A quick and easy T-shirt recon

First off, a shout-out: Thank you to Heather of Me Making Do for featuring my join-as-you-go crocheted ribbing! Visit her blog for all sorts of great things: beautiful crafts, great tutorials, and of course, our favorite, link parties!






So, on to the topic of the day: you all remember a little while back, when t-shirt reconstruction was all the rage. While it may have toned down somewhat, it's still going strong. Way back then, while browsing the various creative things you can possibly do with a t-shirt, I stumbled on a fabulously easy one:

Sorry, the room looks like a mess, but it actually isn't. Bad angles?

Assuming you want to make it (and I know you want to make this), read on!

A different way to crochet a ribbed brim

Hey there all! So school's started, and of course that's been loads of fun. I've been trying to keep crafting, especially since my friends' Christmas gifts still aren't finished. I'm so close to finishing this next one, just need to add some finishing touches.

Anyways, I decided to post up a little technique I used on this hat I'm making for my friend. So I'm sure a lot of you crocheters have heard of crocheting in the back loop to create a ribbed effect that even has stretch. If not, here's a quick video showing how. I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. :)

In my experience, I have only seen projects that either start with the ribbing and work their way up (like the fingerless gloves I made a while back), or sew the ribbing on later.  Or consist completely of ribbing, but that's not the target of this tutorial.

So I came up with a simple little method to attach the brim as you make it. Lazy as I am, this was an amazing discovery! And look! It even looks nice!

So you want to learn an easy way to add a little more elasticity to your hats? Click on Read More and let's begin!

Excitement! I've been featured!

Great news! So I should have done this ages ago, but I've been featured twice already! I feel somehow validated, knowing that people have taken notice of my work and thought it original enough to share. Thanks to them, and also to my awesome viewers. As I am writing this, I have already surpassed 3800 pageviews, and it's so exciting! Thank you all for reading, and I hope to keep seeing you coming back around to hang with the Stingy Stitcher!




Moving on: the first person to feature me was the awesome Amanda of Today's Top 20, a blog devoted to showcasing all the amazing crafters who are online these days. Do y'all remember those Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle hats I posted a while back? She added those to her top 20 about a month ago, and it's taken me 'til now to remember to thank her in turn. ^_^;; Sorry, Amanda!

Please do check out her blog! Not only is it awesome in itself to see so many creative people spotlighted, but it is also an extension of my gratitude to her. Enjoy the craftiness!



Next up is the wondrous Wendy, Lord and Master of Copycat Crafts. Seriously guys, this blog is the best idea ever. No one who has been out and about in the crafting community could possibly miss how popular and prevalent knock-offs have become, and I can't believe no one else has thought to devote an entire website to these wonderful pretties.

Wendy was nice enough to showcase my Forever 21-inspired infinity scarf, which has rapidly become my favorite scarf. I mean, duh: if you wear lots of a particular color, make a scarf in that color. Only took two years to figure out. Anyways, thank you again to Wendy!

I absolutely must restate this as many times as possible. Visit. Their. Sites. Seriously, you will not regret it. Sites like Today's Top 20 and Copycat Crafts are just amazing for sharing knowledge and building up your electronic network. Don't miss out!

Christmas 2010: Present 1

Hello, hello, how are we all? I hope the new year is off to a good start for everyone!

I'm kicking off the year with my Christmas present posts. Given all the crazy stuff that is happening in my life, none of my handmade presents were finished on time this year. ^_^;; In fact, some are still not finished, but that's okay, since those are the ones for my friends from school, and we aren't even doing the present exchange until we all get back. Here's to hoping that I finish before then!

Moving on: Handmade present number 1 of Christmas 2010 is.....

Ta-dah! My very first shawl! I decided to make this for my mom because the one she used before had a fringe on it, and the dryer...sort of ate it. Plus, it's black with very colorful designs on it, and while that's nice, it doesn't match her decor at all. Her room is very, very white. So I decided to add a little color to that theme and went with a nice baby blue.

Click to see more!

Edit: And click here to see the stitch pattern!