DIY Chindi Reindeer The moment I spotted these colorfully wrapped reindeer and moose at Anthropologie last December, I knew I had to DIY it for HonestlyWTF this holiday season. Created in the style of vibrant Chindi rugs from Jaipur, India, these wrapped reindeer are incredibly fun to make, are a clever way to repurpose old t-shirts, and make fabulous gifts! You’ll need:paper mache reindeer or any other animal1 yard total of various colors of cotton or wool jersey2 small brown pom pomshot glue gunlots of glue sticksscissorsjingle bells (optional)string (optional) Start by cutting the fabric, along the width, into 1″ strips. For a medium sized paper mache object, 26-30 strips should suffice. Pull at both ends of each strip of jersey. Beginning in the middle of the torso will serve as the guideline. Continue twisting, glueing, and wrapping. As the rope begins to runs out, tie a knot at the end. Keep wrapping and again, follow the contours of the reindeer. And your Chindi reindeer is finished!!
How to Make Your Own Clothes Learning how to make your own clothes is a pastime that will not only save you some money, it is skill that can evolve into a hobby that you love. With some practice, patience, and some sewing know-how, you’ll be on your way to making your own clothing before you know it. Here are some helpful tips to get you going. Getting Started If you have never attempted to make your own clothes before, or if you have little or no sewing skills, finding some good reference materials is a great place to start. Before you purchase any other materials besides a few reference books or patterns, you may want to start thinking about what kind of clothes you would like to make. Gather Notions, Materials, and Equipment Before you begin to learn how to sew, you’ll need to accumulate a few sewing necessities. Learn How to Sew If you already have some basic sewing skills or if you’re already a master seamstress, you can skip this part and move on. Choose a Project Use Recycled Fabrics Be Creative
Pattern Making Courses Online - Design your own clothes - eTelestia Learn to Sew Class Description Increase your sewing savvy with fit and finishing techniques from Diana Rupp of Make Workshop. In Sewing Studio, she'll walk you through two classic patterns - an Envelope Pillow and Naughty Secretary Skirt - using methods you'll use again and again. Create them using patterns from her book Sew Everything Workshop (not included with this class), or substitute with patterns of your choice. Learn More about Sewing Studio Lesson Plan Lesson 1. The course begins with a brief introduction to the Sewing Studio and Diana Rupp, author of Sew Everything Workshop. Lesson 2. While working on your pillow, you will learn about fabric construction, different types of edges, cutting, hemming, seam allowances and how to construct the French seam. Lesson 3. In this session, you will assemble, sew, press and finish your pillow. Lesson 4. Lesson 5. Diana walks you through all the steps of laying out and pinning your toile or mockup for the Naughty Secretary Skirt. Lesson 6. Lesson 7. by Kat.
Long Overdue Fusing Plastic Bag Tutorial - StumbleUpon I realized this afternoon that I basically explain this technique to an Etsy Labs visitor at least once a day, but had never put the instructions online. So, here it is. Fusing! Plastic! Bags!Do you have one zillion plastic drugstore and grocery bags under your sink, or perhaps smushed into a drawer? What you'll needPlastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paperIron (and your favorite ironing surface) Making it Flatten out the bag and trim the bottom seam and handles off. Turn the bag inside-out if it has printing on it. Next, run a hot iron (we set ours to "Rayon", but you will need to experiment a little to see what works for you) and keep the iron moving constantly. Peel a corner of the paper back to see if the plastic is fused together. Peel the parchment paper away from the finished plastic sheet. Here are a few more rad examples of what you can do with this stuff, courtesy of Etsy seller Eclipse Alright, y'all.
DIY Chainmail Necklace You’ll need: Start by separating the jump rings into two halves: 175 open and 175 closed. Thread three closed jump rings onto an open jump ring. Close the ring. Keeping the rings in place with your forefinger and thumb, take an open jump ring and hook it through the front side of the two rings. Add 2 closed rings to the open ring and close. Spread the two rings apart in the same way as the first set of rings. Add 2 closed rings and close. To add an optional fourth row, lay the necklace flat and hook an open ring through first and second closed rings on the right side. I stopped at 4 rows but you can continue adding rows for a more bib-like necklace. Connect the two ends with a single jump ring or clasp. Fini! (top image from here, rest of images by HonestlyWTF)
Preservation Guide: How to Freeze Herbs Cut Off Long Stems The little stems between the leaves are fine to chop up. Chop With A Mezzaluna If you have one of these handy chopping devices, chopping fresh herbs is all that much easier, but a regular chopping knife will work just as well. Spoon Into An Ice Cube Tray Once everything is chopped up, spoon the herbs into an ice cube tray, making sure to distribute evenly. Pack them in pretty tightly. Top Off The Tray With Water Pour the water in slowly. Put The Cubes In A Freezer Bag After the cubes are frozen, pop them out of the tray and stash them in a freezer bag to keep them tasting their freshest. Make your own lace undies - tutorial and free pattern So Sew Easy If you have already visited my previous posts then you are all ready and set to start sewing you own underwear. Not got the free panties pattern yet? Download the pattern from this post – Free Multi-size pattern to make your own undies And take a look here for how to put your pattern together (important) – Making up the pattern Download your free undies pattern UPDATE - Oct 2014. Once you are all set, you will need the following materials: Stretch lace with a finished edge on both sides – recommended 4 to 6.5 inches wide with a good amount of stretch (recommended suppliers Deb’s Lace and Trims and Sew Sassy)Matching regular threadPiece of cotton jersey – new or recycledSewing machineRecommended – Overcasting foot An overcasting foot is recommended for sewing with stretch lace to get a really nice narrow finished seam and edge inside. Let’s get started… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. I got all over excited and made several pairs. Enjoyed this tutorial and found it useful ?
Corset Tutorial Fabulous Miniature Doll Artist Anna Hardman and graciously lets us publish her corset tutorial on our Blog. Thnx Anna!You can see more of her fabulous figures on her website AnnaHardmanDolls.comThe CorsetI have created a miniature hourglass corset to share with you today. It is for a curvy full figure. My dolls do not have Victorian thin waists. Their bodies are more anatomically correct, closer to modern day figure. I used light and glass method of transferring. Step 3.Run a tiny bead of glue on the seams, press with the iron. Step 4.Now add fine laces or trim of your choice to the top and bottom of your miniature corset. To create sophisticated lacing on the back you need to practice. Done! The pattern(click to see full size and print):
10 Easy Ways To Preserve Herbs Enjoying a big bounty of herbs from the garden this year? Fresh is best when it comes to cooking with them, but here are ten easy ways you can preserve them for year-round use (along with a nifty tip at the bottom of the page for crushing them fast). Air/Hang Dry Method: If you have the space and the time, you can tie small bunches together (about 4 or 5 cleaned stems) and hang them upside down in a dark, warm, well ventilated area. The drying time is about 2 to 4 weeks – you want the leaves to be crispy and easily crumble between your fingers before you pack them for storage. If space is tight, here’s a clever project you can make using old frames, fiberglass screens, chain and S hooks (for hanging in tiers): Hanging Frames Tutorial.Oven: Arrange cleaned stems in a single layer on a cookie sheet with temperature set at 180° F. Heat for about 4 hours, keeping the oven door open the entire time (to let moisture escape). *First published December 19, 2006 Thanks for sharing Josee!
Top 11 DIY Fashion Blogs Update 7/23/12: Hey guys! I wrote this post in February of 2011 and since then I’ve discovered lots more awesome DIY blogs! Either there are tons of new ones popping up or I didn’t even know how much great stuff was out there. Keep sharing them in the comments, I love checking each one out! These are in no particular order. Honestly… WTF I Spy DIY P.S. Stripes And Sequins Studs and Pearls Lemmemakeit A Pair & A Spare Be Vain or DIY …love Maegan Phosphene Fashion Outsapop Trashion Do you love DIY, fashion and craft? Tagged as: a pair and a spare, bevainordiy, diy, honestlywtf, i spy diy, lemmemakeit, love maegan, outsapop, phosphene, ps i made this, stripes and sequins, studs and pearls
Top 10 Essential DIY Skills That Aren't as Hard as You Think I think it depends on your definition of "maintenance." I wouldn't hesitate to change my own oil or something like that but I wouldn't dream of replacing a radiator myself. That isn't my idea of "maintenance." Sorry you are afraid of doing that stuff, but even a complete engine rebuild is easy to do, and no you don't need "special tools" unless you call things beyond a hammer and screwdriver "special" I can do a front end alignment on a car in my driveway with a tape measure and a couple of carpenters squares along with the wrenches most people would have. Also if you do buy the cheap but special tools you can replace your own tires and balance them better than the "laser computerized" balance machine at the tire place. In fact the only expensive special tools I need are a Crane and engine run stand. Danger? This is why I don't take my cars to the dealer for any routine maintenance. Aside from that, dealers are inconvenient. Those are also the reasons I have seen and more.
DIY Dress-Up Ideas: 5 Sexy Ways to Upcycle Old Clothing Upcycled designs often emphasize radical do-it-yourself transformations, but some of the most simple ideas can have dramatic impacts. These clothing conversions illustrate the ease with which people can upcycle ordinary objects and make them extraordinary, turning formless junk shirts clothes into elegant tops, bottoms and sexy dresses. Mari Santos does more than just recycle small-scale clothing extras into new, well-fitting and sufficiently stylish upcycled outfits – she shows how much potential exists in upcycling extremely plain everyday objects, things we would normally trash without a second look. A baggy t-shirt is one of the most ubiquitous items of excess clothing you can find in almost any closet. These ill-fitting and over-sized extras have a lot more potential than most people realize – from make-your-own dresses to two-piece tops and much more.
52 Free Dress Patterns Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 19 Comments I’m a firm believer that sewers can never have too many free patterns. With that in mind, here are 52 Free Dress Patterns, divided by style. Keep in mind the categories are not set in stone. Notes about the patterns are listed for some of the dresses. Patterns from existing dresses require laying out an item of clothing onto fabric, marking it, and cutting out. No pattern needed usually means that the dress is made from a recycled shirt. Drafting instructions means that you will have to make your own pattern, but the designer included all the information needed. Free Dress Patterns - Casual Dresses Free Dress Patterns – Office Dresses Free Dress Patterns - Dress-Up Dresses Read More : Sewing or Home Comments