After a long month and two weeks I’ve finished my howl coat!! Though not for me, it was fun to make, and I hope the recipient likes it.
Credit for the pattern goes to “Copper Penny Crafts” you can buy it here!
If you’re interested in more of my crafts, I sell them on Etsy! Here’s my commission sheet thing if you’re interested in that. If you want to actually crochet yourself though, I made a learning crochet masterlist just for that!
Weird news: somehow the coat is a little longer than the photo on the first row of blue. It should have needed a matching row of blue under it to get that long.
I'm supposed to get 6 stitches per inch, which I have in the knitpicks brava (all the citrus colors). I got 5 in the blue, but it's Caron One Pound, which is slightly thicker and causes this issue at times.
What IS surprising is how much COAT this coat is. I assumed Size 36 meant bust, but perhaps I was wrong. But I can't find a vintage sizing chart to confirm. I can say that the row measurement is off. It's about 1/4" an inch wider per three rows, so 1/2" per stripe (they're all six rows). So, yeah, that accounts for the extra width, but I truly can't figure out the extra length. Maybe it's because they're worked in the round.
Anyway, it's currently being washed to see if I can loosen the fibers a bit because this was one of those "Use a worsted but also a 3.5 hook."
If it comes together in the end, it'll likely become Sean's. Fits his shoulders like a dream, and that's a minor miracle for a mistake.
Current WIP that I'm super excited about because it looks so cool and it's so soft!
This is panel one of the star boy coat pattern from howl's moving castle and I'm just so proud of how it's coming out so far!!!
I was super intimidated starting this pattern because its nothing like anything I've done before but after some solid slow reading I got started and it's been going quick since!!
Yarn: caron simply soft country blue and plum wine
I don't know if I should properly finish this one, on the one hand I'm not entirely satisfied with what I sketched so it might be a waste of time, on the other the details are extremely messy and they make half the outfit so it's a shame. What a struggle.
Today I've been crocheting a sunflower to sew onto my coat. I'm using three different patterns for the various components of the sunflower, and multiple colour strands for them too. So far I have the centre done.
This is dark brown with a rose gold crochet thread. The first round of petals off the seedbed will have yellow yarn with a metallic gold crochet thread in it. :D
The larger petals in the second round will have orange edges on the yellow after it's crocheted. Stay tuned. I want this one done this week.
So I've gotten into more crafting stuff recently - @binchickencrafts if you want to see the results of me fucking about with dyeing/spinning/weaving/crochet/whatever the hell else I get my hands on - and part of learning a new craft is, obviously, reading about it and watching stuff on it.
And the funniest thing is that every single fibre craft, sooner or later (usually sooner) is inevitably like:
"do you find [specific craft thing] difficult? simply Do Not, hope that helps!"
do you find beating your warp evenly problematic? simply be better at beating your warp :)
do you find tension difficult to control? just control your tension better!
do you find getting enough twist into your ply difficult? here's a helpful tip! don't suck at it.
it is so fucking funny, every single fiber craft like 'are you having problems following these instructions or doing this task? that's a skill issue. suck less. now draw the rest of the owl, motherfucker.'
The visibly queer and GNC art students who come into the shop where I work to buy craft supplies are sometimes the only thing getting me through the constant deluge of little old ladies who have extremely strong opinions about the colours of ribbon that are acceptable for baby boys' Christening robes. Thank you for your service, darlings. I will always give you the student discount, even if you didn't ask if we have one.