A couple of weeks ago I bought a great pair of shorts from a charity shop, then wore them for the first time and immediately realised why someone donated them in the first place.
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@afewbugs yes, that is indeed the problem and what you suggest would work, but not, at least invisibly, on these cut offs and they would still be a problem getting then out past the 'bend' if you're sitting.
I rather like my cargo pants, with side pockets and a front patch pocket, all of which will hold a phone or a purse.@marjolica I don't really care how far the protrude tbh, that's why I picked nice fabic
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The only part of the experience that wasn't great was when a man interrupted me in the middle of the first pocket and asked me to teach him how to use a sewing machine, which is the sort of thing that unfortunately happens all too frequently while Being A Woman In Public. I waved the threading instruction sheet at him, told him he was in a library and suggested he get a book, told him to look for YouTube videos and suggested he ask any older female relatives he might have because there was a good chance they might know. He responded by asking if I would come back next Saturday and he would pay me to teach him.
5/π§΅
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A couple of weeks ago I bought a great pair of shorts from a charity shop, then wore them for the first time and immediately realised why someone donated them in the first place.
1/π§΅
@afewbugs they did that amazing embroidery THROUGH THE POCKETS?!
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The only part of the experience that wasn't great was when a man interrupted me in the middle of the first pocket and asked me to teach him how to use a sewing machine, which is the sort of thing that unfortunately happens all too frequently while Being A Woman In Public. I waved the threading instruction sheet at him, told him he was in a library and suggested he get a book, told him to look for YouTube videos and suggested he ask any older female relatives he might have because there was a good chance they might know. He responded by asking if I would come back next Saturday and he would pay me to teach him.
5/π§΅
@afewbugs all library borrowable kit should maybe have a βI dont work hereβ notice appended?
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So I cut some slits in the existing useless pockets and made some new ones.
4/π§΅
@afewbugs yeee the fabric you chose for the pockets is
so pretty! -
@afewbugs yeee the fabric you chose for the pockets is
so pretty!@afewbugs also I actually yelped out loud when I played that gif of the not-pocket. the nocket.
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Also it's 2026, women want pockets enough to make them ourselves FFS. Clothing companies take note
@afewbugs Yes! Also well done with making the pockets yourself. It would be very nice if all woman's trousers had pockets but also one's own made pockets rule!
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@afewbugs also I actually yelped out loud when I played that gif of the not-pocket. the nocket.
@verity it's so ridiculous a static image wasn't sufficient to convey the ridiculousness
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So I cut some slits in the existing useless pockets and made some new ones.
4/π§΅
Oh yes, been there, done that!
We need pockets! -
@afewbugs Oh, weird. There would have been some pocket if they hadn't been embroidered through the pocket lining.
Isn't that strange?! I expect these pants were new old stock, with some unfashionable leg shape. Which were then purchased wholesale by another company that cut them into shorts and added the embroidery
It's a whole industry. I read an article about it sometime. Probably in the New Yorker. It sounds like their kind of thing
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The only part of the experience that wasn't great was when a man interrupted me in the middle of the first pocket and asked me to teach him how to use a sewing machine, which is the sort of thing that unfortunately happens all too frequently while Being A Woman In Public. I waved the threading instruction sheet at him, told him he was in a library and suggested he get a book, told him to look for YouTube videos and suggested he ask any older female relatives he might have because there was a good chance they might know. He responded by asking if I would come back next Saturday and he would pay me to teach him.
5/π§΅
Your facial expression, looking over the sewing machine, is perfect for the 'WTF creepy guy?'
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Fortunately #ExeterLibrary offers an extremely cool service where people with library cards can borrow a sewing machine to use in the library. It comes with a lamp, box of accessories including black and white thread and a seam ripper but not a needle threader so I'd recommend bringing your own) and instruction sheet for threading it. Threading an unfamiliar machine is often a bit of a logic puzzle but I actually found it harder to get the unfamiliar iron working, which you can also borrow for pressing. This is all free btw.
2/π§΅
@afewbugs What is a "needle threader"? Yes, the instructions for threading a sewing machine are essential, but I've never come across a gadget to help?
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Isn't that strange?! I expect these pants were new old stock, with some unfashionable leg shape. Which were then purchased wholesale by another company that cut them into shorts and added the embroidery
It's a whole industry. I read an article about it sometime. Probably in the New Yorker. It sounds like their kind of thing
@NilaJones @jgrg I suppose it's good that the unfashionable jeans or whatever they were originally weren't just dumped in the Atacama desert or something then
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@afewbugs What is a "needle threader"? Yes, the instructions for threading a sewing machine are essential, but I've never come across a gadget to help?
@TimWardCam like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Threaders-Plastic-Needles-Machines-Clothing/dp/B0BBZXDK6L/ Basically a diamond shaped bit of stiff wire you can put through the eye of the needle then have a much larger hole to put the thread through, then use it to pull the thread through the needle. They save so much faffing about
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Isn't that strange?! I expect these pants were new old stock, with some unfashionable leg shape. Which were then purchased wholesale by another company that cut them into shorts and added the embroidery
It's a whole industry. I read an article about it sometime. Probably in the New Yorker. It sounds like their kind of thing
@NilaJones @afewbugs Ah yes, that makes sense! I was wondering why what is clearly industrial embroidery wasn't done in the right order when making them.
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@afewbugs i get audibly upset in dressing rooms when i try on pants that 1. have teeny tiny pockets or 2. have fake pockets
@emily_rugburn @afewbugs I sewed some pockets in my daughter's shorts. For myself, I buy retro style dresses and skirts. They come with huge pockets π₯°
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A couple of weeks ago I bought a great pair of shorts from a charity shop, then wore them for the first time and immediately realised why someone donated them in the first place.
1/π§΅
@afewbugs oooooooo straight to jail!!
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Also it's 2026, women want pockets enough to make them ourselves FFS. Clothing companies take note
@afewbugs this is the coolest gods damned thread! That's incredible, I need to see if the TPL has sewing machines for use anywhere
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Also it's 2026, women want pockets enough to make them ourselves FFS. Clothing companies take note
@afewbugs skirts with a pocket for your phone absolutely rules. I love the ones I have that can take a phone soooo much more....
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I decided it would be easier to sew the new pockets to the existing ones by hand, so this is my accountability thread to make sure I actually do that before it gets too cold to wear them. But yes, Exeter Library's sewing machine service: highly recommended. Creepy men: do not recommend.
@afewbugs Also, yes, an alarming number of men are creepy. It's hard to believe the scale of it until you start experiencing it.
