She's Crafty - Wonder Woman edition

Representation matters. I know this isn't really a novel statement to followers of this blog, but it's still an important one to remind ourselves of from time to time. It's important to be able to see ourselves portrayed in a powerful and positive way in the media. And by the same token, it's important to be able to see ourselves as these powerful and positive people. Cosplay is so much more than just wearing a costume. The impact it has on our lives is significant even when we're not in costume. It changes us. We internalize some of that power.

Last week I had a conversation on Twitter with Amadi about how awesome this photo of Melissa Benoist as Supergirl doing awesome stuff with these adorable little Daisy Girl Scouts. It's clear that her role is already having a gathering a huge following, even before the show has even started. And it's no surprise why. Young girls are desperately in need of this kind of role model. The reaction seems so familiar. It's a lot like how girls my age would emulate Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman.

@S_R_P_S me too! I made myself a tiara & bracelets out of cereal box covered in aluminum foil that I kinda turned gold with watercolor.

— Amadi (@amaditalks) September 1, 2015

This got me thinking about how much I still love Wonder Woman. She's strong. She's smart. She's brave and kind and all the good things I aspire to be. For me she still holds a special place in my own personal story -- dressing up as her is empowering -- and I still buy Wonder Woman gadgets and decorations. I love my Wonder Woman pencil box! I really want this jacket, but the price is well outside my budget. I guess that means I'll have to make my own Wonder Woman inspired clothing and decorations. Fortunately, there's no shortage of inspiration out there, all designed by incredible clever and crafty folks.

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Follow Friday - Feminist Steampunk

I found Feminist Steampunk on Facebook somewhat by a happy accident. I was hooked the minute I scanned their page: so many stories about seriously kickass women in history! And some great steampunk costume and item posts as well, of course.

The page is curated by Wilhelmina Thomas, who is an amazing woman in her own right. In addition to running this page, she's a cos-player, student of history, docent at Oak Hill Cemetery and volunteer at the Birmingham Museum of Art. And, on top of all that, she's busy earning an Associate degree in Architectural Design and Drafting Technology!

I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with her about the work she does for Feminist Steampunk.

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She's Crafty - Captain America sweatshirt

Super awesome floral Captain America shield sweatshirt -- the perfect snow day craft project!



Tehnakki typically spends her days in Boston being an awesome rocket scientist. (OK, technically she's a satellite engineer, but 'rocket scientist' sounds way cooler. And eviler.) When she's not doing science, she's playing games, creating awesome cosplay, and following other awesomely nerdly pursuits.

But folks in Boston and other parts of New England have been effectively snowed in for days now. So, what's a home-bound nerd girl going to do with all that free time? Sew, of course!

I really love florals. I was browsing the Joanns Fabrics website (as you do) looking at what floral fabric was on sale when I came across this wonderfully tacky Hibiscus flower fabric and new I HAD to get some to make a non-compliant sweatshirt. Of course, you can't just purchase 1-yd of fabric off the website (the shipping's ridiculous) so I tried brainstorming other simple shapes I could cut out of floral fabric and my mind immediately went to Captain America's shield since it's relatively simple (4 circles and a star) but very iconic.

I just love these colors together! So spring-like!

It was about 2 hours of work to make. I eye-balled a 5" star on the white n' blue fabric, cut that out, placed it on the blue fabric and cut a circle that inscribed the star, and then cut three more circles of increasing diameter. A half yard of fabric would have been sufficient for the red, and less for the other two fabrics. 

To make sure the edges of the star stayed crisp (because cotton has a habit of fraying when appliqueing) I applied hot bond paper to the tips of all the star points and ironed it to the blue circle before appliqueing. If I had a serger I would have used that for all the edges, but alas I do not so I used the zigzag stitch on a short stitch length and large width.

I ordered a 2 pack of men's Hanes sweatshirts which were comfy but awkwardly large through the sleeves so I cut them done and tailored them to fit me better. Once the sweatshirt fit, I pinned the shield to the front, checked placement in the mirror and the sewed it on using the zigzag stitch. Easy peasy!"

And super cute! I'm sure both Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers would approve! For more info on how she did it, check out her fantastic instructions [PDF].

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