Crafty Crafty

Felted cat hat

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:16:37 GMT

Felting is a bit of a mystery to some of us. In fact at times felting can be the enemy as the hardwork of a handknit sneaks into the washing machine by accident and comes out a stitched shadow of its former self. The formula behind the art of felting can be tough to get your head around so to make things a little clearer SciFi Knitter has embarked on a mission to show the process of crocheted item to felted thing.

Easy embroidery: Connect the Dots

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:44:34 GMT

Encouraging people to create their own craft by giving them a little help is a fabulous way to shove nervous crafters in the right direction. Embroidery is one of those things that can be a bit overwhelming if you don't know where to start. So how does connecting the dots embroidery style grab you?

Wednesday wearables: moustache cowl

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:10:25 GMT

For years now knitters have a had a secret love of the nose neighbour. Who doesn't envy the fine facial hair of a lucky moustache wearer if we're honest? Last year's S&B London Knit Crawl proved that fact to be irrefutably true. So while it's still a bit nippy out there how about wandering over to Knitty and joining the moustached many by knitting up their Incognito Cowl.

Stitched science

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:38:51 GMT

Who would have thought that frog innards could look cute or the peroidic table could seem cosy? Throw away your ideas of cold and clinical science as Discover Magazine take you into a world where knitting and stitching meet biology and zoology with their collection of knitted science.

Crafty art: crochetdermy

deadlyknitshade — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:35:15 GMT

View imageCrochet is an adaptable medium when it comes to creating curves. This has been proven time and again in the herds of amigurumi cuties that seem to be everywhere in the craft world these days. With the zoo of crochet creatures out there it's not surprising crochet is creeping into the art world on all fours too.

Craft your own couture

deadlyknitshade — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:03:43 GMT

London-based label DIYcouture has launched a collection of couture clothing with a difference. Rather than all the ready-to-wear yawn-a-rama you can buy from any old designer label, DIYcouture give you to pattern and bits and bobs to make your own garment.

Help sequin a shimmering shed

deadlyknitshade — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:52:17 GMT

You may remember the woolly garden wonder of the knitted shed I wrote about last year. Well the crafty sheddies are back. And this time they're going disco.

A vintage pattern treasure trove

deadlyknitshade — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:40:23 GMT

Back in days gone by they were a classy bunch. Graceful, debonair and chic; the dress of the 40s and 50s took a fair amount of putting together but was worth it for the finished look. Inspired by her grandmother's photos and vintage fashion photographs of the period, My Vintage Dresser was created.

Knitting pattern: Totoro mittens

deadlyknitshade — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:40:33 GMT

Recently I have been mesmerised by the new studio Ghibli film Ponyo, the work of anime genius Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki's films are pieces of animated magic and well worth casting your eyeballs at. As Ponyo is a bit too new for a wave of crafty creatures to appear from its underwater depths I thought I would share this pattern for Totoro mittens I found while we wait.

Lost Boys Vampire cookies

deadlyknitshade — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:24:20 GMT

A generation of vampire film fans were saddened by the death of The Lost Boys' Corey Haim this week. Corey was a vampire-battling film icon long before the sparkly skin of Edward Cullen or the Southern fanged twang of Bill Compton came out of the coffin.

"That's no light sabre, it's a crochet hook!"

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:54:03 GMT

"Luuuuuuuuke, I crocheted your father..." was possibly what crafty crochet wizard Lucy Ravenscar uttered as she finally completed her excruciatingly cute Star Wars set. She'd be perfectly within her rights to break into an Ewok Celebration too as they're Death-Star-explodingly fantastic.

Craft art: dark cross stitch memories

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:22:10 GMT

Australian artist Sera Walters is a visual artist and arts writer based in Adelaide, South Australia. Her artworks take the decorative mediums of fabric, felt, lace, cross-stitch sequins and beads and use them to illustrate the darker side of life.

Say it with Opinionated Shopping Bags

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:39:11 GMT

This week Alternative Arts, an arts organisation based in London's Spitalfields area, is holding events for International Women's Week. The week follows International Women's day; celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

How to: make your own gift bows

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:39:11 GMT

Mother's Day is acomin' and there's wrapping to be done. Whether you're forking out for something fancy or handmaking something handsome it always looks better if the packaging is pretty. That doesn't mean it has to cost the earth or make you feel guilty for not being green. You can make your own gift bows from old magazines and save the planet while still maintaining the pretty.

How to: make your own Oscar

deadlyknitshade — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:53:11 GMT

Kathryn Bigelow scoops the first female Best Director Oscar, Sandra Bullock tells everyone how much she loves them, Jeff Bridges thanks everyone on the planet individually. Isn't it about time that you had your own moment dramatically clutching a shiny, bald, golden statuette to your chest? If you're not up for embarking on a film career to get you behind that podium you can always make your own Oscar.

Yarn from the Stitch and Bitch Queen

deadlyknitshade — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:42:05 GMT

Debbie Stoller's Stitch and Bitch is the book that launched a million knitters. There are very few people with sticks and string who aren't aware of the book and it's follow on Stitch and Bitch Nation and Son of Stitch and Bitch. So when Ms Stoller does something people take notice.

Mother's Day London knitting classes

deadlyknitshade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:39:20 GMT

Keeping the knit in the family is a common occurrence. Stitching is often a generational thing passed down from your grandparents to your parents to you to your kids in some cases. If crafting isn't something being passed down your family generations then maybe it's about time it was. Doing this in Swedish style are MillaMia, a new knitting site offering classes for the Mother's Day weekend.

LOST in stitches

deadlyknitshade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:04:43 GMT

If you're a LOST fan then chances are you're, like me, knee deep in the Final Season, and have been running around a mysterious island being chased by a column of black smoke for the last month now. You know who you are. You have theory-battles over your cornflakes of a morning and you possibly use 'the numbers' for the lottery every week.

How to: amuse your cat with crafty critters

deadlyknitshade — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:14:35 GMT

Meoooooow! Mrrrow! Meoooow! Moaw? Cats get bored. They get insistent. They end up patting at your hair and 'settling down' on your keyboard while you're trying to do very important tweeting. The only solution is to whip them up something to entertain them while you're too busy to scratch behind their ears. Which is where we turn to Fantastic Toys.

How to: make your own knitting needles

deadlyknitshade — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:58:41 GMT

Knitting needles: for any self-respecting knitter your needles tell your knitting who's boss. I'm a fan of wooden needles as they grip the stitches and an enemy of metal needles off which my knitting seems to slide as soon as my attention is distracted by something shiny.

The Lego loving treasures of The Bothered Owl

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:37:44 GMT

Accessories are everything when you're a crafty creature. Once the craft bug bites you need places to store things, bags to tote things, markers to make things and purses to shove all your bits and bobs in. A solution is needed and flapping to the rescue are the good folks at The Bothered Owl.

Knitting pattern: fox fur stole

deadlyknitshade — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:30:18 GMT

Apparently fur is back in fashion. In my mind it's never been ok to swan into a fancy party decked in the embalmed remains of one of the forest's furry friends and thankfully most agree. That doesn't stop those of us who admire the animal kingdom longing for a creature companion at such events which is where Knitty's Vegan Fox comes in.

Crafty art: embroidered mattresses

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:25:09 GMT

No one ever said that embroidery was boring; the word itself means to decorate, but as with a lot of handcrafts it has a bit of a twee image. Happily there are artists like Louise Riley out there who take their needle and thread and make jaw-dropping view-challenging art.

Wednesday wearables: Mini Bloomers

deadlyknitshade — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:20:13 GMT

Knickers are the new jeggings. Ok that isn't true. But flying in the face of the horror that is sometimes high-street fashion you could hand-make your own undercrackers for a bit of vintage style on your booty.

Behold the Lego ball winder

deadlyknitshade — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:58:55 GMT

Is there nothing that the wonder of Lego cannot do? Those clever folks at Portland's Twisted yarn store have married the crafty beasts of Lego and yarn to create a robotic wool-slinging wonder: the Lego ball winder.