Clothing + Fashion

Free Patterns from Indie Pattern Companies: Underwear and Accessories

Everything on this list is from one of my favorite indie pattern companies. The patterns I’m pointing you to are free, but I’ve also included plenty of suggestions for other patterns you can purchase from these companies. It’s important to show these indie companies some love!

DIY Handwashing Station

18 Projects to Upcycle Tights

Fortunately, those stained, snagged, or simply outgrown tights don’t have to go into the wastestream! Here’s how to upcycle your old tights in a myriad of ways.

Replace a Zipper

How to Replace the Zipper in a Pair of Pants

Be warned: pants zippers are tedious and painstaking to replace. What they are not, however, is difficult. If you’ve sewn with zippers before, and you’re comfortable using a zipper foot, you can make this repair.

DIY Scrunchie

Upcycled Hair Accessories: Stashbust a Scrunchie

Scrunchies are one of my favorite stashbuster projects. Like the other projects that I mentioned, scrunchies are very forgiving, so you can fudge fabric dimensions as needed to fit your scraps.

Upcycled Tights Hair Ties

DIY Dancer: Upcycled Hair Ties Made from Tights

If you, too, are beholden to a continually evolving set of brand-new tights all year, every year, this little hack won’t cure your heartbreak, but it might make you feel maybe 3% better, at least if you or someone you love also has hair that occasionally needs to be tied back.

Fast Fashion kill das klima via Stefan Muller CC2.0

Why Shein Sucks, and What You Should Wear Instead

But alas, Shein is yet another imported fast fashion outlet, even more insidiously unsustainable than the other imported fast fashion outlets. 

So if Shein is so unsustainable, why is it so popular, especially with young adults who should know better?

The Second-Hand Wedding Dress, and Other Eco-Friendly Wedding Choices

Want to have a meaningful wedding that doesn’t cater to the multi-billion-dollar wedding industry? Want to have a personalized wedding that celebrates your love as well as the ethical standards that guide your life? Want to wear and decorate with and eat and share only things you love, and that love the Earth?

Bell Bottoms

Clothing Refashion: Another Way to DIY Bell Bottoms

This method results in a pair of bell bottoms that are wide and blousy and flowy. You couldn’t get away with wearing them in all circumstances, but they’re also super dramatic and super fun for every bell bottom-appropriate occasion.

add a zipper to a hoodie

How to Add a Zipper to a Hoodie

Fortunately, it’s really not hard to add a zipper to the front of a hoodie, and what you get in return is a comfy, zip-up hoodie that will leave your glasses, headphones, and sensory sensitivities intact.

DIY Dress Form

You Should Make Yourself a Dress Form

If you can sew at all, then, I highly recommend that you spend a couple of afternoons DIYing yourself a dress form to your specific measurements. It’s a little weird to have an exact model of your torso just standing there, yes, but I have found the ability to custom fit patterns to be quite remarkable.

DIY Cardboard Minecraft Head

20 DIY Cardboard Halloween Costumes

Cardboard is one of my favorite crafting supplies because it’s so accessible and so versatile. It’s easy to cut with a craft knife or a sturdy pair of scissors, it holds great with hot glue or duct tape, it takes paint like a champ, and it’s got great structure to support all kinds of weird, costume-y elements and accessories.

Vat Dye Silk

14 Techniques to Paint and Dye Silk Fabric

It can be tricky to think of ways to paint or dye silk fabric, if you’ve mostly worked with cotton, linen, or other plant-fiber fabrics before. You probably already know that silk takes dye differently, but how differently? Can you paint it? Transfer images to it? Dye it multiple colors? 

How to Tie-Dye Silk

Yes, You Can Tie-Dye Silk!

The materials and techniques that you use to dye cotton are necessarily different than what you use to dye silk.

Darned Socks

Two Dozen Ways to Upcycle Socks That Have Lost Their Mates

Fortunately, that mate-less sock doesn’t have to live the rest of its life alone in my Socks Sans Partners basket, only to eventually be tossed out, years later, when I’ve finally admitted the truth to myself. There are SO many cute ways to upcycle orphaned socks.

How to Darn a Sock

How to Darn a Sock

A well-made sock can stand up to a lot of wear, and when a hole does finally work its way through, then you can darn that sock to make it even better than it was when it was new.

broken dish pendant

How to Make a Broken Dish Pendant

It’s easier than you think to cut ceramics with a couple of standard tools, and there are loads of ways to finish off the pendant to your taste.

button on pants

How to Sew a Button Back on Your Pants

Fortunately, sewing a button back on your pants is a super easy and low-fuss skill that requires only a basic amount of hand-eye coordination. Anyone can do it!

Three Dozen Free Vintage Dress Patterns

Even without the foundation garments, even without the advanced techniques, even without antique tissue paper patterns with an unreasonable waist to bust ratio, you can sew yourself a dress that LOOKS vintage.

face mask

20 DIY Cloth Masks

If you’re just getting started on creating your own cloth masks, or if you’re looking to switch up your go-to pattern–or add a handy accessory, OR make a matching cloth mask for a kid’s teddy bear!–then check out this list of my favorite DIY cloth mask patterns and tutorials.

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