The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 233 Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law (4K)

Now we can finally tell you what the gift Chen Jingle is going to give Li Beixing is.

He planned to give Li Beixing a little dress that he had made himself.

A halter-neck fishtail maxi dress in the style of an evening gown.

The production process for this type of clothing is quite complicated, unlike mini skirts, A-line skirts, and straight skirts, which have simple designs and ordinary fabrics, yet sell for tens or even hundreds of dollars each.

"It just goes to show that women's money is really easy to make," Chen Jingle muttered to himself.

To determine the quality of a garment, one must first examine its workmanship and secondly, its fabric.

Everyone knows that there are differences between a novice and a skilled craftsman, a skilled craftsman and a veteran craftsman, and a veteran craftsman and a master craftsman.

Although it was Chen Jingle's first time operating the equipment and he was a complete novice, he had made thorough theoretical preparations beforehand and had simulated the specific operations many times in his mind. In actual practice, he might not be much worse than the veteran.

At least he can be considered a skilled person.

At most, we'll spend a little more time refining the details.

The fabric is actually the most crucial element.

If ordinary fabric combined with master craftsmanship is like a girl with a 70-point bare face, and with makeup and beauty filters, she can reach 85 or 90 points, then good fabric is like a girl with a 90-point bare face or even 95 points from the start!
As for how to judge the quality of fabric, it's very simple.

First, check the drape; a good drape is definitely more comfortable to look at than a bad one. Second, check the weight; weight usually indicates quality. Third, check the sheen; common types include silk and acetate, but these are not strict requirements, as not everyone likes to wear shiny clothes, and matte is also a popular choice. Fourth, check the fineness, also known as the thread count; the higher the thread count, the more expensive it is, and the softer it is. Fifth, check the comfort level; whether it is sweat-absorbent and breathable.

The above may not apply to all situations, but it can at least serve as a reference when choosing clothes.

When buying clothes, you must learn to look at the fabric. Good fabric usually means good workmanship. Otherwise, it's like asking a novice chef to ruin top-quality ingredients. Clothing factories need to make a profit; they wouldn't be that stupid.

Of course, it's not that the more expensive the fabric, the better; the key is suitability.

What's suitable is the best.

Combed cotton is smooth, but not as warm as long-staple cotton; mercerized cotton is soft, but not as durable as denim.

In addition, blended fabrics also have a certain market. Clothes made by using different proportions in a reasonable way may be more suitable for customers in specific seasons and regions.

Furthermore, the fabric of clothes also varies depending on the season.

For summer underwear, choose silk for its coolness and breathability, or ice silk for easy washing and quick drying. For thermal underwear, choose merino wool or velvet. For sports base layers, choose modal or a blend of Lycra. For thin pajamas, choose silk or lyocell. For T-shirts and sweatshirts, if you want to buy pure cotton or cotton-polyester blends, just look at the weight; the higher the weight, the thicker the fabric.

No fabric is perfect.

Although domestic brands cannot break into the international fashion and luxury goods market, it does not mean that there are no good products in China.

On the contrary, the most premium and luxurious fabrics are actually made in China.

Don't forget, we are the land of silk.

For example, Yun brocade, the most famous of the four great brocades, can cost 29800 yuan for a single silk scarf and sell for millions of yuan for a finished garment.

The saying "an inch of brocade is worth an inch of gold" is no joke; a lot of gold was indeed used in the weaving process.

Even ordinary machine-woven silk fabrics are not cheap; they are priced by the centimeter.

This time, Chen Jingle chose satin fabric from the category of silk and satin.

The advantages of satin are its softness and luster.

Although various brocade fabrics are better, they all have patterns. Brocade means patterns woven from silk threads.

Chen Jingle's design this time did not require patterned fabrics, so he did not use brocade.

However, I did buy some for reference.

If you want to try making Hanfu in the future, you can use this.

……

Chen Jingle prepared the pattern, laid out the moon-white satin fabric, drew lines on it, and then began to cut.

This type of spaghetti strap fishtail dress requires a very good figure; a full bust, a slim waist, wide hips, and a perky bottom are necessary. If someone with an unflattering figure wears it, it will look completely different.

Another important point is that the fit must be good and close-fitting, so the waistline must be well-defined.

Although the dress wasn't finished yet, Chen Jingle had already imagined Teacher Li wearing it, exuding a Chanel-esque vibe.

As for how he knew Ms. Li's body measurements...

For an experienced tailor, this is practically a basic skill; he can guess almost anything at a glance.

Moreover, Chen Jingle had prior experience.

However, even with thorough preparation, the entire production process was still not easy.

For this one fishtail skirt, Chen Jingle used three composite techniques: pleated fishtail skirt, lotus leaf fishtail skirt, and spread-out fishtail skirt.

Each of these processes has its own advantages.

Gathering can effectively add a sense of layering; a ruffled fishtail can add a touch of gentle elegance; and a flowing fishtail makes the lower half of the waist and hips appear more fitted.

A skilled tailor must be able to use various techniques flexibly and not be bound by rigid rules.

Pattern making, cutting, ironing, attaching interfacing, sewing, etc., each step requires a lot of effort and time.

Especially since Chen Jingle works at night, no matter how good the lighting is, it can't compare to the sun during the day. After a while, his eyes would get a little sore.

He was eager to finish the piece and deliver it to Li Beixing as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, there's no use rushing; we can only take it one step at a time.

So, during the day he went to the studio to learn professional knowledge related to clothing design and tailoring, and at night he would use the time after dinner and before going to bed to work hard on his sewing machine in his bedroom.

After three nights of work, this fishtail evening gown is finally finished!
Finally, a light blue rose is added to the connection between the dress straps and the skirt, serving as the finishing touch.

"OK, mission accomplished!"

Chen Jingle looked at his work with great satisfaction.

The mannequin he bought was custom-made to fit Li Beixing's proportions, and once she put it on, it perfectly showcased the advantages of the dress.

After looking it over from top to bottom, I could hardly find anything that needed to be modified.

It's hard to believe this is the work of a novice tailor; no one would believe it if I told them.

However, this was indeed Chen Jingle's first time making clothes.

All I can say is that the system is awesome!
And so, after these days of hard work and practice, he has gained another skill. Before long, he will probably reach the expert level.

With more practice, becoming a master is not impossible!

Chen Jingle achieved a level that others could never reach even after a lifetime of hard work.

He even complained that it was a bit slow.

That's a bit greedy, to say the least.

"I'll take it to Teacher Li tomorrow and see how she reacts."

Chen Jingle chuckled.

He was really looking forward to seeing Li Beixing's expression when she received the gift.

Is it touching, or just touching?
Surely you wouldn't be so disgusted by it? No way!

……

Besides the little dress she made for Teacher Li, Chen Jingle actually made another thing.

I made a new Chinese-style drawstring tote bag for my mom.

My mom is a very frugal person. The tote bag she uses now was bought from a roadside stall many years ago for a few dozen yuan. Its only function is to carry things.

And there's only one.

So Chen Jingle thought of making a handbag for her.

Although handbag making can be considered part of the tailoring category, it mainly involves leather goods making, but fortunately, the two are largely the same.

All you need to know is how to cut and sew.

The entire handbag is covered with an outer layer of apricot-white Shangjiukai intangible cultural heritage Song brocade.

Shang Jiukai's Song brocade is also one of the four famous brocades and is quite expensive. He prefers light colors, so he bought apricot white.

The middle layer uses the finest top-grain calfskin, and the innermost layer uses Xiangyun yarn. Xiangyun yarn is not a type of fabric, but a technique; only fabrics made using this technique are called Xiangyun yarn.

It also comes with a short carrying strap and a long shoulder strap, and is decorated with jade tassels.

Despite its smaller size, the craftsmanship is no less sophisticated.

One challenge was the design; Chen Jingle spent time conceiving the bag's shape himself. Another challenge was the bonding and sewing of the fabric and leather, especially the stitching. For thick materials like this, sewing machines weren't very effective, so it had to be done entirely by hand, which was very labor-intensive.

However, after finishing that fishtail skirt, he was practically halfway into becoming a seasoned tailor, so he was quite quick to finish it.

It was done in less than one night.

perfect!

Chen Jingle breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the brand-new Chinese-style handbag in front of him, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"I hope Mom will like it."

……

The next day.

Chen Jingle got up and went out for exercise as usual, and also bought breakfast for his mother and some vegetables for lunch at the supermarket.

When I got home, my mom was already up and cleaning the first floor and the yard.

When she saw Chen Jingle return, she smiled and said, "The sweater I knitted for your little girlfriend was finished last night. Do you want to take a look?"

"It's finished so quickly?"

Chen Jingle was surprised; the speed was much faster than he had imagined.

It's been a week already, wow, that goes by so fast.

However, considering that my mother also knits during the day, it makes sense.

My mom laughed and said, "It's been a long time since I knitted, so I was a little rusty at first, but I gradually got the hang of it and became much faster."

This was the first gift she was giving to her future daughter-in-law, so naturally she had to take it seriously and wished she could finish knitting it in a day so her son could deliver it.

Now that I've finished knitting it, I'm worried that such an ordinary gift might be a bit embarrassing to give.

Although her son had told her before that the sentiment behind a gift is the most important thing, Liu Yuehua was still a little worried.

"Okay, let me see." Chen Jingle's eyes were expectant.

Aside from providing his mother with the materials and patterns at the beginning, his mother was in charge of the rest. She checked on the work a few times during the process, and once she found that it was knitted well, she stopped interfering.

There shouldn't be any problems, right?

After his mother brought out the knitted sweater from the room, Chen Jingle took it and examined it repeatedly, but found no problems.

She immediately smiled and said, "Mom, you knitted it so beautifully! She'll definitely love it!"

The craftsmanship is at least above average, and the patterns on it are not outdated; they are the type that Li Beixing would like. It also has good warmth retention.

It feels impeccable.

It's much nicer than the ones I knitted for him and his dad back then.

"That's fine."

Hearing her son say that, Liu Yuehua breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that she wouldn't knit well and that people wouldn't like it.

After thinking for a moment, I couldn't help but ask, "Is just one sweater enough? Are you sure you don't need to send something else?"

Chen Jingle sighed and said, "Mom, don't worry, she's not that kind of superficial person. The quality of a gift isn't determined by its monetary value, but by whether it was prepared with care. She can tell."

Only after his repeated persuasion did his mother give up her other plans.

She didn't know that Chen Jingle had another fishtail dress; with that, Teacher Li would probably be happy for days.

……

"Oh, right, Mom, I also made you a gift. Wait a moment."

After Chen Jingle finished speaking, he ran back to his room, took out the handbag, and handed it to his mother like a treasure.

When my mother saw it, she was immediately surprised: "You made this yourself?"

"Yes, I've been learning to do handicrafts lately, and I'm doing alright, right?" Chen Jingle said with a smile.

"It's so beautiful! The fabric is so high-quality, what kind of material is it? Is it made of genuine leather in the middle?"

My mother used to work in a leather goods factory in the provincial capital, so she could immediately tell how well the bags were made, which made her very pleasantly surprised.

Chen Jingle nodded: "Yes. The outer layer is Song brocade, the middle layer is top-grain cowhide, and the inner layer is Xiangyun yarn. Note that this cannot be washed."

"That's great!"

Mom touched the bag, overjoyed.

No one dislikes beautiful things, especially since she had always wanted a beautiful bag like this. She just hadn't been willing to buy it before.

She was young once too.

Chen Jingle chuckled: "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it, of course I love it!" Mom couldn't put it down.

Actually, she likes whatever her son gives her.

Chen Jingle smiled as he watched his mother's delighted expression, feeling equally happy.

It seems that tailoring is a very useful skill.

After Chen Jingle turned and went back to his room, Liu Yuehua couldn't wait to take out her phone, take a picture, and post it on her WeChat Moments: "My son made this for me, isn't it beautiful?"

The post had only been up for a few minutes when all my relatives, aunts, uncles, and nieces started commenting.

Wow, this is so beautiful! Did your son really make it?

"Jing Le taught herself? That's amazing!"

Is it entirely handmade?

"It looks so high-end, it would cost several hundred yuan outside!"

"It looks even prettier than the LV bag I bought."

"Aunt Hua, Jing Le can do this too?"

"..."

Looking at the constantly refreshed comments and likes, Liu Yuehua grinned from ear to ear.

She was happier when others praised her son than when they praised her.

……

After cleaning the house and washing up.

Chen Jingle brought the sweater her mother had knitted and the fishtail skirt she had made herself to the studio.

Li Beixing won't be off work so soon; he can do his own thing first.

Today I have two tasks: one is to learn about modern enterprise management, and the other is to create some new clothing designs.

Although I may not continue doing it in the short term and need to take a break, it doesn't mean I won't do it in the future. There will always be a time when it comes in handy.

Just like the notes and jottings he jotted down while reading books, many of them were later used in his papers.

It's wrong to regret not preparing in advance when you need it.

After studying for more than an hour, Li Beixing came over.

The weather wasn't too cold today, so she wore only a gray sweatshirt, white straight-leg casual pants, and white sneakers, looking more like a college student than a teacher.

As soon as the clingy girl entered the office, she ran happily towards Chen Jingle's location.

She deliberately put her hand on Chen Jingle's neck to give him a chill.

Unfortunately, her little hands were also warm, and the plan failed miserably!
(End of this chapter)