Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 25

Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 25

This is the Final Blog on this project. Unfortunately some photographs appear to have gone astray. However I am sure you can follow it without them.

Paper Mache Hook

  

I went through the process of making the Sticks suitable for stringing by adding Hooks. If you go through the other side a little bit as in the above photograph it can be easily rectified.

All you need to do is to get a few pieces of Paper and some Glue and go over it until it is safe. Then simply colour when dry and continue with other Hooks

Crossed Sticks

 

Unfortunately this is where some of the photographs I took are a bit allusive. I think though you can see where the Hooks were placed. Find the Middle of the Stick and Mark it. That is where you will Bind it.

Half way between this point and the end of the Stick make another Mark. This is where you will put your Hook. Do likewise on the other side of the Centre Mark.

Left Stick

 

Adding the Strings is the easy part. Putting them in the right place isn’t. When you start turning the Sticks it becomes difficult to remember which part was the first one. I had an idea.

The first time I gave the ends Numbers which worked so far but it was when you had to join the Strings to the Marionette it got confusing. Therefore I changed from numbers to Letters. In the photograph above the end shows L L – this stands for Left Leg.

Right Stick

Here in this photograph is R L – This stands for Right Leg. Obviously this system depends on how many Strings you are using. There are many different types of Marionettes with variations in number of Strings. Unfortunately the diagram I was using seems to have disappeared into the ether.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find Links *. There is a good simple String method similar to what I used in the Storm the Castle Link. Now is time for a Photo Shoot.

Lady in Red

 

Would you credit it? After all that palaver getting the Strings on correctly they have had to be taken off again! Unfortunately she seems to have been too tempting a target for Merlin the Dog.

It is no wonder Mademoiselle Marionette looks worn out. To add insult to injury one of her earrings has gone astray.

Radiant in Red

 

If you look carefully the little Minx is flashing a bit of Garter to the Boys.

Blue with a Party Twist

 

Looks like she is rushing from her day job to a night out. At least this time she has both earrings.

Party Girl Blue

 

Here she is all ready to party the night away. What Ho! Is that the errant earring I spy?

Pure White Lady

 

So Pure and White. Going to a Christening?

White Lady with a Party Twist

 

Mademoiselle Marionette. Elle trés chic! Où allez-vous?

C’est Fini.

Links *

http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/make-a-skeleton-marionette-5.htm

https://www.wikihow.com/Work-a-Marionette

N.B

I admit I had to check my French with the translator. I got the words right but in the wrong order.

Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 24

Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 24

In this blog I will be carrying on with the Accessories

Red Earrings

I decided to make some earrings for the Marionette. The first thing I needed to do was to be able to attach them. This I did by sewing one half of a clear Press Stud to the Marionette to either side where the ears would be.

Blue Earrings

I then selected the colour and material that I wanted. I decided to use Felt to match the other Accessories. I sewed the other half of the Press Stud to the back of the Felt. I then cut the out the shape that I desired. I had to make sure that I didn’t cut too close or I would have snipped the stitches holding it.

White Earrings

In addition to making different shapes I decided to Bling up the earrings with some sparkly Gems.

Nipped Bra

I went back to the Bra I made and nipped it in at the middle to give it more shape. I also added a Rose to make it prettier.

Garter

 

I couldn’t resist adding this little touch to the legs. It was very simple to make. It is made from slightly stretchy material therefore I didn’t need to use elastic. I simply cut it slightly smaller than normal to make it snug then Hemmed it. After that I made it into a band and voila one Garter.

Knitting - Please don't blame me for the weather

 Knitting - Please don't blame me for the weather

Oops. We have suddenly had a brief cold snap this week including snow on Friday. I have felt slightly guilty about this due to the fact I happened to comment the other day about it might be getting a little late in the year for knitting Scarves. - Sorry my bad : (

I was unexpectedly given some more yarn so along with what I had left I thought I might as well make a few more knitted items for The Salvation Army.

Garter Stitch Knitted Scarves Continuous

 

Theses scarves are knitted in the same fashion as the previous ones with short pieces of yarn adding together to make one continuous and colourful mixture.

You probably cannot tell from the photographs but third one is slightly different from the rest. Whereas most of scarves have been 30 stitches cast on 5 mm needle (I am still using a circular needle for easy of knitting on the go) the last was only 25 stitches. This was because otherwise I may have not enough yarn to have knitted a sufficient length,

Garter Stitch Knitted Scarves Square

These Scarves are made in a different fashion. They are knitted in Garter Stitch but instead of being knitted continuously from start to finish they are made up of rough squares sewn together. I know they look a bit lopsided but that is because I was rushing to take a photo and didn't lay them out properly.

The cast on is 30 stitches on a 5 mm needle. Each square is roughly 50 rows (25 each side) not including casting on and off, though I have to admit that I did it more by eye than ticking off each row.

The reason I made the Scarves in this fashion is because they were the remains of another project - a blog for another time. I photographed them together so you could see that if desired they could changed from scarves to a blanket simply by sewing them together. 

Egg Cosy Part 3 Extras - Dragon Pattern

This is a continuation for the Extras for the Twisted Shape Egg Cosy made in Part 1.

Extras

If you want to continue to add the extras to make a more advanced Egg Cosy here are the instructions. First of all I found it easier to check placement if I had a model to place the Egg Cosy upon. It isn’t strictly necessary but useful. Here is a picture of what I used but normal Hard Boiled Eggs are fine.

Eggs in Cups

Dragon Egg Cosy

I am using 2.75mm Double Ended Needles

I suggest that you may want to read through and practise some of the stitches beforehand if you are not familiar with increasing stitches and making and I cord.

Cast on 2 stitches

Green and Purple cast on

Knit one row

Purl one row

This will give you a firm base to continue. From now on there will be a great deal of making and decreasing stitches.

Knit one stitch

Now we are going to make a stitch. First we put the needle through the remaining stitch and wind around the yarn as we would for a normal knit stitch.

Making a stitch

Next continue moving the needle through as you would do normally but DO NOT PULL OFF NEEDLE. Instead pull the loop you have on your needle and slip over back onto the original needle. Then knit the stitch you have just made.

Made a Stitch

Knit the remaining stitch.

Purl three stitches.

Made 3 stitches

Knit one stitch, make a stitch Knit 3 stitches.

Purl four stitches

Made 4 stitches

Knit one stitch, make a stitch Knit 4 stitches.

Purl five stitches.

Made 5 stitches

Now we will start to begin the decrease stitches, you already know how to do this from the other patterns.

Knit the first two stitches together.

Knit the remaining stitches

Purl 4 stitches.

Decreased to 4 stitches

Knit 2 together, knit last stitch

Purl 3 stitches

Knit 2 together, knit last stitch

Purl 2 stitches.

You will have now made one spine for the dragon. Continue the process if you want to make another. See below in picture. However make sure that your final decrease leaves 3 NOT 2 STITCHES ON THE NEEDLE if you are going to include the I Cord. You may prefer to cast off now and omit the I Cord. Alternatively you could cast off and sew on spines and then cast on 3 stitches and do the I Cord separately.

1 & 2 Spines

When you have the length you want and have purled the last 3 stitches we can begin the I Cord which will be the Dragon’s tail.

Read this part carefully before beginning.

The process is the more or less the same whether you have just cast on 3 stitches or are continuing on from the spines. However if you have just cast on you may find it easier to PURL 3 stitches first. This is the part why you see I have chosen to use Double Ended Needles.

Make start of I Cord

If you look at the above picture carefully you will see the Green spines are on the Right or Knit Row and the Purple are on the Wrong or Purl Row. Normally after a Purl row we would turn the work around. In this instance we will NOT do this.

Purl side movement

In the above picture you will see that the Purple is placed on the needle as it would be on a normal finished Purl Row before turning. I want you to slide the spines or cast on to where the Green position is situated.

You should now see that the first stitch and the yarn are at opposite ends of the work.

Take a needle and slip it through the first stitch

First Stitch

Take the yarn and wrap around and proceed to do a knit stitch. Knit the other two stitches. DO NOT TURN but slide the work to the top of the needle and repeat the process. You will find that after a few rows you can clearly see a round cord forming.

The question of how long to make the cord is up to you. What I did was after I had knitted at least an inch of cord I sewed the spines into place on the egg cosy. This way I could judge how long the cord was in comparison to the pattern I had in mind.

Sewn on Spines

I then was able to continue to knit the I Cord and work out the length of what I needed. When I thought it was long enough I simply slipped the needle through the 3 stitches and pulled through and off the needle to cast off.

Slip needle through

Next sew the I Cord or Dragon’s tail to the cosy in the way you want. I sewed the tail part way along the bottom for easy before curling upwards. I also spread the cotton a little at the end to make a bit of flair.

Sewn Tail

Then I sewed on the shape of the Dragon’s head and added teeth and eyes to it.

Dragon Head

For the Dragon’s wings Cast on 2 stitches

Knit 1 Row

Purl 1 Row

Continue with this (Stocking Stitch) process and you will begin to see a thin strip developing.

Long Strip

When you have knitted about 4 inches sew the tail end to the roughly the top of the spine. Make sure this is on the same side of the spine as the head.

Top of Spine

This will give you a firm point from which to measure. If you are not confident about sewing at this point you can pin the wing into place.

The length of the strip depends entirely on your wing design. I have tried to make mine sharp and pointy and a bit bat like.

Front View of Wing

Back View of Wing 

Completing the Dragon

This part is all sewn. Sew the Jaw and Neck of the Dragon on the front.

Jaw and Neck

The wing design depends on how you want it. I have sewn sections but you may prefer to sew scales.

Back View of Wing

This completes the Dragon Pattern and it is now ready to be washed and dried.

Embellishments

You can be as intricate as you like in adding to your Dragon Cosy. Suggestions for more detail include Beads for the Dragon’s eyes or adding another wing or the addition of a horn. If you really want to go to town try adding overlapping sequins on the wings for scales.

Finished Owl and Dragon 4 Piece Set