Crochet the MCU

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I’m on hiatus for a bit due to a small flurry of nieces and nephews, both honorary and biological. I’m crocheting presents for the newborns, then will get back to making the Valkyrie.

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Alas, poor Loki did not win any prizes in the competition. I admit I am disappointed. The winning entries had better be damn fine. I will see them next week.

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Loki being transported to the crochet competition. Perhaps not as elegant a mode of transport as an Asgardian skiff; certainly a lot slower when I’m pedalling.

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Now he wields two Infinity Stones! I made him the Scepter, aka the Glowstick of Destiny. Bit of a rush job, but I’m entering him into a crochet competition tomorrow, so it had to be finished tonight. If I had time I’d extend the plate ridges on the back, not that you can see them clearly in this photo.

The metallic yarn is difficult to work with and twists a lot. The Sceptre has some florist’s wire in it to help keep the shape. I had to insert the stuffing with a pair of wooden chopsticks and a great deal of patience.

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The rightful king of Asgard and Jotunheim, as dressed for his invasion of Earth in 2012. It took me one month to make the base doll, using a pattern by Maria Gavrilova, then five months of crafting time to design and make the outfit. Is it perfect? No. I can point out many errors. But I’m pretty happy with it overall. (If anyone’s interested, I could write a post going through all the bits I’m dissatisfied with…)

Loki wears a number of variations of this armour in The Avengers. This version (sans helmet) is what he wears during his confrontation with Tony Stark in Stark Tower, and later when Thor uses the Tesseract to take them both back to Asgard.

Many photos behind the cut of Loki getting dressed.

Keep reading

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The rightful king of Asgard and Jotunheim, as dressed for his invasion of Earth in 2012. It took me one month to make the base doll, using a pattern by Maria Gavrilova, then five months of crafting time to design and make the outfit. Is it perfect? No. I can point out many errors. But I’m pretty happy with it overall. (If anyone’s interested, I could write a post going through all the bits I’m dissatisfied with...)

Loki wears a number of variations of this armour in The Avengers. This version (sans helmet) is what he wears during his confrontation with Tony Stark in Stark Tower, and later when Thor uses the Tesseract to take them both back to Asgard.

Many photos behind the cut of Loki getting dressed.

The many bits and pieces. Not pictured: the alternative hair/wig from The Dark World.

Trousers and boots.

Top and vambraces.

Surcoat, shoulder piece, pauldron, and belt.

The helmet’s horns are supported by a wireframe similar to that pictured.

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The Tesseract and Loki’s helm. I literally bled for the helmet, as I broke two nails, one to the quick, when making stitches with a small hook.

All done now. I’ll post photos in a couple of days of the final sculpture.

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A few additions since I last posted. I made a whole new wig to emulate his messy Avengers look, as the first wig was much more Thor: The Dark World. I also crocheted his shoulder piece, the pauldron and the belt. I’m particularly pleased that the belt threads through the pauldron, as it looks neat even if it wasn’t hard to do.

I’m now working on his helmet. Then he will be ready to invade. Nearly done!

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Finished the surcoat. A few more pics below the cut. Constructed in seven pieces, sewn together, then edges embroidered in silver. I did a mock-up first in tissue paper, but the design was not quite right, as I have no experience of making clothing patterns. I could point out all the places where it is wrong, but it wasn’t wrong enough to make me start over, as this took many hours. The silver edging was a pain too, as at first I did it too tightly and the tension made the pieces curl, so I had to pull it out and re-do it. But I am now grudgingly happy with end result. Next: shoulder piece, pauldron and belt!

To see the stages of the construction so far, check out my other posts. I know I could have set something up on Ravelry instead, but I wanted to share this with fellow MCU fans as I love the art posted here on Tumblr. Thanks to everyone for the likes and reblogs. Yes, this is a ludicrous amount of work but I knew that when I started.

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Now with vambraces! I’m considering whether to add some embroidery to suggest engravings. I also re-sewed the jacket again to adjust the angle of the green flashes: it’s still not perfect but it’s better than it was.

I have to re-do the hair though. This wig is fine for The Dark World but it’s not right for The Avengers.

The iconic surcoat is the last major item to crochet, although there will also be a belt and maybe gaiters.

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Thanks. This metallic thread is more fiddly than scratchy, especially for the bobble stitches on the legs. But where it’s been really annoying is that it’s got a very different tension to the other yarns, which are wool. I’ve been adding silver edging to the surcoat and keep getting the tension wrong, making the pieces curl, so I have to pull it out and start over again.

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Now with vambraces! I’m considering whether to add some embroidery to suggest engravings. I also re-sewed the jacket again to adjust the angle of the green flashes: it’s still not perfect but it’s better than it was.

I have to re-do the hair though. This wig is fine for The Dark World but it’s not right for The Avengers.

The iconic surcoat is the last major item to crochet, although there will also be a belt and maybe gaiters.

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“An ant has no quarrel with a boot.”

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to work on Loki. My first attempt at a boot is shown on the right in the first picture: I adapted the pattern for his foot. However, this made it look like he was invading Midgard in his stocking feet, so I started over. The second attempt, shown on the left of the first picture, begins with an oval sole, then builds upwards. I also tried to give an impression of the complicated diagonal leather strip construction that he has at the top. He also has gaiters, but I haven’t decided yet if I’ll add them.

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While I was away from home, I could only take a ball of yarn and a crochet hook, so I started on the Valkyrie Brunnhilde. This is based on a pattern by Maria Gavrilova, but adjusted so that the finished Valkyrie will have the correct height when compared to the Loki, as Tessa Thompson is quite a bit shorter than Tom Hiddleston. The modifications have made the legs look pretty muscled, which I hope will work out. I mean, she ought to be able to kick people into next week. But I’m prepared to start over if it doesn’t look proportional once I make the torso.

I had planned to crochet her in her Sakaarian armour, but I’m also tempted to put her in the suit she’s wearing in the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer. I suppose I could make both outfits? Let’s see how I’m feeling after I finish Loki’s armour.

Alas, one can no longer buy patterns from Gavrilova, as Putin invaded Ukraine, and she’s based in Russia.

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Definite progress. The jacket is made from three pieces sewn together and I’ve started a boot. The jacket isn’t quite right though, I may pick apart the sewing and re-sew at a better angle—again (I’ve tried twice already). Still to do: boots, belts, surcoat and vambraces. But I’m away from home over the next week and can’t pack much, so I’ll be working on the Valkyrie instead.

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The armour is coming along, but very slowly.

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I’ve been really struggling with the armour for his torso. I’m afraid this looks minor, but this took four attempts—my previous designs were too complicated or infeasible. This is the main breastplate, crocheted out of a thicker yarn and with a denser stitch than the trousers, so that it looks (and is) stiffer. Yes, amusingly, it currently looks like a crop top. From here I’ll add sleeves, add a soft collar, embroider the front with gold and green, and start adding the asymmetric diagonal panels that will protect his crocheted midriff from crocheted weapons.

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Trousers complete. In retrospect, I should simply have made black trousers, then crocheted the silver metal separately and sewn it on: this would have been easier and looked just as good.

Now, though, I must face the most challenging part of the outfit: the torso. I’m making a lot of sketches to work out how to simplify this down to something I can crochet. How much detail to suggest? How much to preserve? Strictly speaking, he’s got a soft undershirt, leather armour, metal armour, vambraces, multiple belts, plus that signature gold arc. The surcoat will be separate.