Tag: sewing

Ironing Board Do-Over

Star Wars ironing board by The Geek Forge

Got a stash of geeky fabrics, but not sure what you want to make with them? Jen at The Geek Forge has put together a great step-by-step tutorial for recovering an ironing board with Star Wars fabric. She makes it look pretty easy!

Be sure to also check out their Etsy shop for geek accessories and art. 15% of all profits go to Hero Initiative, a charity which helps comic book artists.

Are You Satisfied With Your Care?

Hello All! I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving (or a great Thursday, if you’re outside the US). If you’re looking for movies to go see this weekend, I highly recommend Big Hero 6. It’s adorable and full of science! Plus, Baymax, who is the lovable healthcare robot, is a truly great character.

Part of Baymax’s programming is to be huggable and caring, and these crafts can help you make your very own robot healthcare companion!

First, for all you crochet lovers, Kamilla has posted an accurate and adorable crochet pattern on her blog, krawka.blogspot.com.

Baymax Crochet Pattern

If you’re looking for a quick and cute project, Carolina from 30minutecrafts.com has instructions for a Baymax Bandage Tin, for those accident-prone people in your life, or those who just like to be prepared. (It’d make a clever stocking stuffer as well!)

Baymax Bandage Tin

And lastly, Jessica has posted her version of a Baymax plushie, filled with rice so you can heat him up to help with aches and pains. You can buy the plushie for $45 from her etsy store, or you can follow the plushie tutorial made by Hiro Hamada and make your own!

Baymax plushie
Baymax Rice Plushie
Baymax pattern
Pattern for Baymax Plushie

 

I hope you are satisfied with your Geek Crafts today, and that you all have a wonderful and geeky day!

Thor voted sexiest man alive!

chris-hemsworth-435

Last week People Magazine announced that the lovely Chris Hemsworth (photo Credit: Ben Watts), aka Thor, is this year’s Sexiest Man Alive.

Well, duh.

In honor of this prestigious award, I thought, for my first post as a contributor to Geek Crafts, I’d share some awesome Thor related tutorials.

Thor’s Hammer

ThorHammer

Of course, you can’t talk Thor and not talk Mjolnir, his big . . . hammer.  :)  Here’s a great Instructable on building your own hammer.

If you’re looking for something a little less “cosplay” and a little more “toy“, try this tutorial from Doodlecraft .  It’s a bit more kid friendly, and you might even have the materials needed already, since it uses things like a hot glue and an old pillowcase.

Thor Costume Fun

ThorFeltMask

The folks at Cutesy Crafts have this delightful tutorial on making your own superhero masks, including the mighty god of thunder.  Supposedly these awesome masks are meant just for kids, but really? I think these would make fabulous accessories for everyday wear.

BabyThor

This tutorial from Life Sprinkled with Glitter has to be my favorite.  It’s a baby Thor costume DIY, and Colleen Wickersheim has got step-by-step instructions, with pictures, on creating the costume, helmet, and hammer. I’m thinking this would be perfect for my nephew’s first Halloween next year.

Need a Thor of your very own?

PapercraftThor

Over at Photobucket you can find this free printable to make your very own 3-D paper Thor created by Jim Bowen (username trogdoriangrey).

CrochetThor

You may have seen this one featured on Geek Crafts before, but it’s so worth sharing again.  Ravelry creator Jess Newstone has got the cutest little god of thunder amigurumi pattern ever and it’s free!  She’s even got Thor’s adopted bad boy brother amigurumi pattern (free to0!).

 

More links of interest:

 

My Bouncy Neighbor Totoro for Geek Babies

Totoro bouncer by Cation Designs

I get a little thrill when I see crafty projects that repurpose/upcycle a useful something into a geekier version of a useful something. Case in point: Cation Design’s Totoro variation on an existing “Snugabunny” bouncer. I mean, really, if a manufacturer can make up something called a Snugabunny, it equally stands to reason it could be morphed into a Totoro.

For those unfamiliar, “My Neighbor Totoro” is a highly popular anime movie written and directed by the world-renowned Hayao Miyazaki, who also made “Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke,” and “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

Cation’s post walks readers through her creative process, including crafting a fleece-lined Totoro-shaped slip cover and dangling Soot Sprites.

What geeky repurpose/upcycle projects have you created? Link us up in the comments!

A Super Sewing Project

Super Hero shirt by Annie Case Hanks

I must admit that among my many crafting hobbies and interests, sewing is probably the one at which I am least adept. I often see sewing projects on blogs and Pinterest and marvel at how the seamstresses are able to whip things together and customize projects to challenging fabrics or body shapes.

I recently cyber-met sewing whiz Annie Case Hanks via the Female Geek Bloggers G+ Community, and did a little squee when I saw this Marvel-based shirt she sewed for her son. I was impressed that she took an indie-designer pattern and geeked it out with some Marvel-licensed fabric, modifying it a bit to suit her husband’s/son’s tastes. While I often stray from paper crafting instructions and examples, veering off from sewing directions terrifies me, so kudos to Annie for her sewing prowess!

I love her idea to add just a strip of the comic book art fabric – sometimes those licensed or fandom-inspired fabrics are pretty busy, so a full project made from the fabric might be a bit much, but a two-inch strip at the collar or hem might be just the right touch of geek flair.

BTW, Annie’s blog name is also geeky – “The Enantiomer Project” refers to a chemistry term for a stereoisomer which has a mirror image. She likes to think of those enantiomers when it comes to her sewing projects, and considers her blog her “lab notebook” of sewing projects, with all of the materials, procedures, and products. By day she is a science professor, and by night, a “sewing mad scientist.” Girl crush.

Have you ever strayed from directions to geekify a project? How did that go for you?

Find Geeky Fabrics at Spoonflower

Doctor Who headband by Costume Wrangler

Have you heard of Spoonflower? It’s a company/site that allows you to create print-on-demand fabric, wallpaper and giftwrap. Which makes it a geekcrafter’s dream, both for designers and general crafty folk. You can upload your own designs to print on fabric and such, or browse the thousands of patterns created by others. There are a bounty of categories, including Geek, and pretty much every fandom you can think of is represented, including Doctor Who (see also Whovian), Star Trek, Firefly, Sherlock, and Hobbit. I’m personally eyeing this swirly Doctor Who fabric by Risarocksit to make a skirt in the near future. (I actually took a skirt making class, just so I could use this fabric!)

I recently met a geekcrafter who uses Spoonflower to print her designs and then creates items to sell in her Etsy shop – Elinor Parker, aka The Costume Wrangler. I purchased a cool Doctor Who headband (pictured above) from her at a local craft fair, which features her custom design of TARDISes spinning in the cosmos.

Have you created anything with Spoonflower fabric? Or purchased anything made from custom-designed fabric? Link us up in the Comments section below!