I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World - Chapter 21

It seemed Heini Yang's promise to provide the best service wasn't just empty words; two days later, she arrived at the mansion herself, driving a carriage.

Heini Yang personally led the installation, even using magic, and after leaving behind a thick manual that must have been 500 pages and her business card, she returned to the Magic Tower only after explaining how to use it.

I couldn't understand why the machine was installed in my room, but, well... I just let it go.

Before I could say anything, it was already installed, so I felt a bit awkward asking to have it moved.

"Hmm~"

Humming with excitement, I brought a chair in front of the machine and threaded the yarn.

I need to make a knitted dress for Mother before it gets too hot.

There were so many things to figure out before starting in earnest.

You might wonder what I'm looking into, since I already learned how to use it and received the manual, but there's one big problem with knitted clothes.

That's the deformation that occurs after washing.

Most clothes stretch or shrink slightly after washing.

However, unlike fabrics where the deformation is somewhat consistent, knitted clothes have wildly varying deformations.

Due to various variables such as the pattern, the way the yarn is intertwined, the raw material, etc., you don't know how much it will shrink until you actually make it and wash it.

It might end up with the sleeves just being a little short, or a catastrophic shrinkage to the point where even a newborn could wear it.

Of course, there are ways to deal with this to some extent, and you get a feel for it little by little after making a few, but as I switched from hand knitting to a machine, I had to get that feel all over again from the beginning.

So, before making one for Mother, I need to make clothes to play around with as a test.

"First... should I try making something with an oversized t-shirt feel..."

I muttered to myself as I sat down on the chair.

The first step is always to make it big, really big.

_

The machine is a god, and the Magic Tower is the intellect of this era.

After playing around with the knitting machine for a week.

I was able to get a feel for the machine and complete two knitted dresses to give to Mother.

Perfectly incorporating her request to make the skirt generously wide.

Moreover, I used silk yarn, but the thinnest possible, to minimize the appearance of the pattern, reducing the feel of a sweater and making it closer to a comfortable dress.

Similar to the dresses often worn in a certain new city in my previous life.

I sacrificed a little warmth, but it looks good.

"It's not bad, if you wear a shawl, you can wander around inside the mansion."

"Right?"

Mother's evaluation of the newly made dress was also positive, so anyway, it was okay.

"More importantly, is the machine useful?"

"It's pretty good, but why did you install it in my room?"

"Right now, you're the only one who can use it. If you try it out and it seems good, I'm thinking of getting a new one with someone to operate it, so feel free to play with it as much as you want."

I became a beta tester with a 2 gold toy.

I'm not sure if this is right, but it's Mother's money, so whatever...

"Uh... okay."

I answered awkwardly, wondering what to do with the knitting machine.

"By the way, I heard Wilhelmina is coming to the mansion next week."

"Sister-in-law?"

I was wondering if I should start getting up, looking around in the air, when Mother, who was picking up a cookie from the table and munching on it, delivered unexpected news.

The news that my family's second child and eldest son, Edward's wife, was suddenly coming to the mansion.

I blinked slowly, staring at Mother with a bewildered expression.

"Yes."

Mother nodded leisurely, dusting off the crumbs from her mouth.

"Huh..."

Our family doesn't have any big anniversaries in the summer.

Most of the birthdays are concentrated in the fall and winter, and most of the family-related events are also concentrated in the winter, so the mansion is so quiet in the summer that you can hear complaints about boredom.

Of course, even so, it's not strange for family to come home, but...

"Isn't Brother Edward very busy these days?"

Why is someone who's stationed in the capital to build connections and work to solidify his position as Father's successor suddenly coming?

"That's right, so Edward isn't coming, only the new daughter-in-law is coming."

"Huh?"

The explanation Mother added made even less sense.

Why would they suddenly send his wife back to the mansion after always sticking together?

Did my brother do something wrong?

"Did Brother and Sister-in-law fight? My brother didn't do anything wrong, did he?"

"They didn't fight, and he didn't do anything wrong. You could even say he did well."

"What does that..."

I don't understand why my brother did well, but the result is a separation.

As I frowned and looked at Mother, she opened her mouth with a happy smile.

"Recently, they had a child between them, Edward is too busy to be together, so we decided to take care of her instead."

"Huh? Really?"

I was startled and blinked rapidly, gaping my mouth open.

"Wow~ Finally, some good news?"

"Yes, she's about 3 months along, I hear."

I heard that they've been trying to have a child since the beginning of the year, but I didn't expect to hear the news so soon.

Thinking about getting a new nephew or niece, I felt strangely excited and the corners of my mouth slowly turned upwards.

"Edward was so happy, the writing in his letter was dancing with excitement."

"Brother is very emotional, he even cried buckets when Dorothy gave birth."

Mother frowned and pouted, as if reminded of that situation.

"It was quite a sight, he clearly inherited his blood from him and me, but who did he take after to be so tearful..."

"It's better than being heartless."

"That's true."

My brother is affectionate but knows how to clearly separate public and private matters, so Mother nodded, even while making an unpleasant expression.

"Anyway, there will hardly be any chance for the new daughter-in-law and you to run into each other, but if there is a chance, please be as considerate as possible to the new daughter-in-law, be a good conversational partner, okay?"

"Of course, should I make baby socks in advance?"

"Ha-"

Mother, who chuckled at the mention of baby socks, shook her head, looking at me as if I was cute.

"Such a fuss, I know you're happy, but don't get ahead of yourself yet, what baby clothes when you don't even know the gender?"

"Ah, that's right."

"Just helping the new daughter-in-law to be comfortable is all you need to do, so stay still and don't do anything unnecessary."

"Ugh... okay."

I pouted and nodded.

_

"Hmm~"

After delivering the dress to Mother and returning to my room, I put a pencil behind my ear and stared at the paper, deep in thought.

Mother told me not to get ahead of myself, but I felt a bit uneasy just staying still when there was a baby in Sister-in-law's belly, so I wanted to do something for her.

Baby clothes, as Mother said, I don't know the gender yet, so instead, it would be nice to give her clothes that she can wear comfortably.

The clothes she used to wear will gradually become uncomfortable.

"Is there anything good...?"

I crossed my arms, muttering to myself.

From now on, her belly will slowly start to swell, so ordinary clothes will be difficult.

Giving her small things like gloves seems too modest.

Maternity underwear also briefly flashed through my mind, but I immediately threw it out of my head.

Sister-in-law and I aren't that close.

If I gave it to her and got slapped, I'd have nothing to say.

In the end, after considering everything, a shawl or cardigan was the most appropriate.

But this is Sister-in-law's first pregnancy, so I want to give her something a little more sincere and proper if possible...

"Ugh..."

I racked my brain, but I just couldn't come up with an answer.

"Emily."

"Yes."

I thought it would be the same even if I worried about it alone, so I called Emily.

She's a woman, and she's heard a lot, so she'll know better than me.

"What kind of clothes are good to give to a pregnant woman as a gift?"

"Clothes?"

Emily, with her finger slightly raised to her pouting lips, looked up for a moment, then shrugged and said.

"I don't know either, but even if you give clothes to a pregnant woman, she can't wear them anyway."

"Uh... shouldn't she wear comfortable clothes since she's pregnant?"

"Not necessarily? When my mother was pregnant with my younger sibling, she just tied the strings loosely and walked around, because it would be loose."

"What? That's it?"

"She wore an apron, commoners don't care much as long as they cover their bodies properly."

"Ugh..."

Wearing clothes that fit the body perfectly was only something nobles did...

Commoners bought or made clothes about once a year and wore them for a long time, so they wouldn't make separate clothes that they would only wear for a few months.

"Is there anyone else who's been pregnant among the other people?"

"Other people...? Hmm... Ah! I remember Dorothy complaining that she didn't have any dresses to wear when she was pregnant."

"I guess so."

"She couldn't wear panniers or corsets, and she had to alter her dresses every time her belly grew, so her figure was ruined... Thanks to that, she said she had a hard time."

"Alter? Not make new ones?"

"Yes, because even if you make new ones, you can't wear them for long."

"Hmm..."

No need to adjust the size, loose, no need for corsets or panniers, comfortable, and pretty clothes that you can wear even if the size doesn't fit...

Is there such a thing among dresses?

I don't think so...

"Ah."

There is one.

During the time in the late 18th century when there was a craze for a brief return to classicism in the West, there was a dress that came out.

I took the pencil I had behind my ear and put it on the paper.

"Emily."

"Yes."

"Can you bring me a lot of cotton cloth from the warehouse? Something pure white."

"Yes, I understand."

I have to go back to sewing after a long time.