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elfkin.bsky.social
Chris
@elfkin.bsky.social
230 followers 91 following 1K posts
It’s all about #sewing, #art, #fashion, and #lgbtq shenanigans.

The elf in the custom #couture #tailoring business Elfkin (https://elfk.in).

Made with parts from 🇬🇷🇬🇧🇩🇪.

It should go without saying that all Black and trans lives matter.
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elfkin.bsky.social
And with the dinner gong about to sound, all of the pattern pieces for Jeff’s jeans and shirt are adapted and cut. Sewing assistant Kane will enjoy #sewing up muslins for these while I pick away at Lisa’s blouse and Matt’s jeans. So multi. Very task.
A pile of pattern pieces for the garments mentioned in post. They are drafted on translucent white paper with blue grid marks and are marked in blue pen.
November 13, 2025 at 2:35 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Cherno Alpha is back from the shop, and what a difference a professional #sewing machine mechanic makes! I can edgestitch till the cows come home with nary a slipped stitch in sight.
Back pocket piece from a pair of jeans under construction. They are made of dark indigo denim. Across the center are denim colored reinforcing stitching in a double chevron pattern that meets in the middle of the piece to form a diamond. Accrued the folded top edge is a line of mustard yellow topstitching. The piece lays atop a white machine table with a silver machine bed in the background.
November 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Working up the pattern adaptations for Jeff’s jeans and shirt so that #sewing assistant Kane can stitch the muslins when he’s in tomorrow.
A pile of pattern pieces for a pair of jeans. Pieces are drafted on translucent white paper with blue grid marks. A written guide for the jeans adaptation rests atop the pattern pieces.
November 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
After 2 hours of fiddling, it’s safe to say I lack the skills to tune up my Singer 111W so that it doesn’t skip when edgestitching. Luckily the used machine dealer that I bought him from offered to let me bring the machine in and sit with a tech who will teach me how to tune him properly! #sewing
Closeup of two pieces of dark blue denim with mustard yellow topstitching. Where the stitching is on the edge of a seam, there are many skipped stitches.
November 11, 2025 at 4:40 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
The silk chiffon for Lisa’s #NeoVictorianBlouse is so fine as to be more idea than substance. So I’m starting it off by staystitching every. Single. Edge.

Did I spend an hour last night tuning Jamie to sew a single layer of this stuff? You bet your sweet bippy I did! #sewing #ElfkinCouture
Closeup of a piece of bronze silk fabric on a black sewing machine bed. The material is so thin that it’s highly transparent. There are tiny machine stitches 1/8th inch from one edge.
November 8, 2025 at 5:31 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Matt’s bell bottom jeans are all cut and marked in lovely Italian denim. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinCollection
Individual pieces of a pair of dark indigo denim jeans lay flat on a gridded table. They are accompanied by pocket pieces cut from baby blue paisley cotton bandana fabric.
November 7, 2025 at 11:24 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
In addition to taming a heaving scrap hamper (it's been piling up since July), I managed to get @Drub's #DandyShirt washed, pressed out, and boxed up for shipping.

This color/print combo is so that I may make one for myself.

#sewing #fashion #ElfkinCollection
A button front shirt with a pintuck pleated front placket, narrow winged collar, and French cuffs. It is made of rust red cotton shirt with floral (roses and bees in white on a red background) accents at the yoke, inner collar band, and cuffs. Closeup on collar of same shirt to show that undercollar is faced with same floral fabric and yoke and inner collar band.
November 6, 2025 at 1:53 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Lisa’s #NeoVictorianBlouse is all cut and marked. This silk chiffon with the appliquéd strips of charmeuse is just about the softest I have ever felt. It’s going to be a treat to wear. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinCouture
Bronze-gold transparent silk with long, squiggly strips of opaque shiny gold silk is shown cut and placed on top of the corresponding pattern pieces for a blouse.
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Now for my next trick, Lisa’s #NeoVictorianBlouse. Step 1: validate alterations from fitting muslin, copy pattern to oaktag paper, and add allowances. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinCouture
In the foreground: pattern pieces for a blouse on a mix of plain white paper and transparent white paten paper with blue grid markings. The front most piece, the side princess panel, is labeled “NEO VICTORIAN BLOUSE, V1.0.” Midground, the muslin fitting garment of the blouse made in cream colored poly chiffon. In the background, a large roll of beige oaktag paper.
November 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Drub’s #DandyShirt is back from seamstress Karyn, and it’s time to put in the buttonholes and buttons. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinCollection
Closeup of the front buttonhole placket and undercollar of a tailored dress shirt. The main fabric is a rust red, and the undercollar is a complementary dark red printed with white roses and bees. Buttonholes are done in matched dark red thread, and their threads tails are still attached.
November 3, 2025 at 7:55 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Chad is doing his best to model Lisa's tulle baby doll t-shirt, which is now done! All hand stitched with waxed silk thread. It was a lot of fun to make this piece. Very meditative in its way. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinCouture #art
November 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Making bias binding from silk georgette is akin to trying to wipe your ass with plastic wrap. I do not recommend it for a good time. But it’s gonna look amazing as a finish for the hems on Lisa’s tulle baby doll tee. #sewing
Strips of black silk bias binding lay on a gridded cutting table with an assortment of rulers.
October 27, 2025 at 11:51 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
I’ve been using this kloodge of a table for Jamie, my old Singer 201, for years now, and it’s somewhat less than ideal. Very excited to head down to the used #sewing machine dealer this morning to get a proper table for Jamie as well as a dedicated table for Cherno Alpha (Singer 111W).
A black enameled Singer sewing machine sits on the keyboard shelf of a white computer desk. The keyboard shelf has been lowered to allow the machine’s bed to sit flush to the table. Orange cardboard boxes have been joined with pink duct tape in order to fill in the gap in front of the machine.
October 27, 2025 at 4:39 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
With the first half of Nick’s order in the mail, I’m jamming to get Lisa’s tulle baby doll t-shirt done. The bodice is all (hand back and overcast) stitched together. Now to do up the sleeves. #sewing
Two short sleeve pieces with gathered caps. They are made of black dot tulle.
October 24, 2025 at 7:48 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
It was 64°F (~18°C) in the bedroom this morning. Fergal activated Snuggle Bun mode. #cats
A ginger cat’s head pokes up through a swaddling of orange blanket.
October 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
My side quest to find a reliable method for dyeing pearl/shell buttons is finally yielding positive results. These were held at ~190°F in a 10:1 solution of water to liquid aniline dye (Rit for natural fibers) for two hours. Far superior to all previous attempts.
Four different pearl shirt buttons dyed fuchsia.
October 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Pugsley and Fergal can’t even with this #caturday. #cats
A ginger tabby and a solid black cat lounge on a burgundy sofa. The ginger cat is curled in a ball with his paw touching the tail of the black cat, who is stretched out on his side.
October 18, 2025 at 8:16 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
It took five years to reach blooming size, but my nematanthus is finally showing off why it’s known as the goldfish plant. #BloomScrolling
Closeup of an orange-gold flower. It’s about an inch long and shaped like a fat goldfish with yellow lips.
October 16, 2025 at 9:05 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
The snuggle is real. #cats
A ginger cat stretches along the length of a man’s legs. The cat’s paw, which is mostly white, stretches out toward the viewer.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Now for a change of pace… Lisa’s tulle baby doll t-shirt. It needs to be completely hand sewn, so I’m trying to do a little bit each day. At least it’s all basted up from the final fitting, so I can just pick it up and stitch away. #sewing
Black tulle with red rose appliqué lays on a green table.
October 15, 2025 at 12:16 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
With a reliable machine for the topstitching slotted into the table, Nick’s jeans are moving along. Pockets are all done up.

Related: it’s always worth the effort to baste on the back pockets for stitching. Especially with a stretch denim, they are far too squirrely otherwise. #sewing
Front and back pieces of indigo blue denim jeans shown to highlight pockets. Pockets are topstitched in dark gold thread. One of each piece is shown from the inside. Front pocket is lined with white and black hanky cotton.
October 14, 2025 at 10:55 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
My Singer 111W, Cherno Alpha, was just pretending to be fixed. As soon as I started back in on Nick’s jeans this morning, the skipped stitches were back. He’s gonna have to go to the shop. In the meantime, Zak, my Pfaff 238, is handling the topstitching. #sewing
The back pocket from a pair of jeans sits atop a sewing machine table.
October 13, 2025 at 9:30 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
I’m very relieved, and no small amount of surprised, that I was able to get Cherno Alpha back in working order. I found a reference that explained the correct sequence for the standard adjustments, and that made all the difference. No more skips or puckers! #sewing
A strip of many denim with dark gold stitching sits under the presser foot of an old Singer walking foot machine.
October 12, 2025 at 1:36 AM
elfkin.bsky.social
Replacing Cherno Alpha’s (Singer 111W) thread controller was a step in the right direction, but he’s still throwing occasional irregular stitches. There’s nothing for it but to go through the full tuning and alignment routine as three orders are blocked until I get him #sewing smoothly again.
A silver/gray industrial sewing machine in a green table. It is surrounded by a socket wrench, screw drivers, a pair of reading glasses, and an old Singer service manual.
October 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
elfkin.bsky.social
Moar scary season movie revue. This is why I stay on the interstate highway for road trips.
A college age brother and sister behind the wheel of a car as a beatup pickup truck closes in behind them. Opening scene of Jeepers Creepers.
October 7, 2025 at 3:38 AM