Upcoming Crochet Projects

Today's post is just a quick update to keep things going!  I'm working on a couple of things right now, but none of them are remotely finished.  So!  I figured I would do a general update on some upcoming and current crochet projects.

Thankfully, the repetitive motion injury in my wrist has finally started getting better, so I've started a new crochet project.  My husband randomly decided that he wanted a crochet helmet.  So we went searching and found Rebekah Bowers' Gimli-inspired helmet and beard pattern on Ravelry.  It's epic, with a detachable beard, so that's the one we decided on.  It's a bit expensive material-wise, but it's totally worth it.

The only change I'll be making is a brown beard instead of a red one.  Also, Rebekah is a great help--I was having trouble with the gauge for the helmet base, and she was happy to give me plenty of tips.  Also, her pattern is incredibly clear, with lots of good pictures.  This will probably take me a few months to complete (just in time for full Louisiana summer!), but I can't wait to have a finished product!

For my other projects, my husband got me the two following amigurumi books for Valentine's day.  He had the awesome idea that I could make Lord of the Rings/Hobbit characters--and with these books, it's totally possible!

Doherty's Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet is best for making the funky characters, animals, and foods in the book. But you can make some really cute gifts and projects with it.  Also, there's a deer pattern that could probably be adapted for My Little Pony projects!

Hoffman's AmiguruME: Make Cute Crochet People is EPIC.  It's not "how to make Mr. T or Beyonce": it's "here's how to make this kind of head/hair/body/feet."  It's MEANT for you to create your own people by combining pattern pieces.  I've already listed the pieces I need to make Storm from the X-Men, plus Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin from The Hobbit.

I AM SO EXCITED.

Now I just need a job so I can afford all the yarn!

Petal Hip Scarf Tutorial

While my poor black bra top sits in the development hell of my indecision, I got inspired to work on something else.  Namely, an awesome hip scarf that my belly dance instructor wears (one of many awesome hip scarfs and belts, I must say).  It was made by another longtime dancer in the studio, but it looks just like this one on Etsy:

Seller dreamingamelia has several of this, but I love this one's color.

I had some leftover royal blue jersey from an infinity dress I made a few years ago*, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to use it.  Plus, it gave me something to do that didn't strain the repetitive motion injury I gave my wrist with all that crocheting last month!  (Wrist braces are my friends.)

*Two notes: One, you do need a good amount of fabric for this, probably at least 2 yards, but I didn't measure how much I used here.  Two, infinity dresses do not look good on me.  Nope nope nope.



So anyway, I started off by getting a basis for the scarf itself.  I used my red pirate hip scarf as a template, pinning it to the jersey and rolling the excess up so that I could get the shape I wanted.  Unfortunately, I (again) forgot to take pictures of this bit.  Basically, you just want a slightly curved top edge, and a really wide, upside-down bell curve for the bottom edge.  Make the ends extend for the ties, unless you want them to be of another fabric entirely.  Also, to help you get a good length, measure from the base of your back to however low you want the hip scarf to go (I advise the lower edge of your butt), but don't forget to leave yourself space for seam allowances.

I did not measure my butt length (that sounds weird),
so I ended up having to trim this down a bit as I went.

 Once you've got it set up, use this template to cut two pieces of your fabric.  If you want to do the sheer black overlay or embellishment, you'll want to cut that now and anything else.  I didn't have the fabric to do it, though, so there's no tutorial for that.  Also, if you want a firmer, smoother scarf itself, you can cut some medium-weight interfacing.  I didn't have any, so I just went with it as is.

Now, sew up the bottom seam, all the way, from tie-end to tie-end.  Note, if you haven't sewn with jersey before, it can be a little nit-picky.  You need a ballpoint needle to keep from micro-tearing the fabric, and the fabric likes to bunch or overstretch depending on your tension.  For my machine, without messing with bobbin tension, the fabric sewed best on a very small zig-zag stitch on medium-low tension.

Once you've sewn the seam, hold the top seam and place the scarf around your hips (you can even tie it on) the way you would wear it.  Use this to check the scarf length and shape. Make any adjustments you need to now--it's much harder (if not impossible) to make certain changes later.  If everything's good for size and shape, put the scarf on again, and mark how far you want the petals to reach in the front.

My pins were a few inches from the tie, right in front of my hips.

At this point, you want to cut a number of squares from your remaining fabric.  I made my squares 7" x 7", and I used about 25.  You may need more or less depending on how big your hips are, how closely you place your petals, and how long much you stitch each one to the scarf.  If you want an estimate, measure the curve between your marker pins, and divide this measurement by 2.  So if the curve measures 30", you'll cut 15 squares.  This is probably the minimum number you'll need, but it's enough to get started and see how things look once you start sewing.  Also, 6" x 6" squares closer together will probably give you a fluffier end result.

Feel free to make multiple folds in your fabric so that you can cut 3-4 squares at once!

Now that you have all of the squares cut, lay the scarf flat, fold in half, and mark the bottom center.

This new pin will mark our starting spot for the next step: sewing the squares (petals) to the scarf.

Technically, you don't have to start in the center, but it helps keep things even. Unfold the scarf so that the seam lies as flat as you can get it, right-side up.  Try to make sure the seam allowances are facing the same direction all the way across--it won't mess anything up if they get a little wonky on the inside of the scarf, but it's nice to have them tidy.

The lighting here suddenly made my fabric look grey....

 Remove the center-marker pin, and pin the center of the square where it was.

The angle of this shot makes it look incredible off center.  Also, put the pin in parallel to the seam, not perpendicular
like you see here.  It will make it easier to keep things straight.

 Now, sew the square the scarf  for 1" or 2" (your choice--I did mine around 2").  Try to sew as close to the seam as you can, and be careful to avoid folds or lumps in the scarf getting caught under your stitching.

 I actually was able to use a small, straight stitch here just fine. 

Tada!  Your first petal is done!  I used back-stitching and tying ends to help make sure the stitching would hold up with all the dancing this will be going through.

Now repeat.  A lot.  Your petals will start piling up.  Push them opposite the direction you're laying new petals down.  

 Lay each new square, folded in half (see below) about 1/2"-1" away from the tip of the previous petal.

Unfold the square and pin along the seam. I used the point of the pin to show where the tip of the previous petal was.  This helped me see where to drop my needle, kept everything in a nice line, and kept my petals tightly spaced without overlapping.  Feel free to have some overlap if you want a REALLY fluffy skirt, but you'll have to be careful sewing, and you may need a lot more squares depending on the overlap.

That crease at the pin's point is the sewn tip of the previous petal.

Starting with the center, I did one side and then the other.  This is actually really easy--it just takes a while.  Feel free to try on your scarf as you go and see how it's looking!  

 Once you have the petals all sewn on, you can add embellishments along the bottom seam.  I was able to get the perfect length of black ribbon 50% at Hobby Lobby, so I used that, keeping decoration simple.  Note, I'm doing this before sewing the scarf closed, that way the stitching doesn't go through the back side.  Again, though, be careful that the petals or back side of the scarf don't get caught up in your stitching!

Feel free to add more.  Once you're done, though, you're finally ready to sew the top.  Turn the scarf inside-out, and match up the edges.  The petals and embellishments will make things a little awkwardly lumpy, but it'll be fine.  Sew from one tie to a few inches from the center, then do the same on the other side.  The center gap will let you turn the scarf right-side out again, and then you can slip-stitch it closed.

And we're done!  The petals have some AMAZING movement during twists and shimmies.

Crochet and Big Life Changes

So, I started this blog originally because I felt like my creative life was being drowned in dissertation work and other obligations.  Last semester was a time of huge upheaval in that regard, and I ended the semester by going on academic leave.  So now, a month-and-a-half later, I'm still hunting for a full-time job, but I have a part-time job writing scripts for study guide videos for an Australian company, I've started a new class in bellydance, and I'm excited to not be constantly dogged by the guilt and stress of the dissertation.  I may go back next fall, but I'm not sure.  The unfortunate truth is that the Ph.D. CAN be worth it for an alt-ac/non-ac job, but it can also be a hindrance.  So, we'll see.  In the meantime, I'm trying to jump back into craft mode (and blogging mode!) post-holidays.

I have a bellydance costume in the works, but I keep struggling with some beautiful but very unforgiving fabric and a deadlock over how to decorate the bra.  I've got a ton of ideas, but I'm just not sure which one to run with:

I cannot get this darned thing to load right-side up.
And this one is my favorite, too.  Sigh.

In the meantime, I finally got around to learning a new hobby that I'd attempted, failed, and put off at least twice: crochet.  I've been knitting for years, now, although I rarely do anything more complicated than a basic garter stitch or knit 2, purl 2.  I mostly make blankets and scarves for family members, and it gives me something easy but productive to do while watching movies or TV.  Decorating a dance bra requires a lot more concentration!  Anyway, I'd been interested in learning crochet with the number of neat patterns online, especially for bellydance stuff.  But every time I'd tried, I kept making miserable, curled up swatches that looked terrible.  So I gave up and figured I'd try again another time, maybe when I had an actual person to show me how, rather than a YouTube video.

Well, true motivation came last week, when my bellydance instructor asked us to bring zills, preferably with mufflers.  I finally bought my own zills back at the Texas Renfaire in the fall, but I had no mufflers.  So, I looked up some patterns, bought lace weight yarn, and I was ready to try learning knitting in the round (something else I'd never attempted).  Unfortunately, it was the day of the class, and I got home to discover that I didn't have the right needles.  I have a huge stash my grandmother gave me, but it's a random assortment.  There was no going back to the store, so I decided "what the hell" and pulled out a crochet hook and a crochet pattern, ready to learn, hardcore.

Before I started the crochet, however, I knew I didn't have time to finish them before class, so I made some fabric zill covers according to this SUPER EASY tutorial at The Tribal Way:

Tribal Way Zill Mufflers -
She takes lovely pictures and also has lovely hands, don't you think?

So anyway, I knocked those out in 10 minutes, and then realized bellydance class was cancelled due to Louisiana's uncommonly cold and icy weather.  So I went back to crocheting.

It was HARD.  I probably unpicked and restarted the pattern 7-10 times before I actually started getting it right, and I watched and re-watched one particular video (I'll link to it when I can find it again).  I actually ended up switching patterns halfway through, too: I started with the Pretty Petaled Zill Covers by kNew England Knitter, but I couldn't understand how to get from one petal to the next, so I switched to Shira's Large Spider Web Zill Mufflers. The spider web pattern was much easier to follow, but it still took a few tries to get it right.

I finished the first one that night.
Tada!  Here is my first one and my fabric muffler:

I didn't get the center shape in the crochet quite right, but once I got farther out, I got more used to the tension and technique.

I was ADDICTED.  In the past 5 days, I've made three more covers and attempted a crochet slave bracelet.

For the bracelet, I used the free bejeweled bracelet pattern from The Joyful Dancer.  I didn't understand parts of the pattern I, so I just did what seemed right.  I got pretty much the right shape, but it's very loose.  Also, the edges are a bit wonky.  But for kind of making parts up, I'm okay with that!

Overall, I'm still working on loosening my stitch tension, but I'm getting better.  I really enjoy how crocheted work comes together, and I like having only one needle.  The only downside is that my left wrist hurts from the effort of controlling the work, the working thread, and the tension.  But it's worth it!!


And, for a final, ferret note for the day, Ferret Nation cages are the best.  We finally ordered one and set it up last Thursday.  It's great and the ferrets love it!

Look how huge!