#craft complete

[polycraftory]

Shawl complete and in the process of being blocked! Small apartment crafting is all about knowing exactly how much floor space you have in every room.

Made with yarn from the Manos Del Uruguay Alegria line, specifically in the Waterlily color. It's hand dyed mix of Merino Superwash Wool and nylon.

[polycraftory]

Bookbinding: Chalice by Robin McKinley

There are so many old books that we love in this household that deserve a pretty fancy hardcover, but Chalice was top of the list when considering what book to try as our first rebind. Here are some detail shots of the finished project! The first picture features our dear friend Beatrice the Queen Bee.

Handbound by Gabe (with a little cricut htv foil assist from Meghan). This was their very first bookbinding project! We even figured out how to make our own bookcloth so we could use this lovely bee fabric for the cover.

You can find a buy list for this project in our bookbinding tag. Let us know if you are interested in any bookbinding guides! We have a bunch more crafting how tos and finished projects in the queue.

[polycraftory]

You will never guess who I'm cosplaying at NYCC this year 👀

Stay tuned for full cosplay photos soon ;)

[polycraftory]

Nott Leather Wrap Flask Complete! (Well, mostly... I may still decide to add htv foil to the leather that says "Perpetual Booze" with some fun swirly filigree.)

This is made from 3-4oz chocolate brown bridle leather. I made my own pattern from scratch for this so it'd be accurate as possible to the official level 10 Nott the Brave character art with this flask (it's the era when she was still a goblin, but embracing it!).

I am considering making and selling more of these flask holders & flasks if there is interest.

This is the last (leather) accessory I needed to make for Nic's Nott cosplay. I am still making her flower crown out of paper flowers. You can check out my Critical Role Leatherworking Masterpost if you are interested in my other in-progress cosplay leatherworking projects. Other WIPs: Level 3 Laudna and Level 13 Imogen.

[polycraftory]

Imogen Temult & Nott the Brave

Leather Pouches

I cut, punched, and hand stitched these little real leather pouches for my wife and I's Nott and Imogen cosplays. I even made my own matching lace (and figured out how to do the fun lacing detail down the side of Imogen's pouch)!

Fun fact! The Imogen pouch was my very first leatherworking project ever and I think these are a very accessible leather starter project. I never took nice photos of it, so when I finished my Nott pouch I decided to do a little photo shoot.

Ironically, I have since switched from doing a level 3 Imogen cosplay to her new level 13 outfit because it Fucks So Hard. Still, I'll def do her low level outfit someday since it gives me so many opportunities for leatherworking. I made a pouch for Nott because Nic wants to carry around buttons to hand out to folks at NY Comic Con this year.

If anyone would be interested in a buy guides or how tos on this sort of leatherworking for cosplay, please let me know! I wrote a bit more about the process and pattern for the Nott pouch in this post. I have a masterlist of my cosplay (specifically, critical role) leatherworking projects I'm planning to post later tonight.

[polycraftory]

Jean mending complete! Gabe is very satisfied to have salvaged their most comfortable pair of jeans instead of having to get rid of them, and now they have a fun detail!

This embroidery/mending was done in a hoop with wash away stabilizer.

[polycraftory]

Another belt bag for Nott completed! This one is going to be used to hide a phone while my wife is cosplaying as Nott, and I'm really satisfied with the way it matches the little button pouch I made. She is going to have so so many things on her belts lmao

This was definitely my most complex leatherworking project yet! You can check out our pinned post for a link to my Critical Role leatherworking masterpost if you are interested in the other projects I'm doing for Imogen, Laudna, and Nott. I'm also considering making some "how to" leatherworking for cosplay guides so please let me know if there is anything that you'd find useful!

Some additional process notes:

This bag is made with a 2-3 oz vintage bomber chrome tanned leather and an 8-9 oz vegtan bridle leather. Ideally, I would have used a 5-6 oz leather for the structural part but I needed the heavier leather for belts and couldn't afford to get yet another hide. This totally worked though!

I really like how the internal seams turned out on the thinner leather section but man was it tricky to actually figure out how to hold and do properly.

I added a secondary pocket to the original design by cutting out a second front section and I am so glad that worked out and is functional. It'll be the perfect little pocket for artist alley stickers!

If I wasn't doing this project for cosplay, I might have dyed the edges before burnishing them but I think the lighter edges lend it a more worn in feel and my wife liked it better this way and whatever she wants she can have.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I recommend getting a little disc of grippy material if you are going to sew thick leather together. They are apparently called "Needle Pullers" and they make my little fingers not want to die and make getting the needle through thicker leather SO much easier. I buy the dritz ones, I think they are made of silicon or something???

[polycraftory]

Harley and Ivy tank tops are complete! These are for a cozy and domestic weekend morning Harley and Ivy cosplay I am doing with my wife. What if cosplay but also pjs.

If you are at NY Comic Con this Friday, keep an eye out for us!