Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Elin's Tailoring Lessons
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Ever since Emily took that day off, something had felt off about her.
Her actions and speech were the same as always, but her aura was strange.
There was a sense of resolve and grim determination, mixed with an inexplicable sulkiness and stickiness that hit hard at first, making me think something terrible had happened.
Even when I asked carefully, full of worry, she cut me off firmly with, "Nothing happened."
But the problem was, she looked 100% like something had definitely gone down.
If Mother had been around, I would've run straight to her, but of all years, she wasn't in the Imperial Capital this time because of my sister-in-law's issue.
If Brother had wrapped things up just a couple months earlier, this wouldn't have happened, but since kids don't just pop out on demand, I couldn't really blame anyone.
Normally, I'd pester Emily relentlessly until I got the truth out of her amid her glares of resentment, but this time, I sensed a massive wall of will from her not to spill it.
It was just like a few years back when I asked, "How much do you weigh?" and she stared daggers at me while clamping her mouth shut like her life depended on it.
In the end, if asking got me nowhere and I couldn't figure it out myself, all that was left was to watch Emily's mood and wait.
So, even though it made me anxious and irritated, I had no choice but to focus on work like usual.
"Hoo..."
With that, I tried to push aside my unease about Emily and picked up the top sheet from the stack of materials I'd prepared over the past few days, glancing at the person beside me.
"Alright then, Elin. You fully prepared to learn tailoring?"
"Y-Yes...! Um, I can learn anytime...!"
"Good. Excellent."
Elin, who had moved to the spot between me and Elizabeth over the past few days, bobbed her head vigorously.
The first lesson since she'd declared she wanted to become a tailor.
Maybe because it was her first time, Elin was stiff with tension, but she still wore an expression brimming with anticipation and enthusiasm as she stared intently at the paper in my hand.
"Normally, you'd start with fabrics or threads, but since you already know most of that stuff, we'll jump straight to patterns and cutting. That okay with you?"
"Yes...!"
"Then let's lay out cotton on the worktable first. We'll practice with cotton from here on out, so unless I say otherwise, go ahead and set it up yourself."
"Y-Yes...!"
Elin gave twice her usual peppy responses as she smartly spread the cotton fabric across the worktable with crisp movements.
Her shoulders were a bit too tense, but that'd loosen up naturally in a few days.
Even if it didn't, I'd drill her until it did.
"N-Now, what do I do...?"
With the fabric neatly spread on the table, Elin looked up at me, eyes sparkling.
I held up a single finger toward her and said,
"First off, we're going to make a necktie."
Necktie.
A garment worn around the collar, knotted, and used to decorate the front of a shirt just so.
This essential element of modern suits, indispensable despite its simple shape, doesn't actually have that long a history.
It took quite some time to evolve from a casual scarf draped around the neck into the necktie that's now mandatory with suits.
The progenitor of the modern necktie is considered the cravat, which originated in the early to mid-17th century when Croatian soldiers wore them around their necks for protection.
Structurally, it's not much different from a scarf—basically a Croatian-style scarf—but Western Europeans found the neatly knotted look around the neck pretty stylish, and it spread like wildfire.
Compared to the ruffs or rebatos that were popular before, though, it's downright fairy-like.
A chin bib is a hundred times prettier than a scarf-lizard.
You can style a chin bib elegantly with the right placement, but a scarf-lizard... ugh.
Whether because of that or because it was less fussy than ruffs, people happily wore cravats, but the wide fabric made knots come undone easily and hard to tidy up nicely, so they desperately wanted improvements.
And so, simpler knots that stayed put but were easy to arrange led to the birth of the necktie and bow tie.
Knot a narrow, long strip of fabric to hang down, and you get a necktie; shape it like a butterfly, a bow tie; tweak the butterfly into a dangling ribbon, and you have a lavallière or pussy bow, the women's version.
The great thing about neckties is their simple shape.
No need to tailor tightly to each person's size—just get the width right so it's not too big or small.
But it's not so basic it's a plain rectangle; the slight angles and bends mean you can't just slap together any width and call it done.
In other words, perfect for a first practice.
So, with the envoy's birthday coming up in a few weeks—perfect for presenting one—as practice for Elin and to ditch those annoying cravats, I pulled it from my memories.
A few days of closed-door training with various widths and styles, and once her skills improved, we'd move to shirts or dresses with curves.
I had no idea the actual order real tailors learned in, so I just arranged it how I thought best.
"Necktie...? L-Like a scarf...?"
Hearing the unfamiliar name sapped her confidence, and worry clouded Elin's face.
"It's worn around the neck, yeah, but more like a cravat—goes under the shirt collar, knotted up."
"Ah... I-I see...!"
But as my explanation continued and she pictured it, the worry vanished from her face, replaced by a smile.
Like poking a grub—it reacts right away, and that responsiveness makes explaining so satisfying.
"B-But, what does a n-neck... tie... look like...?"
"Like this."
I smiled warmly at Elin, who was eagerly asking more questions now, and pulled out the sample I'd made in advance to show her.
Not worn yet, it dangled like a snake, long and slender.
"It's so looong..."
Simpler than she'd imagined, Elin's expression brightened even more.
"Since it's like a cravat, you drape it under the shirt collar like this... knot it just so... and tuck it neatly into your jacket or vest. What do you think?"
"Thinner than a cravat... and less stuffy-looking..."
"Exactly. That's one of the necktie's biggest strengths."
Great observation—I patted Elin's head lightly and nodded.
More comfortable than cravats.
Clean design.
Yet sturdy knots.
These advantages fueled the necktie's explosive popularity in the 19th century as suits simplified.
"Neckties are simple, so nail the starting points and angles, and you can draw them quick. Look at this pattern I did—see the shapes of each piece?"
"Pentagons... or rectangles..."
"Right. Think carefully about why it's shaped that way as you draw the lines, and it'll be easy."
"Y-Yes..."
"We'll stick to neckties until you can draw patterns for different widths without looking. Focus hard and follow along, got it?"
"Yes...!"
"Alright, pencil up!"
"Yes...!"
_
With Elin's spirited reply, the tailoring practice began.
"L-Lord William...! I-I finished another one...!"
A little past 3 p.m., Elin presented her third result, trembling as she held out the cut fabric for evaluation on shape and finish.
"Let me see..."
I set aside what I was doing, took the pieces, and examined each one carefully, eyes narrowed.
"Mm~ Nice, your skills are improving fast. You're doing great."
"Th-Thank you...!"
I smiled in satisfaction after dissecting it like a teardown analysis, then gave Elin a thumbs-up.
Beaming, she bowed her head deeply.
Compared to mine, there were mistakes and rough edges, but for a first day, it was astonishing.
Considering you need to read patterns to sew well, it wasn't that surprising, but there's a world of difference between reading a drawing and making one.
At this rate, what I'd thought would take until next week at the earliest to advance now looked possible by next week at the latest.
"That's excellent for today, so take a short break, review what I taught you, and tomorrow, make something even better. Got it?"
"Yes...!"
We still had about three hours left for one more, but satisfied with her near-perfect progress, I suggested a rest.
"Heh heh..."
I watched fondly as Elin returned to her seat with a crisp reply.
High passion, smart, quick learner—teaching her from one to ten was pure joy.
Ahh~ So this is why people take disciples?
I wish the folks coming from my newspaper ad were even half like Elin.