Dork Adore » Craft

The State of Craft book review

Dork Adore — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I’m a huge fan of the home-made gift at Christmas. For Christmasses past I’ve received hand-knitted mittens, homemade plum chutney and wallets with Manga characters stitched on.

Meanwhile, I’ve inflicted on loved ones gifts such as garishly striped scarves, a tie – covered in sequins and the word “DAD” in felt appliqué – and C90s with painstakingly detailed inlays.

As the last order-in-time-for-Christmas dates approach in shopping sites, I’d much rather spend a day cosy indoors hand-making presents for the geeks in my life than face the horror of Christmas shopping on a real-life high street.

New book The State Of Craft (edited by Victoria Woodcock, Cicada Books) offers plenty of inspiration for presents.

The book is a mix of crafting tutorials (knitting, French knitting, sewing, cross-stitch and crochet), interviews with professional British crafters, and craft projects.

The tutorials are probably a bit too brief for someone with no previous experience, but they’re a good reminder if you know the basics. Of the actual projects, there are some seriously geeky treats amongst the sixty-plus illustrated instructions and patterns.

Water Pistol lights

Maris Schiess contributes a tutorial on making festive decorations using fairy lights and cheap water pistols. Quick, colourful, and Christmassy.

Dazzling 3-D Tee

Next up, something to wear on Christmas day. Mr Wingate has provided a tutorial on making a brilliantly eye boggling, screen-printed t-shirt. It’s a little unclear from the tutorial whether it’s actually 3-D, but certainly the layering of yellow, pink and blue prints make for a striking geometric print.

It also requires more specialist materials than some of the other projects – a proper silkscreen is required – but it seems like a good intro to printing your own graphic t-shirts. Which seems like an eminently useful skill to me.

Mini Protest Banner

Cross-stitch, cross-stitch! Something about the combination of embroidery and pixellation makes this seem like the geekiest of the crafts.

Craftivist Collective are producers of handmade mini banners for non-violent activisim, and for this book have provided a brilliant pattern for a Superman cross-stitch, with the words “Good planets are hard to find & I can’t f*@king save you this time”.

Again, this looks like a quick project to whip up in the evenings leading up to Christmas – if you can’t face any more drunken office parties.

Always useful to know how to embroider an “@” symbol, too.

Invaders Tote Bag

My absolute favourite piece from the book has to be Urban Cross Stitch’s Invaders Tote Bag featuring – you guessed it – an embroidered Space Invaders screen shot, complete with high score, credits, and laser beam.

The project also features water-soluble cross-stitch canvas, which I’d never heard of before but am now dying to get my hands on.

The finished bag looks brilliant in the photos, but it also inspired me to think of what else could be improved by the addition of hand-stitched aliens. There’s a whole world of fabrics looking mightily in need of some boxy alien spacecraft to me now…

State Of Craft is a fun, easy-on-the-eye craft book with plenty of nerdish treats between its covers.

But, to be honest, if the handmade present idea seems a bit too much like hard work this Christmas, there’s still time to go to Amazon – or a lovely local bookshop – and just give the book itself to any craft fans in your life.

State Of Craft is out now (£14.95, Cicada Books)

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Five Halloween Horrors from Etsy

Emma Cossey — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:16:09 +0000

In just a few short days, the streets will be filled with kids dressed up in hooded outfits, knocking on the doors of frightened old ladies and demanding free stuff.

Nope, not a replay of the summer riots: Halloween.

Halloween is a time the Etsy community warms to immensely, flexing those crafting skills to create kooky outfits and decorations for this spooky evening.

Initially, my search for Halloween goodies on Etsy was successful. The Halloween wine labels are devilishly good for adult parties, and these Seuss-inspired prosthetic noses are fantastic

But then this happened:

It’s like the secret lovechild of Chucky and Edward Scissorhands. Let’s not dwell on why they’ve placed an image of a cat in *that* area. Horrifying stuff.

This is weird too. I suspect some might like this. But seeing the skeleton of an unborn baby makes me feel a bit *vom*.

Following in the baby theme, you too could pay $65 for this piece of art. It’s a demon foetus apparently. Which is nice.

This is in the sale. And yet it’s still $20.40.

WHY? Actually, I’m not sure what’s worse here. The doll, or the creator speaking about it like it’s a real child.

Seen any Halloween horrors recently? Let us know in the comments!

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Handmade Neil Gaiman Doll

Michelle — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:47:35 +0000

How freakin’ awesome is this handmade Neil Gaiman doll?

He was made by blogger Meridian Ariel who creates all manner of weird and wonderful dolls and monsters, some of which are available to buy from her Etsy shop.

If only all geeky literary crushes resulted in such wonderful creations. I wonder if the real Neil Gaiman also smells of tea, coffee, cinnamon and vanilla?

Recommended Reading: More Craft Blogs | Neil Gaiman on Dork Adore

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Etsy Finds: Prim and Plush amigurumi molecules

Michelle — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:00:29 +0000

This is an Etsy Finds with a twist as it is dedicated in its entirety to a single Etsy store. Prim and Plush have brought together science and craft in perfect harmony with their rather wonderful amigurumi molecules.

Let me introduce you to Mr Ethanol, or CH3CH3OH as he is known to his scientifically minded buddies, costs $25.

Or maybe you would prefer Mrs Methane, aka CH4, or her close friend Mr Carbon Dioxide who both cost a mere $15 each.

And if all this talk of science has left you thirsty then grab yourself a small cup of water for $18. Never has science looked so cute!

Which molecule would you like to see immortalised in crochet?

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Etsy Finds: The Big Bang Theory

Michelle — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:00:01 +0000

In celebration of the fact that I finally learnt all the words to the theme tune (I am shamefaced to admit ‘Maths, Science, History…’ had me stumped) and because I have a whole lot of love for those lovely geek boys from The Big Bang Theory, I have decided to dedicate an entire Etsy Finds to them.

Although I must confess I have sneaked in one non-Etsy item in the shape of the Mrs Sheldon Cooper necklace which I just couldn’t resist (a big thanks to my fellow dork Tamsin for bringing it to my attention.

Top Row (L-R) Mrs Sheldon Cooper Necklace, £7.95 from Sugar and Vice; Dino Tee (as worn by Sheldon), $16 from Happy Family & Bazinga Coasters, $9.50 from Pinky Crafts

Bottom Row (L-R) Big Bang Theory Pixel People Finished Cross Stitch, $45 from Wee Little Stitches*; Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock Cross Stitch pattern, $5 from Robin’s Design and it just wouldn’t be a geeky etsy finds without some Big Bang Theory Peg People, $55 from Randomly Generated

*Psst. If you would prefer to stitch the Big Bang Theory Pixel People yourself you can grab the pattern for just $6

Recommended reading: More Etsy Finds | The Big Bang Theory on Dork Adore

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Beasties by Diana Schoenbrun: Dork Review

Michelle — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:39:50 +0000

Always wanted a zombie, werewolf or yeti to pet and call your own? Well then you need to get your mitts on the new craft book Beasties: How to Make 22 Mischievous Monsters That Go Bump in the Night by Diana Schoenbrun, and you can create your very own menagerie of magically mythical creatures.

‘It’s Alive’
As the title would suggest the book contains 22 stash-busting projects, ranging in difficulty from those perfect for the beginner right through to advanced projects for more skilled sewers.

And because a lot of the beasties are pretty wee creatures, it is the perfect way to use up all those fabric scraps that you can’t bear to part with.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and there are some great tips to help you customise your chosen beasties. In fact, the book will provide you with such a vast array of patterns and inspiration, you will no doubt be able to get really creative and dream up some of your very own monsters.

Monster Magic
Aside from the projects themselves, one of my very favourite things about this book is the selection of handy Beastie Tips.

I now feel perfectly safe in the knowledge that should I ever be captured by a Fish-Head Alien all I need to do is tell a tale full of intrigue to secure my release.

My other favourite thing is that Diana has crafted the most intricate and inspired habitats for each and everyone of the wee beasties, such as the wonderfully odd chicken legged cabin in which the Baba Yaga resides.

Conclusion
Beasties is an absolute corker of a craft book, and whatever your skill level you will have lots of fun breathing life into your very own mythical beast. I highly recommend you go and buy it right now.

Beasties by Diana Schoenbrun published by Perigee Trade (Penguin Group) is available from Amazon for just £8.44. Which mini monster will you be making?

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Free Fuzzy Rubik’s Cube Pattern

Michelle — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:00:42 +0000

As a child of the 80s I was obviously fairly obsessed with the Rubik’s Cube for a small period of my life, despite never managing to complete it without resorting to cheatery. So I was delighted to stumble across this free pattern for making your very own fuzzy Rubiks Cube on Obsessively Stitching.

Unfortunately, it is not functional — in other words you can’t twist it round and solve the puzzle, but you could totally make a solved cube and beat the darn thing at its own game!

Personally I think it would make an awesome pincushion for your favourite geeky sewing pals. And if you have a car in need of a bit of pimpin’ you could do worse than whip up a pair to hang from your rear view mirror just like the author of Obsessively Stitching did.

And once you are done with this project then why not try out Obsessively Stitching’s other monster sized Rubik’s Cube projects, the Rubik’s Cube Ottoman and Rubik’s Storage Cube.

Related: Free Patterns on Dork Adore

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Free Super Mario Mushroom Cushion Pattern

Michelle — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:00:52 +0000

I have mentioned previously how well old school computer games lend themselves to cross stitching but that’s by no means the old craft that works well. This free Super Mario Mushroom cushion cover pattern by the plaid scottie is a fine example of how good old patchwork techniques can be used to replicate perfect pixels!

Get that needle and thread out now and you will have plenty of time to rustle one up for very favourite geek crush this Valentine’s day. You’ll be sure to score major heart points!

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Free Harry Potter doll pattern

Michelle — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:00:56 +0000

Want to make you very own Harry Potter doll? Well now you can thanks to the legendary plush maker Heidi Kenny of My Paper Crane who has shared the pattern for the doll she made for her mega Harry Potter fan son.You can download the pattern and instructions from Heidi’s blog and get sewing right now! Heidi also says she still has plans for several other Harry Potter characters so it may be well worth keeping a close eye on her blog.

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Bazinga! It’s the best of the craft blogs

Michelle — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:00:40 +0000

Another week, another round up of the very best geeky crafts to be found in the blogosphere, and I can tell you it’s all getting a bit stitchy this festive season!

There is still plenty of time to whip up this Space Invaders cross stitch on Sprite Stitch for your favourite geek this christmas
Lego and Star Wars fans will probably want to check out this Lego Death Star Ornament from Chris McVeigh.
knithacker delights us with a fabulous retro video game that combines banjo dinosaurs and hacked knitted machines in perfect harmony!
I am a massive Big Bang Theory fan so was instantly smitten with this Bazinga cross stitch sampler by craftster member LadyLeitzen

Let me know what has been catching your eye on the craft blogs recently!

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Dork Adore » Craft

The State of Craft book review

Water Pistol lights

Dazzling 3-D Tee

Mini Protest Banner

Invaders Tote Bag

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Five Halloween Horrors from Etsy

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Handmade Neil Gaiman Doll

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Etsy Finds: Prim and Plush amigurumi molecules

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Etsy Finds: The Big Bang Theory

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Beasties by Diana Schoenbrun: Dork Review

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Free Fuzzy Rubik’s Cube Pattern

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Free Super Mario Mushroom Cushion Pattern

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Free Harry Potter doll pattern

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Bazinga! It’s the best of the craft blogs

Let me know what has been catching your eye on the craft blogs recently!

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