Do you ever look at your closet and just feel like you have nothing to wear? No more! Use your crafty superpowers to revamp that wardrobe and save yourself a shopping trip.
21 Ways to Refashion Your Wardrobe Read More 👉
Have any ratty bath towels or blankets or other thick fabric to upcycle? Have some stash cotton to rescue from your scraps basket? Read on to find out how to turn that stash into potholders!
How-to: Sew a Nine-Patch Potholder Entirely from Stash and Upcycled Materials Read More 👉
I am a firm believer that skirts ought to have pockets. I mean, really – what garment isn’t improved with a little pocket action, right?
Clothing designers do not seem to agree with my pocket philosophy, though, which I think is a terrible shame. Luckily, with a little crafty know-how, you can add a pocket to almost any skirt to stash, say, your key, money, and ID for an evening out. Take that, pocket-haters!
How-to: Add a Kangaroo Pocket to Your Favorite Skirt Read More 👉
While you’ll have to wait until after the holiday season for my own favorite nine-patch potholder tutorial (there’s only so much craftiness I can do while spending Christmas ten hours away from my sewing machine), here are five more potholder tutorials that you’re going to love. Some are scrappy, some are sturdy, some are cute, and none of them even require so much as a pattern to sew–how much easier could you get?
Here’s how you can make your very own reusable snack bag. This tutorial will make a 7″ X 6.5″ bag, which is a good size for little snacks or even a small sandwich. If you need something bigger or smaller, you can play around with the dimensions to whip up whatever size you like!
How-to: Sew a Reusable Snack Bag Read More 👉
You might think that you have to be an expert seamstress to mend damaged clothes, but that’s not true at all! You don’t even need a sewing machine – just a needle, thread, and a bit of patience are all it takes to repair damaged clothing.
On the Mend: 4 Stitches to Repair Damaged Clothing Read More 👉
Don’t let a busted pocket mean the end for your favorite garment. You can repair instead of replacing with one simple stitch!
How-to: Repair a Separated Pocket Read More 👉
Check out how to sew cloth napkins that fit nicely into my children’s packed lunches. And, as a bonus, I sew my napkins with a double thickness, so that they have extra absorbency for mopping up spills…not that your kids are messy, of course.
How To Sew Cloth Napkins for a Waste-Free Lunchbox Read More 👉
It has been positively blustery out there lately, and that chilly weather gets me in the mood to craft with sweaters. Luckily, when the weather gets colder, thrift stores are busting with sweaters, so even if you don’t have any in your stash, you can still find sweaters to upcycle for all sorts of fun, fall-themed projects.
5 Fall Projects to Recycle Old Sweaters Read More 👉
D’oh! It seems that I sent one of my sweaters through the dryer, and it shrunk beyond the point where I can salvage it. Technically, what’s happened here is that I accidentally felted my sweater. Yep! Felting a wool sweater is so easy that you can do it without even meaning to. My closet’s loss is my accessory stash’s gain, though, because I turned that shrunken sweater into a super cozy infinity scarf.
Do you have a shrunken sweater that needs a little love? Here’s how you can make your very own infinity scarf.
How-to: Infinity Scarf from a Shrunken Sweater Read More 👉
My children don’t need flame-retardant pajamas, and neither do yours. I sew their pajamas myself, using some of these five simple hand-sewn pajama projects.
Kids Don’t Need Flame-Retardant Pajamas: Five Handmade Pajamas to Sew Yourself Read More 👉
Don’t you just love burlap? It’s eco-friendly, cheap (sometimes even free!), and gives any project a bit of Earthy, shabby chic appeal. There are lots of fun ways that you can incorporate burlap into your crafty endeavors! Here are some tips on finding burlap and a list of burlap craft projects to help kickstart your crafting.
10 Burlap Craft Projects Read More 👉
Instead of buying new, I decided whip up a sunglasses case using supplies that were already in my craft room. Hurrah! This case was a surprise, so those are my giant, white sunglasses in the photos. He wears pretty big glasses, too, so I modeled the size on my huge pair. If you wear less chunky sunglasses, you might want to size this sunglasses case tutorial down a bit to accommodate, so they’ll fit snugly.
How-to: Make a Burlap Sunglasses Case Read More 👉
As a children’s toy, a holiday decoration, or a wonderful present (a child’s name? A couple’s first monogram? How fun!), stuffed fabric letters are a way to show your personality and use up just about any kind of fabric in your stash. Neatly sewing up those letters with holes in them can be very tricky, however, but let me show you how, and you’ll be off and running.
How-to: Sew a Stuffed Fabric Alphabet from Upcycled, Recycled, or Natural Fabrics Read More 👉
You know I love a necktie craft, and this vintage cowl was a super fun way to turn an old necktie into something useful and new!
How-to: Vintage Necktie Cowl Read More 👉
It’s quick and easy to whip up a travel tic tac toe set to keep the kiddos busy on your next road trip.
How-to: Make a Travel Tic Tac Toe Game Read More 👉
Are you crazy for your iPhone or in love with your PSP? All of those gadgets and gizmos keep us connected and entertained, and the least that we can do is protect them from dings and scratches by whipping up cases for them!
10 Gadget Cases for Your Inner Geek Read More 👉
My husband just got a Kindle, and he is loving it! He loves that it’s small and that he can instantly snag new books whenever he wants. What he doesn’t love is worrying about his Kindle getting damaged in his bag on the way to and from the train station, so I thought I’d whip him up a simple little cozy to keep it safe and sound.
This Kindle cozy took less than an hour to make, and it fits his Kindle like a glove!
How-to: Make an Upcycled Kindle Case in 10 Steps Read More 👉
We’ve explored some options for natural and organic sewing notions before, but it’s been a while, and there are more options out there than ever!
Natural and Organic Sewing Notions: A Resource Guide Read More 👉
The applique quilting method is easy and eco-friendly as it uses t-shirts and other various knick knack clothes for a memory quilt. If you have more than just t-shirts, using the applique method is the way to go if you want to make a memory quilt.
Here is an easy way to upcycle a t-shirt into a shirred tank top.
Upcycling a t-shirt into an adult skirt is easy and very eco-friendly. Here is how to make a skirt with a large men’s t-shirt.
How To: Make a T-Shirt Skirt Read More 👉
When the weather gets hot, the hot get crafty! We’ve rounded up a few video tutorials on how to turn clothing castaways into sassy summer gear.
We got a note from a reader recently who is looking to switch to an eco-friendly option for her hand-dyed and printed fabrics. The trouble is, she couldn’t track down a source for undyed eco-fabrics.
Fab Fabrics: Undyed Hemp Fabric Read More 👉
Who says you need petroleum-based polyfill to stuff a pillow? Not me!
Not too long ago, I showed you a quick and dirty way to take in a too big tank top, but that’s not the only way you can use your sewing skills to alter thrifted treasures! Here’s how you can shorten a pair of thrifted pants in just a few simple steps.
Yesterday, we showed you how to add a little cute to a thrifted necktie with a felt applique, but what about the rest of the ties in your crafty stash? Don’t fret! We’ve got you covered with some super fun necktie crafts.
One of the things that intimidates people about sewing is it seems like a very precise art. Of course, sewing can be that way, but not every project requires complete precision and control. In fact, there are lots of beginner sewing and mending projects that require a lot less skill than you might think! Taking in a too-big tank top is one of these.
It’s probably because I just completed a studio makeover, but I’m obsessed with finding little DIY ways to make my sewing room that much cooler.
Here are a few of the sewing room DIY projects that have been catching my eye these days.
Green crafty superstar Betz White is teaming up with Robert Kaufman to release a line of GOTS certified organic cotton fabric!
Betz White + Robert Kaufman = Inspiration Read More 👉
Zero waste has been a growing trend in the fashion industry, and I’m very excited to see it catching on in the craft world, as well!
These super-sized, bold prints from Betz White are perfect for those spring sewing projects!
Fab Fabrics: New Organic Cotton Prints from Betz White Read More 👉
Make traveling with kids more fun and less expensive with these five D.I.Y. travel toys made with recycled and/or natural materials.
Five DIY Travel Toys Guaranteed to Make Your Trip More Bearable Read More 👉
Kelly talked last week about the April Stash Bust, and we’re pretty excited about busting our stashes around here! That “use what you have” mentality is part of the heart of green crafting, and there are so many fun, creative ways to take supplies you have on hand and turn them into something wonderful. Here are a few stash busting projects for those fabric scraps!
April Stash Bust: Five Projects to Bust That Fabric Stash Read More 👉
One of the main things I hear from non-vegans about the vegan lifestyle is that it seems difficult. While I agree that any lifestyle change is tough, I don’t think going vegan is any harder than any other big life change. It takes a little bit of research, a bit of knowledge, and some compassion.
Vegan Crafting Made Easy: Vegan Sewing Supplies Read More 👉
Did you know there was a National Quilting Day? It’s just around the corner, on March 19th. Let’s celebrate eco-friendly quilting this year with some green quilting supplies!
Quilting Day 2011: Eco-Friendly Quilting Supplies Read More 👉
