Little Red

Ah! I must say I'm writing this post with a muster of enthusiasm, which is quite novel. The last few weeks have been quite productive, craft wise. I'll start with the seasonal offering - my Little Red Riding Hood costume. I figured if I found material for the hood cheap enough I could put together the rest of the costume using stuff I already owned, so it has a pleasing balance between creativity and economy. I found a red bed sheet in a charity shop, and used the flounced edge as a detail in the hood. I used this tutorial as a guide for anyone who's interested. The only two specific things that make a Red Riding Hood costume are the hood and the basket (which in the sotry contain wine and fruit, but I opted for a box of Lemsip and a Get Well Soon card). If you look for Red Riding Hood costumes on google all you find are big busted women in low cut tops, which didn't seem overly authentic to me, given that Red Riding Hood was little. Despite the freedom to interpret the costume however I wanted, nothing in my wardrobe seemed suitable, so I used up some fabric from my stash to make a basic black and white lolita style dress, then use some red dye I also had hanging around to give it the appropriate coloring. The idea would be that I'd be able to wear the dress again, rather than having another costume cluttering up my place year round. I used this tutorial for the dress - I've used this pattern several times now and I love it. I didn't put the flounce on the end - I wore a white frilly skirt of mine underneath to add a slight bit of volume.

Then I made a few finishing touches.

Et voila.

The rest of the time I've been playing with yarn, Be it spinning and plying....

....or making hats as birthday gifts....

....or working up some luxurious mitts for myself.

The hat was made using this free pattern from Ravelry and worked up quick on mighty 8mm double-pointed needles. The gloves were improvised as I went along - the cable pattern is as basic as you can get. Apart from that, I am currently working on a few little things which I can't publish now - it would ruin surprises!

Stay crafty.