My very first real in-person BTS/ARMY experience was going to watch the simulcast Agust D concert in June of 2023 at my local theater. It was also the first time I’d ever received a freebie. Having been a big-time lurker ARMY on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, I knew (in theory) that freebies were a part of K-pop culture and that ARMYs were particularly generous. But up until a very kind woman offered me a memento ticket she designed with the date of the showing on it, I didn’t really think it’d ever happen.
That simulcast concert was a lot of firsts for me. But the one thing I walked away with (other than an increased love for Yoongi) was that I loved ARMYs (seriously, ARMYs are so cute!) and I wanted to take a more active part in the community BTS has created and grown. And while I am still very much a lurker on all platforms, I immediately set out to find something I would want to make and share. Even though I’m super socially anxious.
I had my heart set on a BTS bookmark of some sort from the get-go. As a Namjoon (and Tae) bias, it’s no surprise that I am an avid reader and I wanted to make something I would also love. Initially, I wanted to make some sort of paper bookmark. Images seemed the easiest but I wanted to try something new.
So, naturally, I opted for embroidery. Did I know how to embroider before this journey? No. No, I did not. I did, however, learn to cross-stitch in the third grade. So, I thought, ‘How different could embroidery be?’ 🤡
I jumped right in. And by that, I mean I didn’t even attempt to find a resource to learn to embroider properly before trying out a design on paper. Yes, paper.
We live, we learn. We tuck that idea away for when we have more skills. Or any embroidery knowledge at all.
I sat on the idea for a while afterward. I’m going to be real honest… Me and failure (or anything other than immediate success) don’t get along. So you know what I did? Well, it sure wasn’t looking up how to embroider!
Instead, I started trying to figure out how to make fabric work for my ideas. This time, I thought a corner bookmark might be an avenue worth pursuing. So I started with a scrap piece of fabric that I forged into a triangle and drew on with a pen. I went at my rough pattern with a few practice stitches and then, I sat back from my work and finally admitted that I should consult a professional.
And by a professional, I mean YouTube. (I’ll link to some of the resources I used in my next post!)
I took a short break to learn embroidery in earnest, consulting several craft blogs and YouTube channels and playing around with half a dozen or so kits from craft stores. And then I looked in earnest for a video that had a project similar to my vision.
I found one here and thus my ideas started to become more concrete with the technical help of this video. Now, you may be scrolling up to look at my bookmarks and thinking ‘But her bookmarks look nothing like these flower ones?’ Trueeeeee. But, it’s the spirit that’s the same, okay? … and also the dimensions.
Using felt made sense to me. It was sturdy enough to keep its shape, it was easy to sew on and forgiving when making little mistakes, and it looked nice.
It was at the beginning of September 2024 that I actually began learning to embroider and the turnaround to the next BTS was… I’m not going to lie, it was fucking quick. My husband and I didn’t see ‘I am Still’ on release day, but the Saturday following. But it was still only two weeks between deciding on felt and seeing other ARMYs.
To keep it simple, I had decided on one design. I wanted to replicate the cover of Golden on one side of the bookmark and recreate JK’s hand tattoos on the other. Designing the templates, on the free image processing program Gimp, was easy enough. However, I quickly learned transferring them to felt was a whole other monster.
There are so many ways to transfer patterns to embroidery projects. Frixion pens, disappearing ink markers, lightboxes/window light, heat transfer pens, carbon paper, transfer paper, and even water-soluble products. At this point, I’ve used them all and cried over almost all of them.
For my purposes, after many failed attempts, I found two successful ways to get my designs on felt, though I far prefer one.
The first is using a water-soluble stabilizer that I traced my patterns on and then temporarily sewn to the felt ( you can see this in photo three). The second, and my favorite, is printing my designs on stick n’ stitch stabilizer sheets, which also dissolve in water. A large reason I prefer printing (and this is the same reason I dislike most of the other transfer methods) is that getting crisp and accurate transfer requires a steadier hand than mine. And also real dedication and concentration on details.
So after an abundance of tears and far too many stress naps, I had a method that worked for me. (Though, I didn’t find the printing method until after JK’s documentary!😭 ) And a design that, after some workshopping, started to actually look good. So of course it was smooth sailing from there!
Yeah, no.
I decided to create two more designs, each with a separate front and back, and told myself I had to have at least 10 bookmarks ready by Sept. 22. We made it by the skin of our teeth, only for there to be three total other people at the showing. Which, you know, just meant I had surplus inventory for the next BTS event.
Namjoon’s documentary was announced at the film festival not too much later, and so I was off to the races in preparation for the theatrical release. I managed to pull off two designs for that showing: one inspired by the cyanotypes included in Indigo and the other showcasing the monster from the Right Place, Wrong Person marketing and merch. All while using my new embroidery skills to make gifts for Christmas and the winter birthdays in my life — because I’m clearly insane.
But we made it through. And there were 20 people at the theater this time and I got lucky to sit next to a very sweet ARMY who also brought her husband. (Her not-Jin.)
I waited a whole day before I decided that I was going to believe all the whispers and signs that Hobi was going to tour in the new year and set to making new designs. Up until HotS D1 Chicago, I had not had the money, time, or opportunity to see the boys live so I wanted to make as many bookmarks as possible to share at my very first BTS/member concert experience.
Somehow, I was able to reach my goals of not only having, at least, one design for each member but making 100 to share. (Though 103 is just barely beyond the goal and I will admit Jimin and V’s designs were a tiny bit of a phone-in. Look, I was in a time crunch and I needed some easy designs, okay?)
So here we are, post-concert. I gave away every single one of my bookmarks, with a few passed out at Sleep and Varnell’s event, and the last three saved to be given away to any ARMYs I met at the airport on the way home. (Shout out to the super nice ARMY I met at my gate, which ended up not being my gate, who gave me a super cute Namjoon sticker.)
I took home so many great memories from Chicago: making new friends with the amazing couple we stood next to for hours in the VIP line, going super far out of my comfort zone and talking to at least 100 new people, seeing how creative and generous ARMYs (seriously some of your freebies are amazing!), making Varnell laugh even though I’m the most awkward human ever, being in the midst of and a part of ARMY screaming for our Hope, screaming my head off in my first-ever fan chant with other ARMYs, and, of course, seeing Hobi live.
I could write essays. Clearly.
Now that the concert is over, my husband put a temporary embargo on embroidery. To, like, force me to rest or something, I guess. But soon, I’ll get back to sewing, hopefully designing new BTS corner bookmarks and get to a few ideas I have for new freebies. I have a lot of goals for what I want to have ready by the time our Seven go on tour again. (Hopefully, after they get to rest a little, but on whatever timeline they want!)
Until then, I’ll be here sharing my patterns, poetry and crafts. And preparing for the next BTS event.
I hope you’ll join me on the journey.
Borahae,
C