I embroidered for 40 hours to make a Y2K dragonfly top (send help) 

Don't beat yourself up for struggling with the fit of this. I make costumes for drag and burlesque, and getting tiny tops and bodysuits to fit onto our crazy different bodies is a skill that takes a long time to develop. This is a really, really good first attempt. I'm impressed ❤❤❤

Magpie/ howls moving castle brain club let's go

Bug Girl Summer is what everyone deserves. Thank you and your goblin-edit for bringing it to us. I'll make sure to add those shots onto the list of rules.

Can we just take a minute to appreciate the decorations in your house. So many planntss

Oh! I LOVE THIS! Makes my sparkle brain happy. I have also recently begun embroidering more. What really helped me was making myself a sewing "sketch" book. It's a few sheets of that cheap craft felt folded in half and sewed together to make a soft book. I used a different color for the outside one so I have a "cover". I use it to practice stitches and beading and just generally use it to space out and stitch. (Because like you mentioned, if you want to remove all the thoughts from your head just stitch a while)

The conclusion at the end hit diferent for me. There's something so human with the the feeling of... not *Loving* the final result... but also not *hating* it. But my favorite part is the compassionate way you talk about it. It reminds me that you (and by extension I as a maker) are allowed to accept that we can be proud of the effort we put in even if we aren't always thrilled by the result. Thank you for that! Also: ***unsolicited body image advice*** ***Feel free to ignore*** * * * * * When i'm having bad body image days it helps ro remind myself that my worth as a human is not tied to my physical appearance or my body. Does this work for everybody? No. But it worls for me :)

Hint: add a wide strip of elastic to the back of your pin cushion to make it a bracelet (cushion on the inside of your wrist). Leaves both hands free and pins are right at your fingertips. (Making costumes since 1974, this crone loves your maiden spirit!)

Personally, I love when handmade things look handmade. I appreciate the unruly, raw, and wild appearance of it. Just feels more real, imho. I think you did a stellar job!

DRAGONFLY TOP!! i love dragonflys. i also love a good bug clothing. looks great in the thumbnail! ALSO, THE LIGHTING LOOKS SO GOOD AT 11:36 WHAT EDIT: watched the reveal, looks great!

4:04 i love the conversations, the talking, the things

Glowing, sparkle,glittery shiny.... happy!

Maybe the reason why yours looks so different is because most of them have just gems/rhinestones, but yours has lots of different textures and mediums! I think it still looks really cute, especially for your first attempt at something like this. There’s just a lot going on :)

First of all, the end result is fantastic! The way it catches the light is so mesmerizing, the design is delightfully whimsical, and the fact this is your first major project with these techniques is really impressive. Talk about throwing yourself into the deep end. If you decide to continue down the rabbit hole, here's some embroidery tips/tricks I've picked up: 1) It looks like you're mostly using six strands, which can make things stand out more BUT is also difficult to poke through multiple layers of fabric/tight weaves, to get precise stitches with and have them lay nice, to blend with, etc. Even dropping down to four can help! But it does mean more stitches (and time) to fill in large areas. 2) Metallic thread is the DEVIL and it lures you in by being sparkly, but it hates needles and fabric and being stitched and basically all life. The fact you tackled it for a newbie project is HARDCORE mode. 3) Guess how long it will take you to embroider a thing, then multiply that by like five times minimum and you'll be closer. 4) The longer the stitches, the more gapping issues you'll have when something isn't perfectly flat/hooped. This means shorter stitches, which means more stitches, which means - you guessed it - even more time! Are you noticing a theme? 5) Even when you get more experience, the speed you gain might be eaten up by increased perfectionism. Ask me how I know. 😅 Your patience and persistence are unreal, and will serve you well if you embroider more in the future. But please don't torture yourself and your back for the sake of a video timeline! You only get one spine! 🤣

I totally read that last fire chant at about 23:40 as a molotov dragonfly cocktail (which I proceeded to search the name of said flaming alcoholic bottle for longer than I'd wish)

Your dragonfly fit turned out spectacular! The detailing with the embroidery is gorgeous even for a first attempt at hand sewing. If you do plan to revisit it or do other variations of it, it’d be really cool if you could take the fit to a bug zoo and to pose alongside the bugs that inspired your look. Idk if your state might have a bug zoo but you’d think it would with some of the bugs that hang around the southern part of the states. Also was anyone thinking with Kira’s cat that she was about to do cat yoga again when her cat was sitting on her lap? Just me?

Beading changes the structure and drape- you have the natural gift, it will unfold for you! You did GREAT for the first beading experience!!!!

This looks so cool. Next time embroider on a hoop(they have ones with stands so you can sit and it holds it for you) and then cut it out and sew it together. Save your back and keep on making the cool bug stuff. You've inspired me to make a moth cloak

Also I must add that the bugs that look like dragonflies but can "fold" their wings when they land are actually damselflies ! They're usually smaller and skinnier, but belong to the same order as dragonflies.

ITS A GOOD DAY WHEN PRICKLY POSTS!!!

the end bit with your cat was adorable!!! w executive producer approval

I am IN AWE that you attempted heavy embroidery and beading on a set time frame. I grew up around a lot of embroidery and beading heavy atmosphere and even with experience it always takes FOREVER so APPLAUSE TO YOU FOR ACCOMPLISHING IT SO BEAUTIFULLY IN SUCH A SHORT TIME!!

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” I love how it turned out!!! ✨ And the reveal footage and editing style were PERFECT too! Embroidery with beadwork has been a Pinterest rabbit hole/heavy interest of mine lately so this was incredibly fun to watch!! Don’t be hard on yourself; like you said, this was your first big project in this craft PLUS you as a youtuber keep yourself on a tight schedule to get content out “on time,” which definitely impacts how you make it and how much time and effort you can put in to each individual part. You did great 👍

Personally, I'd really like to hear you chatting more about your thoughts and art process ! Even though you're not convinced by the final piece, I think you can be very proud of yourself for trying out something new, something you've never really done before. You've pushed your boundaries to get out of your comfort zone, and that is already a big achievement. Plus you've been working really hard to make it look like you wanted it too, which are just pretty inspiring commitement goals. I know we are often our own harshest critic and tend to be way more critical about our own work, but lemme just say, the top turned out beautiful! It looks super pretty, especially with the shiny material used on the dragonfly body and all the embroidery details. The colour scheme is also a feast for the eyes (at least for our magpie "must have shiny things" eyes).

yes, we love hanging out with you as you drape, sort, conjecture, figure it out. It’s so much fun to go on the journey with you. Thanks for taking us along all times of day and night, all conditions, all challenges. I’m here for it.

12:01 "So I kind of don't know what I'm doing but it's actually going pretty well..." That... describes my whole life

I very much enjoy the way you chat as you go.

The serotonin I get when I see a prickly alpaca notification!!! ❤❤❤

Perfectionism goes BRR but the top turned out super cute!! Even if it wasn't perfect it was still a blast watching you put it together and go over your process. You shouldn't feel sorry for putting something out that isn't 100% what you wanted because you tried your best~~ AND ALSO YOU LOOK SUPER NICE IN IT!

you're so talented! it seems like you can make everything you decide and it turns out amazing every single time 😊

Just a quick note on embroidery, with the floss you generally have six strands or so within the floss and depending on the weight of the work, you separate out a couple of strands from a cut piece and work with that. Like, two strands is the standard I work with in cross stitch, but if we're getting chonky we go for 4. Can't say I've used all six strands at once before. Using less strands will make your work finer and lay flatter on the piece. But tbh when I first looked at embroidery floss it didn't occur to me to unwind the stuff, I only know this stuff now because of cross stitch and stuff. Otherwise, very much enjoying the projects and bug girl summer! (Even though it's very much winter here is Aus)

Looks awesome! And I'm watching Buffy right now too! For the 1st time! But I'm loving taking a Buffy break to watch your artistry and lovable personality! Feel free to keep chatting with us as you work. Being absorbed in a meticulous project can be cathartic and lonesome so we're here for you as you develop your talent!

I remember when I'd play at my aunts pool and the dragonflies would land on me. and they looked freaky so I got an irrational fear of them, and then two of them landed on me and started to mate and I cried. Good times.

This is my breaking point. I had these tops living in my head rent free for MONTHS now. And now I'm going to make one of them + a matching skirt. And I'm gonna wear it to my bf's bday party.. which is this Saturday :DDD I'm gonna lose my mind, but at least I'll look fabulous

The dragonfly top looks nice, you could always make another one further down the line if you want to do more embroidery, the producer wanted to join in the crafting fun 😊

What we do in the shadows will definitely boost your ‘tude!!! Love that show 🤗

Your work is always so beautiful, I’m always so inspired to learn every skill in the world when I watch your videos. At the end of the year you should do a video trying on the items you’ve made this year! I would love to watch it

At about the 4 minute mark, you asked if we liked you just talking to the camera. Yes!! I have to admit, as much as I love watching you create beautiful shiny objects, the real reason I come back every video is because of the way you make it feel like we're just hanging out with you at your house, chillin' with the Executive Producer. You're someone I wish I had had as a friend growing up. And even though I don't actually know you, I wish I did! So I'm really glad you share as much of yourself with us as you do. Your videos are always a bright spot in my week! 😊

This is SO cool, I feel like it's a very quilt-like with the piecing and different textures and techniques that went into making it.

It's really cute. I'm a 50-something former clubkid and that dragonfly halter fully passes the MOAR is better test. Chef's kiss on the sparkle. Also, you make it look good. I've been embroidering for a long time, it always looks better than you think. You are so talented.

it looks beautiful!! i know it's not quite what u imagined but i think it's unique and so sparkly!! i'm always impressed by ur dedication to ur projects

Watching you drape the mockup and move the pincushion around, I thought: "she could use one of those bracelet pincushions." (It's what it sounds like, a pincushion on a strap that snaps around your wrist.) You could make it fit your aesthetic by doing, like, a woodsy bracer with moss and fungi. The pincushion could be a mushroom, or maybe a little plush beetle cause their shells are dome-like.

It’s incredible truly stunning. And so are you btw. But you know what you gotta do if you want to master this new skill : make a whole wardrobe of insect inspired embroidered pieces! Scarab, Wasp, Beetle, Mantis and Butterflies… Spiders too (not an insect I know, but still).

her: if you're here I'm assuming you also enjoy indulging in some decadent procrastination me: that's an offensive assumption also me: watching this instead of doing my very easy homework (but that has nothing to do with this) also that intro was ✨perfect✨

The dragonfly top came out looking like fire! 🔥🔥🔥 This totally looks like a sparkly fun top I'd wear on a night out with the girls. Fantastic job!

the cold intro had my dying lol the desperation in your voice is so so so relatable

Embroidery floss really is satisfying

The embroidery is so good and the beads make it look glittery 🤩

Go off girl! You are so freaking adorable and cute at the reveal! Love it!

I’m watching this as I’m embroidering that Crystal Blood Dress shirt. We can suffer together

Thank you very much for giving me a dragonfly obsession

Basically this is less a garment and more of an art piece! The type of top in general is also not for the overly modest because there is just not much cover there but I think you did a fantastic job. My biggest concern is honestly that if I ever saw you wearing that top I'd spend too much time staring at your chest because sparkles, texture, and designs (although most of it is more on your torso but you get the point). I think it's really cute and like you said, that's like 8 hours of your X,000 needed to master embroidery!

Thank you so much for bringing so much spontaneity, chaos and artistic freedom to your creations! I am an overly cautious planner and a perfectionist, and seeing you wing all your projects to elegantly and having them turn out so amazing really gave me courage to do more sewing and less dream about doing perfect sewing.

It looks fantastic.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH would 1000% wear it out like 50% of the time. It's just such a vibe AND it also makes my magpie brain happy

I agree with embroidery floss colors being awesome

Look on the bright side! You now have a piece of clothing that is perfect to fidget with! You can roll the beads, feel the texture of the embroidery, and mess with the dragonfly's body. Autistic people who like any of that would appreciate this (I'm personally a fan of rolling beads).

Back in 2000 I had the coolest iridescent dragonfly hair clips. We used to do ridiculous and complicated things to our hair back then for some reason. Being a teenager in the 90s was awesome.

Nature is so beautiful it must be made into a garment ^^ from a pine to a dragonfly^^

I love your MCR tee shirt! Great band. And yes, binge watching What We Do In The Shadows sounds like a pleasant night. Either that or listening to music and spinning.

Yes to liking the behind the seams conversational sessions!

I love it! I think the shirt underneath looks great and makes it much more everyday-wearable than club-wearable.

I really resonated with that bit at the end. It sucks so much when you pour so much time and love into something and then when you try it on, you're hit by confused disappointment and also those good ol' body image issues. What the heck. Your honesty and openness made me feel not alone.

It’s cute, the bottom wings maybe a little low etc, it’s probably a cross between butterfly and dragonfly so I love it

This looks great.

Quite comforting to see someone else struggle with sewing too haha. Currently sewing my elastic band and silk on my ballette shoes and feeling so ready to give yp bc I sewed it on a bit too far up so I had to take out the stitches and sew them again (what I get for carelessly sewing it on in the first place lol)

It turned out amazing! I’m ✨ INSPIRED ✨

i totally get struggling with how it turned out. most of my projects that i upload to the internet are very embarrassing and poor quality but i'm hoping people can find some comfort in that theirs won't turn out as bad as mine. no matter how unsatisfied you are, you made it and you should be proud of that. we're all out here trying our best!

My ultimate favourite part is the foo fighters bit, that’s funny 😂

i love how squarespace is just ✨the sponsor✨ of this channel lol. It wouldn’t be a pricklyalpaca video without the squarespace ad

The 'Best of You' "I'm going to use hot glue" joke absolutely murdered me, I think it's funniest thing I've ever heard 😂😂 Also beautiful work as always!

I love it! I gasped at the first glimpse in the reveal. I think it's really beautiful. You just need to stop looking at it come back to it. Like, you probably just stared at it too long. It's really gorgeous.

This is a great first attempt! You should be very proud of this! But as you have found out, this is why embroidery was considered an extremely valuable gift when given by noble ladies for various occasions: it's hard and it take forever to do (says the historical re-enactor SCAdian) 3 tips for the beading and embroidery next time: 1.) Embroidery floss splits very easily, use different numbers of strands for different widths. 3 strands is the most typical for line work. 2.) Backstitch! very easy, also one of the best ways for beginners to secure beading. Also, some smaller stitches will make the embroidery more uniform. 3.) Doing the detail work on a separate piece of fabric and then attaching it to a lining of some kind will make it more comfortable to wear, if it's a piece you a planning to wear on your skin because embroidery and beading is a pain in the butt to wash! You never want to have embroidered fabric touch your skin if you can get away with it, it should be layered when possible with an undergarment. Bonus tip! you can always work on a piece while watching television, or listening to a podcast. My teacher used to have us practice by embroidering simple patterns onto cotton or linen strips, that we could use it as trim later. Might make for a good exercise for a future project.

It shines and sparkles *-* my magpie brain loves it

Like always, I am in awe that you manage to get a functional garment in that short of a time. A less harrowing project migth have been a embroidered brooch, kind of like the moth and beetle brooches the Closet Historian have made? Accessories to jazz up pre-existing outfits, bug and nature themed. And like, as far as I know any bigger embroidery art tend to take weeks and months, not days. Give yourself better working conditions for this medium and I think it will turn out awesome 💖

As someone with a major phobia of insects, I'm really glad you keep accidently picking the few bugs I'm not afraid of lol (Love your art, have a lovely day/night!)

I never even considered making a crochet version of this top- you have opened up Pandora’s box Kira and I thank you immensely for it. Once my patchwork cardigan is done this is next on the list (also probably won’t take a year this time)

I actually like that it's not perfect, that there are some chunky parts along with wonky lines. I think it gives off a whole other vibe that's really cool.

I have a project idea for you!!! You should learn to crochet! (Since you mentioned it briefly). As a crocheter myself I would love the see you learn a new medium of making clothes and other fun things! For example, crocheting some flowers for that mushroom lamp you did! Also making some tops would be stunning! I love moths (and I know u do) imagine a moth crochet top (like the one you made in this video)! That would be so cool! Anyway just an idea!! 💚💚💚

Your literally one of the most creative people everrrr!! I love ur videos :’)

This is so pretty! It looks so good for your first time doing embroidery. That metallic floss you used is the bane of my existence. My only tip would be to do the embroidery first before cutting the pieces out, and use a hoop to stabilize the fabric so it doesn’t shift or have weird wrinkles from the tension. Also look into perle cotton if it’s not too expensive if you like using thicker cotton, it’s much nicer to handle than 6-strand floss. Learning a new skill takes time and I think you did amazingly well for your first time. I look forward to seeing more!

I think it looks really cute! You're not going to be perfect right out the gate, practice makes progress! If you maybe want to see an alternative way to do this, The Closet Historian has a video on how she makes her embroidered bug broaches for some tips. I think this is still adorable as is and definitely unique.

I love it, like you I wasn’t sure but the reveal with the green silk under top it looks amazing, the colour is gorgeous xx

The beads and gossamer fabric look gorgeous together 🥺 this was a pretty ambitious first embroidery project and I think it looks so sparkly and amazing! Also, if you’re looking for a more everyday casual way to add dragonflies to your outfits, I feel like doing shoelace wings would be really cool. I see them a lot on roller skates and on Pinterest (though normally it’s either a butterfly or a bat wing lol). You could even paint them out if you need a (much deserved) embroidery break (kind of like Alyson Tabbitha’s Vignette from Carnival Row cosplay)

The top looks so good! If you want to do more embroidery but are afraid of harming your fingers again, I found using rubber fingertips work great! They are basically rubber thimbles for office work, but they are great for pulling an embroidery needle through a tough spot in your fabric, and it keeps your fingers from needle pushing pain!

If you do another embroidery heavy project like this you should try like separating the embroidery floss threads! It helps with things looking less clunky. It took me getting about 40 hours into my Mollymauk coat to realize that lol

Yipee! New Kiara video!!!!

I highly recommend splitting your embroidery thread so that it is thinner. It will make it look less bulky and more blended. This makes me want to pick up embroidery again. It turned out really well

The editing of this video was amazing! The fire part had me laughing so hard! Thank you for sharing your work with us

This top looks good. I could wear it out regardless of the mistakes.

It looks cute! I think most of your concerns in terms of it looking "unclean" is because of the handsweing, which you said isn't your strong suit so I assume it isn't as clean as you would like (to me it looks fine but my sewing knowledge limits itself to fixing holes in my leggings) and the embroidery. To me the embroidery thread looked a bit thick so maybe a thinner thread would've helped and also the many layers of the actual top. I think maybe an opaque blue fabric with the sheer stuff on top would've made it look less "bulky". Another thing is the design itself. A dragonfly is rather idk thin? A butterfly has bulkier spread out wings so I think a butterfly design covers better because the wings itself fit a bust better than the rather slimm wings of a dragonfly that take more try and error to make wearable on its on. So if you want to make another one, maybe choose a butterfly or moth as inspo because the wings should give better cover(now that I say it... Luna moth top Sound super pretty😂). But the top looks super cute, the color are a dream and even with the little green number underneath to provide more coverage it definitely is a look. It gives summer fairy midnight dream with the little shimmers everywhere and I like it❤

This video is the embodiment of "art is practice" because the amount of time and effort to just acquire one skill like embroidery is mind-numbing and pain-staking. Not only that, as a beginner, you're going to see the faults regardless of how long it took. If only acquiring skills was easy like in isekai lol. (Side note: I miss practicing art BUT not the time-consumption or self-criticism part of it... my 3 year old mostly empty sketchbook and unfinished knitted blanket stare at me menacingly).

The 'bombastic side eye' took me out 🤣🤣🤣

Thanks for being honest in your wrap-up! I think it’s honestly a cute top and probably a hard project patterning- and embroidery-wise...

Gorgeous result

after re-arranging all my furniture and feeling brain dead its kinda nice watching someone else kill all their brain cells too

I understand you're being rhetorical when you complain because I do the same thing. My mom always asks if I want to stop doing something when I complain, but it's mostly me just thinking out loud and working through the problem.

Every summer is bug girl summer in my life. Love that. I also love the background music in your videos. Nutcracker right?

For a first try at something like this you did AMAZING! Don't beat yourself up.

As always I love it. And your cat totally stills the show.😊🧡👍💯💢👍

My great grandmother used to free hand embroider/embellish on a metal mesh type thing, that I was told looked a little like a lap tray. She could make anything from animals, bugs, and nature etc… My Mom said it was like watching a video of a machine making something, but it was a person. Lol Anywho, they have some on Amazon and I have considered buying one to try out since I noticed a few craft stores sell them but they are very expensive, and I’ve seen vintage or professional ones that can even be custom made, but again those are also very expensive. I have a wooden embroidery hoop that is ok, but it cracked so I might buy a plastic one (I think my dollar tree had some) and a few wooden ones because they are a godsend and I definitely get why they’ve been used for like, most of time. 😅