We now needed to decide how big of a freezer to make, which I was going to leave up to President Caesar and Benjamin.
We proceeded to carry everything to the clubroom, then we put everything away.
“President Caesar, is the glue used in books made from animal hide?” I asked after we were settled. If I didn’t ask right away, he was going to turn his attention to something else.
“Probably... Do you have another idea, Patience?”
My answer came with another question.
“Yes, I’d like to make a glue that eliminates the need for sewing, but I’m not sure if I can do it...”
The adhesive needed to be something that wouldn’t seep into the right side of the fabric, and it also needed to create a somewhat permanent bond. I was already plenty busy with festival preparation in alchemy club, but I couldn’t just ignore all the girls who were having trouble finishing their gowns.
“It’s fine if you want to work on that, Patience. I’m sure you’ll need it for the home ec track. If you could just make examples of the glass bowls, tables, and chairs, then we can take care of the rest.”
I’d already sketched designs for all three, so I proceeded to use alchemy and make examples of each item.
“You could probably make a living just doing this, Patience,” Benjamin remarked, complimenting my work.
Thanks, but I think I’ll leave the rest to you two.
President Caesar said he would get me some hide glue, but even so, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make my fabric glue.
On Tuesday, during sewing class, I took a look at Princess Margaret’s gown to see how much work she had left. I was relieved to find that she’d finished basting the dress.
“If you only need to do the final construction, then I think you will be finished in time,” I said.
Unlike the princess, some students hadn’t even finished basting their pieces.
“Since you numbered each of the pieces, I was able to avoid making any mistakes,” Princess Margaret replied.
Oh, I see. The students who aren’t done basting have to rip apart and redo their gowns.
“The final seaming will be done in the same order as the basting, but the stitches will need to be much smaller,” I explained. “Otherwise, the final gown won’t look neat.”
Princess Margaet had been quite slow even when doing the uneven stitches used for basting, so once she started doing the final construction, her sewing was very slow. It was going to be torturous for her to create six gowns like this.
After the Festival of Verdure, I’m going to start focusing on making a sewing machine. But, for now, my focus is on creating fabric glue! It’s way too dangerous for students to be dancing in ballgowns sewn like this. It could be good to reinforce their seams with glue. That means the glue absolutely can’t bleed to the right side of the fabric. Darn, a little bit of bleeding wouldn’t be too much of an issue if it was only on the hem. This project just got even harder.
On Wednesday, President Caesar was busy in the morning, but I now had a key, so I decided to hole up in the clubroom. He’d actually gotten the hide glue for me like he’d said he would.
I’d used hide glue before in art, but that had been to secure a canvas onto a frame, and canvas was a thick material, and our warm-weather gowns were made of thin fabric.
I dissolved some slime powder into water, then mixed that with the hide glue. I wrote down the ratios I used in a notebook and began formulating my fabric adhesive. Even after lunch, I continued working on my formula.
“How is it going, Patience?” Benjamin asked.
I was struggling to get my ideal mixture.
“It won’t harden the way I’d like it to, but I can’t go too far with thickening it because I need it to be somewhat smooth to apply...”
This was something that could easily take months to make, so I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make it in just a few weeks.
“You should step away from it for a little while,” Benjamin suggested. “Sometimes you miss things when you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
Aside from my first class in the day, I’d pretty much spent the entire day working on my slime-glue mixture. My eyes were tired, and my shoulders were tense.
“You’re right. I’m going to take a break.”
Our clubroom was filled with the outdoor chairs and tables for the festival, which all looked exactly like my examples.
“All that’s left to do is paint these,” I said. “I think white or dark green would be best.” There were quite a few glass bowls, as well as ice cream makers and a freezer that were in progress. “I wonder if we’ll be ready in time for the festival.”
President Caesar saw me worrying and smiled.
“You’ve already finished your gown, right? I’m sure that your teacher will do something about the students who won’t finish on time.”
I guess...
“If she would just let me sew them, I could finish them in an instant.” I hadn’t meant to complain, but it just slipped out.
“That wouldn’t make for much of a class, would it?” President Caesar replied, and everyone laughed.
I know I shouldn’t worry, but it would be really nice if the glue could be used to keep their gowns from fraying, at the very least.
“What sort of glue are you trying to make?” President Caesar asked. He sounded as if he were going to help.
“You still have to prepare for the festival,” I muttered, not answering his question.
“You’re the only one who can make ice cream! If we don’t finish this glue soon, the rest of us are going to have to crack some eggs!” Benjamin said with a laugh.
Yeah, I don’t think I can trust anyone here to cook.
With that, we all worked together on formulating a glue that could be set with heat, wouldn’t wash away, applied smoothly, and didn’t affect the right side of a fabric.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
Our test formula survived a wash, and it didn’t bleed through the fabric. We also made the actual container for the gluestick, which could be adapted for lipstick. Currently, people used lip rouge that was painted on with a brush. I knew that was the convention because I’d seen some on Princess Margaret’s dressing table.
I should try making lipstick, I thought, excited by the prospect of hefty profits.