Pattern Drop: World of Warcraft Scarlet Crusade – Tunisian Crochet Wall Hanging

Like most, my yarn stash is quickly dwindling as store closures make restocking more difficult than usual. Luckily, I had some colours leftover that just might work for a design I have been workshopping mentally since the relaunch of Classic World of Warcraft back in August 2019.

Choosing which symbol best fit the conversion from JPEG to wall hanging proved to be more difficult than I originally assumed. The Scarlet Crusade flew many banners, but the one I settled on replicating was their version of the Symbol of the Holy Light.

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After Lord Uther the Lightbringer was betrayed and killed by his former apprentice Arthas Menethil, the Knights of the Silver Hand were devastated by the Scourge‘s undead armies. Isillien was formerly a priest of the Holy Light in Lordaeron, assigned to be the liaison for the Knights of the Silver Hand. There he worked closely with the elder High General Abbendis (the father of the younger Abbendis^[7]) and his youthful charges, tutoring the young paladins in their quest for truth. Priests and paladins fought as the Scourge attacked the city, but they fled as Lordaeron fell around them. Some whisper it was the wounds both men received in battle, or perhaps just the shock of seeing their whole purpose destroyed, but since that day both Isillien and Abbendis had become quite insane. Isillien and Abbendis wandered the area as the Scourge defiled the land, destroying what undead they could, gathering what warriors would join them. They had but one concern: eradication of all that had destroyed Lordaeron.[8]

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Yarn weighed and wound for the front panel of the wall hanging and we are ready to go!

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The first issue I encountered was…well actually I didn’t encounter any issues really with this pattern. I have a funny feeling that I won’t have much to write about for this one so let’s just roll the pretty pictures, hm?

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I have found that between work sessions, that blocking your work can help with any tension issues that may crop up. As a rule, I try to make as much progress in one work session as possible so that my tension is more or less consistent.

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I think what really needs work is my ability to take photos that don’t suffer from intense bloom. Either that or I need to figure out how to fix it in post.

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The blocking for this design was finicky, the straight lines in the pattern make it so that any tension issues are immediately obvious. Luckily, I managed to mitigate most of it with multiple blocking sessions.

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Unfortunately, not all things are remedied by wet blocking; however I discovered a trick to flatten even the most unruly of edges. Running a drawstring through the back stitches and pulling it taught is a simple but effective process.

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With both front and back panels blocked and ready to assemble, I line it all up and make quick work of whipstitching it together.

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And voila! One Symbol of the Holy Light a-la  Scarlet Crusade hooked and ready to hang in your game room.

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Want to make your very own Scarlet Crusade Wall Hanging?  You can buy the pattern now over at my Etsy shop for only $7 CAD!

I would love to see everyone’s take on my design. Share your work with me over on Twitter!

Want to own one for yourself without the hassel of having to make it? Drop me a line via my Contact page and commission it for only $130 CAD

Let the Phantom Thieves steal your heart, and a place on your wall: Persona 5 Joker Tarot Card Tapestry

Persona 5 saw its worldwide release on April 4, 2017, I like many others with a soft spot for the series (and a flood of new fans) became instantly engrossed in the game’s world and problems.

With immersive cut-scenes, a dynamic soundtrack that you can’t ever seem to tire of and a cast of easily loveable and relatable characters, Persona 5 delivered to its players an introspective storyline fraught with very real-world issues; and I could not get enough. But if you are already here and reading this post then you most likely know all that, so let’s move on shall we?

Inspiration struck me one day and I found myself designing the most intricate wall hanging I have attempted thus far; 5 different colours and more carrying than I felt I had the capacity to handle, it quickly left me feeling defeated.

A grand total of 18 bobbins 

Luckily for me, I have wonderful internet friends (Hi Keredya!) who shared my woes and soon we had decided that maybe I should try carrying things vertically instead of horizontally.

That would make my fabric far less girthy and enable me to worry about holding onto fewer threads; I figured it was worth a shot.

After much trial and error, I settled on making…whatever this is. Pegboard cost me around $7 at the Home Hardware and a couple bucks in dowels.

Now, if you squint at the picture above, you may notice an error that I wish I had picked up on; I just wrapped the yarn around the dowels and didn’t put it on a spool.

After bashing my head against my own stupidity for a few minutes, I came up with a solution involving some old toilet paper rolls, corrugated cardboard and a bit of tape:

Not pretty, but it is functional.

After I had finished rewinding the yarn around my makeshift spools, I placed some alligator clips on the board and fed the yarn through them to help maintain order, and trepidatiously began to work.

Oof, that glare. And what a mess of yarn!

I struggled with maintaining my tension, I was unused to carrying the yarn vertically; dropping a thread after 1-5 stitches meant that I had to be more aware of how I anchored my stitches before I moved onto the next segment.

I decided that it could be fun to share my progress on my Magnum Opus, so I fired up the computer and streamed some of my work.

I was shocked when a newly acquired internet friend (Hi Kain!) had enough faith in my design to stake claim to the prototype, and so it became a commission I never expected to have.

The back of this thing is a complete mess.

I learned quickly to place my work on the blocking board at the end of each stream, this helped to maintain the shape and speed up the stretching process that was inevitably going to take eons.

Tidy stitches :3

I lost track of how long this tapestry took me from start to finish, I am sure I can figure the math out if I were to try but let’s just say a long fekkin’ time.

21″ long on the blocking board

11″ wide on the blocking board

 Hover over the images to see measurements

For the backing, I decided to go with solid black and white trim to match the front. The inspiration for this whole project came from the tarot cards that are a staple of the Persona franchise.

Although I wasn’t wholly satisfied with the end product (what with it being the prototype), the customer voiced their enthusiasm and gave the stamp of approval to ship out.

The lighting in these pictures is a little on the cool side, I need to become a better photographer next!

Overall, I think the effect of the chain-link design turned out really nicely and the pattern itself translated well into the end product.

Things I learned from all this:

• My tension is shit if you throw more than 3 strands of yarn at me. I need to practice working with more yarn until that becomes second nature.
• I work better at a table, and it was fun to share my work as it was developing.
• However, I work faster and more efficiently when the camera is off and I can throw something up on the TV to distract myself.
• Tension matters in areas other than just the hook; when whip-stitching the bottom of the tapestry I must have pulled too hard and bunched the bottom up a bit. This was mediated later but I can still see a slight issue there and it will haunt me forever.
• I have a long way to go before I can claim mastery of my craft.

 

Want to follow me around without being picked up for stalking?

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I have priced these banners at $150.00 CAD each, and I take commissions on a first come first serve basis. All items are made at the time the order is placed and are not just held on hand. Expect between 3-4 weeks before your creation is ready to ship. Pricing is determined based on labor and material costs with the shipping cost being extra and fluctuating based on where I am shipping the order. A 50% initial deposit is required before any work can be started on your order. Payment options include Paypal, and ETransfer. 

Commissions Slot Available

Commissions: How to submit a request

To submit a request to have a custom piece made, you can contact me through Email (hookcrux@gmail.com), or with the Contact button found on the website. If you want the quickest reply, send me an email.

How do you price your items?

I take commissions on a first come first serve basis.

All items are made at the time the order is placed and are not just held on hand.

Expect between 2-3 weeks before your creation is ready to ship.

Pricing is determined based on labor and material costs with the shipping cost being extra and fluctuating based on where I am shipping the order.

If your request requires me to purchase a specific pattern then the price of the pattern is added to the cost of materials.

If I am working to design a pattern from scratch for your commission, an added cost will be attached to your total.

A 50% initial deposit is required before any work can be started on your order. Payment options include Paypal, and ETransfer.

Still have questions? Feel free to drop me a line and I am more than happy to answer your inquiries.

Commissions Open! 2 Slots Available

This is just a quick update post to let you know that I am opening up commissions, I have 2 slots available and it is on a first come, first serve basis.

Money has been tight what with my mother’s passing and the fact that I am moving at the end of the month, so when I had to bring Poe into the vet and the bill came back to me I realized that I could really use a hand.

As such, I am knocking $10 CAD off of any Banner commissions! That means that the Horde and Alliance Banners are now only $100 CAD plus shipping!

Commissions: How to submit a request

To submit a request to have a custom piece made, you can contact me through Email (hookcrux@gmail.com), or with the Contact button found on the website. If you want the quickest reply, send me an email.

How do you price your items?

I take commissions on a first come first serve basis.

All items are made at the time the order is placed and are not just held on hand.

Expect between 2-3 weeks before your creation is ready to ship.

Pricing is determined based on labor and material costs with the shipping cost being extra and fluctuating based on where I am shipping the order.

If your request requires me to purchase a specific pattern then the price of the pattern is added to the cost of materials.

If I am working to design a pattern from scratch for your commission, an added cost will be attached to your total.

A 50% initial deposit is required before any work can be started on your order. Payment options include Paypal, and ETransfer.

Still have questions? Feel free to drop me a line and I am more than happy to answer your inquiries.

Poe and I thank you ❤ 

Bye, Bye Baby Bunting

Hoo doesn’t love owls? Especially an owl as cute as this one:

After advertising my services in a few of my local Buy and Sell groups on Facebook, I receive a request to make this adorable Owl Bunting!

After doing some (rather painful) yarn math, we settle on a price and I eagerly place the order online for the materials needed. I wanted to match the image as closely as I could, so I scoured the internet for the proper tones.

The brand I will be using is Bernat Softee Baby Yarn in light worsted (3):

• Mint x2
• Lemon x1
• Flannel x1
• Pink x1
• Lilac x1
• White x1
• Pale Blue x1
• Black x1

The customer has requested that the pink scales on the breast plate be changed to the Lilac and that the eyes remain Pink so I had to pick up an extra colour to account for the modification.

The pattern calls for a 3.5mm E hook, I rarely get to use my E hook so this is a treat.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I start a new project the first thing that I do is wind all my yarn into center-pull balls so that they don’t roll around on me. I have cats so this helps minimize the yarn’s alluring nature and amount of cat hair I have to remove from my projects.

I wind all my center-pull yarn by hand so this process can be tedious and result in cramping, but I feel it is worth it to avoid wrestling my materials from furry clutches.

Ugh, yarn barf.

Once the winding is finished, it is time to check my gauge; this project calls for 9dc x4 rows to 2″ (5cm).

None of the stitches required for the Owl Bunting are new to me so right off the bat I feel confident that I can match the pattern without trouble. Although the baby will be a newborn, we decided on making the bunting for the 3-6 month range to ensure growing room. The baby is due sometime in April so I have to get cracking.

***At the time of writing this,  the baby shower was moved forward so I actually have until mid-March instead. Yikes!***

Right off the bat, I find an issue with the yarn; I rarely work with baby yarn so I was unaccustomed to the “stringiness” I encountered. I managed to quickly learn how to hold the yarn to stop it from fraying obnoxiously and things started moving along at a much quicker pace.

Once I got into the groove of things, time seemed to fly by; the only way I realized how much time had passed, was my progress through a playlist of YouTube videos.

Poe was under the impression that this Bunting was clearly being made for him and I had to fight a constant battle to keep his furry butt out of the cocoon.

Who else would you be making it for Mom? It is Poe-sized so it must be for Poe.

I ended up closing my door, he cried and it broke my heart a smidge but I wiped away my tears of sympathy and kept working until the main body of the bunting was finished. This took approximately 5 hours.

The next step was to make the eyes, beak, wings and breastplate.

Hooo are you looking at punk?

Instead of chaining and slip stitching to make the starting round as this pattern loves to suggest, I used the more efficient Magic Circle instead and decided that the owl looked less angry when I dropped the beak down to the edge of the border.

Next, I started on the wings; I absolutely LOVED the edging on this bit. It is achieved by doing one Single Crochet followed by one Slip Stitch in the same stitch to provide that bumpy ruffled look.

The most interesting part of the bunting to construct was definitely the breastplate. The crocodile stitch is incredibly popular but I admit that I have never utilized it to the extent that most have.

In theory, I understood the pattern, in practice, I zoned out the first time and didn’t space the scales properly.

I groaned, frogged it and started over, this time with much better results.

All that was left to do was attach all the bits to the main body of the bunting and then start on the matching hat.

Getting the eyes to go on and not look crooked made the inside of my brain itch a bit but other than that, it was smooth sailing. Here is the end result:

The hat was very quick to whip up, I did run out of the mint yarn 9/10ths of the way through it so I improvised a little. I think it kind of looks like the baby hats that your children in Harvest Moon wear. I also enjoyed mimicking the wing texture on the brim.

And voila! 12 hours and 20 minutes later, it is finished! I sprinted to the finish line and managed to get it done with time to spare before the baby shower.

• Cost of materials: $51.60
• Time invested: 12 hours and 20 minutes
• Cost of labour: $10/hour

 

What to do, what to do?

Poe has the right idea. Little bugger stole my pillow, but he looks so peaceful. 

I’m still putting out feelers for more commissions but so far not even a nibble has come my way. 

Until I can find more work I am occupying myself with organizing what yarn I have left. I find winding my yarn by hand to be incredibly soothing at times.

Now I just need to figure out what to make with what little I have on my right now. 

I have been considering opening up a go fund me or patreon account to assist in gathering the money to buy more yarn but I’m not sure how comfortable I would actually be with doing so. 

Regardless, I am just enjoying the fact that I can make some money off of doing something that I enjoy; even if it all goes right back into buying more yarn at this point. 

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you get to make the most of your weekend! 

Open for commission requests!

I am once again opening up commission requests. 

Currently I have 2 slots available and they will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. 

For more information, please send me a message using the Contact Us page on the website or via Facebook Messenger.

What does the fox say?

Having finally finished the Hufflepuff scarf, I was able to start on my next commission: a fox hat for one of my high-school buddies. 

We went out for coffee to catch up, I told her about my attempts at starting up a business and she was more than happy to commission something. 

I am always excited to start a new project up, especially something I haven’t made before.

The hat itself was simple enough, a beanie in 2 colors. The ears were a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, but I’m pleased with them. 

Ther may need refinement, but I am eager to keep at it. 

Anyways, here is the finished product. Feedback is appreciated 🙂

This weekend I vow to finish this scarf!

I’m so close to finishing the Hufflepuff scarf that I just need put my nose to the yarn-stone and get it done. 

Now, if only I could get permission from my supurrrvisor…..

Yesterday I picked up more yarn for my next commission, a fox hat for an old high-school buddy of mine. 

Picked these up at Michael’s for about 13 bucks. Usually this would have cost me around 20, I had a couple coupons though and I’m pleased with myself. 

3:00pm- Just finished the body of the scarf and now I have to weave in the ends, do the border and fringe. 

I may have gotten sidetracked again, this time by food. 

Curry and rice is always good on a rainy day. And now that I have finished that, it is time to continue working on weaving in those ends…maybe a cup of coffee first. 

5:00pm – Just finished weaving in the ends, finally. Now just need to tackle the border and fringe before washing, potentially felting and docking the scarf into shape. 

Monday,  3:30pm – It took longer than anticipated, however I finished the fringe on the scarf and am all set to hand wash this bad boy. 

While it is drying, I will take the chance to clean all the tiny bits of yarn that have infiltrated my bed. 

This is all showing me that what I really need is a decent camera. 

Hope your weekend was great and that your Monday isn’t horrible to you. 

Sidetracked

I needed a bit of a break from scarf making so I made my ratties a hammock type thing for their cage. 

So far,  it is well received. 

Sai may need to lose some weight though, looking at how it is sagging already. 

The next update I post will be of the completed scarf. I hope that I get the money together soon to go out and purchase some more yarn as supplies are running low.