Sometimes I try experiments with my knitting outreach activities. This one worked out better than even I expected. I ran a "Design your own knit hat" contest as part of my Science Knits display at the California Academy of Science's Maker's night last Spring. I provided graph paper and let the attendees fill in the boxes to design their own patterns. This design was the winner. It was a team effort between two very dedicated Whovians. I wonder if they could tell I also love Doctor Who, because how could I not pick this awesome design! With a few tweaks it became this hat that features the TARDIS, Daleks, cybermen, and K-9. Isn't it so cool!! I sent this original hat to the designers as their reward for winning, but I may have to make another one for myself in the future!
The pattern is listed here on Ravelry and here on Craftsy [link broken until I get time to upload pattern to Craftsy...]. You can also purchase it directly here.
Here is my newest installment in the #TardisKnit series (see the others here). I added a top and thumbs to the Police Box Arm Warmers to come up with this design. As written, it will fit small-medium hands (I am wearing them above and I wear a medium glove).
The pattern can be found here on Ravelry, here on Craftsy, or purchased directly here.
Don't knit but still want to get your hands on these mittens? One pair is currently for sale in my etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/Craftimism. If that one sells out, feel free to contact me on Etsy for a custom order.
Check out these Doctor Who inspired Police Box fingerless mitts. Also pictured above are Police Box Legwarmers.
I wanted to make a pair of Police Box Fingerless Mittens but I had a dilemma. I could not find any patterns I liked well enough. So I decided to design my own. I went through three versions of this pattern before settling on this one to write up and publish. The first version was actually my favorite but was more difficult as the colorwork began before the thumb gusset was complete and the finished product from that can be purchased at my Etsy site.
The pattern for these mitts can be purchased directly here on Ravelry (information page here). I will list the pattern on Craftsy very soon as well.
As always, a big thanks goes out to Pablo Tsukayama my favorite friend-tographer for the awesome photos of me modeling the mittens! If you are in the St. Louis area and need a photographer with mad skills, check him out!
I have received a lot of questions about how to center lettering - especially for advice on using fabric paint (the puffy paint kind) to paint lettering on the Police Box Legwarmers I designed last year. I hope this helps! Here is a step-by-step tutorial that should help you create even and centered lettering. First, count the characters (including spaces) that you will need. In this case, POLICE BOX (9 letters + 1 space = 10 characters). Second, find the middle letter(s). In this case letters 5 and 6 will be on either side of dead center. You can eyeball dead center or use a ruler to find it. Start the painting by writing "CE" in the center. Then add the letters to the right, making sure to keep the spacing and size even. Now, working backwards from the "C" add the "I", "L", "O" and "P." Let it dry and then flip and do the other side.
This is a throwback to a project I made ~1 year ago for a fellow Doctor Who fan. Most of it was made while proctoring an exam (it turns out I am pretty good at knitting and watching people take exams, this would not be recommended for all knitters). This is a modified version of a pattern found here on Ravelry. A big thanks goes out to Andy Jackson for sending these pictures to me after I forgot to take pictures of the project myself. :)
I made these mugs for my good friends and Doctor Who fans Casie and Adam. These mugs are the fourth in my Doctor Who craft series - click the links to see the Exploding Tardis, Police Box Legwarmers, and the Amy Pond Police Outfit. Check out my Etsy store (Craftimism on Etsy) if you would like some custom Doctor Who Mugs. Supplies needed: Enamel paint Paint brushes Toothpics for adding details and fine lettering Clean mugs Directions: Clean the mugs with soap and water and wipe with rubbing alcohol. Avoid touching the areas of the mug that you will paint after this point, as the oils from your skin will prevent the paint from setting on the ceramic. Paint the designs on the mugs and let dry 3 weeks or bake according to the instructions on the paint to set the paint. The mugs should be hand washed in warm soapy water.
To make the "I heart heart the Doctor" and the "Bowties are cool" mugs, I used red and black paint. I used small paintbrushes to paint on the lettering and the heart and bowties. I mixed some red and black paint to make a dark red for the bowtie.
For the Police Box Mug, I used blue, white, and black paint. I mixed black and blue for the detailing on the police box. I used a toothpick for the fine lettering "Police Box" and for the lettering on the back.
For the Weeping Angel Mug, I used black, silver, and white paint. I made my angel too fat to begin with and then painted white around the angel to thin her up a little. I painted the grey background for the angel and then used a toothpick for the detailing. See below for the mugs in progress.
Welcome to the third Doctor Who themed project in my blog! Doctor Who fans should also check out my Amy Pond Police Outfit and my Exploding Tardis Painting tutorials. I have at least one more Doctor Who post up my sleeve as well but with the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey, who knows when it will get published :).
These legwarmers were a gift for my friend who introduced me to Doctor Who. In the winter during knitting and netflix seasons, I finished so many hats and knitting projects while devouring episodes of this awesome show.
"The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes—very rarely—impossible things just happen and we call them miracles." -The Doctor ('The Pandorica Opens') "The future pivots around you. Here. Now. So do good. For humanity. And for Earth." -The Doctor ('Cold Blood').
The fabric paint I used to paint
the "POLICE BOX" lettering.
The "original" expolding Tardis painting that I tried to replicate above.
I didn't quite get it, but close enough :).
Continue below to see how I made this painting. However, if you would prefer to buy a finished product directly from me rather than painting your own, click here for more Exploding Tardis paintings in my Etsy store! Use the code BLOGREFERRAL20 at checkout to get 20% off!
This is the second item in my "Doctor Who" themed crafts. The first item was my Amy Pond Police Costume and there are a couple more Tardis items in the works. Stay tuned for those!
I think I took my nerdiness to a new level here. My inspiration was the Doctor Who episode "Vincent and the Doctor" where Doctor Who and Amy go back to the time of Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent then paints his vision of the Tardis exploding. I wanted to try my hand at replicating this painting.
Supplies needed are a canvas, blue, yellow, gold, black, and silver acrylic paints (Vincent actually would have used oils, but I have never learned how to use oil, so I went with acrylic), and paint brushes.
Step 1: Begin by painting the yellow swirls and the yellow part of the explosion in the center of the canvas.
Step 2: Paint in dark blue around the yellow swirls on the edges of the canvas.
Step 3: Paint the white part of the explosion.
Step 4: Paint the outline of the Tardis pieces around the center of the explosion.
Step 5: Paint in the white parts of the tardis (windows, sign, light). Also, paint the top of the tardis with yellow and gold accents. Enhance the explosion where needed. Once dry, add the blue lines between the window panes.
Step 6: Add the black accents and outlines to the tardis. Paint the dark blue/black area above the top of the tardis. Enhance the explosion as needed, I tried to keep it powerful, but struggled to get the same effect as the original.
Step 7: Fill in the blue areas around the tardis. Mix blue and black to add dimension to the blue areas. Add some blue streaks to the yellow swirls.
Step 8: Add yellow/gold accents to the blue swirls. Add the "words" to the white panel on the tardis in black. Fix the yellow swirls as needed with yellow and gold. Touch up any areas on the Tardis and explosion as needed.
Me as Amy Pond (left) and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond (right)
Inspiration: Doctor Who, of course! Amy Pond is my favorite Doctor Who companion (Donna being a close second). Dr. Who has also inspired me to create tutorials for The Exploding TARDIS and TARDIS Legwarmers here on Craftimism.
Two of my friends and I decided to dress up as characters from Doctor Who for St. Louis's Comic Con this past weekend. I may have been one of the least nerdy people there. I didn't get many of the references or recognize a lot of the people who were dressed up (or even some of the celebrities), but it was so much fun to go in costume. I feel like that is the only way to go to a comic con! I felt like a celebrity the entire day, as we had a ton of people stop to take pictures of us. It was so much fun!
I transformed myself into Amy Pond by assembling the outfit. I had a white button up shirt and black belt, sewed the skirt, vest, and scarf, and found all the accessories at the dollar store. I am a novice sewer and was happy with the results. Keep reading for details on how to make the outfit and where to find the accessories and to see more awesome pictures of our comic con adventure.
Amy Pond Police Outfit essentials:
White button up collared shirt
Vest (I made mine from a black T-shirt
Skirt - made from knit material, can reuse a T-shirt or buy knit fabric
Scarf - Sewn from fabric (I found the fabric square at JoAnn) and a black strip of T-shirt material
Black Belt - Mine wasn't quite right, but I went with it :)
Accessories - handcuffs and cell phone case for the belt (found at Dollar Tree for $1 each), police radio (I could not find one, so I omitted it)
Hair spray color/hair dye (unless you are naturally red headed)
Half Red
Hair - I was thinking about doing a temporary hair color (I think you can get ones that wash out in a few months), but I could not find what I was looking for at Wal-mart or Walgreens. Instead, I used my dollar tree clearance spray on hair color that had been in my Halloween box for years. I have naturally sandy blonde hair and I was worried the color would be bright red, but it turned out more natural than I expected, and best of all, it washed out in ~5 shampoos. The directions said not to use on hair that had been highlighted in the previous year. I highlighted my hair for my Halloween outfit in October, and it did not wash out as easily from those sections of my hair, but it did eventually wash out (thank goodness!). I put the color in 1 section at a time and combed it through with a wide toothed comb. I also sprayed it on my hand and rubbed it through my hair as well. I rubbed a small amount on my eyebrows. Then I had to wipe of the excess staining on my forehead with soap and water. My sink looked like a crime scene by the time I was done. :)
Skirt - To make the skirt, I used a polyester/cotton knit material. You could easily recycle a black T-shirt. Follow the diagram below to make a custom miniskirt.
Vest - Follow the instructions below to make a vest from a T-Shirt. If you are a more advanced sewer and want to create a more accurate police vest, check out this blog post.
Scarf - I cut a rectangle of the checkered fabric, folded it in half, scrunched it up a little bit and sewed a seam about 1 inch below the fold. I cut a strip of leftover T-shirt material and threaded it through the seam so I could tie on the scarf.
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory - At the beginning of the day
At the Doctor Who booth. We felt at home there. :)
Family Photo! We found River!
A different Doctor with the Ponds
We found more of the Doctor Who gang! Captain Jack, Rose, Donna, the 10th Doctor, Amy, and the 11th Doctor - Don't Blink!
Police Amy and action figure Amy :) At the end of the day.
