snowy field image
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Frozen dolls in progress
Finally settled on a pattern for the dolls for my boyfriend's nieces and got started. I keep getting sidetracked by other things so it's a bit slow going. Really excellent free patterns for two sizes of similar dolls from byhookbyhand: http://byhookbyhand.blogspot.com/2015/02/simply-amis.html Made some changes to the legs so they don't bend but I love the head design that can swivel. This is a great intro to making dolls with movable joints which opens up so many possibilities for future projects.
I decided to crochet the doll bodies and sew on the clothes for more details. There's a lot of cute embroidery to add here. Still no hair done so they're looking a little bald but I want to get it right. I think once the first set of dolls is done the second set should go much faster since I'm taking a lot of notes and making drawings and diagrams. The little snowman should be easiest because he has no clothes and there are tons of reference projects out there for him.
Need some motivation to get working on these again. I've noticed that if the excitement of the idea wears off before I'm done, it's bad news for that project.
I decided to crochet the doll bodies and sew on the clothes for more details. There's a lot of cute embroidery to add here. Still no hair done so they're looking a little bald but I want to get it right. I think once the first set of dolls is done the second set should go much faster since I'm taking a lot of notes and making drawings and diagrams. The little snowman should be easiest because he has no clothes and there are tons of reference projects out there for him.
Need some motivation to get working on these again. I've noticed that if the excitement of the idea wears off before I'm done, it's bad news for that project.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Little Thread Bears
My latest mini project. The larger lighter colored one is about 2 inches tall and made from size 10 crochet thread. The smaller darker blue one is about an inch high and made from sewing thread. Making the larger one first helped me understand the pattern and construction. Both use this free pattern from Sheep of Delight: http://sheepofdelight.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/free-amigurumi-pattern-polar-bearling.html
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Tissue Paper Carnations
I love carnations. They come in pretty colors, they're cheap, and they last a long time in a vase. I do have to be careful that our kitties don't get into them though. The ones I have right now are starting to die off and fall apart. I was looking at them and thought how much they look like tissue paper so I thought I would try to make some. They came out pretty well. It's easy to find tissue paper in the right colors and the other materials are easy to improvise.
To make mine I used:
To start I cut some small squares of tissue paper. I didn't really measure this, I just folded the length of tissue paper until I had it down to a small enough size and then made squares based on the folds so I could cut a lot at one time. Probably around 3 or 4 inches square and it's ok if they are not perfect because you will be cutting them. I used about 10-12 squares for each flower, and it's best if you cut all the squares you want for each flower so they are the same size. You could use more or less squares depending on how full you want the flower to look.
To make the flowers, fold each square in half and then into thirds to make a 6 petal flower. Then cut through all layers to make a petal shape. You can also cut slits in the top of the petals to make them look more realistic. (I tried to use my pinking shears for this but they're really cheap and just smooshed everything around.) Then open it up to see your flower.
Once you have all of your flowers cut out, poke a hole in the center of each flower and stack them all up together. Make sure they're all turned different directions so the petals don't line up. Push your safety eye or brad through all the holes and secure. I used a safety eye here and it was a little difficult to close the backing without tearing the paper. I popped the backing onto the first notch with my hands and then set it right side up with the backing resting in the groove of a spool of thread and tapped the top of the eye with a hammer until it closed.
When they are all secured together in a stack, use your thumb and index finger to make a circle and push all the petals upward and together. Squish the bottom a little to help it take shape. To preview how it's going to look with a different number of petals, you can use the cap of a marker or seam ripper and a pen or crochet hook to gently push the petals down into a cone.
For the stem, I used some drinking straws. I wanted the stems to be a little thinner than the straw so I cut a slit up the length of the straw and overlapped the edges a bit and taped it back together. I finished the stem with pieces of note cards and green paper.
I still need to take some pictures of my finished flowers!
To make mine I used:
- Tissue paper (if you want a pattern you could use cupcake liners, and they are already in the right shape)
- Safety eyes (you could also use brads)
- Thick paper/card stock/note cards
- Glue & tape
- Drinking straws
- Green paper/washi tape/floral tape (mine was origami paper)
To start I cut some small squares of tissue paper. I didn't really measure this, I just folded the length of tissue paper until I had it down to a small enough size and then made squares based on the folds so I could cut a lot at one time. Probably around 3 or 4 inches square and it's ok if they are not perfect because you will be cutting them. I used about 10-12 squares for each flower, and it's best if you cut all the squares you want for each flower so they are the same size. You could use more or less squares depending on how full you want the flower to look.
To make the flowers, fold each square in half and then into thirds to make a 6 petal flower. Then cut through all layers to make a petal shape. You can also cut slits in the top of the petals to make them look more realistic. (I tried to use my pinking shears for this but they're really cheap and just smooshed everything around.) Then open it up to see your flower.
Once you have all of your flowers cut out, poke a hole in the center of each flower and stack them all up together. Make sure they're all turned different directions so the petals don't line up. Push your safety eye or brad through all the holes and secure. I used a safety eye here and it was a little difficult to close the backing without tearing the paper. I popped the backing onto the first notch with my hands and then set it right side up with the backing resting in the groove of a spool of thread and tapped the top of the eye with a hammer until it closed.
When they are all secured together in a stack, use your thumb and index finger to make a circle and push all the petals upward and together. Squish the bottom a little to help it take shape. To preview how it's going to look with a different number of petals, you can use the cap of a marker or seam ripper and a pen or crochet hook to gently push the petals down into a cone.
For the stem, I used some drinking straws. I wanted the stems to be a little thinner than the straw so I cut a slit up the length of the straw and overlapped the edges a bit and taped it back together. I finished the stem with pieces of note cards and green paper.
I still need to take some pictures of my finished flowers!
Friday, October 2, 2015
More Realistic Crochet Figure
Taking a look at my little humanoid figure, it seems that he's not up to par on realistic proportions. It would be fun to make another that is a little more accurate in that respect, maybe even with moveable arms and legs using safety eyes like a brad to attach completed pieces.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Homemade Hanging Pocket Organizer
These aren't too expensive to buy but it would be so easy to make with extra cloth, which I have a ton of. You could make any size or dimension for a nice custom design.
Basic plan:
Make a big rectangle of cloth for the back, grommets for hangers or tube for curtain rod. The backing cloth should be thick or doubled for stability.
For the pockets, sewing long strips of cloth with all finished edges. Fold back and forth to create the pockets and sew along the bottom edge and side/between each pocket. Straight stitch to attach and zigzag over top for stability.
Make a paper pattern first to confirm size for pockets and get the right size for the backing.
Basic plan:
Make a big rectangle of cloth for the back, grommets for hangers or tube for curtain rod. The backing cloth should be thick or doubled for stability.
For the pockets, sewing long strips of cloth with all finished edges. Fold back and forth to create the pockets and sew along the bottom edge and side/between each pocket. Straight stitch to attach and zigzag over top for stability.
Make a paper pattern first to confirm size for pockets and get the right size for the backing.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
"Knitted" Chain Links
Sometimes I get a strange idea and my mind won't let it go. I was thinking recently about making a crochet ball and chain for giggles. The chain links wouldn't come out the way I wanted them to in crochet so I moved on to knitting. I decided on an i-cord tube worked with 6 stitches. DPNs are not really my thing and I didn't want to magic loop it so I decided to use my Clover Wonder Knitter to simplify the process and make it uniform.
It's a little hard to tell exactly how long the tubes are until you take them off. Practicing with a color changing yarn can help if the colors change evenly. I don't think it will matter too much as long as they are close in row count.
To secure the ends together, I wanted a seamless look. After some experimenting I figured out that if you leave the top end open and put markers through each stitch and undo the bottom row to leave open loops, you can match the ends up and weave the tail through to mimic the stockinette stitch and leave no visible seam.
One thing I really like about this project is that it helps you understand the construction of your stitches. When I first started knitting, it just looks like a blob of loops and now I can look at my stitches and read them.
It's a little hard to tell exactly how long the tubes are until you take them off. Practicing with a color changing yarn can help if the colors change evenly. I don't think it will matter too much as long as they are close in row count.
To secure the ends together, I wanted a seamless look. After some experimenting I figured out that if you leave the top end open and put markers through each stitch and undo the bottom row to leave open loops, you can match the ends up and weave the tail through to mimic the stockinette stitch and leave no visible seam.
 |
| Line up the pieces so the loops point to a gap in the other piece's loops. |
 |
| Imagine where the missing row belongs by looking at the rows above and below. |
 |
| Mimic the path of the missing row using the other rows as reference. |
One thing I really like about this project is that it helps you understand the construction of your stitches. When I first started knitting, it just looks like a blob of loops and now I can look at my stitches and read them.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Mythosaur Stencil on the Wall
Finally got around to taking a picture of how our stencil came out on the wall. Much messier than our trial run but we both agreed we like it like this with the drips. Looks rugged and all mandalorian.
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