Category Archives: Stuff to make

Japanese Matchbox Art

Posted in Paper by

I’m in (small) love with these matchbox labels from 1920s-40s Japan. Little lovely landscapes of commercial art. I wonder what they’re selling? Five-star dining? Or a particularly elegant gas station with Quik Mart? If you read Japanese, please send us the translations. If not, just enjoy their perfect palettes: baby blue, pink and red; midnight blue, leafy green, and pink; and that rainbow circle? Stunning. Also weirdly reminiscent of my childhood Marimekko bedspread circa 1970s.

By the way, the photos are originally from a flickr set uploaded by Maraid Design. You can also see a survey of the matchbox labels at Buzzfeed.

Also, if you are enamored of small things, check out Look at this Little Thing! Fun for the whole family. My household spent about an hour looking and looking.

Upcycled Wool Mittens

Posted in Recycled materials, Sewing, Stuff to make by

This no-knit shortcut to making mittens is so preposterously easy (and somehow ridiculous) that it makes me giddy. To prep, toss an old sweater into the hot cycle of your washing machine and shrink it to kid-size. The finished cuffs of the sweater sleeves make excellent cuffs for mittens.

Constructing the mittens takes about 10 minutes. First, I turned the sweater sleeves inside out and lay them flat, using the existing sleeve seam. I traced my hand with pencil and sewed around the top and thumb. Turned right side out and that’s it: new stripey mitts!

This was my first foray with felted sweater wool–I’d like to collect enough sweaters to make a blanket, like this one from the Better Homes and Gardens blog.

VW Bus Printable!

Posted in Fabric printing, Stuff to make by

VW bus nuts–this one’s for you! I’ve been meaning to post this VW Bus printable for a while. I used this freezer paper stencil to make pillowcases for my son last spring. If you haven’t discovered freezer paper stencils for creating crisp, silkscreen-like images on fabric, here’s the complete how-to. For impatient, lazy sorts (like me), they offer immediate craft gratification. Craftification.

 

I think this would make a groovy T-shirt, too. Tape the stencil directly to freezer paper. Cut out the gray areas–these will become the painted areas. Along the dotted lines, trim a sliver from the freezer paper–this will create a line of color to outline the white parts of the image. Please share your results!

Canopy Studio fabric

Posted in Sewing, Stuff to make by

I was so excited to see this post on design*sponge about Canopy Studio‘s upholstery weight fabric. Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy for unique fabrics? My brother was kind enough to give me an Amy Butler Weekender Bag pattern for Christmas and I’ve been poking around looking for the right fabric. I am thinking either the blue or green with a solid hot pink for the trim and lining would be jaunty and fun. I think the blue has something of a Lily Pulitzer vibe to it. If only I could order the fabric and whip this up before my trip to the beach this weekend!

Faribault Woolen Mill

Posted in Stuff to make by

We recently had a cold snap in Florida–22 degrees, brr!–so I feel justified in coveting these gorgeous blankets and throws. I have been thinking about knitting a blanket, but I would be finished just in time for the sweltering summer. Instead, perhaps I should order one of these throws from this lovely mill in Minnesota and have some immediate coziness. Outpost throw of Soho plaid?