Make It, Build It, Dream It. Creativity.

Every Kind of Craft now open!

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 17:37:43 GMT

Posted by: yourlibrarian

Do you make crafts? Do you like to look at crafts? Would you like to get (or give) advice about crafts? All crafts are welcome. Share photos, stories about projects in progress, and connect with other crafty folks.

You are welcome to make your own posts, and this community will also do a monthly call for people to share what they are working on, or what they've seen which may be inspiring them. Images of projects old or new, completed or in progress are welcome, as are questions, tutorials and advice.

If you have any questions, ask them here!

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Necklace Board!

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:41:13 GMT

Posted by: reishka

x-posted to my own journal (directions on how to DIY this beauty for yourself are also there)

The glue will take another 24 hours or so to fully cure, but at this point I have a functional, hanging, necklace board. This is so much nicer than having my necklaces hang off the corner of my mirror. Besides getting tangled it just looked janky. SO. Photos, ho! ( Read more... )

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Clever hat title goes here.

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:50:10 GMT

Posted by: corrvin

So, I knitted this for a friend, and it's going out in the mail Monday. In a contrast to my usual organizational skills, I managed to remember to take the pictures, in the daytime, BEFORE putting the hat in the envelope.

Note to future self: a single hat fits very well in a 9" by 12" envelope for mailing, as long as it's not a 10" wide beret.

Pattern: None, really. Knitted top-down and increased 16 stitches every 3rd round.
Needle size: 5
Yarn: Jojoland Melody (the tan/brown color)
Twice Tweed (the cream color, does not stretch, like knitting with Sugar-N-Cream, but wool)
The purple and green/brown stripes are some Kool-Aid dyed Lion Fisherman's Wool.

( pictures! )

I have about 3 other things on the needles, and maybe if it gets down below 100 this week I will have the motivation to knit on them.

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Christina's baby quilt

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:13:39 GMT

Posted by: reishka

X-posted to my journal.

I've been making a baby quilt for one of my old high-school era friends. She's about to exit the army and she's pregnant, and since I don't live near her I thought that this would be something nice that I could do for her. Photos after the jump! ( Read more... )

This kind of quilting is hard for me. I'm much better at geometric/traditional quilt blocks. This applique is much more organic and free-form, and I'm not very good at it. I don't feel like I have the creative talent for this type of art... but I do have to admit, for a first attempt I'm happy with how it turned out!

And now.. a preview of my next quilt, for my mother! ( Read more... )

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My first purse.

Fri, 27 May 2011 17:19:11 GMT

Posted by: mushbubbles

I've had an old sweater from Goodwill lying around and I've literally NEVER worn it. I realized the only reason I kept it was because I LOVE the fabric. So I decided to make something out of it.

I made this cute purse by hand (my sewing machine's tension is off and I can't for the life of me figure out how to fix it) and it didn't take long at all!

( My first attempt at a cute purse :) Rather large pictures. )

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Socks!

Thu, 19 May 2011 17:34:33 GMT

Posted by: corrvin

While not my first knitted socks, these are my first complete pair in sock yarn. (I've made a pair in worsted, and a single in sock yarn.)

( cut for pic )

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Spring Quilt/Throw 2011

Mon, 09 May 2011 04:30:16 GMT

Posted by: reishka

Cross-posted to my own journal.

So, since I apparently love to make my life complicated, I'm working on two crochet throws, a baby quilt, and a spring quilt. Add in school, finals, final projects... I'm amazed I have time to work on anything! The good news is I'm finished with all my final projects, and my last final is Monday. Tuesday I have to present a project... and them I'm home free! I'm going to have so much free time I'm not going to know what to do with myself.

Some OTHER good news is that I'm already putting that free time to good use! I finished my spring quilt! It's the size of a baby blanket, as I've found it's the PERFECT size for a throw. It also seems to fit a twin-sized bed pretty well. It's great for those spring nights where it's still a little bit nippy outside -- I'm glad I finished this while there were still nights to use it!

This is the first quilt where I hand-stitched the binding. I never like the way that machine-bound binding looked when trying to get both sides bound in the same run. So, I machine-stitched the back side, and then flipped it over the edge of he quilt and ladder-stitched the front. It took me about four hours, but I think it makes for a much nicer look overall. It's probably something I'll continue to do on future quilts. Also: I want to give mad props to the hubby and his mom for suggesting that I quilt in the diagonal on the coloured squares. It really made the design pop!

So, without further ado... some pictures! :)

( Read more... )

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Moon and stars necklace

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:18:41 GMT

Posted by: weaverbird

I'm new to working with wire - most of my stuff is beadweaving - and they say the only way to get competent is to practice, so I made this necklace as a practice piece for making wrapped loops.

click for a bigger picture

I used 24 ga dead soft copper wire, and miscellaneous cobalt glass beads I've had around for years - three different batches, none of which were enough to make anything by themselves. And it did the trick - my wrapped-loop skills, which started off pretty shaky, are much better now! *g*

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Some recent projects

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:33:06 GMT

Posted by: fadedwings

I haven't posted here before but since I'm trying to be a bit more active in the communities here during 3w4dw I thought that I'd finally post.

Here are a few things I've made recently...

a tiny envelope wallet for a bit of cash and my ID along with a cozy for my iPod touch...

and an art quilt as a gift for my mom...

6x6 inches

(you can see bigger versions by clicking on the photos)

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Doctor Who Scarf

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:45:52 GMT

Posted by: lysdexia

Can't believe that this scarf represents about six months of my life in terms of creative work. Stretched out it's between twelve and fifteen feet long and mostly knitted in garter stitch with acrylic yarns.

( Doctor Who fans, I think you'll enjoy this )

Next project, ballet slippers!

EDIT: Fixed image link, added one more, hopefully.

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Kanzashi/Fabric flowers

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:46:18 GMT

Posted by: reishka

I finally got those silly kanzashi/fabric flowers to work! With a combination of thread and glue, I came up with a method that got the job done. That, and using ribbon instead of starched fabric expedited the process, so I'm so happy~ I wore it in my hair without it falling apart -- only time will tell how sturdy it actually is, but I have high hopes. :) And now that I have this down, I can try my hand at more complex ones...

Please pardon the crappy cellphone pic.
( Read more... )

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Winter Quilt [Finished]

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:25:33 GMT

Posted by: reishka

Cross-posted to my own journal

So, I initially was going to only make the bias tape and pin it, and save the stitching for tomorrow. Well, that plan went out the window as I got into a groove and I just plowed through it. For the record: I absolutely hate bias tape. It is probably the only part I hate about quilting -- stitching it to the quilt. Maybe there's some trick, but I ALWAYS seem to 'un-catch' part of it on the back every so often, so then I have to go back, rip out stitches, and stitch again. On this one, I didn't bother to rip out the stitches - the fabric is dark enough that I figure if you go looking THAT close at it, you deserve to find my mistakes... lol.

This quilt would have been a LOT easier if I could have used my darning foot... unfortunately, no matter what I did, I couldn't get the tension right with the thread that I was using. The thread is a metallic silver on the top and black in the bobbin, and the silver gave me nothing but trouble (any tips?). So the ENTIRE QUILT is stitched using a walking foot. It sucked, but it was still easier than stitching it with a regular foot. Even with that, the tension isn't QUITE right in some places. When you look at the back, you can see silver thread poking though in some places. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but now I know for the future: Metallic threads suck.

So now, without further ado, some photos (behind the cut):
(Please ignore how messy my apartment is. I'm in the middle of moving, so stuff is everywhere right now; also, the colour is correct in the second photo. The first one was taken with a flash, and the colours aren't accurate)

( Read more... )

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Group blanket project

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:28:24 GMT

Posted by: undyedyarnpire

It has taken more than three months since we began the project, but the blanket is finally completed.

( Read more... )

Crossposted from: http://undyedyarnpire.dreamwidth.org/7321.html

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I made a phone case!

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:25:32 GMT

Posted by: corrvin

So I took a break from the camera case I've been sewing for myself and put together a cell phone case for my mom, to go in her purse and keep the phone within reach. I'm going to get a clasp for the loop at the store and mail it to her today.

( pics below cut )

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Crochet! Just because I can

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 04:47:53 GMT

Posted by: reishka

Cross-posted to my own journal

So, I switched gears a little bit from my usual hodge-podge of crafts (namely, quilting. And I'm still trying to work the kinks out of those stupid fabric flowers... but I'm getting there. Using ribbon instead of fabric seems to help) and crocheted a hat. And now the hubby wants one. And a friend's boyfriend wants one. So it looks like I'll be making hats for the forseeable future. Oh, well. It'll be something to keep my hands busy as the hubbs and I finish watching the Star Trek movies... :) I ended up using a yarn that I'd been saving for awhile. I picked it up sometime last year (I honestly can't remember when) and I wanted to save it for something special. I think it came out looking pretty nice. I snagged the pattern from a friend, who found it here

Pics behind the jump. Please ignore my terribad camera skills!
( Read more... )

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With extra pockets!

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:15:51 GMT

Posted by: corrvin

( I wanted a bag with more pockets. )

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Sewed bag, dyed yarn, knitted hat.

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:49:42 GMT

Posted by: corrvin

After 2 years of having a Brother sewing machine that was erratic to the point of being unusable, I took the time to troubleshoot the problem online, and figured out that I needed to buy actual name-brand Brother bobbins.

Having grown up on recipes that specified "Pillsbury brand all-purpose flour" and the like, I had assumed the manual specifying "Our brand bobbins only" was a marketing gimmick. Let me tell you, it's NOT. I spent $3 on new bobbins and my machine works again.

( So! Sew! Here's what I made! )

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Cool project ideas!

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:02:36 GMT

Posted by: seryn

I found someone else's project and it inspired me.

If there's a project floating around that gets your creative juices powering the hydraulics of your brain, please share the links!

This is what I found, by Sam Qureshi:

Untangled
Posted on January 18, 2011 by qureshipursuits

Untangled Got tangled earbuds? Here’s a pattern that will eliminate the tangle forever. Happy Knitting!

Sam Qureshi

keep your earbuds from tangling!

Untangled

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Building tools from other tools.

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:23:44 GMT

Posted by: undyedyarnpire

This is what I came up with to solve my extreme difficulties with the so-called "easier" method of warping my loom. The "easier" method involves getting really close up, poking the yarn through a tight slot in the heddle, grabbing a loop and walking across the room to the peg, then bringing the yarn loop back and poking it through the tight slot again.You will notice that this requires alternation of a big physical motion with tiny detail work. That generally causes people to ignore ergonomic concerns to maximize efficiency. However if I could cut all the yarns first, then fish them through the heddle, I would take the time to position my tools and equipment optimally for my use.

With that in mind I repurposed a yarn swift, which normally holds the giant loops of yarn one buys from the store because only low-quality yarn is sold in a ready-to-use format, to give me a 100" long yarn path using 9 pegs instead of the regular 4. My method owes something to string art and I feel like I have invented something, even though this is the regular method most people use if they have a real loom. Most people own a specific device called a warping board; many of which cost hundreds of dollars and are difficult to store. Mine comes apart easily and can still be used for its original purpose.

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Weekly Ideas Post

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:11:02 GMT

Posted by: seryn

It looks like everyone is in the same boat I am, where nothing I do feels creative. Even the food I have made this week has been the same kinds of dishes I always make. Seriously, the sum of my creativity for the week was adding a rubber stamp to a thank you card.

With that in mind, I think we should all challenge ourselves to come up with a creative project. What would you like to make or build? What questions do you have? Are there design issues you would like to address through discussion or do you tend to "wing it"? Feel free to make a whole post or to comment here (which I plan to do).

And thank you to all the new members for subscribing, the poster and commenters for participating, and the lurkers for lurking.

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My first weaving project.

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:31:52 GMT

Posted by: undyedyarnpire

I started weaving on a new rigid heddle loom I got for the holidays. My first project was a scarf, as recommended by everyone.

This is the resulting scarf:

And here is the background of the project:

( Read more... )

Now I am attempting to form the 8" by 48" strip of woolly fabric into a bag. I have seen the Doni's Deli bag, bags from placemats, and come up with a theoretical diagram myself. But I am having a lot of trouble envisioning how it would work. There is not a really good way to just keep it as a scarf because the corriedale yarn is extremely harsh after weaving (not like corriedale is especially nice anyway. I have no idea why it got popular since it is the same price as something better. My opinion, obviously.) I wrote a whole post talking about this, but I have interfacing, lining fabric, a sewing machine, and someone with sewing skills who can help me. (The sewing machine scares me.)

So, since no one else has posted anything here yet, let me say that I will gratefully accept any and all praise. I realize this is not the polished work of a professional weaver. I realize it's effing pink. But I think it came out completely awesome and it would be great to hear from people who agree with that.

However, if you have practical suggestions on either the weaving, the process of the weaving (which was horrid and so unenjoyable that I am considering selling my loom), or on how to actually build a bag from a tiny piece of fabric.

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Starting with Creativity

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:46:59 GMT

Posted by: seryn

I noticed that there were not a lot of active groups for crafty hobbies here on Dreamwidth. Then I realized I couldn't tell where I should post about my hand-dyed, hand-spun, hand-knitted scarf, because all three of those things are different groups.

There needed to be a place where people could discuss what ideas for projects they have and get support or praise or even critique (though if you're wanting an honest evaluation, that should be specified).

Then I noticed that many of the yarn and fabric groups kept assuming only certain kinds of people were crafters. Maybe we should think of ourselves as "artisans" because the expectations are more varied? When I think of crafting, I think of making useful and practical things. Or perhaps only theoretically practical, like making macrame plant hangers! But what about the people who re-cane or reupholster chairs? What about the blacksmiths who make those wrought iron gates? What about the woodworker?

Have you built a dollhouse or a model ship? Could you make finger puppets? Do your friends and family get tired of looking at your quilt pictures because they don't sew and can't see the differences between projects? If you could make a crochet hook or use one, show us what you've done. If you've beaded a knitted shawl, we'd love to see that. Or the beads you made or the shawl you knit.

I come from the yarn side of creativity, but I don't believe everyone needs to love doing what I do in order to appreciate the creativity therein.

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