on this week's episode of threadbanger, and lingerie maker clare bare demonstrate how to make a pair of very sexy girlie unders from a men's button-down shirt...just in time for valentines day. girls: make some for yourself! make some for your girl friends! guys who are handy with a sewing machine: make some for your ladyfriend(s)! it almost goes without saying: these would make perfect gifts.
i love the idea of making one's own underwear! i totally want to try this myself. it looks SO simple to do, and (as with a lot of things DIY!) the possibilities seem incredibly endless...you only need a tiny bit of fabric to make them (like, you could raid the remnant pile at your local fabric retailer for luxe ends to put to this use)...but if you make them out of otherwise useless fabric culled from old clothes you don't use or find secondhand (like clare suggests/demonstrates), so much the better, eh? sustainable skivvies!
awesome work as always, threadbanger!
burdastyle.com: still hitting it out of the (sewing pattern) park
many, many moons ago, i wrote about burdastyle. for those who weren't around the first time to hear me babble about it, i'll reinterate:
...burdastyle is a genius online sewing/fashion/DIY community that's centered around publishing open-source, easily downloadable sewing patterns.
in the past, burdastyle offered up all their patterns for free. recently, however, burdastyle has changed their business plan, and they have begun to charge for some of the patterns they offer, typically asking for a small fee for purchase (usually a few dollars, certainly less than some of the other pattern companies out there charge for their patterns, new). it should be mentioned, though, that plenty of freebee pretty pattern goodness is still to be had over there! win-win...burda can make money to keep producing patterns everyone can download, and those who like 'em free can have some too. yay!
i took a spin around the site again this past week, and spotted these super styles:
(images via burdastyle)
(style names, from top to bottom: bella, jorinde, ute variation A, jennifer (the blouse i was fawning over long ago in the post i made about the burdastyle threadbanger episode!), kasia & ute variation B)
and look! a myriad of trendy vintage-influenced details abound!:
high-waists, pussy-bows, twee peter-pan style collars, and fun, bold yokes!
you can so totally make these your own by thinking stylishly. like, that little blazer? would be too perfect if brazenly made a size too small, methinks! or the high-waisted pant? you could totally make those legs skinnier, or straighter, or some other shape that suits you!...the sky is truly the limit if your imagination is big enough...
again, burdastyle is, in many ways, instant gratification city: the styles and cuts of the clothing patterns they offer are up to the minute trend-wise, they are almost begging for alteration, personal interpretation, and the application of inspired embellishment, and best of all, you can print those patterns out on your home printer right away!
woot!: outsapop's lightning bolt sweater tutorial
(image via outsapop trashion, on flickr)
outsapop answered my pleas, and posted that tutorial on how to make a recycled lightning bolt sweater, over at cut out and keep, and on her own website! yay!
(i mentioned her amazing sweater recon and begged her for instrux my last (not so) random links post, 'member?)
see also: some of outsa's other terrific refashioning projects at cut out and keep, including how to make a zipper necklace/collar, how to make good use of neckties, and how to make an 80s-inspired boxy tee.