Shredded Marimekko

I made this Marimekko shredded tee today for a friend. At the moment I´m making them custom-orders-only. Some will also be available in Helsinki at a recycle fair called Kierrätystehdas at Kaapelitehdas in the end of April.

Cassette tape portraits

Amazing portraits from C-cassettes by Iri5 at Flickr. Found via Craft blog.

DIY How to customize your fitting dummy

Kari at The {New New} Blog has made a great tutorial on how to customize your dress form so that the dummy proportions are more accurate to your actual body curves. The dummy is reshaped through various forms of padding. It is also a nifty way to re-use all those shoulder pads you´ve cut out from thrifted 80´s clothes. I know I´ve got a bunch of them! Found Via Craft blog.

Southern Girls Collection by Margaux Designs

Inspired by "Southern Girls" - mixed with a little New Orleans Creole. Each piece is a thrift or vintage find which is hand dyed and embellished. Available at Etsy.

Earth Hour today!

Earth Hour starts today at 8.30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Swith off your lights for one hour.

Decorating with hearts, wire and lace

Anna Fleberg works at Hannas Form.





Textile works by Pia Aaseby.



Found via UllaBenulla.

GALVA-nized Millinery

GALVIN-ized Headwear
450 Harrison Avenue, Showroom 300 - C
Boston MA 02118

Spring is all about new skirts

After wearing denim all winter I´m on the look out for new (pencil)skirts and dresses. All indie of course. Here´s what I found from Etsy. Most of the indie fashion brands that I come across, make only tops and dresses, but no skirts. If you´re sewing and have an indie fashion brand, I suggest you take pencil skirts as a part of the collection. High waisted pencil skirts are a fashion classic. They can be made from virtually any sort of fabric and they look good on various bodytypes. Possile looks (and customers) vary from rockabilly to office chic and the pattern can be modified to add small details. Plus pencil skirts always look hot.

Black Daffodil



Sohomode



Sarah Seven


Agnieszka Swiatly

Moohoop styling

I found Moohoop´s blog today. I love her ability to morph a variety of patterns, materials, colors and styles to brilliant and fun looks. If you want to see some amazing styling inspiration from thrift store finds and secondhand, this is THE blog to follow.

This puff skirt she made from a tutorial by StyleBubble.

Inspiration - Täti Moonika

Vogue USA February 2009:


LULA Magazine March 2009:



Get the look Trashion-style:
straw hat
plaid shirt
corset, reconstructed from a jacket
obi-belt, from leftover metallic fabric
skirt, reconstructed from a full length A-line skirt
jewelry, from zippers, ribbons and diamond brooches
wooden bangles, thrifted

My favorite LP as a kid was "Täti Monika" (Engl. Aunt Monica). It is a Finnish childrens song about your funny aunt who loved to dress up and go shopping with her pretty hat and handbag swinging. We loved to pretend to be her while dressing up (at age 7) in my grandmothers dresses, party shoes, jewelry and evening bags. A little frumpy and maybe a bit too big, but we felt such ladies! Marc Jacobs Summer 2009 collection reminded me of this lovely time and I need to make this look for myself this summer.



Later edit: Moohoop, your interpetation of this Marc Jacobs SS09 look rocks!


Picture from Moohoop´s blog.

Outsapop t-shirt shredding tutorial

Here it is! My tutorial for shredding tees Raquel Allegra style. Any questions? Post a comment or send me mail.

Step 1.
Unravel the hem seam open all around.



Step 2.
With a seamripper find one layer of thread and pull it open from the hem. This thread will determine how wide your shredded part will be. The unravelled area will be about 2,5 times wider than the original. If you pull out about 10cm (about 4 inches) it will be about 25cm (10 inches) wide when done.



Step 3.
The easiest thing is to leave a few jersey loops unravelled. These are good points to pull the nearby loops open. Speed things up loads.




Here´s two videos I made to demonstrate how the unraveling is done. As you can see I have put my feet inside the shirt to help stretch the jersey tight. The jersey unravels easier when it is tight and straight.

Toad Tree Studio aka Nicole Deponte wearable necktie art

Obi-belts became trendy after Louis Vuitton introduced them again on their Summer 2009 collection. I will never buy an LV obi-belt but I do recognize the trendiness of piece. If you have an Etsy shop and know how to make obi-belts, I suggest you start making them! I´m 100% sure I´m not the only one looking for handmade LV-inspired obis this summer. Guaranteed sales.

After searching the Etsy shops for handmade obi-belts I stumbled across Nicole Deponte´s shop Toad Tree Studio. The makes obi belts from recycled neckties and collar pieces she calls neck kerchiefs.

From her Etsy profile:
"Nicole Deponte is a multi-talented artist and designer, creating one of a kind accessories for over five years. In 2008 she launched her lilian asterfield collection, redefining the tie and her flare for the vintage. She currently works as a fine artist, freelance window dresser, accessory designer, and fashion consultant. Visit her website to see more of her beautiful designs at nicoledeponte.com"

Nicole Deponte´s neck kerchiefs and obi-belts from recycled neckties:







Louis Vuitton Summer 2009 obi belts: