My husband l-o-v-e-s the game "Angry Birds". Seriously. He loves it. Anyway, his favorite bird is "the red one with the killer 'brows". I've never done a plushie before, but I'm thinking he's a simple enough shape that I can make it work.
Here are some pics:
He's mostly ball-shaped with some feathers sticking out on his head and tail.....it shouldn't be too hard, right? I'm thinking felt wool for this guy - has anyone done plushies before, and if you have, do you have any suggestions? (3,967 internets to those who do!)
I'm off google up some information.
Ciao!
The same method can be used for itty bitty tassels (like I use on my shirts), or big huge chunky tassels, like in my Tribal belts.
Same method, different outcomes!
Itty bitty tassel is out of thread and fine cord.....big chunky tassel is made out of yarn and braided chunky cord.
1. Tie a knot in the end of your selected string/braid.
2. wrap the strands that will become the tassel around a card or CD case or whatever - just make sure that it is 2x (plus a smidge more) wider than you'd want your finished tassel to be.
Wrap 'round and round until you get enough 'body'. This is totally subject to personal preference, but you don't want your tassel to look skimpy. Neither to you want it to be so boofy it's unmanageable. (Pro-tip: don't wrap so tightly you can't easily slide the card/case/whatever out after you're done wrapping!)
3. Take a long piece of strong thread/string/yarn, and tie a knot in the middle of the wrapped threads.
(Pro-tip: You'll be using this same thread to tie off underneath the 'balloon' portion of the tassel, so you'll need to decide if you want this string to match or contrast the body of the tassel.)
4. I find I get plenty of stability just by butting the two knots together and skipping to step #5. If you are worried about your tassel falling apart, tie the cord around the knot you just made. This makes the body of the tassel bigger, and sometimes it can be harder to hide the ends of the cord, so experiment and see what works best for you.
5. Now, this is where keeping your knotting thread long comes in handy!
Arrange the fringe around the cord, so there are no huge gaps (don't worry if it's not perfect, you can fiddle with it at the next step. Just make sure it's not all clumped together)
Now, take those long ends and wrap around the fringe and the cord, just underneath the knots. PULL TIGHT!!! Do a bunch of square knots to make sure everything is secure. (I guess at this point, if you were really worried, you could do a dab of glue on your knots, but I've found it to be unnecessary.)
6. Now, flip all the fringe the opposite way. Arrange all the fringe to be nice and smooth over the body/bulb of the tassel (This is where you want to be extra-picky. It's going to show, and it's hard to fix after tying off!)
TIGHTLY wrap the long tails underneath the knots. Knot off the ends. (I usually to back into the middle of the tassel and hide the knots in there).......and voilà! You've just made your very own custom tassel!
ETA: 7. Trim off all the loops to make the bottom of the tassel even! Heh.
I am *SO* not an expert, so take everything I say with a giant dose of salt.......I take all blame for misspellings, misinformation, and incorrect methods. Also, I apologize for my weak Paint skillz. If it doesn't make sense, I'll try a photoshoot with real fabric and draping.
(Because you have such a small length of fabric, you'll probably want to the first option)
Fold your fabric into a tube (at least from shoulder to floor. if you're going to do some decorative belting and whatnot, you may need to make it just a bit longer), and sew the bottom 3/4 shut. You can hem the bottom and the top if it looks like it's going to fray a lot.
This leaves you a tube, with an opening on the right side.
Variations on Greek Peplos:
This first variation allows for the least amount of fabric. The fibula (or tack shut with a decorative button or whatever) will sit on your left shoulder, and the slit will become the opening for your right arm.
The second variation needs a bit more width, since the gap on the left created by the fibula will become the armhole.
If someday down the road, you want to do a fuller Roman or Greek gown, you'll want to have a tube that is at *least* from elbow to elbow (x2). If you want full 'sleeves', you'll need to make your tube from finger tip to finger tip (x2) plus a smoodgen more.
Greek Peplos: This takes the least amount of fabric of this type. It's the same deal as above, on each end, you'll have loops that become your arm holes. (About elbow to elbow x2 plus a bit more)
Greek Chiton/Peplos Same deal as above, but with a decorative flappy bit. There are different names for this basic type, depending on how it is belted and how long the flappy bit is. (Just like Greek columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.)
Greek Himation/Roman Stola: This type takes the most fabric, and makes full sleeves.
Side-notes:
-Make sure as you're draping (yes, there is no pattern, it's all about putting it on you/dress dummy and fiddling about with pins)......make sure that you make yourself a neckline! Just as in modern tee-shirts, the front is wider than the back. And you can get some sexxay cleavage by making the front drape even deeper.
-From my limited knowledge, Greeks are much more likely to have completely bare arms. (First couple of examples). Romans tend towards at least a tiny attempt at 'sleeves', though I don't think it's incorrect for a Roman to be completely sleeveless
-Both Romans and Greeks had shawls that were (almost?) invariably worn with their outfits. Romans called 'em "Palla". (I always get "Stola" and "Palla" mixed up!) I'm blanking on what the Greeks called them, tho. At any rate, you'll want a big veil-ish thing.
-Undergarments! Romans had two types of under-dress, a skimpier 'intima'* which I believe didn't show all that much, from what I know. There are also sleeved under gowns worn for colder weather. I'm sure there is a special name for them, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. Subligaria and strophum are bikini-like underwear and breast binding. I think this *might* be an athletics-exclusive thing, but maybe not. I'm sure someone else knows more than I on this subject.
-You'll need at *least* one belt, at or just below the waist. There's all kinds of cool ways to wear the second belt...just under the breast to get a nice drape of fabric, or criss-crossed between the boobs for some extra 'oomph'.
*Many thanks to Holly for reminding me of the name. She is a super-great resource for Roman stuff!!! Make sure you bug her, too!
I didn't get to post about the hat before I left for CoCo (which was awesome, but that is another post entirely) - I think I already posted about shaping the brim, and most of the decor, so I'll just spam y'all with some pictures. If anyone is interested as to *how* it is actually structured, let me know and I'll do a better post. ;)
As a refresher, these are the feathers that I used, and my brim
First run of the entire outfit - at this point I was trying to decide if I wanted the sash or not. I decided yes. :)
Some hair tests....
Remember these guys?
I did the same process for the hat buckle for these shoe buckles. I decided to do a bow instead of a latchet, I don't feel like I have enough skillz (or patience) to go through the process of covering the entire shoe. Anyway, back to the 'buckles'....
I messed around a whole bunch trying out different styles and fabrics. The gold silk looked kinda silly with the gold buckle, and the ivory silk would get lost in the petticoats, so stripes is was. I like the double-bow look that I ended up with! It's actually one bow that is gathered and tucked under.
Yeah, they're not the best thing in the world, but they're better than tennis shoes! ;) Check out those sexxay jammies....heh.
