The Lumberjack

I know what you're thinking: Bearded hats?  Yowza!  Where have these things been all my life?!?  I know this because I, too, went too long without fully appreciating the fawesomeness of the bearded hat.

You've seen The Grey and the Striking Viking.  Though they were my first bearded hat designs from scratch, I'll admit they were not my first foray into the world of bearded glory.  The first was The Lumberjack:

It all starts with a beanie.

A rather unassuming beanie, really.

And then you add the beard.

Being my first beardednessissitude, I wussed out and used someone else's pattern.  Her blog is super cool, and it's called I'm Topsy Turvy.  You can find the beanie pattern here, and the beard here.  The patterns are easy to follow, and the stuff turns out right.  If you crochet using other people's patterns, you know this is not always a guarantee.  Even if you aren't quite ready for the glory of the beard just yet, this beanie is super cozy and works up in no time.

It's really crazy how warm this little beard keeps your face, though.  And how awesome it makes everyone look.  And by awesome, I mean not at all creepy.  Even if you're a chick.

Ms. Flutterby

Okay, y'all.  Back to Sam the Dragon.  This little dude has been part of my life for the last decade, and he's been hangin' with The Hubbs since the 1980's.

The comic strip is totally adorable and suitable for all ages, so check it out.  Maybe even bookmark it (hint, hint).  It updates with new content every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The main cast of characters includes Sam the Dragon, Corny the Unicorn, Zen the Fish and Ms. Flutterby.  You've all met Sam, Corny and Zen already, so I think it's about time we introduce the muscle: Ms. Flutterby.

Now, I've done plenty of amigurumi plushes in the past, but I decided to get majorly picky about Ms. Flutterby.  I didn't want her to look like any other crochet doll, and I put a lot of thought into how certain things would work.  Her hair, for instance, is different from anything I've ever done:

Her head and body are all one continuous piece, no sewing involved, and her arms are movable thanks to the way they've been attached (hint: safety eyes ain't just for makin' pretty faces, y'all).  A little hand-embroidering on the mouth and bodice of her dress to add some sweet little details.

And, of course, she has to wear panties.  It wouldn't be proper for a lady to go commando, after all.  Oh, and can't forget the ballet flats and crown!  A girl needs her accessories.  And it never hurts to have Leroy Jethro Gibbs behind you.

Next, her skirt:

The wings...that was interesting.  Here's a hint as to how I tackled this particular obstacle: pipe cleaners.  I bent and twisted them into the shape I wanted and crocheted around it, smooshing the stitches very close together to cover the green pipe cleaner so it wouldn't show through the pretty blue wings.

Then I basically went nuts with a needle and the yarn, making a kind of spider webby pattern to fill in the wings. Reinforcing the center so they wouldn't pull apart was a bit of a bulky job, and I think I'll be modifying that process for future Flutterbys.  Once that was done, I attached the wings to her back and voila!  Instant fairy.

And last, but not least, the gang's all finally together:

And I'm fresh outta presents to make for K.  Now I guess I need to start getting creative with the ideas as well as the execution.  :)

The Grey

Who ever would have thought we'd be putting beards on hats?  I bet Gran's looking down at us and shaking her head, having a good laugh.  But the truth of the matter is that adding some kickass details to a hat, like - say - a beard, can turn it from a functional piece of gear to a costume.

Bear loved his Striking Viking so much that he tasked me with the creation of a Gandalf hat based on the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films.  Kind of a tall order, considering the assymetrical nature and wide brim.  Not always the easiest things to do with yarn, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  Gotta say, I am pretty flippin' proud of this one, y'all.

For those of you who haven't already Googled "Gandalf hat," here's what I used as my reference:

To start off with, I had to get the point right.  It involved a bit of finagling here and there, but I was happy with it pretty much from the start.

At this point, The Hubbs wasn't too sure about it.  He had lots of questions, and every time I asked for his opinion, I was answered with copious shrugging and the shifty eye.

Lots and lots of increase rounds...felt like each little piece took forever and the spacing of the increases was a challenge.  Too close together and I'd get these weird little bumpy things.  Too far apart and the shape wasn't right.

Somewhere along the way, it got big enough to start modeling, stitch markers and all.  Hot, yeah?

The brim posed the biggest challenge of all.  Now that I'd engineered the body of the hat to stand up on its own, I was faced with adding a wide brim and preventing it from flopping.  At first, I wasn't so sure it was going to work, but I kept on increasing.  As the brim grew, it became apparent that some sort of reinforcement would become necessary.

Not wanting to put any kind of crazy wire or mesh frame inside the hat itself, I decided to stiffen it.  I mixed Elmer's School Glue and water into about a half and half solution and used a foam brush to apply it liberally to the brim.  Then I let it dry and went through the process again.  While the glue solution was drying, I made the beard.

The Hubbs does a way better job at modeling the finished product than I do.  I guess I make a better Viking than a wizard, eh?  When all was said and done, even he was on board with the design.

Most importantly, Bear and his buddy loved the finished product.  Here they are together, The Striking Viking and The Grey:

I'm uber-happy with how these new costume hats have been turning out, and I will most certainly be making more of them in the future.  My Etsy shop has had quite the nice little rest recently, and I think it may be about time to dust off the shelves and get some new products in there.

The Striking Viking

I've been wanting to design a Viking helmet for some time.  Just after Christmas, I began the process for a buddy. 

Base helmet beanie:

Horns added:

BEARD!

Ever seen a Viking play the banjo?

I love the mean face on this one:

And the lucky recipient, Bear, who can't go more than a few days without talking about the majesty of the beard:

After this one went over so well, he requested a Gandalf hat for a buddy's birthday.  I'll be sharing pics of that here soon.  

Gotta say, I'm starting to dig this business of designing things from the ground up.  I think dreaming things up and writing patterns is gonna end up being a thing for me. 

Zen the Fish

Remember The Hubbs' comic strip, Sam the Dragon?

How about the crochet Sam I made for our beloved niece K's 4th birthday?

And the crochet Corny I made for her at Christmas 2012?

For K's fifth birthday, I added to the Sam family with Zen the Fish.  The main challenge here was that Zen lives in a bowl.  In water.  How to do that without breakable glass and still have Zen be someone K could play with?  Why, a plastic display jar and crocheted water, of course.

 

And here's the whole collection of Friends I've made for little K through her fifth birthday.  Gromit was first, followed by Totoro and then the Sam gang.

 

Coming soon: Ms. Flutterby, the Viking helmet, and the Gandalf hat.  Stay tuned!