How do I cast on? Let me count the ways.

Think back to the time you learned to knit. Who struggled with the cast on? 

(Everyone can raise a hand now.)

The cast on can be difficult for beginner knitters. 

The cast on is tough: Make a loop on one needle. And slip it onto the opposing needle without dropping anything or messing anything up. And don’t pull the loops too tight. And don’t knit too close to the point of your needle. Remember to breathe. And...stop frowning. Got it?

Although the cast on can be tricky, it does yield a lot of opportunity for customization. The knitter gets to choose what type of cast on to use. Lots of seasoned knitters have a favorite cast on or preferred style. A particular type of scarf may be better with a strong cast on, such as the longtail. A cabling piece needs a cable cast on. Check out this article for some clearly-explained details. (Somewhere, I imagine there must be an article with a title like “What your favorite cast on says about you.”)

I became curious about cast-on techniques when a knitter I recently talked to told me that she had a favorite cast on practice. I always cast on using the same technique and had not thought about the differences a cast on could make in the finished piece.

Different cast on methods can lead to stylistic variation. What's your favorite?

So how about the math?

Sometimes, knitters talk about the math involved in the cast on. For example, consider one knitter who has a true love for the long tail method. She talks about these ideas in  The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On. One commonly accepted rule of casting on is to make a tail that is the three times the width of the knitting and add a few inches.

Math for Knitters

Every now and then we feature mathematical connections on this blog (we are, after all, trying to recraft mathematics education). Although we investigate the potential computational links in detail, we are not the only ones! In fact, many others see the underlying and inherent mathematics of crafts too.

Math for Knitters identifies and clarifies the function of mathematics in knitting. 

Recently, I came across the Very Pink Math for Knitters web page, which stays true to its title. What’s better? Each concept has an affiliated video embedded in the website, which helps to clarify the sneaky little bit of math that slips into your sweater or hat when you’re not thinking about it.  

Staci Perry, a knitter and knitting teacher in Austin, Texas, runs the Very Pink. Have a listen to what she has to say:

Have you thought about the way you rely on math in your cast on? Watch this video and I bet you will from now on!

How ‘bout increases and decreases? Can you see where the math comes in?

When it comes to knitting, math is a friend to all.

You Haven't Lived Until You've Cosplayed with a Group!

I figured it out, everyone! I figured out how to feel comfortable, as a woman, with cosplaying a male character!

First, it helps to be able to cover up your feminine face with a mask:

I bet Kylo Ren, too, found that his mask helped him to forget who he truly was and pretend to be someone else.

Second, let the character live in your head for a few weeks leading up to the con. And Kylo Ren (from the latest Star Wars movie) did. I found him compelling because his fate is so uncertain; will he return to the light side? Will he (Force forbid) die? The other new main characters are all going to be fine. I don't need to worry about the state of their souls. But with Kylo Ren, I spent the weeks since I saw the movie feverishly trying to figure out a way for him to get his redemption. I do this with characters a lot! That's why so many of my favorites are similar to each other (Itachi, Dirk, and Zuko all follow this pattern too).

Third, be willing to make fun of the character. The internet has had a field day making fun of Kylo Ren for his whiny tantrums (e.g., the Emo Kylo Ren twitter account). While I take the possibility of his redemption seriously, I'm not averse to having a bit of fun at his expense. He deserves it! And this also gave me fodder for jokes I could throw around all day at the con while cosplaying him.



Kylo Ren does NOT appreciate being left out of photos!

Perhaps most importantly, though, it's good to surround yourself with a group of friends also cosplaying from the same series, so you can play off each other the way the characters would.

I can't remember the last time I had this much fun! The four of us were staying in a hotel room together at Ohayocon in Columbus, OH last month, and on Saturday of the con, we decided to all dress up as characters from the new Star Wars movie. This was a bit of a last-minute decision; as such, this is the first costume I've worn that I did not make myself. Steph, an experienced cosplayer (the one cosplaying Poe), threw the costumes together from among items she had lying around her house after ten years of cosplaying. What I lost in not making the costume, though, I more than made up for in fun with friends. Since this is such a popular franchise right now, we couldn't go two steps at the con without someone stopping our group to ask for pictures. The positive attention was really nice! We also staged our own photos, recreating scenes from the movie, or scenes (usually of a...romantic nature) that we imagined ourselves. While we weren't in character 100% of the time, we did throw banter back and forth all day related to the characters.

Surrounded by this milieu, I had no trouble acting like this male character. I exaggerated his whiniest, most emo traits. I gleefully pursued all the Han Solo cosplayers I could find in order to recreate that iconic, heartbreaking scene with him. I chased after a Darth Vader cosplayer, because Kylo Ren is a total Darth Vader fanboy. I got scolded by a Leia cosplayer. I even wrote my Facebook comments in character! For instance, when a friend saw a photo of all four of us, she asked, "Are you Kylo? Love love love!" I responded, in typical wannabe-Sith fashion, "Love is for the weak. -Emo Kylo Ren."

After this experience with a group, going back to cosplaying by myself is going to be a bit of a letdown! I think this shows how, once again, the community aspects of cosplay are so important. It's not just that community provides a context for cosplay; it also helps individuals to gain confidence--even when they're cosplaying someone completely different from themselves.

Knitters in the Wild

Where are the knitters?

They are everywhere. That’s where.

They are in your city, in your parks, in your subways stations.

Have you seen a knitter in the wild?

They are your neighbors, your teachers, your relatives, your friends.

They fly on airplanes and travel in trains.*

The knitters are everywhere.

I cannot tell if it is the case that the number of knitters in America (or, at least, in Midwestern America) is increasing, or if I am simply more aware of the presence of knitters now. Over the past year, I've run into knitters in the strangest places...

Recently, I traveled to California to visit a galpal and escape the snow. As I boarded the airplane and fumbled to my seat, I came to find myself in the same row as another knitter. She had delicately set her pattern to perch on the fold out tray table connected to the back of the seat in front of her. At first I was quiet. I took out the partially-completed hat I had started for my mom. The woman in my airplane row quickly became chatty with me. This is not the first time this has happened.

Where else will I find the knitters?

More curious is the idea that knitting brings together individuals who come from such a diverse array of backgrounds. 

What draws knitters to knitting?

I have a hunch that the sense of community plays a leading role in the whole game. I'll be on the lookout for these knitter in the wild.

*Yes, TSA allows you to carry on your needles!

Knitting can calm those pre-take-off nerves. 

Scoreboard Knit-A-Long

As Super Bowl 50 approaches and the Fantasy Football fever continues to spread, it is likely that there may be some fireside (TV-side) gatherings in your future. These get-togethers provide a space for food, chitchat, snuggles, and - you guessed it - knitting!

Personally, I am not much of an American football-watcher. I like athletics and can see why people like to play the game, but the allure of American football has always been a bit of a mystery to me. The run-stop-run-stop-run-stop-throw flag-run-stop series of events and big men in tight pants do not pique my interest in the way a jigsaw puzzle might...

Ok, this is not the point. 

The point: Knitting culture has a way of sneaking into the corners and cracks of seemingly unrelated communities. 

Consider the Scoreboard Knit-A-Long (KAL)

The Scoreboard Knit-A-Long was designed by Michelle Hunter, an author, teacher, and designer.

To make the Scoreboard KAL, the knitter works with two or three colors of a favorite football team. The main color in this piece represents the points earned by the knitter's favorite team, whereas the secondary color represents the points scored by any opponents of the favorite team. A third color, such as a white line, can be worked in to the project to allow for a break between games. Then finish piece is a Scoreboard Cowl. PRETTY COOL, AY?

The Scoreboard Cowl can be knitted with two or three yarn colors. 

I found out about this KAL from another knitter in Pittsburgh. This is the Steel City,  after all, and people are totally crazy really excited about sports.

Knit projects, such as the Scoreboard KAL, speak to the culture and community involved in the fiber arts. Knitting is not an untouchable or reserved hobby, only meant for yarn shops, Tupperware parties, or women. No. Knitting is a ubiquitous craft form; knit-purls are for art communities and sports communities. Like I mentioned earlier, the point of this post is to shed light on the beautiful way that the culture of knitting can become part of any community, much like a warm and comfy, one-size-fits-all sweater. 

The Danger of Shortcuts!

In my last post, I hinted that my next cosplay would be a fiery version of Elsa from Frozen, combined with Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This translates to a dark-haired Elsa dressed in fire colors, with Zuko's scar and Fire Nation accessories. I ran out of time before the con, however, and didn't get a chance to add Zuko's accessories to the red Elsa dress. So I went as simply a Fire Elsa this time around (the Zuko parts will be ready in time for my next con, though!).

A fan artist's rendition of a Fire Elsa
(source: http://messr-snuffles.deviantart.com/art/Elsa-Fire-Version-524584491)

Months ago, I found a pattern for an Elsa-like dress at JoAnn Fabrics, since she's such a popular character. I thought making this costume would be time-consuming, since it's so elaborate, but not difficult, since all I'd have to do was follow the pattern. I also thought the pattern would reduce the need to use much math during the process.

How very wrong I was.

This was my first time using a commercial pattern, but it was definitely not beginner level. If I had been following a typical path in learning sewing, I never would have used this as my first pattern. But cosplay goals tend to motivate cosplayers to sew projects more difficult than their supposed "skill level" would call for. I started this over Thanksgiving break, working in my parents' dining room, and I needed to finish before the Con-Alt-Delete anime convention on Dec. 18-20, while also being in the midst of end-of-semester finals. I didn't have time to practice with easier patterns!

Commercial sewing patterns come in envelopes containing the pattern pieces on thin tissue paper and folded instruction sheets. Often they contain more than one outfit. This one had Anna's outfit as well as Elsa's dress, in both adult and child sizes. The pattern pieces had marks corresponding to sizes S-XL, and you had to select the size matching your body in order to cut all the pieces to that size. The outside of the envelope contained a body measurement chart somewhat like this one telling you what size corresponded to your body measurements. I got help from my sister to take my measurements with a flexible measuring tape, and it appeared that, according to this chart, most of my measurements were size L. I am not size L in any of the other clothes I wear, but I'd been told that pattern sizes were different from usual clothing sizes. L sounded too big, but I figured that it was better to cut things too big than too small, because I could always cut down extra fabric later.

That was my first mistake.

Me sewing the skirt that at first was 4 inches too wide!

Everything ended up too big. I started cutting things down to a size that approximately fit me when I held it up around me, but I didn't realize that you can't just modify one part of a garment made from a pattern without making the corresponding changes to all pieces that will connect to the piece you modified. And when a piece is size L, it's size L all the way around. You can't just trim off the ends.

For instance, the sleeves ended up way too big on me. I tried to trim them by getting some help from family members in holding up the sleeve piece to my arm, and trimming the ends where they met under my arm. But I failed to realize that the size L sleeve was meant for someone with much larger arms than me, all the way around. This meant the shoulder was too big for me, and the ends met below it to make the armhole much farther down than where my own underarm was. So when I trimmed the ends, because the sleeve was on a slope, the shoulder remained too big while the armhole shifted away from the body. When I tried to sew them on the dress, they pulled my too-big bodice outward in a weird way, and I couldn't lift my arms. Basically, because I had not cut them proportionally, the sleeves no longer reached all the way up to my underarms. I had no choice but to cut them off.

Yeah...the underside of that sleeve is nowhere near my armpit.

Fortunately, my artist friend Gail helped me fix the bodice with a couple of last-minute side-darts. This was the night before the con, so we had no time to fix the sleeves. I wore them as sort of gauntlets instead, like handless gloves. And honestly, the costume ultimately turned out pretty good! I have never gotten so many positive comments on a costume at a con before! That was a real confidence booster, after so many things had gone wrong with this cosplay.

Bad bathroom selfie! Hopefully I'll be able to get a better pic at the next con.

I thought I could use a premade pattern as a shortcut to make sewing easier, because there would be less measuring involved. Well, it turns out that trying to avoid the math was more of a headache than a shortcut! Taking my own measurements precisely, and comparing them to the measurements of the pattern pieces would have worked better than trying to alter after the fact. I should have also used proportional reasoning to trim too-big pieces, rather than just trimming in one place. But I have learned so much from this experience, and I know I'll be more careful the next time I use a pattern!

CosGenderPlay

I've written before about my experiences cosplaying as Sailor Moon at the Indianapolis Comic Con, and my experiences were similarly positive when I cosplayed her again at the Anime Central (ACen) convention this past summer. In fact it was even better because I got to participate in a photoshoot with other Sailor Moon cosplayers! I had no trouble portraying Sailor Moon's bright, bubbly personality, even though I'm normally more subdued than she is.

Look how much fun we're having fighting over the love interest character at the Sailor Moon cosplay photoshoot!

But I also cosplayed Itachi, a male character, at ACen, and I've made a costume for another male character, Dirk Strider from the webcomic Homestuck, which I wore on Halloween. These are examples of "crossplay," or cosplaying a character that does not share my gender. I love both characters (in fact, I think they're rather similar to each other, which may be why I like them both), and I plan to wear these costumes again at the three upcoming cons I'm attending. But... I had much more trouble "getting into character" with them than I did with Sailor Moon.


Itachi from the anime/manga Naruto

Dirk Strider from Homestuck
























First, let me clarify: from my observations, cosplayers don't "get into character" very often. Mostly, they walk around the con as themselves, simply wearing the costume outwardly. They pose for pictures in the character's signature poses, might participate in character-specific jokes and banter with friends and others who recognize their characters, and might act in a skit during the cosplay contest, but the rest of the time, cosplay is usually more "costume" and less "play." We're fans, after all, not actors trying to portray the character flawlessly.

 The most "in-character" photo of Dirk I have is not the full-body shot I posed for, but this mirror selfie in which I'm portraying him as not too pleased with the silly magical outfit that was bestowed upon him!

But even during those short moments of trying to be in character, I found it difficult to identify with these male characters. Maybe it's because their somber personalities are so different from my own, but I think gender has a lot to do with it. For instance, consider their weapons. All three of the characters I've mentioned in this post do a lot of fighting, as fantasy characters tend to do, and of course, I don't spend my days fighting. Both Itachi and Dirk tend to use conventional blades (in fact, I plan to make a katana, because it will be an appropriate prop for both of them). Sailor Moon's weapons, on the other hand, include stereotypically feminine things like a tiara, pink rods with moons on them, and a crystal. It's not just the items that are gendered; it's the characters' actions too. While Dirk and Itachi wield their weapons in dynamic action shots with intentions to directly strike their opponents, Sailor Moon's attacks are usually dance sequences that send magic at her opponents, often healing them of evil rather than hurting them. I would have no problem brandishing one of Sailor Moon's rods around, but when I tried to wield a throwing star as Itachi, I felt awkward, and my friend told me I was posing too timidly for the picture she was taking.

A lot of cosplayers don't have this problem. They find it liberating and easy to transgress silly gender stereotypes like the idea that swords are somehow more appropriate for men. For some, cosplay even helps them explore alternative gender identities. Maybe I simply haven't cosplayed enough male characters yet, or maybe I haven't yet found the "right" male character for me who's close enough to my personality to make me feel comfortable acting like him.

My current project is interesting from a gender perspective. Inspired by a "combined cosplay" workshop I went to at ACen, I'm making a costume that combines aspects from both a male and a female character: Elsa from the movie Frozen, and Zuko from the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender. I haven't yet decided whose personality the new combined character will have. Ideally, there will be aspects of both. It will be interesting to see how I feel while wearing the costume!