One more for the bucket list: Cosplay!

Hello again!

I once more have something crafty to share with y'all, and I'm actually super proud of it. This is my first cosplay! I have always wanted to do it, and now I can finally say that I have!

Now cosplay is essentially dressing up as a character or even things from books, TV shows, movies, etc. It's pretty popular at anime and other types of conventions. However, when my friends and I decided to cosplay, we did it for school.

Sort of. You may be surprised to learn that medical school isn't always "study study study". We have time for fun things, like our belated Lunar New Year Festival that just happened last Saturday. It consists of acts performed by medical students, undergrad students, and some of the other schools on our campus (PT, OT, audiology, etc) putting together acts to perform for fellow students, faculty, and really anyone else we care to invite.

One of these acts that I participated in was a dance inspired by Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra (I talked about them in the post about my favorite TV shows). Any fans here?

Quick introduction for those who are not familiar with the Avatar universe: in this world, some people are born with the ability to manipulate ("bend") one of the four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. The Avatar is the lone person in the world who can bend all four. Bending is commonly used in combat, so in the TV show, the animation of each type of bending is based off of a martial art.

In this dance, we correlated each of the elements with a dance style. Water was more lyrical, earthbending was step, fire was hip-hop-ish, and air was breakdancing. Two of my friends (and fellow Avatar fans) who were in the dance with me decided, "What the hey, we're gonna cosplay this!" Water, fire, and earth all have one major female character associated with them, so we went as Katara, Azula, and Toph, plus an Aang!

BUT! I'm the only one of us three (four, if you included our airbender, who we roped into cosplaying with us) who can sew. I have made from scratch a grand total of three real garments for myself: this shirt and two pairs of PJ pants. This was my first time using darts, an invisible zipper, interfacing, and inset sleeves.

But hey! Two weeks, four costumes, almost no experience? On top of rehearsals for three different acts for the Lunar New Year Festival and schoolwork? Totally doable!

That sounds sarcastic. And you know what? It was hard...but I did it! And we looked fantastic!

Sadly, our airbender had to leave the performance early, so no group picture with him. :(

Some of my preliminary doodles (with the measurements blanked out, for obvious reasons):

See more photos of the costumes after the cut!

A Braided Scarf with Extra Glitz

Hi guys! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! I had a fun break, and I'm doing my best to stay on track with schoolwork and working out this year. To those of you who make New Year's resolutions, or who (like me) are constantly trying to turn over a new leaf and change for the better, I read this interesting article about how to stick to your goals. I don't know how well it works, but it's certainly worth a try!

So for this block of classes, one of my goals was to maintain attendance at my lectures. They aren't required, but my theory is that if I go to them instead of watching the video recordings afterward, I might manage my studying a bit better. Going along with that, I have also been trying to dress nicely for my classes. Some days I really only have time for the T-shirt, sweater, and jeans routine, but most days I have more time for a more "special" outfit, and it's part of today's outfit that I wanted to share with you.

This braided scarf concept has been circulating around the internet for quite a while. I really love wearing it this way and have shown it to a lot of my friends. I won't bother with a tutorial since the link already explains it perfectly well, but I just wanted to share a some inspiration for jazzing it up a little.

So today, I was planning on tying a brown silk scarf in a braid, but it lacked something. I realized that I was wearing these gold hoop earrings (they are not in the photos, as by the end of the day my allergies had started acting up and necessitated removing them), and I really needed a little more sparkle for a cohesive look.

And what did I reach for? A simple gold necklace. A little weaving and ta-dah!

(One of these days, my room will be clean and I will not be ashamed to have a wider frame in my photos. >_>)

It came out looking pretty darn cool, and it was very easy to do.

I simply unclasped the necklace and fed most of the chain through a loop at the very bottom of the braid. Leaving a very short portion dangling, I wove the chain through the braid, looped it behind the braid at the top, and wove it back down again along a different strand. Then all I had to do was refasten the chain at the back of the bottom of the brain and pow! Instant glitz!

So for those of you who find that the fancy scarf braid isn't fancy enough, give this a shot! Use a pretty chain, or maybe a string of beads or pearls. And of course, try this with other scarf-tying methods, too! It could really turn your scarf into something extra-special.

This braid and a mock men's tie (as shown above) are probably the ways I most commonly wear "fashion" scarves as opposed to scarves worn for warmth.

How do you guys like to wear your scarves? Would you try what I did with my braided scarf?

Thanks for reading!

-Annie

Commitment Day 16: Basketweave

This is Day 16 of my 30 Days of Commitment series. Check out the other posts in this series, too!

Gosh, I'm sorry, guys. This has been another hectic week for me, and I ended up letting this series slide yet again! But then again, this is sort of what the purpose of this whole series was right?

Well, I just go on thinking like that so I don't feel as guilty. ^_~

What I'm sharing with you today is a pretty old project that I never got around to posting. This bag:

A long time ago, I was flipping through a crocheting magazine and was intrigued by a photo of a cross-body purse made using the basketweave stitch. I found this stitch in my book of many crochet stitches, but it's easy to find. A quick Google search brought me to this tutorial, which looks pretty much like what I did.

This was a pretty easy bag to make. I crocheted two panels of basketweave for the front and back, then crocheted one long strip of single crochet to make the strap. I simply single crocheted along the edges to connect them.

A little too late, I discovered an interesting flaw in this design: a crocheted strap will streeeeetch. And mine was already bordering on too long. So after some pondering, I happened upon this solution. Use ribbon!

Basically, I found some ribbon in a coordinating color to stabilize it. The ribbon I found wasn't nearly wide enough, so that line you see going down the middle is where I zigzag-stitched two ribbons together. Once this was done, I simply lined up this ribbon strip along the crocheted strap and sewed down each edge. Voila, problem solved!

I chose this gorgeous fabric for the lining. The method for making it was similar: cut out two large rectangles for the front and back and then a long, continuous strip for the sides and bottom.

I did, however, add a couple things to the lining. I added three pockets, two cell phone sized and one larger.

I also added a key fob, because I hate having to fish through a big bag for my keys.

There's also a closure strap that can button at two different buttons, depending on how full the bag is.

And to attach alllll of this to the crocheted portion, I slid in the lining, sandwiched the button strap and the key fob between the two layers, and sewed it all together.

Instead of doing the usual thing with lined bags where you flip everything inside out, etc, etc, I simply folded down the edges of the lining and basically topstitched around the edge. Worked out pretty well. :)

So what do you think? I'm pretty proud of this bag. It makes a nice, casual alternative to those days when I'm just not feeling the backpack (my laptop fits in there nicely). 

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope you found it inspiring! I enjoy those times when I see something and am able to recreate it myself without relying on patterns. :)

-Annie

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Commitment Day 2: Wallet to Purse Tutorial

Welcome to Day 2 of my 30 Days of Commitment! Find the other 30 Days of Commitment posts here.

Today's post is a short tutorial on how convert a long wallet into a small purse. Apologies in advance for the weird photos; I have four exams next week, and obtaining really good photos is not exactly a priority right now. Neither is cleaning my messy room, which y'all will not be seeing!

I obtained this wallet on an Alaskan cruise this past August with the intention to use it as a clutch, but with no strap of any sort, I just found it way too difficult to deal with.

Via craftgawker, I found this simple tutorial on how to add a chain on to make it into a little purse. Personally, I didn't like the idea of just hooking it to the zipper and looping the chain under the flap. Seemed sort of unstable.

So for those of you who are interested in learning another way to do this simple DIY, keep reading after the break!

News!

I can't believe this! My instructional video for the Forever 21 infinity scarf has over 27,000 views, and my channel has over 200 subscribers! This is pretty modest in the world of YouTube, but it's definitely beyond anything I ever expected! Thank you all so much for your kind words and your interest!

Important thing: the post I've linked above (and here again) is the new MASTER POST for the Forever 21 infinity scarf. If you have any questions, please check there first! If after reading, you still have questions, comment or send me an email, and I will update the post ASAP with my answer.

So I wanted to share the work of a few people who have made use of this pattern, and hopefully it inspires more of you to try making this scarf and adding your own unique touch to it!

First up is Emily of Just Stringing Along. She made four scarves using my pattern as an inspiration, but made a little modification (I LOVE that!): she replaced the treble crochet with a quad crochet, and let me just say, her scarves look ridiculously cozy. Check out her blog post to see all three!

The next two lovely ladies sent me emails with photos. Danette used a lovely, bright yellow for hers:

And Martina did something really pretty: she used different colored yarns (two shades of green). And then she shipped this lovely thing off to her sister as a gift!

Like I said, use these ladies' work as a starting point for your own unique works. I hope to see even more people using this pattern and sharing their results. Your scarves are beautiful, ladies, and thank you for sharing!

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back (relatively) soon with a new post! Ta-ta!

-Annie

The New Year begins!

Hello everyone! As always, it's been a long time since I've posted, and yet again this will be more or less a quick in and out to update you guys and say hi. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

My first order of business is to give you guys a huge thank you! The video I posted on the stitch used in my Forever 21 scarf has over 7000 views, and I have more than 70 people subscribed to my channel after just 1 video! I know that's small potatoes in the YouTube world, but it makes me feel warm inside that people are interested by what I do. Stay tuned, YouTube viewers, as another video is (eventually) forthcoming, although this one is oriented toward fashion rather than crafting. I hope you all will like it!

Also, I wanted to submit some proof to you all that I have actually been crafting during my long silences. So here are a couple of the things that have been occupying my time.

Pictured above, a shirtdress I picked up at the thrift store. It was much longer before and made me look absolutely ridiculous, so I had to hack off several inches, and now it's stylin'! Action shots will come in the future.

At the top is my new tote bag, made using this tutorial. The gray is a suede fabric, and the print is blue and gray with black characters, cranes, and other very Oriental-looking designs.

Below it is a black infinity scarf made using a lacy pattern from the book The Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitches, called the Open Crescent stitch. It's a great book I picked up for just a few bucks from a resale shop. I used Caron Simply Soft Black yarn and a G hook.

The gray is a scarf I made for my boyfriend using the free Lion Brand Thermal Scarf pattern. It's super stretchy and warm, and I might end up making my own in a more colorful yarn. I used Caron Simply Soft Heather Gray and a J hook.

The two turtles I have there are the first of 7 turtles made as presents for some of the friends I've made here at med school. Clearly not as much crocheting got done over break as there should have been. >_>

The black hat is a (possibly) work in progress. I wanted to imitate the hat I wore in the photo below, but I can't figure out knit cables to save my life.

I used another pattern from the crochet stitches book to try to imitate cables, but it doesn't involve post stitches, but puff stitches instead. I say possibly a work in progress because my original intention was to add a brim, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. Also, the ribbing (which was added on using this tutorial) is just a tad tight, enough so that every time I put it on I need to fuss with my hair in order for it to look right. Still, I'd say it's already a pretty rocking success.

It was also made with Caron Simply Soft Black yarn and an H hook.

This white hat was made using the famous Pretty Puffs slouchy hat pattern. I learned a lot from this hat. I was not using the same weight of yarn as she did or the same hook size, so I couldn't be sure that following her pattern exactly would get me the results I wanted. I was using DK weight yarn (sorry, don't remember the brand) and (I believe) a J hook. I ended up only needing to add an extra row of increases to get the hat to fit right, but it took me three tries and lots and lots of frogging to figure that out.

So that's what I've been up to! For 2012, I have so many projects I want to tackle, and I'm really really excited for the new year! Did you guys make any New Year's resolutions? Do you also have a massive list of crafty things to accomplish?

Thanks for sticking around! I will see you next time!

-Annie

Infinity Scarf: The Master Post!

A note: Changes have been made in this post to address the myriad questions I have received about this scarf. Please refer to this post for answers to your questions, and comment on this post with any other questions you might have. I will reply ASAP as well as update the post itself with my answer. Let me reiterate that this pattern is extremely flexible, so I am hesitant to provide you with things like yarn weight, hook size, number of rows, etc. Make it how you like it!

Another note: Youtube user beautytipsbyshane brought up an interesting point in a comment on my video. This pattern doesn't have an official name. I am proposing that it be called the Crossed Clusters stitch. Thoughts? Any suggestions of better ones?

Hello all! It has been too, too long! In the rush of everything that is medical school, all of my projects and even the first birthday of The Stingy Stitcher have passed by already.

Unfortunately, as usual I have very little time, so today's post will be short and sweet...hopefully we'll have time to play catch-up another day!

This is a more detailed version of the Infinity Scarf pattern I posted here a long while back. A couple people were (understandably) confused by my vague instructions, so here we go again!

Forever 21 Infinity Scarf

Dimensions (relaxed): 8 inches wide and 56 inches long (before joining the ends)
10 pattern repeats, 57 rows
Dimensions are not concrete. This pattern can be easily modified to be whatever width and whatever length you want.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (worsted weight), 1 7-oz skein (366 yards)
Hook size: J
Again, this is nothing concrete. Use whatever yarn you like and a hook size appropriate to that yarn, then adjust your gauge to get whatever size scarf you'd like. Also, with scarves I do one of two things: I either keep going until I've used up one skein of yarn, or I keep wrapping the scarf around my neck until it reaches a length I like.

Pattern

Ch = chain

Sc = single crochet

Dc = double crochet

Tr = treble crochet (it is my understanding that triple crochet = treble crochet; at least, that is what Google tells me)

Hk = hook

St = stitch

Sk = skip

Notes:
- The beginning ch-4 always counts as the first stitch.
- The stitch marker isn't actually necessary, but putting that in the pattern makes it a little easier to explain.

For a scarf with 10 repeats:

Ch 36.

R1: Place stitch marker in 6^th ch from hk. Tr into next 2 ch. Dc into ch with marker. Remove marker. *Sk 1 ch (from the second tr). Tr into next 2 ch. Dc into the skipped ch. Repeat from * 8 more times (only one ch is left unworked). Tr into last ch.

R2: Ch 4, turn. *Sk next st. Tr in next 2 sts. Dc in skipped st. Repeat from * 9 more times. Tr into last st.

Repeat R2 as desired.

To make the scarf wider or narrower, add or subtract chains in your starting chain in multiples of 3.

Edit: A reader asked me how I joined the ends of the scarf when I was finished. The first time around, I just used a whip stitch and it was fine. However, the second and third scarves (haven't posted about the third one yet, but soon!) had foundation chains that were too loose, so I removed the foundation chain and used a whip stitch. The photo tutorial can be found here.

In addition, I made a brief video so you can actually get a visual of this. Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to do to improve on quality for this and possible future videos and/or patterns!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to be seeing you all again soon!
 

-Annie

Foundation chain joining woes

Hello again!

So recently I made another infinity scarf as a present for a family member. It uses this pattern, but for this particular scarf I used fewer repeats per row and a larger hook.

Yay, pretty! No action shots on her, but she liked it...hopefully I can get pictures sometime.

Now, I don't remember what black magic I called upon last time to get a simple whip stitch to suffice for the joining seam, but my foundation chain for this scarf was ridiculous.

I wanted it to be able to stretch with the rest of the scarf, so I went up two hook sizes and chained somewhat loosely. I ended up with the most insanely loopy, messy-looking foundation ever. It stretched just fine, but can you imagine how shabby the thing looked when I attempted to whipstitch the ends together? There were loops popping out everywhere and it was just a mess!

It was then that I recalled something I had seen...somewhere in the blogosphere. Hopefully someone can enlighten me as to where I got the inspiration for this idea...are you ready? It's a revolutionary idea...it could change the very world........

REMOVE THE FOUNDATION CHAIN WHEN JOINING

Revolutionary, right?

Okay, so it's not that exciting, but I've gotta tell you, it's a great idea! Check it out...

Where's the join?

Do you see it?

Right here!

Not too shabby, right?

I can anticipate this working nicely for a lot of things that require joining something to the bottom of a crocheted piece, and possibly even nicely finishing the bottom edge of a piece. I plan on experimenting with that later. :)

Plus, it helps to get rid of the stretch issue without being forced to start with a foundation sc or dc row.

I put together a photo tutorial for the method that I found worked best. If you'd like to see my way of joining two crocheted pieces by replacing the foundation chain, please read on. :)

Cases and a koi

Hello, my lovelies, it's me again! So more crafting has been going on in my life than my blog makes it look like. I just post the fancy ones. :)

Anyways, here's a quick overview of my more "mundane" crafts. More photos and information (including some simple tutes) are below the cut, but it's a looooot of pictures.

Oh yeah, check out my mad Paint skillz!

Ranting, housekeeping, and stitch patterns

Hey there everyone! As always, I seem to post in stops and starts, especially now that the busy semester has once again set in. Was anyone else on here hit by that crazy blizzard? I live in an apartment in Chicago and go to school in Chicago = SNOW DAY!!! Except it wasn't actually that awesome, because it totally screwed with my schedule.

But anyways, moving past my self-pity, I wanted to share something that has really lifted my heart. My blog has already passed 5000 views!!!!

Did you get that?

5000 VIEWS!!!!!!

Thank you so much, dear readers, for validating this stingy stitcher's poor soul with your interest and lovely comments! I hope that I continue to prove interesting, because, come on, who doesn't love knowing that people take an interest in what you do? 

So first, really quick, I took some more pictures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hat I crocheted for my friend a while back (there's a mini-tute of how to make it via that link). She's camera-shy, and I've more or less moved past that phase that since photography is so vital in the online crafting community. :) So here we go, with the maker as the model!

See that in the background? That's my boyfriend's bunk bed/futon (yeah, you read that right), which he scored for $25!!! Can you believe that? The frame and the heavy, high-quality mattress! Though he didn't get the mattress for the top bunk. I love me some garage sale-hopping!

I love that the hat's nubby, thick, and warm. And there are earflaps! I want a hat like this, though probably not TMNT. I don't think I've ever watched a complete episode even, haha.

With that taken care of, I wanted to share a little something else with you. Maritza from California requested that I share the stitch pattern to my mother's Christmas shawl, which you all might remember...

Now, since I'm sure that the rest of you are just so riveted by my work that you were unable to summon the willpower to ask yourselves (hardy har har), I'm sharing it here! Read on to see it!