Geek Crafts

Trekkie Oven Mitt Tutorial

Planning on serving up some stewed gagh or steamed Raktajino? Then you’ll want to have some Star Trek oven mitts on hand. Fortunately, Cheryl at Sew Can Do has put together a tutorial to help you out.

These fully insulated mitts have easy slip-on hand pockets and feature some of the fun Star Trek prints now available, though you could customize with any number of geeky fabrics. Two-1/2 yards of cotton fabric, 1/4 yard Insul-Bright, and 1/4 yard Cotton batting, plus basic sewing tools are all you need to outfit your kitchen in Star Trek/geek style.

How would you deck out your kitchen? Star Trek, or another fandom? Share your fav in the comments below!

Links of Interest:

Star Trek Oven Mitts Tutorial on Sew Can Do
More Star Trek crafts on GeekCrafts
More sewing crafts on GeekCrafts

Bulky X-Wing Fighter Blanket Pattern

Just in time to use while you watch your Blu Ray version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, get the hooker in your life to crochet you an X-Wing fighter blanket! Designed by MJ’s Off The Hook Designs, this pattern to work up quick. The body of the blanket uses 2 strands of bulky weight yarn with a Q hook. The pattern is a simple design using basic stitches but requires several color changes throughout. You will also require a 9mm hook for engines and guns. The “spacefighter” is designed to cocoon only around the calves and feet, the rest of the blanket opens up to lay over the body, and the pattern comes in child and adult sizes.

The pattern is available for only $5.99 through MJ’s Ravelry site.

Make Your Own Giant Origami Bunnies!

Since Easter is right around the corner, I thought I’d share this cool tutorial from Amy on Oh Happy Day so you too can populate your space with giant origami bunnies! Because who doesn’t need one or two (or twenty) giant origami bunnies, right?! The tutorial has lots of pictures and even a short video for one of the more complex steps, and it all seems easy(ish) enough to follow. Some pretty expensive paper is getting used for the bunnies shown (something like $40/roll–yikes!). I haven’t tried this, but I think if you’d be willing to go with a less giant bunny, instead of using 53″ square piece of paper (as called for in the tutorial), you could probably get away a 24″ square piece of poster board for around $1. Furthermore, if you were a super creative type, I don’t see why this concept of giant origami couldn’t translate to other cool shapes (if somebody makes a giant Yoda origami, you MUST share your creation!).

Become Master of Catan with This DIY Game Set

Got some wood resources? Make your own Settlers of Catan board, using a single 2×4 block of wood!

Inspired by Summer Woodworking’s annual 2×4 challenge to make something out of a 8? framing 2×4, Aaron Day set out to recreate one of his favorite games from college, Settlers of Catan. The project entailed a massive amount of work and know-how, which he highlights in a video on his site.

I was impressed with his attention to detail and perseverance, right down to creating the playing cards out of wood shavings. I also loved that his kids made appearances in the video – yay for involving kids in geekcrafting adventures!

Via ManMadeDIY.

Links of Interest:

DIY Settlers of Catan woodworking project on Make.Crazydays.org
More board game projects on GeekCrafts
More woodworking projects on GeekCrafts

X-Wing Pilot Motorcycle Jacket

Having just come home from the Ring of Fire con in Hampton, VA with the Rebel Legion, this is a project I was immediately drawn to.

CharlieMcN33l has ridden a Harley for years but has been a Star Wars fan for even longer. He even customizes helmets for himself to wear. When he started using his X-Wing pilot helmet, he wanted a flight jacket to go with it. Charlie is an Industrial Designer/DIYer/amateur tailor, so he decided to make a motorcycle jacket for himself.

Usually, Charlie wears a “Carhartt Duck Detroit” jacket or a MA-1 Bomber jacket when he rides. To break it down, his new jacket is 60% X-Wing flight jacket, 30% Carhartt jacket, 10% MA-1 Bomber jacket. He laid out the pattern for the grey vest based off the measurements of his size 40 Carhartt jacket, based off of scene shots of the Empire Strikes Back X-wing pilot jacket Luke wore. Once he sewed together the grey vest with the padded ribbing, he added reflective ribbons to be easily spotted at night. He also chose to attach the grey vest to the orange jacket all in one piece. Next, the grey arm pleats went with the rest of the orange arm pieces.

It’s hard to see in this picture, but Charlie also added a wind breaker and a very soft polyester lining (the same soft polyester that is used on blankets), making it soft and warm.

Make Your Own Harry Potter Kindle Cover

Thanks to the crazy Black Friday sales this past November, I got an uber cheap Kindle Fire for the holidays. So, I’ve been on the hunt for some kind of cover or sleeve to make for my new toy, and I found this great tutorial. It’s a DIY Harry Potter Kindle Covers tutorial by Jess at Practically Functional. The tutorial has lots of great pictures and takes you step-by-step through the entire process of making these cute Kindle Covers. You’ll need to come up with your own pattern pieces, but everything’s made from felt which is a pretty easy medium to work with. Plus, you can size this DIY to fit whatever e-reader (or tablet, or phone, etc . . . ) you want. What’s more, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could adapt the pattern for a character from another House too.