Happy Tuesday, everyone! And I have a very special new Beastie for you all to meet today…
I called this little woolly dude “Lucky Guy Beastie”, because he was made for the winner of the prize draw I ran on my market stall just before Christmas. The magic randomiser picked out Ismail’s name from the hat… and then I felt like I’D hit the jackpot, because not only did he already have a good idea of what he wanted, he even provided me with sketches!
After that, it was just a case of me getting on with making his Beastie double… First thing’s first, a miniature version of his favourite jacket, complete with put-up-able hood!
The jacket is also removable, of course!
Next, he needed a backpack… and I snuck a tasty cheese sandwich in here, in case this little monster gets hungry on his travels!
Finally, I completed his kit with a Beastie-sized watch…
… And he was ready to go!
That said, Ismail thought that his Beastie might get lonely all by himself… So he asked if I could make him a companion. Done and done!
While Ismail is here in Dublin studying, his girlfriend is still at home in Indonesia. Fortunately, her Beastie counterpart was ready just in time to be shared via videochat on her birthday!
(And DOUBLE fortunately, I didn’t take the video, so I don’t have to include it here! :D)
This is the first time I’ve made a Beastie in hijab, and it took a good bit of research (and a couple of failed attempts!) to get the shape and fabrics right. The trickiest part was working with a Beastie – rather than human – body shape… It turns out that having a neck and a chin is really helpful when it comes to securing the fabric discreetly! In the end, I went with a felt “under-hijab”, with a light floaty chiffon on top to get the right amount of draping.
You might also have noticed her nice little knitted cardigan, which can be taken off on hot days…
… And which is my second top-down knitted garment! (My first was the “first draft” of this, which turned out a little too big after blocking and was subsequently pinched by Explorer Beastie. I’m starting to wonder if he maybe had a hand paw in making it turn out that way…)
Incidentally, I owe a big thank you to Shirley at Handmade Habit and Melissa at Knitting the Stash, for inspiring me to try top-down knitting techniques for my Beastie sweaters. I’m now in the process of redoing my plain and Aran sweater patterns, and I’m loving the results so far!
But, back to the Beasties in hand! Here they are, all kitted out and ready to go!
Congratulations again to Ismail, and I hope you like your new monster friends!
We’ll be back with more Beastie antics next week! In the meantime, why not have a go at making a bee? I was delighted when The Snail of Happiness shared a picture of her make on Twitter over the weekend… and she was able to confirm that the pattern works, too!
These are just adorable! I am smitten once again with all the little details you build in and I am in awe of your creative skills. I find myself reading your blog and having all sorts of ideas about what sort of Beastie I would commission. I have so many ideas, I might need to have a whole herd of them.
Well, I wouldn’t say no to that! 😀 Did you ever see any of my Artist Beasties, though? They might be right up your street… I do a “Flashback Friday” feature on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every week, so I think I’ll feature them there this time around if you want to meet them! Thanks as always for reading, and for your lovely comment!
I have seen the artist beasties and they definitely appealed. I don’t have Twitter or Instagram but I’ll need to find you on Facebook.
Oooh, please do! It would be nice to see you there! And I know you probably have no space for another social media time sink in your life, but if you DID… I find Instagram is a pretty handy way to share work.
I have liked your FB page.
Thank you! 😀😀😀 I saw I had a new like, but I couldn’t get Facebook to tell me who it was. Have you a page for your art?
No, I don’t. Maybe some day when I have consistent dedicated time for art I will try to sell more but for now it’s mostly just art for fun.
What a lovely couple – I’m always so impressed at your ability to adapt garments designed for humans to the beastie form. By-the-way, feel free to use the bee picture if you want to… the lighting wasn’t brilliant, but she enjoyed the pea flowers!
Gaaaaah! I just realised I’m a complete dope, and I didn’t retweet the picture like I meant to! I have since corrected my lackadaisical ways. Thanks again for giving the pattern a go, and for stopping by to visit these new Beasties! 😀
Awesome!! The hijab looks amazing, and I love her little eyelashes. Have you ever considered making….cat clothing?! I think that jacket would look excellent on Edward.
Why thank you! And as for venturing into the world of kitty couture, I’m yet to give that a try… Although I am a confirmed Cat Person, the cat I had growing up would never have allowed me to attempt putting clothes on her. Beasties don’t fight and scratch when I make them try on their new outfits for the hundredth time 😸 I’m curious though… Have you successfully dressed Edward before?
Edward and Jane were skeletons for their first Halloween. Edward handled it really well (and clearly thought he was super cool), but Jane thrashed around on her back in a rage after I got the costume on. I haven’t dressed them since, but I somehow think that these days Edward would fully revolt. Shame – kitty couture could be a booming business!!
Maybe bribery with food and catnip would work? 😸 Ah well, at least now you know who to ask if Edward ever shows an interest in getting his own duffel coat 😀
Delightful Beasties! All the details are charming – but I particularly love that wee sandwich!
Thanks Amy! I do like to make sure my Beasties leave home with a snack for later! 😀
They are simply fantastic international beasties
Thanks LucyAnn! I’m hoping to get a Beastie into every country in the world eventually!
Imagine that , world domination by beasties.
Yes! And what a Beastie-ful world it would be… 😀
Lovely, great beasties
Thanks Tricia! I really had fun with these two! 😀
You are very welcome
So, very cute, but I can’t stop laughing at notion of fitting clothing to chinless Beasties. And then I get hit with the idea of Beasties sneaking off for plastic surgery so they can better fit into today’s fashions. 😂😂😂 Sorry, my imagination of the secret lives of Beasties gets the better of me sometimes.
Hahaha, you and me both! I reckon at this stage I’d have real trouble if I ever went back to making human clothes though… I’m sure people would go nuts for an entire wardrobe of wide-necked, too-short outfits with really tight sleeves!
That actually sounds like it would fit a guy I used to date. 😂😂😂
HAHAHA! 😂😂😂
These two are so awesome. You are a master of the details!!! Love the itty bitty watch! The jacket and hijab also look amazing. Well done! 🙂
Thank you! 😊 Of course I’m not supposed to have favourites, but I do kinda like that jacket!
So cute! The details are fab!!
Thanks Ann! This was a super learning project as well… So many new techniques! Cheers for stopping by!
As they say in Indonesia: hebat sekali (terrific)! Love these new beasties. Lucky Ismail!
Terima kasih, Maggie! (I hope Google Translate didn’t let me down there… 😆) I’m pretty excited that a pair of Beasties are off to the other side of the world! Have your wanderings taken you to Indonesia?
Kembali (and no, Google translate did not let you down). We lived in Jakarta for the first 3 1/2 years of marriage! Trial by fire! To this day, my swami (husband) and I use Indonesian as our bahasa pribadi or “private” language 😉
Oooh, how exciting… But trial by fire is right! I hear it gets super-hot there in the non-rainy season! It’s great that you still get the odd chance to use your Indonesian too… A lot of my friends living overseas keep up their Irish for the same reason 😆
What a lucky winner! I love all the little details, and your close hand-stitching is so lovely (the little green jacket is amazing, and I love the backpack with the tiny cheese sandwich!). What a lovely companion Beastie in the pink hijab, too! Just wonderful. ❤ And thank you for sharing my blog here, Helen! 🙂 I'm floored to know (and see!) that the top-down sweater method is working out for even non-people-shaped Beastie bodies. 🙂 The little red sweater here makes me marvel at what a versatile construction method it is – with beautiful results. I really can't wait to see the new ones (Eeeee!).
Thanks, Shirley! Especially for giving me the idea to try out top-down construction… It’s been such a relief to ditch the bulky seams, and the Beasties look so much more relaxed in their more tailored outfits! I’ll be sharing the new sweaters soon, once I’ve blocked them 😀
Yay! 🙂
…with a hair a bit like Trump’s *hehe* in daaaark *huhuhu…*
Have a pleasant day!
LG Lu
Oh maaaaan, that must just have been in the photos! I PROMISE his hair didn’t look at all Trump-y in real life. Mind you, I have been needle-felting with some golden yellow fibre recently that really does look like a certain presidential hairdo 😆
The Colour is different though, but the shape is pretty trumpy *hehe*
Liebe Sommersonnengrüße from me to you, Lu
Heehee! Danke schön, Lu! 😀
🌻
The Beasties are darling! Incredible work and detail – wow!
Why thank you! And cheers for stopping in to visit us! 😀
They are real cuties! ❤
Thanks Dina! And cheers for finding us 😀