While Spring is upon us and the weather is starting to get a little warmer, we also just had a couple of big snowstorms here in NYC. Ya can’t trust mother nature, she can be a real bitch sometimes. My craftmatic friend Sarah, who helped me make my ruffled suspenders hit me with the instructionado to make felted mittens that are easy to create out of laundry mistakes, or an old sweater salvaged from the thrift store. You can give it a try this weekend, or bookmark this page and save it for next winter!

Supplies Needed

• An old sweater (wool or cashmere)
• Scissors
• Pins
• Pattern
• Sewing Machine
• Buttons or other accessories (optional)

Regular sized sweater, and felted sweater, these were about the same size before I felted the red one.

First, felt your sweater: You’ll need a sweater that’s mostly made of wool or cashmere, not an acrylic fiber. Machine wash and rinse it in hot water, then put it in the dryer for a while. You should end up with a very shrunken sweater with the fibers of the knit all bound together from the heat. Maybe you’ve shrunk a sweater before– this is a great project to salvage any laundry accidents you may have. Felting is sometimes complicated, a great tutorial on felting sweaters can be found here:

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2259/how-to-felt-sweaters

laying out the pattern

Download these .pdf patterns to create your own felted mittens.

Next, cut out your mitten parts. If you cut carefully, you can get about 2 pairs of mittens from one felted sweater. If your sweater has a pattern or a texture like a cable, make sure to lay out the top palm, bottom palm, and back of the mitten so the pattern in the sweater lines up. I wanted my mittens to be really long and ladylike, so I pinned my bottom palm and mitten back on the sweater about an inch higher than the bottom of the sweater.

pinning the top palm to the bottom palm

Then, start sewing. Pin the top palm to the bottom palm, with right sides together, noting the mark in the pattern on the side of the bottom thumb. (I just used a pin with a colored top to indicate this spot where I’d end the seam.)

sewing the top palm to the bottom palm, stopping at the mark on the side of the thumb

Sew across the palm and around the thumb stitching at ¾ inch seam allowance, stopping at the mark you made on the side of the thumb.

trimming the seam allowance

Trim seams to about ¼ inch seam allowance.

pinning the mitten back to the palm

Now, pin the back of the mitten to the palm (with right sides together, again)

sewing the mitten back to the palm, with seams starting on each side of the thumb

and then sew the palm to the back of the mitten, starting a seam on either side or the thumb. This might leave you with a small gap where the two thumb pieces meet the back of the mitten, I just hand sewed a few stitches in this little gap after I trimmed the seams around the back of the mitten and palm to ¼ inch.

turn them inside out and you've got mittens!

Now, turn them right side out and you’ve got mittens that are tiny sweaters for your hands! The pairs I gave as gifts I sewed two buttons each (some matching, some not) along the bottom cuffs of each mitten.

Lately I’ve been trying to think of ways to spice up some old over-sized shirts I’ve collected over time. Shirts I’ve received through concerts, clothing swaps, hand-me-downs, and those gruesome moments of getting a stain on the bottom half of a shirt I can’t bear to throw away. Luckily, I’ve been noticing a trend with cropped tees like the one in the Roxy Spring Lookbook which inspired me to make just that.

Then I thought, what am I going to do with all that extra fabric left over? Good thing the weather is still cold in January, and we can never have too many scarves/necklaces. Yup! We’re killing two seasons with one stone (or well, t-shirt).

Note: This is a money saving tutorial, so climb up your attics, rummage through your boyfriend’s closet, and bring some old shirts to life! No need to spend that pretty penny you’ve been working so hard for.

Supplies Needed:

• T-shirt (preferably a size or two larger)
• Scissors
• Ruler & Fabric Chalk or a Pencil (you can always eyeball it if you’d like)

Your Supplies

Making a crop tee is pretty fool proof, it’s actually the extra embellishing that can throw you off.

To Make The Cropped Tee:

Put Your T-shirt On To Measure Where You'd Like To Crop It

Put on your tee of choice and fold it up based on where you’d like it to be cropped. A good estimate would be about 7-8 inches from the armpit area; this will make the tee go down to your waist. Mark your cutting point with fabric chalk or a pencil.

Line It Up and Cut!

Lay the shirt on a flat surface and outline straight across. You can also just fold the shirt horizontally starting  from the point marked and cut across without having to draw on your shirt.

Cut Around The Neckline To Add Pizzazz

Your basic cropped tee is done! To jazz up the neckline, you can cut it into a boat neck (cut 2-3 inches from the existing neckline) to get that sexy off the shoulder look.  Or you can cut along the existing neckline leaving about 1-2 inches attached to the entire shirt (the parts not cut can land anywhere on the shirt, get creative!). Add more pizazz by cutting the sleeves shorter or folding them up a la Not Bad For a Girl.

Tada! Cute Cropped Tee!

To Make the Fabric Necklace/Scarf:

Line Up and Cut The Remaining T-shirt Fabric

Take the leftover fabric from your cropped tee and lay it flat. With a ruler and pencil, draw horizontal lines about half an inch apart and cut across (You can cut all the way through to separate all the strands or stop at the seam to keep them all together). Don’t forget to cut off the bottom seam, that part’s not cute.

Grab The Strands, and Stretch

Once you finish cutting all the strands, you may begin the best part. Grab a couple strands and start pulling! But not too hard because you might cause them to rip, just enough so that they start to curl.

Drape Around Your Neck However You Like!

After pulling all the strands,  start looping them around your neck however your heart desires. If you played around with it enough, I’m sure you’ll be able to find over a hundred ways of wearing the thing. To make it more of a scarf, just get more old tees to layer until you’re warm and ready to go.

Enjoy!

I thought these up one night recently when I was trying to fall asleep. It tends to be the time that my brain stirs up all the side dishes and turns it into a meal. I’d been thinking about a way to spice up one of my blazers, and also that safety pins are looking to become the next big trend following zippers. How could I use the two in a way I haven’t seen before? Make epaulets out of safety pins! Then I got to thinking, what if they just look weird? How can I make them more epaulicious without going overboard? Fringe! And this is what I got.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 Blazer – vintage or new, however you do
• 75 – 100 2″ safety pins
• About half a yard of fringe (I used 3″ fringe)
• Some Fabric Glue or invisible tape
• Scissors

Supplies - Vintage Blazer, 2" Safety Pins, 1 Yard Of Fringe

So I started with my blazer and supplies

Insert Pins Parallel To Each Other Along The Shoulder

I began inserting my safety pins parallel to each other along the shoulder of my blazer, with the opening facing the back of the blazer, and making sure to space them as evenly as possible. I quickly began to see that the back end of the safety pin is narrower than the front because of the clasp, so they should not be inserted too close to each other.

Prickly Shoulder - Pins From End To End

Leave your pins open so you may attach the fringe.

Attach The Fringe To The Pins

Line the fringe up to the pins, and attach by piercing. Once it is attached, you can cut the end of the fringe, and apply a drop or two of fabric glue to stop it from fraying. Then start closing all of the pins.

Repeat, and Finito!

Once all of your pins are closed, repeat the process on the other shoulder of your blazer. Once that’s done, you’re done!

Sassy Shoulders, What Do You Think?

One could conceivably do fringe in the front and the back of the shoulders, but I like the element of surprise, and just wanted some sass in the back. Buuuut……

Use Extra Fringe to Create A Lapel Pin!

Since I had some extra fringe, I wove an extra large pin through top of the strip of fringe, and created a lapel pin, so I had party in the front, and in the back!

What do you think? Like? Dislike? Have any other ideas to add?

Due to the resounding success of her last She’s Crafty, my friend Pandora from Accessory Source is back with another lovely necklace DIY tutorial that would make a fantastic christmas present for a friend or relative!

She says:

When it comes to jewelry, I favor big and bold pieces. And while I tend to wear mostly gold, lately I’ve become obsessed with mixing metals like silver and gunmetal (and throwing in some bling for good measure!). My multi-chain necklace has become a staple in my wardrobe because it incorporates it all. Here’s a quick 10 step tutorial on how to make your own bulky bauble.

You will need the following tools:

• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pliers (optional)
• Ribbon-1 yard
• Two jump rings (the size of a nickel). For those who don’t know what a jump ring is, it’s a metal ring with a small gap for opening and closing.
• 7 various strands of chain – 12 inches

Supplies

I chose a mix of metals in various colors and sizes and a few strands with rhinestones. But this tutorial can be applied to ANY strands, like beads. The only requirement is that the ends of each strand have a round opening or a jump ring that can be hooked onto a larger jump ring. If it doesn’t, you will have to attach one.

All of my materials were purchased at Toho Shoji.

Cut your first strand of chain to 12 inches

Step 1:
Cut your first strand 12 inches long. This will be the longest chain on the necklace.

Cut your remaining strands each a half inch shorter than the next

Step 2:
Cut the remaining strands 1/2 inch shorter than the strand before. I have 7 strands. My longest is 12 inches, my shortest is 9 inches.

Pry open your jump ring and attach your longest strand

Step 3:
Using your pliers open one jump ring and hook on your longest strand.

Hang your chains from longest to shortest

Step 4:
Hang the rest of the chains one at a time, in size order. You’ll hang the smallest one last.

Close the jump ring with pliers

Step 5:
With your pliers, close the gap of the ring.

Repeat and attach to other jump ring

Step 6:
Do the exact same thing to the other end of your chains, starting with the longest strand.

Cut ribbon, and place through jump ring

Step 7:
Cut your ribbon in half. Take one ribbon and put an end through the back of the jump ring so that the edge is facing you.

Knot your ribbon on the jump ring

Step 8:
Fold the edge to the left. Wrap it around the back of the ribbon toward the right and through the hoop, creating a knot.

Repeat on other jump ring. Secure with stitches if your chains are heavy.

Step 9:
Do the same thing with the remaining ribbon and jump ring. Only this time when you fold the ribbon, fold it to the right and bring it around to the left to tie.

Step 10:
If your chains are heavy, you may want to reinforce the knots by sewing a few stitches.

Complete and ready to wear!

Lastly, wear it with everything and love it!

Give the way you live

Spread the holiday cheer by giving healthy this year!  ‘Tis the season for giving, and if you’re still making your gift list, make sure to check it twice for healthy gifts.  You may already be watching what you eat, or, have intentions for a health-focused resolution, but don’t forget about your loved ones who might need a push in the right direction.  After all, what better way to show someone that you care about them than with the gift of health?  The best part is that once you’re on the healthy path, your family and friends won’t stray far away.

Don’t fret because fruitcake and cheese logs aren’t the only ways to spread holiday health to your loved ones.  Try these gift ideas to give the way you live:

• Make a gift basket.  Anyone can use  a gift basket.  Think of a theme that would be easy to express in your basket.  Healthy hostess?  Breakfast in bed?  Healthy road trips?  Now grab a basket and fill it up with anything needed to make that healthiness happen.  For a healthy hostess, try finding a bamboo serving tray and plates and pair with a simple cookbook.  For breakfast in bed, try a cushioned tray with a herbal teas and a tea set.  A small cooler, storage containers, and trail mix ingredients could be included in a road trip basket.
• DIY with a recipe jar.  For the creative folks out there, you can make a batch of something for everyone on your list without cooking at all!  Reuse clean and sanitized jars with lids and fill with the dry ingredients of a healthy recipe.  It’s best to buy in bulk so you’ll have plenty for everyone- including yourself.  A soup could include layers of beans, noodles and spices, while a cookie jar could have flour, oatmeal, sugar, and raisins all stacked up.  Print up the recipe on fancy paper, and attach to the jar with a festive bow.  Ask them to call you when they make it so you’ll get to taste what they’ve been cooking, thanks to you!
• Keep it sweet.  Anyone can appreciate something sweet.  This time around, try a healthier approach to giving sweets.  Dip apples in caramel and roll in nuts for a kick of protein.  Not only is this gift nice and sweet, it’s a sneaky, tasty way to give your folks a dose of vitamin C.  If you’re a cookie maker, try to find a recipe that uses dried fruits and whole grains, like oatmeal and cranberries,
• The good ‘old gift card.  For the cook in your group who already has everything- except ingredients- give them a gift card to the health food store where they can shop for whatever they want, on the healthier tip.  One of the reasons people pass on healthy foods is because of the cost, but with a gift card to the health food store, they won’t feel so bad buying the more expensive organics.  No healthy stores in town?  Include a healthy recipe and a shopping list with a gift card to the grocery store and they’ll just have to try it out.

When you give with good intentions, you’ll be giving gifts that will have no need for return or exchange.  When they get their gift, they’ll be empowered to focus on their health and to give the way you live a try

Stencil 101 Decor By Ed Roth at Chocolate Bar

When I saw in my inbox an invitation to an event that promised chocolate, toasty wintry bevs, and stencils, my RSVP was immediate. So, I went down to Chocolate Bar, in the West Village, to check out the launch of the new book Stencil 101 Decor, by Ed Roth.

Stencil 101 Decor

You may recognize Ed Roth’s work from his previously published book Stencil 101, which is probably available at every cool bookstore and home decor shop from here to Alaska. It provides stenciling tips from choosing your paint and surface to creating your own stencils, while also serving up a collection of cute pre-made stencils like headphones, a boombox, a monkey, a mexican wrestler, and a lady with an afro, amongst others. And while I’m sure many people have used his stencils and their own newly learned tactics to decorate their homes, this new book Stencil 101 Decor takes it to the next level. With more tips and shennanigans, this time you receive a collection of stencils that are made to repeat and create patterns, which can be used to decorate walls, floors, furniture, fabrics, or just about anything you’d like to put a large pattern on. Houndstooth, butterflies, chain, dots, hex, 3-d Qbert-like cubes and more, are all yours for the decorating, and the stencils come with marking notches to guide you to perfect alignment and make your project look that much more professional!

Some Of the Stencil 101 Decor Stencils

I got to spend some time talking to Ed and he was a really nice guy. His website Stencil 1, complete with a shop and blog, is a great resource for gifts that anyone who is into simple arts and decorating would appreciate. Even kids!

But now it’s time to talk about the chocolate. I’d never been into Alison Nelson’s Chocolate Bar before. Walked past it, but never went in. All I have to say is ~~~~~ because that is the sound of me drooling. From the warmed and spiked cider (although I don’t know if that’s usually on the menu) to the cake, cookies, and the individually wrapped chocolates, I was more than happy to just relax in there and soak up the warmth. And of course, eat the chocolate. I could have eaten my weight in the individually wrapped raspberry chocolates. When I was halfway to the subway station on my way home, I chastised myself for not snatching a few (and by that I mean about 10) for the ride home. Chocolate Bar has collaborated with Ed, using his stencil images to emblazon their branded chocolates, giving them an everyday urban New York feel and even sell a set of 8 individual chocolates, that come with a surprise mini stencil. In addition, they have worked with other artists like Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman on another series of Graffiti Bars, and have a wide selection of products sure to please any chocolate fan from gift boxes, teas, housewares, a recipe book and a chocolate addicts gift club that lasts from 3 months to a year.

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American Style is The Museum at FIT’s eighth annual, two-day symposium, held in conjunction with the exhibition American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion. Designers, scholars, authors, and curators will discuss fashion of the Americas and explore themes ranging from the diversity of the American fashion industry to the unique characteristics of New York fashion. The symposium will also feature conversations with some of the most innovative American designers working today. Speakers include:

Van Dyk Lewis, Hip-hop Fashion: The Psycho Mind and Body Drop
David Colman, Prep-posterous: How history, mythology, race and fashion have clashed
and colluded to create today’s Prep Revival
Pamela Golbin, A French View of American Fashion
Nina Garcia, Maria Cornejo, and Christian Cota: Latin America and Fashion
Caroline Milbank: The Origin of the American Look
Kohle Yohannan: The Small Town Girl and The Femme Fatale: Claire McCardell & Valentina
Yeholee Teng: In Conversation with Susan Sidlauskas

Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue at 27th Street
New York, New York 10001-5992

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DOUBLE EXPOSURE (two): Balanced Roles is an exhibition with five bay area artist-slash-curators who work within their respective residential spaces. Participating artists are Chris McCaw of 31 Rausch, Brion Nuda Rosch of Hallway Projects, Lena Reynoso of The Compound, Kari Marboe of MG Gallery, and Naaman Rosen of WE Space. The criteria for selection of these artists incorporates the idea of the expanding role of the artist in the community, and the use of residential spaces as a place to make art more accessible. This second installment of the Double Exposure show is a further testament to this growing practice in the Bay Area.

Please join us for the opening reception
Saturday December 5th
7pm – 10pm

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CYBER MONDAY MADNESS!

It has done just that over at Mitsy Ávila Ovalles.

Art work is almost gone, but if you act fast you can probably snag some for you or your sweetie, or a homegirl or whoevs. Don’t miss out!!!

Purchases through:

http://www.mitsyavilaovalles.com/sale.html

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Exhibition Opening:
Friday, December 4, 2009
5:00PM entry for Members
(become a member and get in early!)
5:30PM – 8:00PM Public opening

As part of our seasonal promise to you – we feature community made artwork, great values, and a feel-good shopping experience.

In the gallery, recent Creative Growth artist collaborations with visiting artists: Kathleen Henderson, Meagan Donegan, Ed Musante, Jessica Dasher, Livia Stein, Sas Colby, Paper Magazine and more! Shop for drawings, ceramics, rugs, wood, prints, cigar box art, sculpture, textiles galore, holiday cards, art books, AND the premiere of the Creative Growth for Marc Jacobs Pop-Up-Shop, with merchandise direct from our exciting fundraising project. Music by Tommy Guerrero and Friends seasonal food and spirits by B Restaurant, Oakland.

**Open Saturdays: December 5, 12 and 19, 11AM-4PM**

Regular Gallery Hours
Monday thru Friday
11:00am – 4:30pm

Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street, Oakland 94612
510-836-2340 x 15
www.creativegrowth.org

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JEN E & RITZY P SUPREME GOODS at the 2nd Annual UNIQUE LA Holiday Show, on December 5th & 6th, 11am-6pm, booth 908. The largest independent design show on the West Coast, with over 300 local designers and artists takes place at the California Market Center (110 east 9th Street). The $10 entrance fee not only gets you in for both days but part of the proceeds goes to the local non-profit 826LA.

December 5th & 6th

California Market Center

110 East 9th Street – Map It

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Just by looking at this photo, I’m sure I wouldn’t have to tell you that this show would be amazing to go see. Who isn’t a fan of photography, but not just regular old SFW type shots, I’m talking about the NSFW stuff. Sandy Kim most def delivers some of that for us, good news is that for those of us who cannot attend there is a BOOK! Here is a short interview with Miss Kim herself:

Where are you from and where are you reppin’ now?

I went to high school in Portland so I guess that’s where I’m from.

Reppin SF fo sho

What got you interested in Photography?

Being surrounded by beautiful people who are CRAZY and are willing to do wild things.

How does color impact your work?

Zzzzzzzzz. I haven’t slept in dayzzzzzz. I don’t know how to answer this question.

You’ve traveled on tour with the SF based band Girls. How has the process of shooting for band affected your personal work?

I went from being nobody to being published everywhere.

This is your first book and Unpiano Book’s, was it exciting working with Jesse?

Jesse rules for dealing with my 8:30 am melt downs, and he has a great eye.

There’s a lot of blood in your photography, do you like vampires?

Not particularly, I’m just on my period a lot.

Do you like boys that skate or bike more?

SKATE unless their bike has handlebars for me to sit on.

What pick up line might work on you at the opening?

“I’ve got an 8 ball, wanna go do it in the bathroom?” JK

Any thanks, shout-outs, or shit talking?

Hey Mom

December 3rd, 2009

441 O’Farrell St

(between Taylor & Jones)

San Francisco, CA 94102

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Originally from Denmark. Torkil Gundason approaches photography with a no-nonsense, Scandanavian sensibility. His style is simple and graphic. He prefers shooting in color in order to play various hues off one another. When asked to list three things he cannot live without as a photographer, his answer is appropriately succinct: light, light and light.

As a ten-year-old boy, Torkil received his first camera, a Bolex super-8. His first pictures were of a trip to Italy, which is where, many years later, Torkil would find his first success as an emerging fashion photographer.

Torkil’s photography has appeared in Vogue, Maybelline, Pantene, MAC Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Piaget, Guerlain, Shiseido, Estee Lauder, Calvin Klein and Bergdorf Goodman.

December 3rd 7-9PM

3 9 Avenue
New York, NY 10014-1501
(917) 475-1022

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From views of an abandoned Staten Island ferry terminal to the deteriorating Coney Island Cyclone, Thomas documents urban scenes that while outwardly static, show a city in perpetual transition. The presence of previous inhabitants lingers heavily within each frame, like dinner plates that have recently been cleared away.

Like a Surrealist flaneur, Thomas explores the complex tension between absence and presence in his dreamlike outer landscapes. Devoid of human figures, his images of winding alleyways, imposing monuments and gleaming mist-filled harbors veer off at random into psychological terrain. Using a custom large-format camera and Polaroid film, he has created a nebulous archive of our collective inner longings.

Born in Germany in 1961, Christopher Thomas has worked for magazines such as Geo, Stern, Merian, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin. He has produced numerous photo essays and received international awards for commercial and fine art photography. He lives and works in Munich and New York.

Christopher Thomas: New York Sleeps

December 3, 2009 through January 9, 2010.

Steven Kasher Gallery

521 W. 23rd St.

New York, NY 10011.

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A group show curated by Cope2 in conjuction with The SHOWROOM Gallery. THE GENERATIONS focuses on various aesthetic styles of graffiti culture from a local and international perspective, past and present. Pioneering tags, masterpieces, characters, comic illustrations, graphic design, boutique graffiti and photography. Explore some of the elements that has embodied and evolved from graffiti.

This exhibition will be limited to a 5 day release.
December 3 – 10, 2009

Stay tuned for the online gallery shop!

THE SHOWROOM GALLERY
117 SECOND AVE / EAST 7TH STREET
NEW YORK CITY

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All David Weidman original posters are vintage and were hand pulled by Weidman between the 60’s and 70’s. There may be some very slight imperfections in the paper-stock and ink due to the vintage quality. Each print is signed by Weidman.

Prints can be purchased: Here.

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New from Powerhouse Books!

HARRY BENSON:

Hardcover, 12.25 x 10.25 inches, 220 pages, 460 black-and-white and four-color photographs, and for $60. You’ve got yourself a deal.

Most def feeling the black and white photographs.

mmortalizing the people and moments that have defined the past 60 years, world-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson has become as much a part of history as the photographs themselves. The scope of his accomplishments as a photojournalist is nothing short of remarkable: he has photographed every US president since Eisenhower, as well as Robert F. Kennedy on the night he was assassinated, and Martin Luther King Jr. at his funeral; he has shot stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Greta Garbo, and Truman Capote; he covered both the rise and fall of the Berlin wall, the IRA hunger strikes, the Freedom March through Mississippi, the Watts riots, 9/11, and conflicts in Kuwait, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Israel, and the West Bank; and, on the eve of his eightieth birthday, Benson is still at it, crisscrossing the globe on assignment for Condé Nast.

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Past posts that you may have missed that should not slip under your Art Radar:

Art HERstory: Lilly Daché

Women Making History: Sophy Robson

New Artwork by: DALEK

She’s Crafty: DIY Ruffled Suspenders

A couple of years back when the brand X-Girl stepped back into the U.S. as X-Girl LA, I spied a pair of long shorts on their website that came with a set of convertible ruffled suspenders.  I wanted them.  I would visit the website frequently.  And I have this friend Sarah.  She’s awesome.  She’s from Maine.  But that probably only has a little bit to do with why she’s awesome.  Her mom is a Home EC teacher, so she’s gifted with mad crafting and handiwork skills.  I, on the other hand, went to a science high school so I had classes like Mechanical Drafting and Aerospace Technology, and although I totally grades-wise kicked them in the ass, I have never had to build a plane by hand, or schematically draw an alarm clock to scale since I graduated.  Anyways, just about every time I see Sarah, if I compliment an article of her clothing, she has something to say like “It was a dress, but I turned it into a shirt”  or, “I made it.”  What a bitch, right?   I’d hate her for that, but she’s always like “I can teach you.”  Her mommy did good.  So one time a while back I lured her into beta testing this website with me where you’re supposed to post clothes you like, and I posted the shorts with the ruffle suspenders.  And she was on some, “you know, we can make those, thems suspenders”  type words.  So we did. Well, not exactly.  But we did.

We went down to a trim shop in the garment district and looked at ribbons and elastics and hardwear, and I found some things that spoke to me. And this is what happened.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 yards of 1 inch elastic
• 5 yards of 2 inch ribbon
• Matching thread
• 4 suspender clasps
• 2 sliders
• Straight Pins
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine

Gather Your Supplies

Once my supplies were all together

Cut Elastic And Ribbon In Half

We cut the ribbon and elastic in half, to give us two equal pieces of each.

Anchor The Stitch With A Pin, and Sew

We placed a pin near the end of the ribbon, and before we began sewing, wound the thread around it to anchor it.  Then we began sewing a straight stitch about 1/3 of the way into the ribbon.  We used a loose setting on the sewing machine, around 4.5.  Because of the texture of ribbon I used, the ribbon was a little bit slippery as it went through the machine.  So I had to sew slowly, holding the ribbon down to the edge of the sewing machine to keep it from sliding around and creating an uneven stitch. I stitched all the way to the end of the ribbon, and repeated on the second piece.

Gather The Ribbon To Create Ruffles

Keeping the anchoring pin with the thread wound around it, we began to gather the ribbon by holding on to the opposite end of the thread, and pushing the ribbon down carefully. We did this bit by bit, working the ruffles we created toward the opposite end of the ribbon, as evenly as possible until the ruffled ribbon had been reduced from 2 and a half yards to 60 inches long.

Measure a Half Inch From The End of The Elastic

Next we took the elastic, and folded it back a half inch, and sewed a seam across it to hold it in place.

Sew The Elastic In Place and Slide The Suspender Clasp On

We folded it back a half inch one more time, and sewed another seam across it, reversing and going forward a couple of times to secure it and make it sturdy. Next we placed the suspender clasp on.

How To Line Up the Suspender Clasp and Slider

The Slider/Clasp Setup

Fold over the elastic and hem it.  Then lace the slider through the suspender with the middle bar on the wrong side of the elastic (not the side that you are going to attach the ruffle) Then weput the suspender through the suspender clasp (with the right side facing out, the ruffled side, of course.)  Then we put the hemmed end through the middle bar of the slider and sew it to the strap making a small loop.  If you are confused they should look at a bra strap for a good illustration of how to put in a slider.

Pin The Ruffle To the Suspender

Next we pinned the ruffle to the suspender,  starting in the middle, and then the middle of each middle, and the middle of each middle again, until we felt it was secure. We did this to both pieces of elastic, with the ruffles facing in opposite directions.

Stretching The Elastic While You Sew The Ruffle To It

After that we ran the elastic with the ruffle through the sewing machine, following the seam that existed on the ribbon already. Slowly. It is essential to stretch the elastic while it is run through the machine, so the stitches don’t break when you stretch it later. We also had to be very careful to keep the ruffles from getting stuck under the presser foot, and being sewn over.

Once the ruffle is completely sewn to the elastic, we slid the slider into place. It cut into the ruffle, but is still adjustable.

Completed Suspenders!

And the suspenders are complete!

I Put 'Em On!

I attached them to my pants, with the sliders in the back.

One Shoulder Style!

And here’s a variation on how I can wear them like a sash.

In all, it didn’t take as long to make them (about 2 hours) as Sarah thought they would. Certainly having two people work on them cut down on the time, as the ruffling took a while, and the sewing was mostly slowly paced. But now I have a cool pair of suspenders, so it was well worth the effort.

Twenty plus one equals twenty one. That’s how many links are here today.  Clack em up.

♥♥ This guy loves boobs so much, he got nipples tattooed on his butt. Gotta wonder what his cup size is.

♥♥ We now know what that hideous amazing picture Diplo twitpic’ed a few weeks back was. A still from the Eric Warehiem directed video for Major Lazer featuring Nina Sky – Keep It Going Louder. Watch it.

♥♥ This surprised and ticklish kitten is probably the cutest thing on the planet right now.

♥♥ Mini Pigs are so hot right now. This one, Thimble plays the piano. You know you want it. via Urlesque.

♥♥ You know what else is hot right now? Flowcharts.

• How To get shot by the Sartorialist on Refinery 29.
• What Religion Should I Follow on  Holy Taco.
• What food should I eat while on the road on Eating The Road.
• and What Cereal should I eat also from Eating The Road.
• Hey Jude on Typo-Graphical.

♥♥ Threadbanger has the easy peasy lace graffiti DIY for the home.

♥♥ Chic Steals does a carazy ill DIY of the Christian Louboutin for Rodarte spiked platform stilettos. Step up your game.

♥♥ I always wish my laundry smelled like doughnuts, or fresh bread or something else yummy. To hell with florals. Also, to hell with icky envelope gum. Now,  thanks to Mmmvelopes, you can lick the Bacon. (Not Kevin.)

♥♥ Ever lie on a resume? Watch yourself. Patricia Field and company busted this trick ass buster for fronting, and put him on blast.

♥♥ I make fun of Justin Beiber all of the time cuz he sounds like a girl, and has hair like a lesbian contestant on Top Chef, but I saw him and Usher kick it with Ellen, he beat boxes and bangs a guitar like that kid in August Rush, and I can’t help but to sing along to “One Time”. He’s turning me. College Candy knows what I mean.

♥♥ Check out how Kaws has taken over the NYC branch of Kiehls for their limited edition moisturizer collaboration via The Art Collectors.

♥♥ Bobby Hundreds took a trip to the Delorean Factory. Unfortunately, they way he went, they still needed roads.

♥♥ High Snobiety put us on to these crazy JC de Castelbajac Lego New Era Hats.

♥♥ And Designboom has the haps on a pretty unique Lego and Muji collaboration that combines the iconic snap toys and paper.

♥♥ Gizmodo shows us that these paintless Coca Cola cans look cool, and would save money and the planet one pop at a time.

♥♥ Jezebel tears apart Female Force, the biographical Oprah Winfrey comic book.

♥♥ Ladies Lotto interviews Mitra Khayyam, owner of Blood Is The New Black.