DIY: industrial necklace

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m e d i u m ][ 2-3 hours
cost: $20 range
shop at: your house, hardware store, craft or fabric stores
read: the instructions once though before you get started.

Vinyl tubing is officially awesome, because not only can you wrap things around it on the outside, but you can slide things inside and still see them. This project is pretty relaxed because if you make a mistake or want to re-use the pieces for something else, it's really easy to take apart.

The supply list has lots of parentheses because some of the stuff is a bit weirder than usual.

SUPPLIES

- length of ball chain
(I think the one I used was meant for a bathtub drain, but you can also find it in the jewelry section of a craft store)
- plastic gimp
(The stuff you used at camp to make lanyards. I used fluro yellow)
- thin household string or embroidery floss
(I used black and white, then painted the white with a color. It'd be easier to get already colored string)
- neon acrylic paint
(if you want to paint over string like me. I used fluro yellow)

- 1/4" vinyl tubing
- compression unit
- compression sleeves
(They were all next to each other at Home Depot when I found them. A clerk will come over and help if you stand there staring for awhile, haha)

- double-sided tape (for the string wraps)
(scotch brand is good, or you can use the kind mentioned in my foam clutch tutorial)
- liquid household glue (for the string wraps)
- electrical tape or duct tape (I used black)
- scissors
- wire cutters (to cut the ball chain)
- ruler
- measuring tape
- small paintbrush

0. Unwrap and play with the pieces and get familiar with how they work for a few minutes.

1. Measure the circumference of your neck. Add 1" or so to that number. Or, you could take the measurement of a choker-style necklace you have and use that number.

2. Cut a piece of vinyl tubing at that length. (I noticed mine had some funny "NOT FOR ICE MAKER" text printed on it, decided to embrace it, but feel free to be picky and avoid that part when you cut your pieces.) Because it comes all wound up, it lends to the circular shape well.

3. Attach one half of the compression unit to the end of the cut piece of vinyl tubing by sliding in the skinny bit at the end.
 

 4. At the other end of the tube, feed in the ball chain and gimp. I believe I did one after the other, but it might be possible to send them in at once. This step can take a bit of time, but stick with it!

 5. Trim the gimp and ball chain once it's all the way through and hits the compression unit. Slide on the compression sleeves (they look like beads, right?) and slide in the other half of the compression unit.

 6. To finish up, wrap little pieces of tape around parts of the necklace, and doublesided tape (or glue) / string wraps as well. (If you remember the BHBN tutorial, these string wraps are a lot like those.) I find that paint worked well on the string but not so much on the other surfaces.

 7. Doneski! The compression unit is the fastener of the necklace.

BONUS BRACELET


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1. Cut a length of tubing you can fit over your hand onto your wrist. (Use a bangle for reference if needed)

2. Use the techniques from the necklace instructions to decorate! To close the bracelet I used a few layers of tape. (If you're feeling fancy you could pick up a second compression unit and use that as a closure again.)


TIP: This would be a fun project to do with a few friends. One pack of tubing could make several necklaces, just make sure to get extras of the other supplies.

ALTERNATIVE IDEA: If the gimp and ball chain are being difficult, use a pipecleaner (easy to find at craft stores) instead. Black would look great with this necklace, but they come in a lot of colors, if you want to mix things up.

Be sure to check out my other projects!

If you make one, feel free to post a photo on the September Girls Do So Much fan page!

DIY #17
♥ I worked really hard on this tutorial.
It took a long time to prepare.
I wrote out these instructions and took the photos.
So if you see this anywhere else, it's not the original.
1/20/12

The Kooks

Saw The Kooks last night at HoB, maybe I'll post a little about the show later on. So rad. The Postelles were good fun, too. Left them a note in their tour bus door handle after the show, with this url, ahah. Maybe they'll see this, maybe not. Just wanted to say hi via an analogue medium. Had fun waving at you, Hugh!

DIY: instant drapey scarf

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e a s y ][ 20 minutes
cost: free, ideally
shop at: your house
read: the instructions once though before you get started

I got a handmedown henley from a family friend, wore it a few times, then I realized it was really unflattering. Yet really soft. I Absent mindedly made a few cuts, removing the buttons and slicing sleeves. I didn't rock it til much later, when I became more of a risk-taker with my outfit choices. I think you guys will love this!

SUPPLIES

- 1 long sleeve tee
(hopefully it's a color or print you like, and soft fabric a plus)
- scissors

0. HOW TO GET YOUR TEE FO' FREE: wander around your house and ask brothers, sisters, parents, whoever -- if they have an old long sleeve shirt they don't wear or like anymore. Or, even easier, maybe you have one of your own.

1. Cut off the collar and tag. If it has buttons, you can leave those or snip them off.

2. Starting below the neckline, make a long slit that goes 1/3 or so down the front of the shirt. Don't cut the back of the shirt.

3. Sleeves: starting at the cuff, make one cut up the length of the sleeve. Repeat on other sleeve.

4. Done! Here's a visual if you're confused.

[link]

5. Stick your head through what used to be the torso/chest part of the shirt. You can wear it sleeves hanging down, wrapped around, angled, exposed seams, inside out…sometimes I wear mine as an impromptu hood. I bet it could work as a hair-wrap, too! There isn't a wrong way to wear it.

TIP: I've found that smaller sized shirts (hence why snagging a younger sibling's shirt works so well) and thin/tissue knit jersey work really well. Don't flip out about it being "perfect". No such thing. Once it's draped around your neck it'll feel fab :)

ALTERNATIVE IDEAS: Regular tees, or 3/4 sleeves, will probs work too, but they'll be a little different. You could try ripping/snipping funky holes in the shirt to create a pattern. There's a million ways to cut it, as well. Endless options!

[feel free to use my photos in your sets! but please don't edit w/o asking. If you make a scarf of your own, send me a photo!]

be sure to check out my other projects!



♥ I worked really hard on this set. It took a long time to prepare.
I wrote out these instructions and took the photos.
So if you see this anywhere else, it's not the original.
10/10/10

Featured!

I logged on today for kicks, and to my surprise, a link to my typography tutorial was featured in an article in College Fashion! Thank you to the author, and hello to all my new visitors!

DIY: chevron fringe tee

reblog on tumblr | hype on lookbook

e a s y ][ 1-2 hours
cost: $10-20
shop at: your house, craft or fabric stores
read: the instructions once though before you get started.

Fringe is a really fun effect but I imagine it can be kind of intimidating if you've never tried it before. I promise this is a super easy project with big results, and would be fun by yourself, or with a group! It's also mildly eco-friendly, as each shirt is made from just one shirt, and minimal supplies, with very little waste.

SUPPLIES
- light colored t-shirt that's at least little too big for you.
(most craft and fabric stores have tees in youth and adult sizes)
- fabric glue
(beacon fabri-tac is a good brand)
- fabric markers or sharpies
- ribbon
- scissors
- ruler
- pencil
- piece of cardboard
(newspaper or a notebook would work too)
- flat space to work

1. Plan what colors you want to use before you buy supplies. The shirt I found in my house was light pink, so I decided to use pink and orange fabric markers, and pink and orange ribbon. I think fewer colors show off the fringe, but if you're color crazy, do your thing. Or, if you're not color crazy, you could even skip the steps about marker and/or ribbon. If you don't like fringe, this isn't a project for you. But maybe a friend or relative would like one?


2. Cut any tags out of the shirt.Try on the shirt and mark where your belly button is with a pencil. Take off the shirt and lay it flat. I recommend that you cut off around 4" from the bottom of the t-shirt. Four inches allows for pretty good looking fringe, but if that makes the tee too much of a belly shirt, or you want to play with fringe length, adjust as you like! The more you cut off from the bottom, the shorter the shirt will be.


3. Set the main part of the tee aside. Grab the bottom piece and place it in front of you, with the seam at the top. Using the fabric markers, add stripes of color to both sides. They don't have to be perfect, texture and randomness is a good thing here!


4. Cut lines every 1/2" along the piece, all the way across. You can wing it, or draw lines with a ruler and pencil. Pulling down on the 1/2" strings will cause them to roll, creating the awesome fringe effect.


5. Cut the fringe into two pieces, where the sides of the t-shirt used to be. You should have something that looks like this:


6. Now to create the chevron. Grab the fringe piece you want to use on the front of the shirt. Fold it onto itself, color facing in.


7. This part is a bit tricky, but take your time, you'll get it! Practice with a strip of paper if you need to. Fold it back flat, creating a little triangle behind it in the center.


8. The whole piece should look like the edge of an obtuse triangle. Put fabric glue in between the center's folds and let it dry for a bit. Then, pin the fringe where you want it to be on the shirt. Try it on to get a better visual. You can hold up the fringe and mark the shirt if you don't have pins.


9. Slide a piece of cardboard into the shirt to keep the glue from going everywhere. Trim the ends, remove the pins. Apply glue to the back of the seam to attach the fringe to the shirt, keeping an eye on placement. Once it's on there, press it down.


10. Using the same folding and gluing techniques, you can attach ribbon to the shirt.


11. I used the extra fringe and ribbon on the back of my shirt. I decided to put a straight line higher up, but you could do another chevron.


12. Done! Time to find some breeze and put your fringy tee into action!



TIP: Fabric glue is perfect because once it dries completely, it's machine washable. If you're feeling fancy, you could definitely sew instead.

ALTERNATIVE IDEAS: If you use a tee that is way big, you'll get a cool drapey poncho look. You could also play with cutting the neckline or sleeves, all the usual things that happen when you put scissors near a t-shirt.

Be sure to check out my other projects!

If you make one, feel free to post a photo on the September Girls Do So Much fan page!

DIY #16
♥ I worked really hard on this tutorial. It took a long time to prepare.
I wrote out these instructions and took the photos.
So if you see this anywhere else, it's not the original.
8/30/11