DIY Life

Remember Katamari Damacy? For those not in the know, it's a very strange Japanese video game that came out a few years ago, in which the five-centimeter tall Prince of All Cosmos has to roll things -- cars, trees, people, buildings, etc -- up into sticky balls to create new celestial bodies (his father, the King, accidentally destroyed a lot of stars while on a drunken bender). There was a sequel, We Love Katamari; a new game, Beautiful Katamari, is coming in mid-October. Opinions on the game seem to vary between "bizarre" and "adorable!"

If you're on the "adorable" end of things, you might be interested in a great pattern for Katamari Damacy earmuffs that was created for ShojoBeat magazine by designer Nikol Lohr. They're a little bit silly for everyday wear, but maybe you don't mind silly; if you do, consider them as a Halloween costume. There's even a way to make a hidden pocket in them! The default pattern is for earmuffs that will make you look like The Queen of All Cosmos (PDF link), but there is also a Prince of All Cosmos option. To make the Prince style, you must download the instructions for the Queen style. Also visit Nikol's blog, where you'll find a download-able template for the hearts and dots on the Queen's earmuffs (which are cleverly made from your felted gauge swatch).

If you're not into these, you might like an earlier Katamari hat: Xiola at Mad Teaparty makes and sells a crocheted Katamari hat when she can, and the blogger at Easily Amused has made her own knit version of the Katamari hat. These both look like the balls that the Prince uses to pick stuff up, rather than one of the characters in the game. No patterns, but not too difficult to figure out if you know how to knit or crochet. Hey, if you have a group of people in your Halloween gang, you could make one of each!

For another great project that was featured in ShojoBeat, check out our article on their DIY Art Portfolios.