Category Archives: Crochet Cosplay

My not-so-stellar experience selling crocheted stuff

Disclaimer: This blog post is not meant to dissuade or discourage anyone out there who sells their crochet work or dreams of doing so. If you find your efforts are paying off, by all means, go make a killing!! 

Hi. If you’ve spoken to me within that last couple of years, you’d know I’m very adamant about not trying to sell my crochet work. I’ve tried numerous routes in my arsenal to make money from my crochet talent in my later 20’s. Most efforts ended in complete failure or close to it.

A casual vlog of my discussion why I don’t sell my art(crochet)

I tried having an Etsy shop, I sank more money into maintaining it than selling; I tried selling at a Farmer’s Market twice, one person bought from me the first time and the second two people bought;  I tried my own website on various platforms, not once has a single transaction took place; I tried eBay, same experience as Etsy; I tried having a Facebook fan page,

barely anyone interacted with it; I tried handing out business cards, never heard back from anyone who took them.

Let’s just say my decision to be resistant to selling is backed up with a lot of experience. I personally hate getting the run around from people. Talk is cheap. I hate when someone says that they will buy something just to never buy it. It’s worse when it comes to commissions. My hopes get brought up just to be crushed. So I became a “selfish hooker”(one who crochets only for herself and occasionally loved ones during the holiday season.)

But one thing I had not tried, consignment. Scratch that, I did do a consignment before I had established my work’s worth. Needless to say, I was scammed. So I won’t consider that to be a failure.

🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨

There’s a place that I like to buy some of my skincare products. It’s a local shop near my house. I’m very much a “support local business” within reason. This is a black-owned business on top of that, so I feel a bit biased. But– I don’t believe in supporting a black-owned business simply because black people own it. If you have a good product that I want to buy, I’ll buy it. Supporting the black business is a bonus.

Anyway, minor tangent. The shop owner asked if I would crochet some pieces for his shop in February 2018.  I tend to wear my crochet stuff a lot in my free time.

At first, I was hesitant and resistant. Then a month later I decide to try it out.

 “Well, I won’t be involved in finding customers, dealing with the flakes, or the riding the roller coaster or hopes and dreams–crushed edition. I just make the stuff and if sells, cha-ching!”

Or so I thought. I was wrong. One day I was dropping off a few more crocheted pieces to the shop, Wednesday, March 21. The shop owner tells me about a lady who has the first top I made on hold. She’ll be back to purchase it on that Friday. That Friday comes and goes. The only money that I gain is a $5 bill I find in a parking lot by dumb-luck.

My thoughts so far are, consignment isn’t a stress-free way to go. It’s a stress-reduced option. I’m only giving this a trial run of 6 months.

Hope for the best, but fully expect the worst.

-MikuMarmalade

My motto when it comes to making money from my talent for crocheting.

But hey, I do hope things go well. If I 100% believed this was a waste of my time, I wouldn’t bother.

Update: April 14, 2018

One of the tops sold. It’s the same one the owner was speaking of. Although it sold a later period.

Orange Creamsicle Crochet Lolita Dress[Photo spread]

I just completed my latest lolita dress. I call it lolita because it’s the fashion type that I’m aiming for. Is it a perfect lolita? No, not by lolita standards(I’m not wearing bloomers. So scandalous!!!)

Then again, what lolita makes their dresses out of yarn? None? Okay, I thought so as well. I’m being a lolita in my own right. It’s fun to dress so brightly and girly.

Why would I crochet my dresses instead of buying them or sewing them? I’m a crochet addict and I don’t fancy my sewing machine enough.

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Waddle Doo and Waddle Dee accompanied me during this trip. I started out on my own, just going to take selfies with my phone. I don’t have a fancy camera. Welp. Then when I arrived at the fountain there were some passerby people who had cameras. They were awesome and gave me the honour of being their muse for the photography. If by any chance they stumble upon this and are reading,

“Ehmagawd, thank you so much! I cannot even begin to write in words how grateful I am to have my recent project snapped by such amazing photographers and equipment. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!”

I’m eagerly awaiting the email with the photos they took. I saw a preview of one of them and fangirled at how cute I looked. They were even nice to take some with my iPhone, allowing me to get additional angles. Since I don’t have an iPhone tripod, I was using the bushes and a timer to get shots. I was okay with that. But those photographers made my day! Along with petting a fluffy dog on my way home.

Seriously, they did a magnificent job and I can’t wait to upload the photos. Sooooo, you know when you get used to your own appearance how it doesn’t phase you? Then you step outside of yourself by seeing your own photo and think “Wow, I’m adorable.” Yeah, that was my reaction. It’s not that I don’t know I can be cute, I just tend to forget due to other life stuff, like playing Mario Kart and Kirby and reading yaoi.  Serious business, bro.

Of course, as usual, everything seen in these photos are freehanded. My dress, headband, armlets, Waddle Doo and Waddle Dee. I don’t intend on writing any patterns. I’m a busy college lady.

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[WIP]Crochet Lolita Dress+ Matching Doll~ Pt. 2

It’s always a perfect occasion to adorn yourself in yarn~

-MikuMarmalade

Zephyr(the giant amigurumi doll) and I visited my family on my holiday break. I recently completed my red crochet Lolita inspired dress and was eager to wear it out!

What do you do when you take photos in a dress with flair. You twirl and regret life decisions.

 

Even though it appears that I’m about to break out and dance, rest assured. This rhythm-less yarn addict is only here to twirl

 

After a twirling session, Zephyr and I tagged along with the fam to the mall. Inside of a department store, we checked out some makeup. We saw glittery matte lipstick!!! Wooo, unicorn makeup! So like a good trooper(or bored because the rest of the mall wouldn’t open for about an hour) I tried on various makeup stuff. The lipstick sounds good in theory but in practicality it’s not that great. Like removal is a bitch. I use coconut oil which is like the oxy-clean of makeup remover. Of course I use it at home, which isn’t helpful at a makeup counter in a department store. RIP, the many tissues and makeup remover used. Especially since it’s single use.

Also tried Fenty foundation. I actually loved it. Geez it’s so lightweight on your face but coverage is like amazing. I’d especially love it in the summer!!!

Zephyr sat happily and obediently while I struggled to look like I didn’t savagely eat a unicorn face first. An employee who was walking on the floor helping whoever needed it glanced over at Zephyr and was about to ask if she lost her parents.

Zephyr is a troll.

I left the store wearing black and pink. I didn’t take a photo until I got back to the house because I was having family time. It was fun.

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Crochet Link Hat(Zelda)+Pattern Link

So this past Wednesday I was taking my lunch break from school when one of the cafe workers in the coffee shop asked me how much I would charge to make her a Link hat. I told her I don’t sell or accept commissions. Then that was that. Or was it? I felt rather ambitious and wanted to take a break from my amigurumi projects. So I decided I’d whip one up for her by surprise.

 

The first draft came up horribly in my opinion. I had this weird beret/cone beanie hybrid. So I did the hardest thing a hooker does, I frogged it.

… My amigurumi dolls are implying that I’m wrong. The hardest thing for a hooker to do is not buy yarn when she has enough yarn.

Silly amigurumi dolls. One can never have enough yarn.

Anyway, so I completed it and took selfies in front of my building after taking out the trash and before headed back indoors.

I can’t wait to see a happy cafe worker.

So Homura, where’s the pattern link.

Crochet Link hat by Whistle and Ivy

I do not own nor make the pattern. I followed the rim part of the hat then in true MikuSama fashion, did my own thing because I don’t follow directions very well.

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Crochet Minty Outfit of the Day

 

Her royal minty highness is here! She wants sushi!

…She always wants sushi.

This weekend was quite a good one, productivity wise. I completed the tutu suspender dress(I will publish photos later when I model it) made a new mint wig as seen above, and gave some much-needed attention to another dress I’m working on.

While I look so cute in this look I must reveal a juicy secret– my ears aren’t real!!!

*Le gasps*

Fake ears, I know. So scandalous. I bought these ears from an Etsy shop(she doesn’t sell ears at the time of writing this). A year ago I bought liquid latex from Amazon by the brand of Graftobian, that worked really well with my elf ears. When it ran out I considered an alternative in stores. I quickly realized liquid latex isn’t all the simple to find unless it’s Halloween. I did find some in Wally World(Wal-Mart) but I regret using it. It wasn’t as good as Graftobian’s version. The stickiness isn’t as strong and it dries more clumpy than the other one. This isn’t a problem if you’re wanting fake peeling skin effects but I was using it as adhesive.

Have I learned my lesson? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it liquid latex isn’t something I can cheap out on or use just any kind as adhesive.
Alright, I know the rest of the photos. Here ya go!

The updating of Black Lady cosplay Pt 1

Happy Tuesday, readers and visitors. So once upon a time… I did a half hearted cosplay on Black Lady. I say half hearted because I was missing a few significant details. Earrings and wrong pink pigtails. Well I want to remake it to Black Lady perfection.
Here’s some of the updates:

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As you can see below, the pigtails match Chibi-Usa more than Black Lady. Hot Pink instead of light pink, meh. I don’t think shades of pink kills it necessarily. Length does though.

As you may or may not have noticed, I like wearing elf ears. In fact I tend to kill character cosplays by adding them to cosplay, regardless of whether or not the character is an elf.
I hope you have a terrific week! See you Friday for a fanart post.

What happens when you cross Tomoe Mami with Hachune Miku? 

Did it need to happen? Yes, indeed it needed to happen. Why shouldn’t Hachune Miku experience being a magical girl?

…because it’s a trap? Because Kyuubey is a liar and a plague to humanity? Because Hachune Miku was in the middle of studying and can’t save the world?!?!?
Nonsense. Those are all excuses. This is what happens when you cross Tomoe Mami with Hachune Miku.

I shall call her Hachune Mami~

Hachune Mami was born from an neglected  amigurumi work in progress from 2016. When I decided to complete it in 2017 I thought I don’t need two exact same Tomoe Mami dolls. What if I made her a crossover?!? So I did.

Crochet Harley Quinn Wig (How-To)

Oh hey! Last year I cosplayed as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. This blog post is sharing the how to create a creative spin hair for a Harley Quinn cosplay– crochet the wig, similar to the cabbage patch wigs–but way cooler and dye the ends.

An unworn, undyed wig. This is my Miku one. For Harley, use a yellow or blonde yarn. Unless you’re going for a Miku Harley crossover~

Here’s to creating and experimenting with a unique spin on Harley’s twin tails:

Pro-Tip: Use diluted acrylic paint to dye acrylic yarn. The RIT dye doesn’t dye synthetic fibers like Red Heart Super Saver yarn. However if you use a natural fiber yarn you should be fine using RIT dyes.

For Halloween 2016, I crocheted a Suicide Squad Harley Quinn inspired look. I opted to make a skirt instead of the Daisy Duke shorts. I prefer wearing cutesy apparel rather than a sexy apparel. 

Crochet Ariel Birthday Cosplay/Cosbound


So this is a story all about how my life got– oh wait.

I decided to cosplay as Ariel on my 29th birthday. I am entirely convinced that I’m indeed a mermaid, well at least in swimming pools. Hurray for finding an exercise that is enjoyable that doesn’t feel like work. I had a few personal goals outside of cosplay that I wanted to experience. One, no social media for the day. I give myself a 90, I posted this pic at the end of the day on Instagram after dinner and lurked Reddit. However, throughout the day I spent it in the real world and with my dad. He bought me a watercolor set, paint brushes, and a toaster cell phone charm, all of which I picked out from Michaels.

Onto how the cosplay came to life! I was eyeballing this Cosplay fabric from Yaya-Han’s cosplay fabric line at Joann in January. I just had to have it. When February rolled in I bought a yard of it. During that time there was a coupon for it. A yard original costs around  $20. The coupon brought it down to $10.  Woot! I bought a skein of purple chunky yarn from Wally World and two skeins of Cherry Red by Red Heart Super Saver. Then I got to work on Miss Mannequin to create a seashell bralette right away.  The seashell bralette is freehanded. I broke down possible shapes that would create a seashell bra on Ariel and put it together in real life. The wig was easy breezy, I make them for myself very frequently. This is one of my longer ones. I messed up slightly on the bangs. Ariel has a side swept look, my bangs are in the middle. That’s so not Ariel, I know right?! Then again, Ariel doesn’t have elf ears either. 😎

The fabric experienced a different fate. I stored it away for a while and played video games until I felt like touching the fabric again, which was a convenient three days before my birthday. Possibly a procrastinator, I’ll let you be the judge of that. I decided an impromptu high low skirt when I took it out. It just “spoke” to me that way. Yeah, I know, fabric is inanimate and cannot speak. I broke out my sewing machine, who was happy to get some love, to sew a straight stitch down the middle front. You can see it if you look closely. On the brightest note, no sewing needles were sacrificed. As a self-taught seamstress, there have been numerous needles that had snapped because of various reasons. Wrong sewing thread, overestimating fabric capable…Surely I can sew this many layers of fabric without messing up the– gee willikers!” A funeral for machine needles is needed. Also known as throwing them in the trash. I have improved since said days. Mainly because I’m a cheapskate replacement needles costs money that I’d prefer not to have to spend because I keep massacring needles.< b>–twisted upside down. Okay, no Fresh Prince opening– especially since this is the end of a blog post! *Miku smacks me with a leek*

-Baka!

Until next time dear reader, I hope you have a wonderful day and unleash your inner merfolk!!! Because sparkles can be slightly overpowering here’s one shot without the sparkly goodness.

Crochet Rosalina Cosplay 

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I just realized on March 19th 2017 that the story of my Rosalina cosplay isn’t on my blog. I know. What am I doing with my life? Please note this blog post  is written two years after its creation. It’s not new, but my blog is kind of new. So work dated as far back as 2014 may pop up.
So in October of 2015, a local comic book store was holding a Halloween costume contest. I decided to enter and make my costume. Conveniently in the same month. Because waiting until the last minute is the best way to execute plans(not).

Anyway, I had just gotten obsessed with Rosalina in Smash and decided to be her.

Here’s the result of my cosplay. A Luma handbag work in progress.

I did win first place for the adult prizes! I won a fancy deck of cards. Sadly I don’t get much use out of them. My amigurumi pals don’t seem too keen on playing Gin Rummy or Blackjack. 😋My face looks weird because suddenly I indulged in daydreaming about sushi. Totally legit. I also got some professional photos taken from a local photo business at the time. I do believe in supporting small businesses whenever possible. Diversify shopping needs.