The Grey Warden (Part 2- The Tabard)

I'm working on this project from the inside out, so the shirt was first, and now the tabard. Overall, this is going to be a very thick and heavy piece of gear, so I've gone my best to reinforce when possible. To review, these are the things that need to be done for the tabard:

Tabard:

• Muslin mock-up

I made tabard shape the same way as the shirt, meaning, I measured roughly how wide I thought the tabard should be, measured roughly how long it should be by holding it at my shoulder and lowering the measuring tape until it hit where I wanted on my knees, and calling that good. The angle at the bottom was achieved by printing out and cutting a protractor, and straight-up measuring it. I literally eyeballed it, and then rounded to the nearest nice number, meaning, it ended up being 30 degrees. The fabric I was using was a bit too short, so I had to sew on some more for the 40 inches that I needed to reach my knees.
• Cotton
• Cut the shape and iron onto interfacing

This is a shot after it has already been ironed on, you can kind of see it peeking out. I had some issues with getting the cotton to be exactly flat, so if you look very closely, you can see some wrinkles. They will be covered in the end, so I'm not terribly worried about them.
• Cut out the straps

Before I did this step, I did a variety of tests to see what would be the best width for everything. And how the scales would look/hang. These are very tiny examples, just so that I could confirm the perfect distance between each of the channels, and whether the blue cotton would hide all the supporting marine vinyl. I'm still using dark blue vinyl, so that it blends with the rest of what I'm doing. The distance between the two vinyl straps ended up being 1.75" and the distance between scales going up is .75".
• Marine vinyl
• Cut out the straps

A shot of all the straps cut out. It made for an interesting pile.
• Temp attach the center line
• Mark all parallel lines
• Temp attach
• Sew on at least half inch from edge

The white roll in the center is what I used to hold the straps in place as I sewed, because the thickness of the vinyl would distort my lines if I used proper pins. That's something I learned from the mini-tests that I did. You can find the tape in the sewing section of a major craft store. It is used to hold patterns in place while tracing. That roll has 10 yds. Also, highly recommend denim thread and a denim or leather needle. They are the only things strong enough to hold everything together, especially when I add the chainmaille.
• Canvas/cloth
• Cut out the straps
• Wrap cotton around the canvas, iron into place, pin
• Temp attach the lines
• Sew on at least half inch from edge
• Holes for the chainmail
• Try to tuck them under the blue straps a bit
Here are some progress shots of after everything has been sewn on:
To show how the holes are tucked under the cotton, so they don't show.
Also, some shots of a test case I made to see how the chainmaille would look when I attach it to the holes:

• Sew the two pieces together
• Extra stitching on shoulders so that the fabric lies in one direction
• Felt backing
• Cut the felt backing to be one piece

You can see the felt backing peeking out a little bit, but this is the front, just before I sew on the edge binding and add the chainmail:

• Chainmail
• Binding
• 1.5” wide bias tape from the blue cotton, because of thickness 

Stick a fork in me, I'M DONE!!!!

On to the pants! And the breastplate!

The Gray Warden (Part 1 - The Linen Shirt)

This is the first part of the cosplay that I made. I started with the linen shirt for several reasons:
1. It would be a very simple thing to make
2. It was the bottom layer of clothing, so it wouldn't be very seen if I screwed up
3. I don't have a linen shirt, and I figured I would need something that breathed, given the entire outfit.

The first thing I did was get 15 yds of muslin (aka very cheap-o cotton). I got it for less than a dollar a yard. It is a life-saver. This stuff allows you to test all your patterns, fix them as needed and try it on. You don't end up wasting good material, and it gives you an idea of how much fabric to buy.
I went and got a tanktop that I liked the look and fit off, laid it out on my muslin, and outlined it exactly. I used a water soluble marker, because I had it lying around. Then, Because I was going to use linen and my tank top material was a knit, I added an 1.5" border to my outline. I can always cut away fabric, I can't add to it. Step 3, pin that sucker together along the seams, parallel to the cuts and try it on. It will be very prickly, and hurt. Just grin and bear it. It felt decent enough, so I got some cheap-o cotton thread in bright red, and sewed along the seams I'd pinned. Then, I tried it on. There were a number of issues, including a neck that wasn't nearly big enough, random pouching along the back of my neck, hems that were too long in the back, and it hung weird on my boobs.
Issue 1: Stand in front of the mirror, and mark a neck that you like. I tend towards marking only one half of my pattern, so I have another side in case something doesn't go as planned.
Issue 2: Random pouching was because I have a slight hump to my back, and the neck was riding too high. Same as issue 1.
Issue 3: I live alone, so I grabbed some pins and roughly pinned where I wanted the back hem to be.
Issue 4: Bust darts. Very important. I went and found a top that had some, and just traced them onto my fabric, folding and pinning until I was happy. There are ways to actually measure how to do it:
http://www.sewingconnection.com/darts.html
http://www.sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/how-make-dart-create-contours

Other possible issues:
It doesn't feel right. Then take it off and try to figure out what doesn't work.
Resulting pattern:

Now, I had a pattern from which to cut my shirt. I got some linen suiting, because it is sold in 53" wide yards. If I had gone with regular linen, I would have had to get more. As it stands, I got a yard of black linen suiting for the shirt. (Actually, I got three yards, but I'm crazy and making pants.)
Before I even tried to outline my pattern on my good fabric, I laundered, starched, and ironed it. The point of laundering it is to remove stiffeners, and if the fabric was going to shrink or stretch, I'd rather have it happen before I started cutting. The starching was because I had intended to do some embroidery on the my finished top. I've chosen not to do so, but it had an added benefit of making my fabric lie nice and neat while I traced out my pattern.
I like things symmetrical, so I folded my template in half, and used the side I had decided was the finished product in my outline. I also folded and pinned my fabric, and then pinned my pattern on top so nothing would move. Once that was done, it was simply a matter of cutting, pinning and sewing the result.

Since sewing it together, I have washed it to rid it of the starch, and plan to wash it a couple more times to soften the fabric up. Hopefully, I can use it for everyday wear.
I still need to add the binding, which will be made of the same fabric as the blue of my tabard, but it needs to be cut into bias tape before I can do that. The goal is for the bias tape to be 1" wide.
http://www.seasonedhomemaker.com/making-bias-tape/
The tutorial I used for my bias tape making.
Overall, everything came out rather well. If you have any questions, just leave a comment, and I'll try to answer as thoroughly as possible.

Addams Family

Well, some shopping for thread later, and I have started the project for my brother.
Exactly as you would think, it turned out nothing like I wanted.
Some reasons are: I have a very clear idea in my head of what the finished product should look like. The fabric and threads that I found in my local embroidery store don't quite live up to my imagination. I wanted the Crow to be dark and such a deep black as to look blue, and in silk. I couldn't find anything of the sort. I did find a thread that makes me think of either freshly spilled blood or Gryffindor red. Either way, I like the color.

I will update this to include the picture. Right now, I have refocused my attentions, and will be remaking the pattern on a different piece of fabric, with some color changes. The goal is to make the results into a photo album cover for my mom for Christmas. Thankfully, she never reads these, and so will not know of it. ^_^

Now, here is the prototype of the design, and the first thing that I'd ever cross-stitched (to my knowledge), made sometime in January or February of this year.

I actually have a fun story about this piece. My brother, who is 10 years younger than me is in a very interesting position in life. He has spent all of his life around women, and crafters at that. While he does not currently craft, that I know of, he knows how to do a ridiculous variety of things, including quilting, drawing, knitting, and so much more. So, if nothing else, he is very craft-aware. The first thing my brother did when I showed him the cross stitched piece, was to turn it over and look at the back-side. I think he was actually more impressed with the neatness of the back of the piece than the front!
One last thing that I have in the works, is an Xmas present for some friends. While wandering around on Etsy, I found the most amazing design. Very simple, only 6 colors, 5 if you use the fabric for the background, and it's of the Train Ticket for the Hogwarts Express (Link: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/244967905/bogo-free-hogwarts-express-railway?ref=shop_home_active_5). I feel that it would be remiss of me not to note that I am the Harry Potter Generation. I was 8 when the first book came out, and started reading it when I was 9. I grew up with those kids, and the stories have shaped a lot of who I am. So, finding the Train Ticket was awesome. She also has the most amazing House bookmarks that I have ever seen (link:https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/247210641/bogo-free-hogwarts-crest-cross-stitch?ref=shop_home_active_10) as well as a few other goodies. I highly recommend you check her stuff out. You'll probably seem more pictures of stuff I've stitched from her charts. Anyways:
Craft On!

The More Things Change, The More they Stay the Same

It's been a little over 4 years since I last wrote on this blog, and I figured, with the rise in popularity of blogs, that maybe I want to get back to it.
A lot has changed for me in the past 4 years. When I wrote last, I was just struggling to get through undergrad. The astute among you will notice I specified "undergrad". That would be because after suffering through that Hell, and coming out very well, I might add, I dove back into the fray.
In January of 2013, I pursued my Master's Degree. A significant set of trials later, I escaped clutching a tattered and worn degree, which I immediately put to good use.
So; 4 years later, I am:
-Fatter
-Happier
-Own a car
-Own a cat
-Have my own place
-Have control of my own future

So the tally is: some good, some bad, but overall better. There are a few things I would like to have; a partner and my own place (bigger), but those will come in time, I know.
I also wanted to start using this blog to chronicle my crafts. I bounce between them faster than an ADD squirrel hyped up on Ritalin, so if nothing else, this should be amusing. Currently, I have paused my crochet as it is too much for my hands, and focused on knitting and embroidery instead. In my family, there is a tradition of embroidery, on my great-grandma's side, but I never thought that I would be interested as it didn't seem to jive with my brain. However, it did. I found a pattern online that I loved, because I am an Addams' family nerd. This is the design:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/32/61/d0/3261d0733ac3f6840d59cc5aafd87340.jpg
When I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. And no way to get my hands on the pattern. So I reverse engineered it (as I tend to do to most everything), and, because this is how my brain works, I had to make it better. The Latin used is wrong, and so I found the right translation, and used that instead.
Now comes the next step of the puzzle: To remake the pattern for my brother as a birthday present, either as a pillow or a wall-hanging, in silk and linen. This should be interesting.
Craft on! -Kat

This summer marks the first time in a few years that I have been able to visit my grandparents for a substantial length of time. For me, visiting my grandparents is an incredible treat, and a chance to be spoiled rotten. It is also a time of being judged and found wanting, a time of diets, a time of feeling starvation like a punch to the gut.

My grandma has been dieting, and forcing my mom to diet, longer than I've been alive. This, in turn, makes her think that she is the greatest expert available on what I need in order to be "perfect".
Every year that I visit her, I end up being put on some kind of diet that is heavily enforced. If I go off the diet, I am "bad". Admittedly, I lose weight like nobody's business with that attitude, but I just gain it back, and then some when I go back to the States.

I'm tired of this sick relationship that I have with food. It's not good, or right, or healthy. Instead, I run around with nausea, and a headache, and this stupid constant hunger gnawing at my gut, which my brain refuses to acknowledge.
My grandma's brilliant plan this year, was "re-coding". Essentially, it is messing with the subconcious response towards food. I hate it. Spices aren't allowed. I'm already counting down the days to going back to the States and proper eating. Admittedly, I have learned some lessons that I will take back with me and continue to implement. But the fact of the matter remains. I want to develop a healthy symbiotic relationship with food, not this farce. One good thing is that I will be living off-campus, and be able to prepare my own food. Another is that I won't be on a school meal plan, so I will be dependent on myself for sustenance, not whatever is closest and easiest to reach. I hope to settle into a habit of making myself food on the weekend, for the coming week.

I plan to use this blog as a means of tracking my progress. Hopefully, accountability will ensure that slipping will be minimal.

If wishes were horses, fools would ride

Or at least I would.

I've been spending the last two weeks or so reading the backlogs of Crazy Aunt Purl. The more I read her stuff, the more my own dreams. And desires coalese into a quantifiable whole. I want:
A boy
A cat (preferably several)
Yarn
Control over my own life and finances. I want a job where I do the honest work instead or running around a house and then being berated constantly about the amount of money I have doesn't even though it is necessary for keeping the household fed and taken care of. I want to know how much I can spend on what instead of being given arbitrary conditions to meet that have next to no relation to the real world. I want to live away from my parents, and no be yelled at or berated or put down or mocked. I'm tired of it. I hate it. I want out. But as it stands, I see no way out. I can only hope that my last year of college will give me the skills and sources necessary for carving my own way.
I want a Budget
I want a job
I want my own place, where I can lock the door and no one will walk in unless I open it.
I want my freedom and I want time
I want to grow up. I've done a lot of eit in the past couple of years, but I still feel that it's not enough.
I want my parents to get he help/kick in the pants that they need to settle their differences and go on their way or to get back together. I don't care which.
Gypsy blood thoug I may have, I want to settle down, at least for a couple of years.
I want to graduate with good grades.
I want to loose weight. I hate my body as it is right now, but I still feel too lazy to do anything properly about it.
I want... I know I want more than this.I want a kick in the pants. I want motivation

I also know that what I need is the motivation to work for everything else on my list. I'm well aware that just wanting smething isn't going to make it happen. I know that I must be the change that I wish to see in the world. I just wish I had the faintest ideas of how to go about doing such a thing. Nothing I've learned had ever explained how that happened. I want to work in a yarn shop. I want to help people for all that I'm a pretty closeted introvert. I like to help. I want to find a way out of this terrible ennui that has seized me. I'm well aware that by my own nature I'm fairly lazy, but that if I put my mind to it, I can work like the Horsse that I am. I want to be a person that my grandparents, that my mom, that my little brother would be proud to claim as family.

I wish I knew where to look for a kick in e pants.

On the knitting front, I've broken my habit of knitting only when I'm stressed... At least I like to think that I have, in reality, what's probably happened is that I've become stressed again. Living with parents sucks past a certain age. Currently, I'm trying to finish a blanket that I've started but botched part of and a casae for a new techy toy. I just hope it doesn't get taken away. I might go and knit after this post, since sleep has been a long otime coming as of late.

I will break free of this ennui. I just wish I knew how.

The end of the tunnel (or now)

I have come to realize that I'm not a very good blogger. The problem lies in the fact that I am fairly shy and like to present the best possible image of myself. I generally write my entries out in word, allowing myself the time necessary to edit everything until it sounds just right. Its the secret English major in me. The light has been reached at least for this year. Ive one well.

I knit in times of stress. I thought that with summer here it would be a relatively stress free time for me and that I wouldn't get much knitting done. Unfortunately, several family issues have had me retreating into my little corner of the basement with wool packed around me to muffle the screaming. This time, instead of my usual hat bonanza, I've been knitting lace. That had been a surprise addiction. One minute I've just started my first shaw être next I've got three or four lying around. I'm dazed, I'm shaky, and I have idea where they came from.

Spinning turned out to not be the right pursuit for me. I'm annoyingly perfectionistic sometimes an I though that spinning would go like knitting for me. Knitting, I picked up and it just went and soon I was churning out knitting by the second. Spinning was nothing like that. Instead, my little brother managed to pick it up much faster than I did. He has the same perfectionistic tendencies that I do, but more so. It make for interesting competition.