Friday, August 7, 2015

Ruby Rose

AWOL.  Absent without leave.

It's been two months since I've been here so I have a lot of catching up to do.  The good news is that my absence has been all for good reasons.  I've been busy engaging my life, loves, family and friends...and the chair in front of my computer has been so empty it had dust on it.

Jim, Jack and I traveled to Kyoto and Tokyo for ten days in July and I've been busy traveling, embroidering, exploring and enjoying life.  I'll do my best to get caught up on posts since there's a lot of experiences I'd love to share.

Rather than go chronologically, let's just join the movie already in progress.  This week, Jack was center stage as he had requested that I make him a very specific hat and sweatshirt.

I did what any sewing mother would do whose son hadn't asked her to make anything for him in over...umm, let's just say...five years or more.  I dropped everything in order to meet his request.

It turns out, Jack is a big fan of a Rooster Teeth animé-style internet show called RWBY (pronounced "ruby") which has four main characters loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale characters and the colors Red,White, Black and Yellow.  Jack's favorite is the red character Ruby Rose who dresses in black with a red-hooded cape...



And whose logo is this trademark fiery rose...



This weekend Jack is going to the Rooster Teeth (RTX) convention in Austin TX with a friend from school.  Lots of attendees dress up as their favorite characters called cosplay.  Jack didn't want to wear a full costume; just wanted to show his support for his favorite character so he requested a hat and hoodie combination.

Jack has taken to wearing a beanie pretty much every day.  It helps to tame his thick hair so I set about to knit him a beanie in a linen/cotton blend for summer wearing...




I used this free pattern from Jared Flood on Ravelry based on a recommendation from Wae at my local knitting store, Cloverhill Yarns.



Since Jack wears his beanie tilted back from the crown of his head, I didn't want too tight of a ribbed band so I used the same needle for the entire hat instead of dropping down three needle sizes as recommended in the pattern.  This was a mistake so I'm going to re-make him one where I only drop down two sizes.

That being said, the hat turned out great and it was the first time I had ever tried the Tubular Cast On.  It makes a wonderful cast on edge for a ribbed band and I'll be using that idea over again.  Highly recommend.



Next up was trying to figure out the best way of transferring the logo to the hat.  I decided against designing a hat with the rose knitted into the pattern (not my forté) and embroidering directly onto the knitted stitches using duplicate stitch wouldn't give me enough detail.

Eventually I decided to embroider the logo onto 100% wool felt.  Since wool felt is expensive, I basted just the amount I needed for my design onto inexpensive muslin and cut away the muslin from the felt...

This is often used when embroidering onto little bits of very expensive materials such as silk gauze where you don't want to waste the fabric by needing to stretch it into a hoop.

Next up, I used my old favorite of tissue paper design transfer.


 I fall back on this method time and time again.
 

It's not the quickest but it allows me more control over the detail of the design transfer.  It also gives me a nice outline for the outside edge of stitches...



I used one strand of Au Ver a Soie silk floss in random long and short stitch with all the stitches directed to the center of the rose...



After I finished the embroidery, I cut it out and appliqued it onto the top of the knitted beanie...



It worked out better than I expected so I would likely use this technique again.

21 comments:

Laurie said...

It's so good to see you back! I too was gone for awhile, but missed all the happenings here in blog land. I love his hat!!! By the looks of it, he's not to disappointed himself!!

Gerry Krueger said...

So wonderful to have you back..... think of you so often...Love the beanie and it IS Jack... Hugs Ger

gracie said...

Your journey sounds interesting. Love the applique for the beanie! You are so creative.

Cath said...

That was certainly a labour of love. Very envious for the trip to Japan - I'm hoping to do that one day. Good to have you back.

Createology said...

So happy to hear you are enjoying life and living it to the fullest. Jack is very handsome indeed. I love the red hair. What mother could resist any request from their child. Nice job on the black beanie and the beautiful flaming rose embroidered logo badge. Staying tuned for more...
Creative Bliss and Summer Smiles.

Misty said...

Your embroidery is absolutely beautiful and the hat turned out great! I knit Turn a Square once years ago and thought it a fun knit.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

So good to see a post from you and to hear that you've been busy, enjoying life and creating. I'm sure Jack's hat will be quite the conversation piece.

Have a nice weekend ~ FlowerLady

P.S. Every once in awhile I think of Miss Rose and wonder how she is doing. :-)

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Cool...I'll show this post to Ky. He'll be so impressed!! I think I should try this method of embroidery on a Blackhawks logo for Christmas!! Hey, thanks for the inspiration!!
xx, Carol

Anonymous said...

Great job on the rose applique! You're such a good mom. I don't know what I would have done with the same request....sigh. I'm in the wishy-washy stages of trying to find the right quilt pattern to go with the fabric I have decided to use for the quilt I'm making my daughter and her fiance for a wedding present. The legal wedding is in December (for tax reasons......she's SO sentimental), and the foo-foo wedding is in January.

Jack is a man now, isn't he?! Even more serious-looking than before. You have every right to be proud. I hope you picked up lots of crafty goodies while in Japan.

xo Linda

Rachel said...

Glad to hear you have been enjoyiing yourself. Just be careful, you might find Jack will come back with a sheaf of orders...!

Sarah Sequins said...

Welcome back! I missed your posts, but I'm so happy that you were having a good time and traveling.

I love that hat! You did such a fantastic job, and Jack looks awesome in it.

FLOWER FRIEND said...

Welcome back Susan. I'm sooooooo....envious you have been to Kyoto. It is on the long long list of to dos for me. I don't blame you letting dust collect on the chair, life is for living although its always nice to hear from you. Looking forward to your next post.

Elvira said...

Muy bonito y una idea genial para personificar mas la labor
Besos

margaret said...

welcome back to blog land, looking forward to hearing about all your travels. The beanie has worked beautifully

Lisa Boni said...

Such a handsome son you have there! Love the way the beanie/hoodie combo turned out! He'll be a hit at the convention!

Maureen said...

It's great to hear from you and to see Jack again. xo

allie aller said...

Jack is looking very soulful these days! Wonderful hat, Susan--glad to see you back, too. ;-)

Margaret said...

I come to this post belatedly (life happening here too!) so have saved the instructions for that cast-on to review as needed. Wonderful crest you created! (My DS is a Japan afficionado and lover of all things anime so your post was of particular interest.) Thanks!!

Judy S. said...

Sounds like you've had a great summer, Susan. Loved the photo of Jack in his custom hat. You are SO very clever!

Marsha said...

Love the red/black hair to go with! I have decreased blogging too for the same kind of reasons. That rose is looking great. I get so much from your posts.

Padparadscha said...

What a fantastic hat !

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