Pleated Plaid Skirt

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Evelyn

I made this skirt using just a little over a yard of plaid flannel fabric and about 18 gold buttons. The flannel had been purchased so that I could make a nightshirt for my dad. However, when I had finished making him a nightshirt, I had just enough fabric left to make myself a skirt.

The skirt was pretty simple, made from just two rectangles pleated in the front and the back. I didn’t even make a waistband!

The most difficult part of the skirt was probably trying to get all of the buttonholes to line up properly. I would have used a simple side zipper, but I did not have one and I had just been to the fabric store. Since the skirt is made from flannel, it is very warm, which will be great for the fall and winter.

Laughing Cat Skirt

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Evelyn

About a year ago, I bought a yard of my Laughing Cat fabric on Cotton Poplin. It sat in my room, almost 4,000 miles from where I go to school, until I came back for summer break and pulled it out, determined to use it for SOMETHING.

A yard of this fabric wasn’t enough to make anything for me, so I made my sister a skirt!

I made her a simple gathered skirt with an elastic waist. It’s probably one of the easiest things I’ve ever made, but it shows the pattern well.

If you want to make one, you just need to take two rectangles of fabric, sew them together on the sides, zigzag stitch one side to a loop of elastic, and then hem the other end. Super simple!

New Fabric Designs!

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Evelyn

If you have a Spoonflower account and follow my account, you’ve probably noticed some new designs. I’ve been working on a fabric collection based on paint.

The first fabric, called Black and Blue Mirrors, is a simple black and blue repeating pattern. I created this design using acrylic paint and paper. I then scanned the painting into my computer and cleaned it up as much as I could before I ordered a yard of fabric from Spoonflower.

Why did I order a yard of fabric, you ask?
For a swap with Alice the Insane, of course! I gave her a yard of my design printed on cotton poplin ultra in trade for a super cute bag that she made to match our Kylo Ren and General Hux cosplays that we wore to MCM London.

I really like the bag she made, and I’ve been using it so much! It’s a really good size for everything I need with me on a daily basis.

I love the dress she decided to make from the fabric, I think she did an amazing job keeping the pattern intact and that having the design off center was fresh and different.

She added bias binding to the neck edge, and the dress opens at the side with a zipper. Isn’t it lovely?

This is the other fabric that I designed, also made using acrylic paint, paper, and a scanner. It’s only the second fabric in my ‘Paint’ fabric collection, and I’m hoping to add at least two more painted fabric designs over the summer.

Be sure to check out Alice the Insane’s facebook page!

If you’re interested in purchasing either of these fabrics, they are available here.

Gunter

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Evelyn

You may recognize this penguin as Gunter from the animated tv show Adventure Time. I made this tiny knitted fellow using this Adventure Time Gunter Pattern.

I made him for my friend Scott‘s birthday. It was my first time knitting a stuffed animal, and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, even though I don’t own double point needles and had to make him on regular needles.

Since I worked him on normal needles, I had to sew up a lot of seams. Luckily, the seams are almost impossible to see on the finished plushy.

I also modified the pattern slightly when I made the feet, and added one row on each toe on accident. I think it worked out fine, and made his toes more distinguishable from each other.

Over all, the pattern was surprisingly easy to knit, and I really like the result. Thanks for reading!

Raspberry Hood

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Evelyn

I made this hood using the Bobble Hood with Tassels pattern.

It was easy and straightforward to make,but I did have a little trouble with the borders. I somehow messed up the back post single crochet so that it was on the wrong side of the piece, and had to match that when I made the second portion of the edging stitch.

Looking back at the pattern, my hood appears to be a bit smaller than the original, and the bobbles are in slightly different places. I’m not entirely sure what I did to cause this.

I am happy with the hood I ended up with, but I’m not sure it was the one that I was trying to make. I’ve received a lot of compliments on it, and might make another one. Next time I’ll pay closer attention to the pattern to figure out what I did wrong.

Hamburger and Fries

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Evelyn

I started working on this sweater exactly two weeks ago, and I’m really proud of how much I’ve made so far, even if I’m not finished. Eventually, the sweater should be a replica of the Hamburger and Fries sweater that Mabel Pines wears in the television show Gravity Falls.

I used the Laura Sweater pattern and also drew inspiration from this version of the sweater. (The second link is only visible to those with a Ravelry account.) I made the collar 9″ instead of 12″. I added six rows to the raglan part of the sweater in order to make the armholes fit my arms better.

In the pattern, the body of the sweater is 12″ long before the bottom ribbing is worked, but I made mine about 16″ long.

I’m only about halfway done with one sleeve and it’s a little tight, but still wearable. If I were to make this sweater again, I would modify it so that the sleeves would start out wider. The torso of the sweater fits perfectly, except for the very bottom edge where I cast off. I used the slip slip knit method, thinking that it would be super stretchy, but it is not. I might go back and redo my cast off row if I can find a stretchier cast off.

If anyone has any super stretchy cast off methods, please share them with me!

Pink Cable Knit

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Evelyn

I’ve been doing a lot of projects with time restraints and projects for people, and I decided to take a break from that and make something for fun!

I made knit this hat from a pink yarn so bright it looks like it’s glowing. It was super difficult to photograph and I apologize for the grainy photos. I made up the pattern as I went along, and although it isn’t perfect, I can type up a version of the pattern if anyone wants to make this hat. Let me know if you’re interested!

Make sure to check out my facebook page if you haven’t already!

Cosplay at Bournemouth Film and Comic Convention

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Evelyn

I wore two cosplays for Bournemouth Film and Comic Convention (BFCC), and wore the same dress for both characters.

Panty and Stocking Photo Taken by Nicole Cuddihy

The first day of BFCC (Saturday) my friend Ruth cosplayed Panty from Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt, and I cosplayed Stocking.

I wore those platform shoes both days of BFCC, and both days the shoes broke. The sole of the shoe tore off of the main shoe part, and I had to glue it back on. I did find out that using liquid super glue would permanently hold the shoes together after trying shoe glue and a different super glue that was more of a gel. I think the glue I used will hold up much better than the original glue on the shoes, and I’ll be wearing the same shoes to MCM in May.

Kylolita, Marsolo, and Bubbleia

On Sunday, I wore my ‘Kylolita’ cosplay, a lolita version of Kylo Ren. I’m not sure who took the above photo, Kris is dressed as Marsolo (Marceline/Han Solo) and Nicole is dressed as Bubbleia (Princess Bubblegum/Princess Leia).

Photo by Ruth Doulgeris/Alice the Insane

I had minor issues with the mask and hood – my neck kept showing and it was difficult for other people to hear me through the mask. I think I can fix the first problem by making a stretchy black tube to put around my neck, but the other problem can really only be fixed by taking off the mask or yelling. You might recognize the hood I’m wearing as the scoodie I made back in March.

Photo by Ruth Doulgeris/Alice the Insane

I made the dress using a plain black cotton. It was super simple to make and only took about two days to hand sew the entire thing. The reason the dress was so easy to make is because the entire thing is rectangles and elastic. It took about 11 rectangles in total: two for the skirt, four for the ruffles, one for each sleeve, two for the bodice, and one for the bow on the back of the dress. I sewed elastic in the neckline, the hem of the sleeve, and the waist of the dress.

I used herringbone stitch for the hem, but did not hem the ruffle, and instead cut it with pinking shears to keep them from fraying. The edges of the neckline and the sleeves are just folded around the elastic and stitched down. I was having some issues with the raw edge of the fabric flipping to the outside of the dress, but I discovered that the edge can just be tucked under the elastic and it will stay in place.

Be sure to like my Facebook page to keep up to date on what I’m making!

Photo by Ruth Doulgeris/Alice the Insane

Grandpa Vicki

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Evelyn

My friend’s friend Vicki asked me to make her a hat that said ‘Grandpa Vicki’ on it. I made this one the same way that I make all of the knitted slouchy beanies, but with the addition of a simple pom-pom. If anyone is interested in the basic ideas behind it, I can make a post about them.

I designed these letters the same way as I did the ‘ANGEL’ hat, using this knitting graph stitch template. I also used the same method to write the letters, and remembered to take a picture of the inside this time!

If you haven’t liked my facebook page yet, you should! I’ve been writing about the cosplays I did for Bournemouth, and I will be posting about my costumes in detail next week!

All Grown Up Slouched Hat

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Evelyn

I made this hat using the All Grown Up Striped Slouched Hat pattern. The pattern calls for the hat to be made using an aran yarn, but I used a double knit (a double knit is thinner than an aran). In order to be able to make the hat to fit my head, I only needed to change the length off the hat. I used a 5.5 mm (I) crochet hook and made the small adult size. I crocheted about 6 more rows in the stripe pattern than the pattern asked for.

The pattern was fairly easy to make, and I learned a new stitch as well as the best method (in my opinion) of making a brim. The pattern calls for the brim to be simultaneously made and attached to the hat, thus eliminating the hassle of sizing the brim to the hat and attaching it. I will definitely be using this brim method for all of my future crochet hats!

Sammich Sewing

Evelyn Stowe

Pleated Plaid Skirt

Laughing Cat Skirt

New Fabric Designs!

Gunter

Raspberry Hood

Hamburger and Fries

Pink Cable Knit

Cosplay at Bournemouth Film and Comic Convention

Grandpa Vicki

All Grown Up Slouched Hat