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.

Striped Ear Flap Hats

Hey, y'all!

Back to the Christmas presents!  You didn't think I was done, did you???

Pop, Hambone and The Hubbs aren't exactly the wear-a-fuzzy-creature-on-your-head kind of guys, but I wanted to make hats for them just like I did for JAKE.  My solution: make the same basic pattern in a two-tone stripe without all of the extra doodads.

They loved 'em.  I'm super-entertained by the fact that they all made goofy faces and played around with the ear flaps.  The Hubbs was the only one who left 'em down for his picture, and I'm glad someone did...it's nice to have shots of them both ways.  :)

Pop

Hambone

The Hubbs

Each hat has been crocheted by hand using acrylic yarn and an I hook.  These, too, were made using scraps from previous projects, and I'm always excited to use up leftover yarn.

I also made one for The Hubbs' best friend, but - alas - I didn't get a chance to snap a photo of him before he left.  Rest assured, good ol' Uncle D knows how to make goofy faces just like the rest of the boys.


'Til next time,
OCB

Repeat Crafter Me's Owl Ear Flap Hats

Hey, y'all!

If you couldn't tell, it was a bit of a hand-made Christmas around here...just the way I like it!  One of my favorite gifts to give was this set of owl ear flap hats, which went to JAKE - my sis-in-law and her brood.

I found the pattern through Repeat Crafter Me, another blog I've recently discovered and come to love.

Each hat is hand-crocheted using acrylic yarn and an I hook.  All components are made from yarn, so there's nothing to it if you've got scraps in your stash like I do.

I'm looking forward to doctoring up this process to make different animals in the future.


'Til next time,
OCB

Crocheting for a Cause: Cancer Caps

Working in the local hospital, I have to admit I'm in a good spot.  Whenever anything is needed as far as handmade pieces go, my folks are really good about letting me know.

On Friday, one of the ladies from the cancer center told me that she had received a request for cancer caps.  There's a group of ladies in town here who make them, and some of the patients are requesting more muted colors and a more simplistic shape.  There are also a few men in need of caps, and all of the donations that are currently available in the cancer center are overtly feminine.

Well, heck.  Hats, I can do!  I designed this simplistic stocking cap for The Hubbs a few weeks ago, and it seems to fit the bill perfectly.

Okay, so this isn't particularly manly, I know.  But the colors are pretty and fairly muted, so I thought I'd slip it in.

I'm not sure how they'll feel about the color changes in this and the next one, but I'm willing to take a chance...I didn't have enough of either of these yarns to make a full cap, but they're so soft it would be a shame to let them go to waste.

Color-change cap #2: I really like this one.

Plain brown...can't go wrong with plain brown.  :)

And here's a picture of the four I'm donating today.

Elizabeth's Scarf and Hat

Hey, y'all!

Long time, no see. My computer died again, and you know what the holiday season can be like. Things are starting to get back to normal, and I'm going to try posting some recent projects from my iPod app. Here goes nothin'.

First up: Elizabeth's scarf and hat. This set was made using Bernat, and it's super-soft to the touch.

I hate modeling, but I love this set.  :)

View of the right side

Texture shot of the scarf

Front view

Texture shot of hat, with strap and button detail

This order came in after Elizabeth saw my set, which I made from Red Heart Super Saver in brown and mixed fall colors.  I'll post pics of that set soon.  You wouldn't believe how cute it is with my fire-engine red winter coat.  ;)

See you soon!
~One Crafty Broad