Making a T-Shirt Quilt

Tired of looking at all those old T-shirts in your closet? Are some of them too stained or worn to donate, and too precious to throw away? With a few supplies and a bit of time, you can turn them into a beautiful quilt that commemorates all your proudest moments.

Our guide for this do-it-yourself adventure is none other than my mom, a seasoned quilter. If you’re interested in having a quilt made by Bette, reach out on Facebook or by email.

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6 Easy DIY Craft Projects

I’m back with another roundup! This time, I’m sharing my 6 favorite DIY crafts projects! For those who have been following me for a while, some of these may look familiar. However, if you’re new to my blog, this is a perfect introduction to my crafting videos.

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Dopp Kit Bag Sewing Pattern

Learn how to sew a simple and satisfying Dopp Kit bag- perfect for traveling, tool storage, makeup, and more.

Introduction

Last year I made my first Dopp Kit bag as a companion piece to my Waxed Canvas Tool Roll

But I didn’t just try to make the bag from canvas. I also made some with my stash of boldly printed grocery delivery bags. Everyone I’ve made one for has really enjoyed theirs, so I’m releasing the pattern and showing you how to stitch up your own. This is a pretty easy sewing project, albeit a little more 3D than the tool roll. They go great together.

You can use this bag for anything you want: Tools, art supplies, makeup, etc. I have a couple in my van, one with snacks and one with picnic supplies.

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Dyeing Shoes + *airegan Giveaway

Today we’re dyeing shoes. I customized some Air Force Ones, Crocs, and *airegans using a few different methods: stovetop dip dye, hydro dipping with water-marbled spray paint, and hydro dipping with purpose-built printed film.

This video is sponsored by *airegan, a limited-release sneaker designed using machine learning.

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Custom Body Scan Jeans: Unspun Review and Interview with Cofounder Beth Esponette

This is a bit different than my normal build video, but I’m so interested in the environmental and sociological changes Unspun’s business model has the potential to bring about. Let me know what you think. You can get 20% off Unspun jeans with code BECKY https://unspun.io/

As part of the YouTube robodubbing beta, this video has a Spanish audio track. Check it out in the Settings menu of the YouTube player.

Today I’m taking look at an innovative denim company that’s using high-tech software to reduce waste and make completely custom-fit jeans. I got to speak to Unspun co-founder Beth Esponette and try out the body scanning phone app for myself.

Here’s the way it works. You pick out your style and fabric, then record a short video to scan your body using the Unspun app.

So it takes a few weeks to get the jeans in the mail. They arrive in a recyclable mailer with instructions to wear them in for a week before evaluating the fit, and unspun will remake them for free if they don’t feel perfect. This happened to me– I don’t know if it’s because I wore tight leggings or if I was sucking in my gut for the camera, or maybe because I gained weight while my jeans were in production, but the revised jeans, fit perfectly– Better than any denim I’ve ever owned. These revisions were made based on my feedback, not a new scan. But I did end up ordering another pair with a new scan just to compare the results.

The traditional supply chain requires large minimums. Many thousands of units of a product must be made for the price of each one to feel affordable. That means only products that are predicted to sell in those quantities are manufactured. In the video above, Unspun cofounder Beth Esponette explains how their business model turns the traditional supply chain on its head.

I am admittedly a tough customer when it comes to pants, or trousers as some of you call them. I’ve been wearing overalls and coveralls for the past few years, and I’ll let you in on a little secret, it’s not just because they are workshoppy and cute. I’ve been avoiding waistbands because not only have I gained weight, so none of my pants fit me, but I was also diagnosed with PCOS, and I have occasional abdominal discomfort. But my unspun jeans fit great and are very comfortable. In addition to the waste-reduction benefits of this business model, there’s also a real improvement to the customer experience. No longer is your personal fit experience beholden to where your figure fits on a bell curve compared to everybody else, which serves the economics of the inventory model.

If you’d like to try out their tech and pick up a pair of unspuns, you can use my discount code on the screen now to get 20% off. I’m not earning affiliate income and this video is not sponsored by Unspun, but they did gift me the jeans.

3D Enclosure and Felt Knobs for the Bitty

The Bitty is a pocket drum machine by Curious Sound Objects. I 3D printed an enclosure to help it sit flat on the table, and I encased the knobs in felt so they are soft and squishy.

Thanks to Digi-Key for sponsoring this video!

Supplies & Tools

For this project, in addition to a Bitty, you will need:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTubeInstagramTwitterPinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

I used Tinkercad to sketch out my idea, which is basically a box the same shape as the Bitty, with openings for the switches and knobs. It’s flat on the front to print with that side to the build plate. I punched out the Curious Sound Objects logo from the speaker area. You can grab the file on Tinkercad.

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Embroidered Portrait – Randy & Jenn

I embroidered this portrait of my friends Randy and Jenn as a wedding gift!

An embroidered portrait of the happy couple is a perfect wedding gift! I made this one for my friends Randy and Jenn and would like to share the process with you (with their blessing).

An important part of this project is selecting the right type of stitch and line weight for different parts of the portrait. If you are an embroidery beginner, check out our free Instructables Embroidery Class, written by master stitcher Jessy Ratfink, to get you up to speed on the fundamentals.

Supplies

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTubeInstagramTwitterPinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

I was inspired to make this piece by seeing Brenna Allsuch’s beautiful embroidered portrait of a curly-haired couple. Check out her Etsy shop!

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Cat Portrait Patches

RIP Beatrice, 2000-2017

I made embroidered patches to memorialize my cat, Beatrice. You could use this technique to create an embroidered patch from any image, really. I’m going to walk you through the things that I did, but there’s a bunch of different tools you could use instead for each step to arrive at a similar result (like tracing directly from the computer screen like in my similar 2008 ‘ible).

For an excellent introduction to embroidery, try Jessy’s free embroidery class.

Supplies and tools:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTubeInstagramTwitterPinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

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