Small but Mighty– Hogwarts Uniform Part 1

 

I just completed a craft swap with the very talented tapestrymlp, as she is known on Craftster. It was called Invite Your Partner Fall Ball or IYP19 Fall Ball.

I was flattered because I have seen her some of her work, which I admire and I was itching for a challenging project.

When I found out she has a daughter who has an American Girl Doll and loves Harry Potter, I knew this was the project for me.

I used almost entirely recycled materials as this is a passion of mine. I have been a recycler since before it became “the thing”. I use mostly recycled materials for the felt food on my Etsy shop.

I have included the directions for the hand knit scarf as it was definitely a labor of love.

I used the pointy tipped turkey skewers because the finished scarf seemed to be more to scale. I sanded the heck out of the points but they were still pretty sharp. Next year’s turkey will probably be upset with me as I will have to jab him pretty harshly to get the skewers through his skin.

You may want to use sock needles as these will be easier on the tips of your fingers but make sure you do a test so your scarf doesn’t come out too large.

I used Coats & Clark Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread. I found mine at WalMart but it’s a standard thread available all over. The colors I used were:

Burgundy Color 0492	Goldenrod Color 0421

[Images of Thread Courtesy of RedHeart]

 

Hogwarts Doll Scarf Instructions:

9 stitches = 1 inch and 10 rows = 1 inch

• With burgundy thread cast on 18 stitches.
• K 1 row P 1 row (stockinet) for 15 rows.
• Attach goldenrod  P 1 row, K 1 row, P 1 row K 1 row.
• With burgundy P 1 row K 1 row  - repeat 1 and 2 one more time to make the striping pattern.
• Continue with burgundy in stockinet stitch for another 15 rows then repeat the above striping pattern.
• Go back to burgundy and continue in stockinet stitch for 10”.
• Repeat the striping pattern at the end of the scarf, making sure you have the 15 rows of burgundy stockinet at the end and cast off. 
• If desired, add fringes at the bottom out of the burgundy.

When you are finished working in all your threads from the various color changes (I worked them into the body of the scarf with a sewing needle), you will need to steam the heck out of the scarf with a wet pressing cloth. I actually added a wee bit of starch as it still wanted to curl on me. I found that pinning it to the ironing board also helped keep it’s shape and don’t move it until it is completely dry.

I heard that the little girl is so pleased she hasn’t taken the outfit off her doll yet.

I’d love to hear your comments and any suggestions you may have.

Pumpkin Scarecrow Soft Doll

This will be a quick one as I am headed off to work. I was going through some older photos and had completely forgotten about this soft doll I created one Fall.

If anyone is interested I would be happy to post the pattern I made for him or perhaps I can make up a kit. Just let me know.

When the weather turns chilly I think of Autumn colors and Halloween being just around the corner. My family and I have some outings planned and I will be sharing photos and recipes VERY soon.

Angels amongst us

Recently, I was an “angel” for a fellow craft swapper who’s partner had flaked on her…
…in simple English, when participating in swaps (on Craftster, anyway), if your partner does not send to you, even though you sent them your creations, you are then eligible for an “angel”.  The person who volunteers for this gets nothing in return (other than the satisfaction of doing a good thing for someone and enjoying the heck out of surprising someone who has been previously disappointed).
I have been an “angel” twice so far. I will continue to angel because it is so rewarding for me and it pushes me to to create really special items that are personalized for the individual recipient.
My latest “angel” experience was called the TV Addict Summer Hiatus Swap and had a theme based on favorite T.V. shows. 
The crafter I created for loves the series Supernatural and she particularly likes the character of the angel, Castiel.  She also indicated on her Wists that she would like a poppet (a really popular type of doll that many Craftster-followers go nuts over).
I had been wanting to create my first poppet for some time now so, for me, the decision was easy. And to my surprise my little Castiel has recently found a fan in Geek Crafts, who did a feature on him/me!
With no further ado, here is my first poppet, Castiel:

Castiel Poppet Album VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

If you are interested in learning more about poppets, check out this link to take you to the “Poppet-a-long” on Craftster which has all sorts of pictures, the patterns for the poppet, and additional information.