Steampunk week on Threadbanger and IndieMogul

Threadbanger hosted a Steampunk week with IndieMogul. Check out their videos with many tutorials, links and projects. Can you feel it? Steampunk has so arrived. I case you have never heard of Steampunk, you can see my previous posts to read all about it. Start from the bottom..

Zipper necklace for Rebecca

My fourth zipper nacklace is finished. This one is going to California for Rebecca.

Refashioning sweatshirts by Takeoffyourclothes

take.off.your.clothes makes clothes, accessories and soft jewelry from reusing old sweatshirts. I love his design style. Items also available from takeoffyourclothes.etsy.com.

Nice and Shiny fashion home projects

Nice and Shiny is a street fashion blogger from Winnipeg Canada that also bloggs about her DIY projects. Her latest project is the measuring tape belt in true Jeremy Scott vibe. I´m totally taken by all her DIY fashion projects. Love the cartoon heeled wedges, Pocahontas fringe top and Pleat tee.

Zipper necklace tutorial on Cut Out and Keep

My zipper necklace tutorial can now also be found from Cut Out And Keep craft community Projects.

Attention Trashion bag ladies!

(bag made by Post Scriptum)

Are you an upcycler? As in, are you into making stuff from things that others cast away? Now is your chance to show the world your trashy treasures. The Compai ladies — Justina and Faythe Blakeney (authors of 99 Ways To Cut, Sew, Trim And Tie Your T-Shirt Into Something Special) — are working on a new book about bags made from recycled materials.

Submit a hi-res image of an original bag (or bags) that you have made from old tires, nuts and bolts, candy wrappers, seatbelts, old clothes, plastic bags, vinyl records, etc. to justina@venuszine.com. Bags can be any shape, size or style so long as they are made from recycled materials. Along with the images, send us your name, occupation, age, URL (if you have one), location and a short paragraph explaining what the bag is made of and your design philosophy.

You could be chosen to be a featured designer in Compai’s upcoming publication (to be published by Potter Craft, a division of Random House), plus win two free copies of the upcoming title. The winner also will be featured on Venuszine.com.

Deadline: August 20, 2008, at 5 p.m.
Submit to: justina@venuszine.com with "Bag Book" in the subject line.


(Lace glove bag made by Flymissy)


(sweater bag by Brenda's bag)

Trashionista group in Flickr

As you know I´m admin of a group called TRASHIONISTA - Sustainable style and recycled fashion in Flickr. We have over 1000 members so far! I created this group to support sustainable fashion thinking and all you crafty trashionistas out there. If you have made, sewn, knitted, reconstructed fashion pieces, clothes or accessories from recycled materials or eco-friendly materials, this group is for you. Come and show us your talent! Thank you for all who have contributed so far. Below some of my favorites. Reduce Repair Reuse Recycle - TRASHION!

Dress and hat by Sunshine Loves You



Recycled fabric bunny called Betty by JunkerJane.


Patchwork dress by eviegreenpixie.


Reconstructed dress and zipper corset by LoriMarsha.



Knit reconstruction by -astronette-


String scarf by psarokokalo.



Converse belt by rachelyra.

Jackson Pollock jewelry with nailpolish

Bits and Bobbins tips us off to re-vamp your jewelry with colorful nailpolish Jackson Pollock style. The tutorial is made by Fops And Dandies. Love this! Fantastic re-use idea, that is also very trendy considering all the paintstained fashions we´ve seen this summer season. And you can make these in one evening. If you do not have any extra nailpolish at home, you can find some for sure at your local thrift store or fleamarket. I´m also quite sure that this same technique can be applied to other accessories like bags, belts and shoes (maybe not not textile covered..). So you will have a matching set!!



Dolce & Gabbana SS2008 collection:

Cut Out and Keep craft tutorial favorites

I´ve posted all my trashion tutorials on Cut Out And Keep craft community. I feel that it is an easy-to-use website with just the thing when looking for new craft ideas and instructions. Many craft sites have tutorial forums, but I find them a bit hard to use since you have to post all instructions and images by using html-code and you can´t browse projects wit pictures. With Cut Out And Keep the text and image uploading is easy, you can edit your posts when needed, you don´t have to size down your images and you can post as much steps as you want. You are also able to favorite the how-to´s you like and search them by category or other tags, like material. They also feature tutorials and instructions for cooking! Here are some of my favorite how-to´s from Cut Out And Keep craft community.

Scrap textile coasters tutorial by Jewels.


Elle magazine tie-on slippers tutorial by Tissuepapers A.


Comb bracelet tutorial by Impybat.


Square yo-yo´s tutorial by Sunshine h.


DIY dress form / fitting dummy tutorial by Myam


Leather belt cuff tutorial by Tucker.


Coloring and shrinking plastic tutorial, for jewelry and craft projects by Impybat.


Guitar shaped bag tutorial by Myam.


DIY inspiration scrapbook tutorial by Cat Morley.


DIY envelopes tutorial by Cat Morley.


Plastic cup light fixture tutorial by Sparkleball Lady.


Denim storage boxes tutorial by Holly B.

DIY craft books ordered!

I´m always on the lookout for new intresting craft, DIY and clothing reconstruction books. I found these books yesterday and ordered them all today. Early Xmass present from myself to myself. I´m especially happy to see Alison Willoughby finally publishing a book about her works. I hope it has also guides how those amazing skirt designs are made! See my post about her skirts from last November.

49 Sensational Skirts: Creative Embellishment Ideas for One-Of-A-Kind Designs with Pattern(s)
by Alison Willoughby (release date April 2008)


Canvas Remix: Techniques for Creating Mixed-Media Accessories
by Alisa Burke (release date July 25th 2008)


Jean Therapy: Denim Deconstruction for the Conscientious Crafter
by Scatha G. Allison (release date April 1st 2008)


Denim Revolution: Dozens of Ways to Turn Denim Cast-offs into Fashion Must-haves
by Nancy Minsky (release date end of August 2008)


Born-Again Vintage: 25 Ways to Deconstruct, Reinvent, and Recycle Your Wardrobe
by Bridgett Artise and Jen Karetnick


Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting
by Syuzi Pakhchyan (released June 24th 2008)


DIY: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks)
by Ellen Lupton

Stylish peplums and fashion terminology

Queen Michelle from Kindom Of Syle blog created this wonderful and very stylish peplum to complete her wardrobe. What is a peplum, you may ask? According to Encyclopedia.com "peplum is a a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce".

Prada had some lightly padded versions in their Fall 2008 collection. Sounds intresting, looks stylish and is easy to make for yourself! I have a stack of shoulder pads in my craft supplies closet (cut out from secondhand 80´s clothes) that would work great in this project. I´d cover the pads up with lace, trim the edges and sew together onto a elastic waistband. Or you could use some of those fabric scaps left over from your latest dress/skirt sewing project. I know you have them! :) Quick trashion and an instant facelift for any pencil skirt or straight cuctail dress you have in your closet.

Peplums at Prada Fall 2008 collection:




I have learned so many new fashion related words (in English) since I started this blog. I´ve studied fashion terminology in Finnish and felt really frustrated in the beginning of my writing when I could not express myself correctly. But as I have browsed through hundreds of fashion blog posts, I have picked a few words on the way. I´m still a looong way from being an A student so I thought getting some proper fashion dictionaries might help. I found two from Amazon: Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion and The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers (World of Art).

DIY Publishing at Blurb

You´ve propably heard about Blurb.com where you´re able to make your own books about holiday pics, wedding pics and so on. Not many crafters and artists have realized that these blurb-books can also be made to portfolios, collection catalogs or hardcover inspiration books! They make a very good addition to your Etsy shop or website shop. With the prices starting from 20 dollars they are very affordable. Check out Blurb-bookstore Crafts&Hobbies category.

Lori Stanstedt aka lorimarsha has done just this. Her new book Re:find goods - Wear. Smile. Repeat. shows her clothing reconstructions and inspiration. It makes a wonderful addition to your craft book library. See the book preview here (40 pages, published: May 13, 2008).



Here´s how she describes her book, "Our culture glorifies the new. Trendy garments with built-in obsolescence quickly lose appeal when they appear on the “what’s not” side of the “what’s hot” fashion column. So they’re relegated to the back of the closet….stuffed into a bottom drawer… and, if they’re not dumped into the trash, they eventually find their way to thrift and consignment stores where they languish under the humiliation of multiple markdowns and overpopulated racks. As every savvy recycler knows, treasure often hides between purple power suits and polyester broomstick skirts. And the thrill of finding a mustard dupioni silk blouse or a fine gauge British wool dress makes the sometimes exhaustive searches worthwhile. I am proud to say that I design all of my garments from recycled materials."

At the moment Blurb offers only 48 books on crafts and 8(!) books on recycling... I know you guys have talent to make more! You can fill your book from anything to product images, making-of-pics, tutorials, inspiration book scans and drawings or scetches as long as they do not violate any copyrights. Of course book-making requires a certain ability for lay-out design and quality pictures from your items. But as I have written about DIY photography in the past, all this can be done at home. Just use your imagination and creativity. The Blurb.com book-design program is very helpful in this. Now how long it would take for me to construct my own book from my inspiration book pages or my trashion tutorials???

RECYCLE RUNWAY book written by Nancy Judd. Book detail HERE. Check also their website.

DIY City Magazine 2nd issue out 15th July!

When is the New Orleans (2nd) issue of DIY City Magazine going live? Well July 15th would be the answer and it’s worth the wait! Jammed packed with New Orleans designers/artists and cool places to shop for your DIY supplies. We have a special Wedding Feature and some really cool inspiration walls, boards and pages from designers around the world.... (Maybe from a Finnish Trashionista also..). Features section will have some great interviews with local indie designers. It takes you down the streets of NOLA and shows you all the great places to shop for DIY supplies, you will get to meet many local designers that call New Orleans home. Spread the word about DIY City Mag - and if you would like to be a contributor send DIY City Mag email at diycitymag@gmail.com.

Clothing reconstruction ideas from Viktor & Rolf Fall 2008 collection

I spent a good part of my weekend browsing through Firstview.com fall 2008 fashion collections. Every fashion blog is posting about the next fall trend so there´s propably no point of me doing the same. I concentrate on finding ideas from them that you fellow DIYers can aply in your projects. And boy did I hit the motherload!

I´m sure most of you have seen pics of the unreal 3D slogan jackets in Viktor & Rolf Fall 2008 collection. Quite stunning, but they take a bit of planning and pattern making to pull off. I want to see fast results in my DIY fashion projects (plus my sewing machine is at the repair shop) so that was not the thing that caught my attention... It was the STAPLES!! The entire collection is filled with seams with random staple-details. V&R also used them for gathering volume and combining pieces (sleeves to bodice). The best thing is that this DIY tip is unisex so you can style your mans wardrobe at the same go.






I had to go get my husbands staple gun immediately and try this out. I don´t think this would work so good on my silk party dress, so I´ll start from refashioning old tees, shirts and jeans. The staples need to be shot against a surface that absorbs the hit but allows them to be taken out easily - thick styrofoam. Be carefull when pulling off the garment. The staple is through the fabric but it still needs to be bent underneath to secure the fastening. Hammer the staple ends down to finish the detail. I´m sure V&R have sewed the seams normally before stapling them, but I would not bother if you are in a hurry... In this case "less is more" does not aply. The more the merrier.

I´m not sure if the staples I have are stainless steel, but I´m kinda hoping there not... I want them to rust when the garment is washed!! That would make a cool effect. Looooove rust. If the washing machine does not work in rusting, I´ll try soaking. CheapBoutique at Etsy also gave me a tip to use Boiled egg yolk works, Ammonia or urine for rust-treatments. Ammonia (clorine/bleach) might be easiest. I remember some denim buttons rusting when I soaked a pair of jeans in raw bleach. Ooops.

DIY tutorial: Marc by Marc Jacobs Lego Belt

I´ve done stuff from legos in the past but doing a lego belt buckle?? I´ve tried to figure out the fastening since I saw these in Marc By Marc Jacobs SS08 summer collection. Then I was doing some google searches this evening for something complitely different and stumbled upon Morgan´s lego-belt tutorial. How simple solution! I mean it is always like that isn´t it? Simple just works! Great job girl! Now the only question is how will a make this work for a belt buckle for guys??

Steampunk fashion part 1 - the clothes

Steampunk fashion photography by Kat Bret. Check out also her website.

I have to write more about steampunk and especially the fashion/clothing aspect of it since it´s pretty much the only thing I´ve been thingking about for the past few days. Unlike it´s sister-gendres cyberpunk and goth, steampunk is not dark, gloomy or spooky but innovative, elegant and beautiful. Propably the best online source is Flickr group Steampunk Fashion. Also check out Steampunk Clothing Collective.


Photo. Photography copyright Vorpal Images, 2008.

Steampunk devotees are almost always DIY people. They sew and assemble their own fashions, an imaginative mix of neo-Victorian, Edwardian and military style accented with sometimes crudely mechanized details and accessories like brass goggles, harnesses, clockwork pendants and of course the mandatory decorative steampunk ray gun dangling at the hip. Steampunk style is corseted and high-buttoned with crinolines, waistcoats, high-arced sleeves and top hats, bowler hats or aviator caps. Sort of 1890 "academical-inventor-chic" that you wear to a Jules Verne teaparty or a Time Travellers ball.



Photos by Amanda Scrivener. The green dress is made from charity shop curtains. Steampunk trashion...


Image via Wikipedia


Photo via Erwinevol.com

The thing that I admire most about steampunk fashions, is that as the gendre demands they must do a lot of research to get it right. You know, visit museums and libraries! Unfortunately no brand or webstore covers steampunker´s fashion needs complitely. After three hours of www-surfing all I found was Gypsymoon, Abneypark, Ebay and Etsy. Let me know if you know more links! Few patterns can be bought online (see links below). I would imagine that since "steampunk" gets almost 2,9 million hits in Google someone would set up a shop soon. The consumers are there!


Photo by TheCassettes



Photos by hmschronabelle


Photo by Suzanna


Steampunk corset dress by Scoundrelle


Steampunk corset by Scoundrelle


Steampunk corset by Louise Black


Victorian hat available from Ebay.

Steampunk fashion links:
Dreadnought Designs
Lorimarsha
Ms.Antiorder
Jaborwhalky

Victorian pattern links:
Dover Publications
Farthingales Historic patterns
Oldpatterns.com
Westernersoutfitter

Trashion fascinators and flapper hats from neckties

I´ve been obsessed lately about fascinators and flapper hats. You know, those artistic looking brooch-type-fabric-thingies girls wear on their heads to parties. Apparently it is a trendry thing to rave about since StyleBubble is writing about this as well. Thelma Design has inspired me to start doing my own.




I´ve had a huge box full of neckties just waiting for a project like this so here I go! Here´s a few pictures of the first tie-fascinator versions I sewed yesteday. See my Tie-feather tutorial to see what I have done to the ties before rolling and handsewing them together.

Trashion lunch

I love bagels. And here you see the perfect trashion-way to take your take-away lunch with you to work. Idea and instructions from Acorn Studios.

Geek-ware Trashion

Technology has gone supersonic in the past ten years. Our electronic devices expire faster and recycling centres are stuck with mountains of old computers, tv´s, dvd´s, phones, printers, VHS casettes and so on. Anyone who uses these discarded technologies as material for their projects or products is my idol. Geek-ware blog ("adventures of an e-waste recycler") is dedicated in finding new ideas and the people that gid through piles of computers and other tech-stuff to give them a new purpose or look. Artists have also come up with fab new inventions when studying our relationship with these everydaymachines. Recycle-retro-tech rocks!

Customizing your computer screen: Instructions HERE
How cool is this.. And did you notice the keyboard??


Recycling computer disks:

Floppy disc notebooks

Disc notebooks

CD-case:


Privacy-laptop sweater and other Body-Technology Interfaces.


Mac-jewelry:


Sheeps in technology heaven: Original post HERE

Suits you Girl! A reconstruction by LauPre

Crafster hosted a challenge last December to buy something under 20$ and reconstruct it to something new. The winner of the "Super Ugly to Super Awesome" challenge is Sad Suit to Ruffle-y cute by LauPre! Once a sad, sad over-sized frumpy business suit, LauPre transformed it into a super cute and funky outfit! Fab job girl!!