Geeky Winter Hat Patterns and DIYs

I don’t know about you, but it’s cold where I’m at. Cold, grey, dead . . . Can you tell I hate winter? To combat my own winter doldrums I love using fun and ridiculous winter hats. It’s hard not to laugh at a Yeti hat, no? (I bought this one at my local grocery store, but you can find one here.)

There are plenty of great patterns and DIYs for geeky winter hats on the intarwebz, so I’ve rounded up a few to help you with your own winter blues. The first is this great, free crochet pattern on Ravelry, by SnappyTots, for a Police Box earflap hat. This would be a fantastic gift for the Whovians in your life.

This hat would be perfect for my 2-year-old nephew. He loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as only a two-year-old can, with a deep and abiding wuv. As much as he loves Turtles, he hates wearing winter gear no matter how cold it gets outside. This hat, though, he might never take off. And you could probably find the fleece you need in the scrap/remnant bins at your local fabric store (or in your own stash). You can find the pattern and instructions, all by PiePopper, here on Instructables.

I’m a huge fan of Sharknado, and I absolutely fell in love with this Shark Attack Hat DIY on Instructables (also by PiePopper). It’s not technically Sharknado inspired, but it’s definitely shark-tastic.

Last, but not least, he is: Yoda! I don’t knit, but this hat pattern with giant Yoda ears makes me want to learn. The pattern is free on Craftsy, and it’s by Kaira Anne Designs. The pattern is sized for a child, but she’s got a link (http://aknitica.com/2010/10/01/how-to-knit-a-hat/ ) in her description to a tutorial on how to knit a basic hat, and the tutorial has some tips on sizing.

These Hand-Painted Shorts Are Obviously The Droids I’m Looking For

Someday, all this cold weather will end and we’ll be blistering in the dog days of summer. This might be the best time to get started on hand painting your own astromech shorts. These R2-D2 shorts were painted by Areyna Schmidt , and her Facebook page shows more of her hand painted clothes and shoes. She’s a third year art studies major at ASU and she works seasonally at Walt Disney World as a character performer.

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January 10

Make your Bedroom Bigger on the Inside With this TARDIS Fold-Down Bed

The Time Lords of Gallifrey know a thing or two about interior design. Blogger and DIY-er Stubbs from “The Stubby Thumb” wanted to to make her guest bedroom a little bigger on the inside, and since “Murphy beds” were a little too expensive, she decided to make one of her own.

Since Murphy beds are the ultimate space maximizers, it only made sense to build it using Time Lord technology: bigger on the inside! If you’re interested in making something like this, check out the complete blog entry/tutorial that Stubbs compiled over at her blog. Even of you don’t need a Murphy bed, you can use her guidance to turn a door, closet or table top into your very own TARDIS.

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January 10

Grandpa Makes Death Star Fire Pit for His Grandkids for Christmas

I may have bronchitis and laryngitis so I can’t verbally speak, but I’ve the internet to be able to talk to all of you! First up this morning, this awesome Death Star fire pit was made by a 84-year-old metalworker, on request, for his grandkids for Christmas. The pit was made by welding together two defective propane tank ends and then cutting out the excess metal to create the iconic space station.

It was originally posted over at Reddit by Bandia5309. And if you need any more proof as to how awesome this grandpa is, check THIS out: he is selling them on Etsy now! You can get your very own fully operational Death Star fire pit for only $1,600 from Farmington, NM. This custom designed back yard fire pit is hand drawn and cut from steel globes measuring either 30 or 37 1/2 inches in diameter (buyer’s choice).

Jennifer’s grandpa ROCKS!

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January 5

Geek Out With Free Hand Embroidery Patterns and Tutorials

This year, don’t just let your geek flag fly. Hand embroider that geek flag with your favorite quote or character.

If you enjoy the Dresden Files, you’ll love this free hand embroidery pattern designed by Jennifer from Sew Hooked. Check out her blog and Craftsy store for more original pattern designs.

I’m totally Sher-locked myself, so this next free hand embroidery pattern by Jordan F (username: dozmuffinxc), as found on FandomStiches.com is something I’m definitely going to try.

The only thing is, I look at these fun patterns and can’t help but wonder, how do you make a quote or line drawing into an embroidery pattern. I did a little digging and found this awesome tutorial on making your own hand embroidery design from Angel and Amy on their blog Tada! Creations.

And then I found another tutorial on color tinting your embroidery using crayons and an iron. The technique is so easy, but the impact of the final product packs a real wallop. I found this tutorial on Urban Threads, and it’s got great step-by-step instructions with pictures.

Links of Interest

Find the Sherlock embroidery designs here http://www.fandominstitches.com/2011/05/fiction-and-literature.html, along with tons of other free patterns spanning a huge breadth of fantoms.
Download the Dresden Files hand embroidery pattern here http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/embroidery/hand-embroidery/paranoid-quote-embroidery-dresden-files/102451, and don’t forget to check out Sew Hooked’s Craftsy store and blog for more great ideas and patterns
TaDa! Creations has got the really good tutorial on making your own hand embroidery designs here: http://tadacreations.blogspot.com/2010/02/hand-embroidery-tutorial.html
Urban Threads has got another really good tutorial on color tinting your hand embroidery with crayons here: http://www.urbanthreads.com/tutorials.aspx?t=PRH1071
More Sherlock on Geek Crafts!
More Dresden Files on Geek Crafts!
More embroidery projects and ideas on Geek Crafts!

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January 3

Where No Gingerbread Ship Has Gone Before

It’s the USS Enterprise, made out of gingerbread! Have you see how beautiful and detailed this thing is? It’s mounted on a tractor beam made of candy canes hovering over a rocky terrain of cookies and mints. The starship was on display at the Blackmarket Bakery in Costa Mesa, CA, who created it for the holidays.

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