Andy Makes

This is the (free!) Mud Season sweater by Elizabeth Smith.

I love Elizabeth Smith's patterns. They're so well-written and clear, plus she has great tips pages for modifications and tutorials.

I followed the pattern somewhat loosely--my recipient wanted an airy gauge, an oversized fit, looser/less tapered long sleeves, and rolled hems. Easy enough.

However, I haven't done a lot of large gauge knitting, and it was tricky for me to get an accurate number on the fuzzy yarn I was using. Plus my gauge kept changing based on what I was knitting, so I kept having to fiddle with the size! So this project is sort of 3 sizes rolled into one, lol. That's on me though, not the pattern. And in the try-on I did with my recipient, you really couldn't tell.

I think my vertical gauge was also quite a bit larger than intended (it's also an alpaca/rayon blend, so has grown/will probably grow further), so the armholes sit low, which is why the sleeves look short when flat but not when on me. Again, that's fine, that's the kinda fit my recipient wanted.

Just needs my recipient to try it on, give it the go-ahead, block it, and then weave the ends in. Yay!

I’m going to a heist-themed dance party, and it’s the kind of crowd where costumes are expected, and bits are received with delight. So I put together a big stack of Alibi Cards to give out, with handwritten alibis on the back. Just some random stock illustration laid out in Photoshop, gussied up, and made drink-proof with my DIY laminator (strips of packing tape).

Two of my friends are getting married soon. They’re both the most effortlessly fashionable people I know—somehow really Online, really trendy, and really timeless at the same time—and they’re both really into Beyblades.

So while I don’t really know anything about Beyblades, I decided to put on my crafting hat and try to make them a special wedding gift: a beautiful Bey-dazzled bridal bouquet.

This is a BeybladeX base, piped with iridescent decoden cream, and sprinkled with Y2K/Frutiger Aero/magical girl charms. It features various charms for luck in battles, and for warding off negative opponent envy of their exceptional coolness.

There’s also a locket in the upper left. If you open it, you’ll see a photo (blurred here for privacy) of the happy couple gazing at each other.

Like I said, I don’t know anything about Beyblades, but everything attaches correctly, the ripcord is smooth, and the blade does in fact spin beautifully. It might not be competition-legal, but I hope it gives them many fun nights playing Beyblade battles at MAGFest.

Another gift post, but in a different medium: should we call it Beydazzling?

I have a friend who’s getting married. She is the most unbelievably stylish person that I know, like it gets tired for me to just compliment her every time I see her but what else can I do, and she’s also into Beyblades. Like really into Beyblades.

I thought it would be fun to get her a wedding gift of a super over-the-top, high femme/goth/vaporwave/terminally online custom Beyblade launcher. Not something you’d want to play with in a serious tournament, but something you might keep on your wall, or whip out for an impromptu drunk game at MAGFest.

Much to my surprise, I couldn’t find anything in the style I was looking for. Beyblade mods and customs, yes; bedazzled, no. (I still can’t believe no one is doing this, so tag me with whoever I managed to miss.)

Of course, I immediately fell down an obsessive rabbit hole of how to make the glitteriest Beyblade launcher possible. Not just bedazzled in clean straight lines—a truly over the top, high femme Beyblade launcher.

I did a few materials tests on $5 launchers already.

Materials test 1:

Various combos of glitter glue, holo vinyl, nail stickers, and rhinestones. This was never meant to look cohesive, it was just a surface to test combos on, but I didn’t like any of them. E6000 in particular was hard for me to work with, inevitably getting all over the tops of my rhinestones and dulling them down.

Materials test 2:

Various layers/combos of E6000, hot glue, glitter, rhinestones, and charms. Hot glue can be layered for a 3D treatment, which I liked, but it was also stringy on the gems. Empty glue areas felt goopy rather than intentional. Likewise, it didn’t feel intentionally maximalist—just maximalist.

Materials test 3:

Decoden glue, rhinestones, charms. God I love living in NYC—I decided to give the decoden approach a shot this afternoon, found a decoden shop in Flushing, and got back home with my spoils before the evening ended. It also appears to be the best combo of 3D, glittery, solid hold, and non-stringy. But we’ll have to check that in a few days.

Another screen for @andymakesgames's The Indomitable Rocket Dog!