn't very fond of wearing flirry clothes she knew that Nisha enjoyed the sight of them, maybe just as much as wearing them if not more, adding them too the neck and sleves of the dress was for Nisha's sake though Vixi couldn't help but blush a little with the thought of it. The top protion of the outfit was starting to come together now, frilly and with a small bow where the cut in her neck came to, it was a tad bigger than need be but it did well to cover her chest... from any wandering eyes, knowing just how many people were going to be there she didn't want to many eyes to be on her... hopefully Nisha would blow them out of the water with what she was bringing.

Hemming the dress a few times to better suit her small size Vixi stood back looking the dress over, she was shocked that it had turned out so well but she thought Nisha's had been better, but it was more than appropriate for what she needed. There was still the matter of lower part, a skirt which she was going to need, thinking about it more though it seemed that she might have gotten too much silk, the store that sold them seemed to have larger than normal bolts though she didn't think much of it at the time... many... some thigh socks? Well one thing at a time....

[vixi]

Though Vixi's hands hurt with the lack of forming callouses from needle pricks she did her best to keep focus even through the weariness of sleep and hunger driving its way into her body, she was over half done with the outfit its self but it didn't mean she could slack off any, she wasn't exactly sure when the dress would need to be finished but the sooner the better, right? With the top portion of the dress completed all that was left was the bottom half, the matching skirt and a pair of log legged stocking, or more of socks to her, the silk would feel great against her skin being as smooth and soft as it was, plus they could double as night time sleep wear! <3 A side from what else she could do with the dress she needed to get to work once more, it wasn't going to tailor its self but by this point she wished it could as she yawn loudly, her arms reaching have above her head letting her back muscles stretch out.

"Not to much more." She clasped her hand over her face as she spoke, blocking out the roar of her yawn.

With the top portion out of the way and sitting on the bed Vixi took the last parts of the silk and began to visualize the creation of the skirt, unlike the top portion of the dress the skirt was going to be easy to make since the base part was only one piece where as the top was two, plus the minor attachments that where sown onto it. The skirt while one piece was going to have a frilly length to the rim of it, another part which she was sure that Nisha would find... appealing. Cutting along with pattern she saw with blushing cheeks Vixi made quick work of the bolt of cloth, her movements seeming to gain in speed with ever cut she made but she held back knowing if she messed up she wouldn't have much in the means of a skirt for the ball. Though the skirt did not contain as many parts and cuts as the top part, it did require more silk than the rest, adding some length to it gave it a wavy texture, rather than being a stiff chuck of silk it would be flexible as she moved, making it more comfortable than some of the higher end ball dresses she had seen before, while they were mostly as show of status; royalty, hers was simply going to be for the sake of showing up in something that wasn't covered in dirt, presentable to those that she might meet, though she planned on sticking to Nisha like glue for the evening.

Cutting out the last piece that connect the two sheets Vixi now had the basic out line for the skirt, all there was to do other than sew attachments on was to sew the end pieces together and that would fit snugly around her waist. Unlike the top piece she found that the length worked out great not needed to adjusted any to fit her size, saving more time than she first thought. Crafting carefully she placed to the two end pieces together, threading the needle once again she carefully sewed the two half's together forming the silkin bolt into a skirt, and with that out of the way she could finally add a few frilly lengths at the rim and some extra designs too it for a little flash, which with little effort and cutting what had been left over scraps from before Vixi manged to improve upon its original look, standing out as a custom made dress rather than just a bolt of silk cut and strung together.

"Great...." Her sleepy voice came out as she rubbed her eyes.

"Now just for the socks... and then I'm done...." Vixi yawned once again, knowing she barley had any energy left in her, but she just need to go on for a little longer, the socks, out of everything she had done so far would be the easiest part, they were simple in construction and idea, all she really would need to do is cut the pattern out and sew the together, it shouldn't take her much more than an hour compared to the rest of everything else she had done.

The hour passed quickly with Vixi hovering over the desk, the final stroke of her needle had been made on the last white stripe of flirty material, following it up with a quick twist of her hand the pair of socks where done. Vixi was beyond the point of being tired, she had crafted for what felt like days already but from the peaking light of the sun from out the window she knew it was morning by now, having stayed up all night to finish the dress. Turning to face the outfit as it laid out across the bed spread a smile came across her lips if only for second before it was gone, she was proud of her work, she had spent quite a deal of time on it but at last it was done... she hoped that Nisha liked it though... really it was all for her sake, had it been up to Vixi standards it would be little more than a bolt of silk with arm holes and a place for her head to stick out of. Nisha had gone out on a limb, putting herself out there for her, so Vixi had to try back just as hard, this was her way of showing it.

As much as Vixi wished to try the out fit on for the first time she wanted Nisha to be there for it, already she knew it would fit her without even putting it on, her eyes had told her everything she would need to know about it. For now she would wait, she didn't wish for it to get dirty before the big day, so she would take it somewhere safe till then... though the only place she knew of was Nisha's... that was going to be a difficult thing to hide from her. Sighing from trying to think on an empty stomach, lack of sleep and a head ache Vixi laid her head on the counter of the desk with a light tap.

"Just....just a few minutes...." Her words trailed off with her eyes shutting till the soft even sounds of her breathing set into the room, though asleep a smile remained on her lips as she slumbered.

^ dress shown above