CRAFT LIKE A PIRATE; or, The Skulls and Stripes Forever
Because it's almost Talk Like A Pirate Day (19 September), here are some pirate-themed craft links for you.
Hello Yarn might be your one-stop Jolly Roger-themed free pattern shop. There are some great patterns here, with Norwegian-style pirate mittens and cap taking the cake, but don't miss the squirrel mittens, the many other skull chart items, the anime character bonnet, the great sweaters, or anything else.
Moth Heaven provides this pattern (PDF) for an "arrrgyle" sock enhanced with a skull-and-crossbones motif. (via BoingBoing.) She also has a pattern for a felted pirate hat for kids. (How much more awesome could this lady be?)
In the Arrrgyle pattern, she references this excellent pattern from Katydid Knits: Jack Sparrow's Favorite Socks, which references and sends us back to...
the We Call Them Pirates hat at Hello Yarn.
(the reinterpretation of the chart at Katydid Knits suggests that the same chart might be useful for the cuff of an otherwise plain mitten, or for a wrist-warmer. Also, the Jack Sparrow's Favorite Socks pattern looks like an excellent first project for someone wanting to do stranded knitting. Katydid Knits mentions that this pattern is now linked from Knitting Pattern Central, which is where I found Hello Yarn to begin with. It's getting to be the time of year when a girl wants some wrist warmers....)
You can try knitting this great Skull and Crossbones Lace, which could have many applications. A scarf or shawl? Edging for linens? It's up to you! Be as creative as you want to. In colors other than white, it would be perfect for some Mexicana-style crafting for Day of the Dead.
Maybe you would prefer to crochet a little skull motif?
How about a pretty little pirate dress for your Blythe or Pullip doll, courtesy of MagKnits?
This post was initially titled "Knit Like A Pirate." As it turns out, the official site for Talk Like A Pirate Day actually has a Knit Like A Pirate page, with a free downloadable pattern for a cool bag, "The Pirate Queen's Booty Bag." They link to a page by like-minded folk, KnitLikeAPirate.com. Not much there yet, but so far it looks like they're planning to put up several hat patterns and a pattern for a "yarn galleon"!
Here are a few skull charts for general purposes: basic shaded skull chart from Flickr user "notanartist", skull and crossbones chart in two sizes from supermitten.com, another skull and crossbones chart from BrainyLady, and a skull chart for many uses from domiKNITrix.
Glampyre Stefanie uses her own skull and crossbones chart in a felted fair isle bag.
Street Legal Designs offers a most excellent item for your trusty first mate: a Skull and Bones Dog Sweatshirt. There's even a glow-in-the-dark yarn for the skull motif! Removes all traces of scurvy from your dog.
Here's Rhonda K. White's skull and crossbones washcloth or dishcloth. The simple knit-and-purl pattern could be adapted to other projects. It's subtle, and you can't be too careful on the high seas.
Strange But Trewe has a Lacy Skull Shrug, and promises a pattern in the future. (The question is: is bubblegum pink a properly piratical colour?)
AndSheKnitsToo offers a fabulous skull scarf, featuring both jolly roger motifs AND black and white stripes. Possibly the most buccaneer-friendly scarf on all the internets.
Ysolda has a skull and crossbones illusion scarf. Confound your friends, perplex your enemies, and pass safely under the eye of the Royal Navy!
Yorick, a felted, skull-ended scarf by Kate Kuckro, made its debut last fall in Knitty. The suggested white yarn not only felts properly, but is also snuggly soft.
Getting away from the skull motif, there are these cute striped and ruffled armwarmers designed by Vickie Howell. I suppose if you wanted, you could intarsia-in a skull pattern, too. =/
If you don't knit or crochet, perhaps you'd like to sew yourself up an eyepatch?
Hobbyists can tackle this plastic "Jolly Roger" ship model, one of several pirate ship models that are widely available (see also Captain Kidd).
A search on "beads", "pirate", or "skull" at Century Novelty will turn up lots of crafting possibilities. Especially of the bead variety. Old Fashion Halloween sells a skull pan in both cake and cupcake sizes.
Looking for something for kids? How about a pirate ship or Spanish galleon made from a milk carton? Or a "pirate playdate" inspiration site, complete with craft ideas and fun recipes? (I stole one of their cute pics for this post!)
And all pirates should beware of the giant squid! Squid-shaped phone case by Winged Kamui, squid hat (PDF) by Strange But Trewe. Perhaps these squids are haunted by skeletal fish... they don't look upset, though, do they? However, this squiddy is, supposedly, naughty.
Edited to add:
Skully Purse and iPod/Cellphone Cozy for machine knitters.
Kpixie (formerly KnitPixie) also designed a skull chart. Nicely detailed, with cartoonishly uneven teeth. Love it!
(Stripey!) Skinny Skully Scarf from one of my Craftgrrl crewmates on Livejournal.
How could a pirate function with no place to keep their booty?
Pieced Paper Treasure Chest pattern for papercrafters.
Treasure Chest Pattern for woodworkers. This one looks more complicated than it is. (Mirror site of sorts.)
Another Treasure Chest Pattern for woodworkers. This one is more difficult than the previous one.
For kids, a Pirate Treasure Chest to make from a tissue box. Also, a pirate themed Enchanted Learning page with crafts like a treasure box and a little boat. At HearthSong, you can buy this treasure box kit for older kids who are just learning woodworking.
Kids of all ages can enjoy this Treasure Chest Cake... complete with edible booty! Here's another Treasure Chest Cake, filled with M&Ms and other candies.
Here's some booty that almost anyone can make. It's a series of jewelry photos from magazines like W, glued to cardboard, cut out carefully, and joined into a necklace with wire rings. A kid could easily do this with paper clips, cereal boxes, and a couple of magazines.
Beyond that, you might be interested to see this pirate-themed embroidered diorama.
Or you might like to sew this handsome young cartoony skull bag.
And don't forget that Sublime Stitching has a pirate-themed set of embroidery transfer patterns, for the low price of US$3. (I don't know about you, but I've paid more for a cup of coffee.)
Don't like crafts? Do like puzzles? Check out The Treasure Hunt at The Problem Site.
*
I don't think I linked the following above, but it's possible it might be a double link: Zombies Need Not Apply, a skull fair-isle wristwarmer pattern from MagKnits.
Check out Spirals Free Patterns for several cool things, including a diagonally-striped scarf (photo 1, photo 2) and lace-up skull armwarmers (chart, photo 1, photo 2).
Published since Talk Like A Pirate Day:
I may come back in the next few weeks and tidy this post up by category: skulls, sea creatures, treasure, etc. I will also be adding a parrot pattern or two, though they are thin on the ground. (As parrots often are.)
Also, thanks to Talk Like A Pirate (yes, the official site of the day!) for the link!
4 October - Edited to add some parrots! For knitters, a Painted Parrot Cloth. For beaders, a chart for a colorful parrot (along rainbow macaw lines), and another for a cockatiel amulet bag. Several free parrot designs are featured on the bird page at Dawn's Cross Stitch. Not free, but very dramatic, is this 3D Parrot necklace or kit for beaders.
And Vickie Howell's book New Knits on the Block, which features fun and funky patterns to make for kids, has a whole pirate set in it, which includes a knitted parrot. (I think. Also, a mermaid costume for little girls.)
