Cheap JAP » Diy

Junk Jam! (Killer Vintage Necklace)

Cheap JAP — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:38:41 +0000

At AuH2O Thriftique, we’re pretty old school about how we stock our store. We go out and unearth the gently worn gems ourselves for two reasons:

1. We’re utterly addicted to the thrill of the hunt.
2. We’re DIRT CHEAP.

We spend hours on end in icky, icky places to deliver the goods at the lowest possible cost. The only thing we sell that doesn’t involve a shit ton of patience, grit and endurance on our part? Jewelry. We order in bulk from our vintage suppliers, a box of baubles arrives and wee! Kate Goldwater and I are both Jewish, so opening those boxes is basically the closest thing to Christmas morning we’ve ever experienced.

There is, however, a box-of-chocolates aspect to the art of ordering vintage costume jewelry in bulk. Sometimes it’s a delectable Vosges truffle; sometimes it’s a barfy half-eaten Russell Stover square. We never know what we’re getting, and occasionally, what we get isn’t sellable – it’s scrap. JUNK. We no likey.

I’m into recycling where wearable things are concerned, but I’m not really a conservationist by nature. Kate, in contrast, is eco-conscious to the point of snipping the paper prices off our garments as they sell so she can reuse the tags later.

When I find vintage scrap metal lurking in my jewelry shipments – mismatched earrings, bits of chain, busted clasps, random rhinestones, etc. – I bag it up and mail it back to the seller for a discount on the next order.When Kate gets her hands on it, it’s a different story… one in which the scrap becomes something else altogether.That is not a necklace. That is fucking ART.

I can’t help but be inspired by Kate’s recycling prowess. I’m a salvaged jewelry amateur, but if I can make something half as amazing as the badass layered charm necklace pictured, I’m willing to give it a go. Let’s hope our next order has a few Russell Stovers ripe for experimentation.

Cheers to scrap metal, cliches and upcycled awesomeness.

How to Salvage an Erroneously Hemmed Dress

Cheap JAP — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:06:40 +0000

We dress up for work at AuH2O, and by “dress up,” I mean we don clothes in a way that reinforces one of life’s greatest truths: Secondhand and style aren’t mutually exclusive terms. I work the thriftique 2-3 days a week: It takes me an average of 30 minutes to figure out what to wear each time. On certain mornings, the clock runs out before I’ve completed the exercise.

Do I open late? Fuck no – I’m a professional. I leave my apartment half-dressed and on time, and change my outfit upon arriving at the store. It’s usually as simple as selecting a top or dress and a few accessories from my personal stock, but a few mornings ago, simplicity and speed went out the window. In lieu of picking something wearable in its current form, I chose an ankle-length tie-waist dress.

I do not wear ankle-length dresses. Ever. But the print was sooo cute, and the jersey knit had the coziness of a broken-in t-shirt. I loved this dress and goddammit, I was going to figure out a way to wear it. So I did what I always do when I fall for something too long for my liking: I busted out my scissors, and hacked a few inches off the hem.

Allow me to paint you a picture of the scenario: I’m in the dressing room with the scissors. No customers are in the store yet, but I’m open for business and, heretofore, on a serious time crunch. I try the dress on and ballpark the hem. I take it off. I hack it. I put it back on and… BALLS. Way. Too. Short. This wasn’t a mini-dress, and it didn’t look like a tunic either. It looked like the mistake it was – a dress hemmed too short for wearability. SHIT.

Luckily, I had a gauzy, layered, ruffle and lace trimmed H&M miniskirt on hand, so I layered it under the mistake of a mini dress. It masqueraded as a slip effectively enough, but it was too thick to lie flat under the thin fabric – from the waist down, I was a big bunchy mess. I threw a blazer on over the combo to hide the bunch and survived the day.

I couldn’t leave the issue of the too-short dress unresolved – this thang was way too cute not to salvage. The ruffled trim of the H&M miniskirt was a perfect pairing. All I had to do was cut the hem from the garment, sew it together to preserve the layered material, then sew that piece of material onto the bottom of the dress hem.

This took nine hours.
Thankfully, I had Freaks & Geeks for company.

Pretty cute, yes? Oh, and both the dress and the skirt-turned-hem got snagged at Goodwill Outlet Center.

In other news, it’s Fashion Week. I could do a long-winded rant on the ridiculousness of the scene, but these days, it’s just not a worthy use of my time. Better to keep you entertained with subjects marginally relevant to your lives, methinks.

How’s this for a compromise: It’s Fashion Week, and I don’t give a flying fuck.

Doneskies.

Lookie I Made Necklaces

Cheap JAP — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 01:22:09 +0000

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I received a kickass shipment of vintage jewelry a few weeks ago. Among the lot were a few loose lockets, pendants and charms (hereafter, “loosies.”) Let me tell you a little something about finding chains for loosies; it’s effing IMPOSSIBLE. Why? Because 18 inches doesn’t cut it anymore – every shopper who comes into AuH2O wants 24 inches or more. I buy my vintage jewelry in bulk to keep costs down (eBay is a godsend); cool, durable chains at 24 inches or more aren’t cheap; the more I spend, the more I have to mark up, and me-no-likey-mark-ups.

I puzzled over an alternative to buying additional chains for my loosies, and then I remembered: I HAD chains. Yards of them actually, from the hardware store, purchased for an ill-conceived window decor idea. (DON’T ASK.)

I managed to ward off the fear of concocting something Flava Flav-esque, and busted out some jump rings and extra clasps I had lying around. (I like crafts.) I found a smaller gold chain in the process, and figured I might be able to attach it to a smaller loosie.

Behold, the glorious results!

How To: Repair Damaged Fur

Cheap JAP — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:09:45 +0000

I know, I know – you’re all just DYING to hear how I salvaged the torn $10 bunny-tastic jacket from Green Village Junk Shop. Actually, “torn” is an understatement. Gaping hole is more accurate. Remedying the damage required far more than a needle and thread; it needed to be masked entirely; transformed by outside forces. The hole had to be filled, but with what? This wasn’t a typical patchwork job – it’s not like we’re talking about an effing pair of jeans here. Luckily, once I realized the material used to salvage the jacket had to be as fluff-errific as the jacket itself, the answer became abundantly clear.

MORE FUR.

I don’t own mink blankets or bearskin rugs; I’m not rich enough to be that ostentatious. Yet. I do, however, own a vintage fur scarf. At least I did, until I cut it up in the name of the greater score.

THE TOOLS:
- Extra Fur in Complementary Color
- Industrial Strength Scissors
- Thick, Durable, Dangerously Sharp Needle
- Cream Colored Thread
- This American Life Podcast (Because stabbing into fur sans finger injury over and over again requires full visual focus, i.e. NO TV. A thimble probs would have been a good idea – Dear Hindsight, I hate you. Moving on.)

THE PROCESS:
(1) Place extra fur on top of hole. Shift until piece of extra fur covers hole in its entirety. Trim extra fur into appropriate shape. Fur patch accomplished.

(2) Measure a piece of thread using the length of your arm as a guide. Snip. Thread needle. Use needle threader to avoid added frustration/aggression.

(3) Smart, patient people pin fabric into place before sewing it onto other fabric. I hail from the DIY school of thought that says imperfections/flaws are beautiful (Just like people! You can gag now). This gives me a stellar excuse to skip tedious steps a la pre-stitch pinning; to each her own.

(4) Sewing time! I started from the interior of the jacket and pierced through both fur pieces for two stitches to secure the patch to the jacket (this may or may not be called a basting stitch), then I realized going from the inside to the outside and back again was – on account of the thickness of the material – a massive beotch and a half. The remaining stitching was done exclusively on the exterior, on a diagonal of sorts.

Can I give you a more technical explanation? Eff no – this is sewing for the domestically challenged, 101. Just make it your biznass to secure the patch to the fur sans excessive heinousness, and you’ll be fine.
A big fat bonus of working with fur? It’s voluminous enough to hide mistakes.

My sewing skills are well below average, but I was still able to make sweet citrus juice out of this lemon of a coat. I actually dig the slight contrast of the cream patch against the white coat – looks like a badass back pocket, methinks.

$10.00 + 1 hour of DIY time = 1 fluffy dream of a coat. A worthy purchase and allocation of energy indeed. Loves it!

DIY Goes Pro With ALIOMI

Cheap JAP — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:15:52 +0000

My inbox is regularly clogged with press releases announcing new collections. Said press releases usually go straight to the trash folder upon receipt. It’s not that I’m against new clothing lines or whatevs. It’s that “new” alone isn’t enough to pique my interest anymore.

To thrift a Goodwill Outlet Center is to realize the overwhelming amount of unused textile excess produced by our material world. Is a lot of that excess uber fugly? You bet, and therein lies the challenge for burgeoning designers.

Sketching out a collection, outsourcing the labor, and producing the wares en masse with zero regard for the environmental impact of the endeavor amounts to business as usual. Making something from nothing is the norm. There’s nothing groundbreaking about what’s already been done.

Making something from something – breaking down or restyling fabric that’s already out there – is a refreshing, forward-thinking approach to fashion that improves on its checkered past.

De-materialization makes green more than a buzzword: ALIOMI suggests it’s the new black.

The concept for ALIOMI started years ago, with a few Sarah Lawrence undergrads too broke to shop retail. They became seasoned thrifters, then they took it to the next level, re-tweaking and embellishing their secondhand finds to suit their badass style and unique taste. Necessity truly is the mother of inventive fashion lines.

ALIOMI is a mishmash of vintage fabulosity and DIY gems. I mean, I can stud and scissor, but these girls can STUD and SCISSOR. I’ve seen the line up close: The embellishment might be done by hand, but there’s nothing DIY about it. It’s professional, artful, responsibly made and one-of-a-kind.

The goods pictured above range from $28 – $145 – in all honesty, I’m usually not on board with $76.00 embellished cutoffs. Had I not seen this line in person, I might have rationalized against a splurge of this ilk on the grounds that I could DIY something equally amazing for less.

Regardless of whether or not that’s the case, finding, distressing, and studding the shorts myself would take four hours, minimum. Six if I held myself to the perfectionism characteristic of ALIOMI’s DIY stuffs. The shorts in question, at $76.00, amount to $12.66 an hour for six hours of work.

My point? The thought, time and energy that go into crafting a kickass reconstructed item are extensive, hence the reason most reworked vintage lines have an average per-item cost of over $250. ALIOMI’s price points are uber reasonable in comparison.

Wanna help this stellar new line get off the ground? Donate a buck or two to their Kickstarter campaign.

Cheers to socially and environmentally conscious sartorial endeavors of this ilk. IMHO, up-and-coming designers would be wise to take a cue from ALIOMI, and use de-materialization to inform their future lines.

It’d certainly make for some inspiring press releases.

Clothes Pin Embellished Denim Cut Offs

Cheap JAP — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:36:29 +0000

DIY Destroyed Denim is a fairly straightforward exercise. Take sharp tool to pair of jeans and/or cutoffs; slice to heart’s content. My shredding tool of choice is the serrated blade of a wine key (no wash cycle required to achieve fully distressed look, etc.).

I recently used said tool on a pair of thrifted Levi’s shorts. The cuts looked fab as per usual, but the garment felt a bit unfinished.

A few months ago, I bought a package of 200 gold and silver clothes pins in varying sizes for absolutely no reason. I was at Staples…I wanted something shiny…whatever.

I rediscovered the pins whilst looking for something to adorn my DIY destroyed cut offs, et voila!

See?! I KNEW they had a purpose!

How To Transform a Keyhole Neckline

Cheap JAP — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:56:38 +0000

The below Tresics top has the following pros: burnt orange/red color (always a plus for olive-skinned brunettes); thin, cozy material (great for layering); butt-covering length (plays well with leggings); a crazy-low price ($3.99 at Salvation Army, Chelsea. Word.)

There is, of course, one glaring con. The keyhole neckline.

The keyhole neckline is the least flattering of all necklines in existence – it ruins the fit of a top entirely, making one’s boobage lumpy and asymmetrical in the process (unless your chest is flat to the point of pre-pubescence, in which case, you should probably start eating). Who came up with this asinine styling detail? We have v-necks, crew-necks, turtlenecks, scoop-necks, boat-necks and cowl-necks. There’s already too much to choose from, so if you’re going to throw something else into the mix, it better be good. The keyhole neckline isn’t just bad – it’s an insult to breasts everywhere. It’s even more offensive than the mock-turtle (another piss-poor attempt at neckline diversification).

I bought this top for the explicit purpose of exorcising my rage re: the keyhole neckline. The battle involved scissors, hem tape, and a scalding hot iron. Here’s how I emerged victorious:

Step 1: Plug in iron; turn heat to STEAM function. While it warms up, scissor the front of the top into a wide V or U shape. Chalk a line from the shoulder to the center, or eyeball it if you’re a badass like me. (In order to remove the keyhole entirely, you must cut into the hem of the top’s neckline. Don’t worry about it. It deserves it.)

Step 2: Trim the neckline hem off the shoulder and back portions of the top, staying as close to the original line as possible. Bust out the hem tape (I prefer Heat ‘n’ Bond. (Note: Any no-sew hem tape that claims it works sans heat application is lying.) Cut two strips (length should roughly mirror the back-neck portion. Cut those in half down the middle. You now have four thin pieces of hem tape and a hot iron. You are READY.

Step 3: Turn the keyhole-free top inside-out. Hem tape is a bitch and a half, btdubs, but if you work on the inside of the garment, errors are virtually invisible. Anything’s better than sewing. Peel the paper off one of the pieces of tape and apply sticky-side down, about a centimeter from the edge of the neckline. Fold the part of the neckline you’re working with over onto the hem tape. Ready the iron in one hand; use a finger of the other to keep the fold in place. Remove it just before you get the iron down on the material, and try not to burn yourself. I can’t have that on my conscience. Hold the iron down for a few seconds before moving it back and forth. I highly recommend hitting the STEAM button periodically, in addition to ironing on high heat.

Note: My iron reads that synthetic materials should not be subjected to the STEAM function. It is lying to cover its ass in case I damage something and get mad at it. Cotton poly-blends are not synthetics in my book – if it’s got cotton in it, it can handle the cotton heat setting, and that means it gets the STEAM. Your hem tape might not set properly otherwise. (All of this is off the record – I don’t want you effing up your clothes on my account. Use your head. That’s that lump that’s three feet above your ass!)

Repeat Step 3 until you’ve worked your way around the re-vamped neckline of the top. Flip top right-side out; iron out front to smooth. Un-plug iron, let top rest for approximately twenty minutes, and go do something else.

Once heat-tape is fully set, put top on… BACKWARDS! You cut the tag out when you trimmed the neckline hem anyway – why not? (You can wear it with the wide V/U in front too obvs – I just dig the high-neck/low-back thang).

When you’re done, you’ll have successfully obliterated that unsightly keyhole into something like this:

May it rest in peace.

Fanny Pack Fun

Cheap JAP — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:54:24 +0000

Fanny Packs have experienced something of a renaissance as of late. I’m a fan now, but that’s not why I purchased one last fall. The purchase was on account of a last-minute Halloween costume involving me as an American Apparel “model” (aka slut) and my boyfriend as Dov Charney. That’s right. Me – champion of the closet feminist anti-slutty-costume movement – crossed over to the dark side. Shameful, I know. Anyway.

I bought an American Apparel fanny for the occasion, and defaced it shortly thereafter by penning something like ‘AA slut oops I mean model’ in paint marker. The overall effect won over my fellow party-goers that evening – I suspect my bf’s fake mustache and creepy clear aviators had more to do with their amusement than my fanny pack.

The fanny was relegated to the back corners of my closet after that night, as it obvs couldn’t be worn in public in its gimmicky state. A makeover was in order, so I busted out some sequins, duct tape, silver paint markers, and my trusty Housing Works $5 Bag of Kitsch and got to work.

I was delighted by its new look. I was also pleased to discover that fannies can be worn across the shoulder as opposed to at the waist.

It’s still fairly gimmicky, but whatevs. I DIG.

The Non-Straight Leg Jean Boot Tuck

Cheap JAP — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:38:55 +0000

Dear Cheap JAP,

I am a legging whore but when I’m not wearing leggings, I go for the skinny jeans tucked into boots. The problem is, my jeans bunch up and are all uncomfortable tucked into the boots. A friend of mine told me a while back, that she heard about a new invention that kept the jeans in place–no bunching or anything. Of course, now I can’t find it because I don’t know what it’s called. Do you know? Or do you have any other recommendations? Maybe use the clasps that hold my sheets onto my mattress?

HELP!

Thanks!

This is a common problem, fo sho. The solution requires the magic of an old pair of tights. Bust out the scissors, grab some old and/or damaged hosiery you’d otherwise trash, and cut off the legs a few inches above the knee. Observe:

Don the rebellious denim, smooth it as best you can over your calf, and tuck it into the legs of the tights-turned-spandex socks like so:

Pull on boots. Doneskies.

(If you find your old tights’ elasticity has expired, a pair of stockings or knee-highs from any drug store is an excellent alternative. That is all.)

Old Dress + Scissors + Sequins = New Top

Cheap JAP — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:08:50 +0000

A month or so ago, I decided this Old Navy dress (via Goodwill, OBVS) just wasn’t short enough. What? My birthday’s in a few weeks, i.e. I’ve got a few more years to toe the line between sexy and slutty sans crossing it completely. (Note: subjective statement.)

In lieu of scissoring, I ‘hemmed’ the aforementioned dress with hot glue. This proved a massive error in judgment.

The material was way too thin to handle the intensity of the sticky stuff (eew…sorry); the glue spots were fully visible from all sides of the dress; a hot mess of a mini was the result.

Blast! The dress was doneskies. Or so I thought.

I’d picked up a pack of oversized sequins on my last trip to M&J trimmings; using them as a mask/embellishment seemed an excellent alternative to trashing the dress. I adhered them to the material with (surprise) more hot glue. Witness the result:

The final product is, admittedly, shorter than I intended.

Whatever.

I’m wearing spandex shorts underneath, layered over two pairs of opaque tights. This, of course, significantly decreases the odds of a celebrity-esque hoo-ha flash.

I suppose it could double as a top, but who am I kidding? I effing love minis.

Oh, and the belt was three bucks at a rando New Jersey thrift store. Secondhand shopping in suburbia is the SHIZNAT.

Transform Last Year’s Coat with This Year’s Ribbons

Cheap JAP — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:32:41 +0000

Sometimes when I’m in busywork mode, I put the The Today Show on for background noise purposes – yes, I like my “news” happy and fluffy. I tend to hit the Off button at the start of The Fourth Hour (Kathie Lee’s a character, but the voice… OY).

A few weeks ago, fate intervened and I caught the Fashion Segment o’ the day. AND I LIKED IT! Shocking, I know.

The Fashion segment that day showcased inexpensive, practical ways to Transform Last Year’s Coat into an updated version of itself. I never thought I’d hear the words “thrift store” and “craft shop” and “cheap” from the mouth of a fashion editrix. I obvs underestimated Anne Slowey of ELLE.

Nina Garcia might have more notoriety, but adhering to the interests of fashion savvy consumers and hawking shit for Target don’t really go hand in hand. (Don’t believe me? See YouTube’s Frugalista Promos; gag accordingly.)

When an industry insider tells me what to buy, maybe I listen, maybe I don’t. When she tells me what I don’t have to buy? I’m ALL EARS. Hence the reason I’m on board with Slowey’s refreshing deviation from the norm.

During the trench coat portion of the video, Slowey suggests swapping out the original belt for a ribbon. To honor her thriftiness, we’re talking about ribbons today, specifically those of the fabric ilk that work as belts and more.

The goodies below are from Etsy; the How-To-Wear tips are from yours truly. Bonus alert: All of them are under eight bucks a yard.

Buy ‘em to adorn your gifts – use the leftovers to adorn yourself. Loves it!

How To Make an Infinity Scarf for Under Ten Bucks

Cheap JAP — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:06:28 +0000

I wandered into American Apparel the other day, and was immediately enchanted by the following:

Said enchantment dissolved upon learning that the Unisex Circle Scarf and the Super Sheer Circle Scarf retail for $28.00 and $37.00, respectively.

Beotch please – for a piece of fabric cut into a circular strip, anything over twenty is pushing it. I made a subtle gagging noise, and exited the store in search of alternatives.

I then headed uptown to Paron Fabrics for some t-shirt-esque material sold by the yard. Paron is known and hailed for their 50% off selection and it did not disappoint: A yard of on-sale jersey knit cost me all of six bucks.

After you’ve scissored, glued and fray-checked your way to a circular piece of fabric, loop it around your neck about nine times – the more times you loop, the cooler it looks. I highly recommend toeing the line between choking and not choking here. Fashion not function, people, fashion not function.

The DIY Infinity Scarf Project took an hour in its entirety, saved me at least $30.00, and quelled my urge to stick it to American Apparel for trying unsuccessfully to rip me off.

Tres satisfying.

Playtime With a Five Dollar Bag of Kitsch

Cheap JAP — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:32:25 +0000

How To Stud a Bedsheet into an Evening Shawl

Cheap JAP — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:10:14 +0000

Fifteen or so years ago, my mom paid $500 for a Donna Karan Collection Studded Evening Shawl. The thing is TO DIE. Were she to purchase it today, its retail value would probs be on par with the sequined scarf below.

Is this something I can afford? Eff no. Is this something I can make? Survey says YES.

Watch this easy-peasy tutorial to see how.

Addendum: This is an excellent excuse to watch a lot of TV and still feel productive.

Just make sure you’ve got options beyond The Hills and/or The City.

I don’t want anyone getting dumber on my watch.

If You Can’t Buy It, Copy It (KMoss for Topshop Kimono Dress)

Cheap JAP — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:17:25 +0000

Muhahaha.

DIY Halloween Costume

Cheap JAP — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:54:53 +0000

Readers, I’ve obvs dropped the ball on Halloween. Thankfully, you haven’t. Some of you are even concocting your own costumes in lieu of being slutty pirates/vampires/cats/witches/et. al, and to that I say HECK YEAH.

Today’s post is dedicated to Jody, clad as Jessie from Toy Story 2 below. The ensemble below isn’t just homemade – it’s no-sew DIY awesomeness. Hot glue, people, hot glue. Here’s how she did it:

I read your site all the time and your creative use with the hot glue gun inspired me to glue my little heart out this year for Halloween in what may be my favorite Halloween costume ever. See, I hate all the crap for women in the stores for Halloween. Too slutty and not creative at all. Seriously, 2 years ago I saw 3 slutty Rainbow Brites. Ugh. So I like to keep things a little more covered and be creative at the same time.

Here’s my breakdown to the perfect Jessie costume from Toy Story 2:

- Long sleeve white shirt from Goodwill – $3
- Sleeveless Yellow Liz Claiborne shirt from Goodwill – $3 (extra fabric used to make bow and bad ass cuffs)
- Cow fabric from Wal-Mart – $3.50
- Variety of Red trims from Wal-Mart – $7
- Hat from Disney store online – $10 (I had no luck finding a hat locally and it was marked down to $6.95 but shipping and sales tax took it up to an annoying $10)
- 1 sheet white felt from Joann Fabric – $0.25

Jeans, boots, belt and belt buckle all came out of my closet.

Total Cost for super fun non-slutty Halloween costume = $26.75

Laughing at all the girls in the over-priced, ass hanging out, slutty costumes = Effin’ Priceless

Nothings here was sewed, it’s all hot glue. Only 1 blister to show from it. Ouch. Oh yeah and the husband is Woody. His costume cost just about $10 but I’m still working on gluing all that together. Thanks for the inspiration and being so effing awesome.

-Jody, but you can call me Jessie this weekend.

Jessie,

You are the SHIZNAT! Thank YOU for the Sharesies, and for getting me into the spirit of Halloween. I might just dress up after all .

Mwah!

Cheap JAP

From Busted to Badass: Forever 21 Pants

Cheap JAP — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:05:00 +0000

The Purchase: Forever 21 Foldover Double-Knit Pant, $15.80. (Mine are of the Zipper Detail ilk, but you get the idea).

The Problem: An abundance of mini holes along the waistline elastic/knit seam after *ah* laundry cycle. Eff you F21.

The Solution: Metallic Studs.

View From Busted to Badass: Forever 21 Pants to see how it went down.

Having a Flip cam doth not equate to knowing how to use one. Oy.

How To: Sexify a Sweatshirt

Cheap JAP — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:33:34 +0000

Let’s talk about this vintage-esque top ($11.95, Beacon’s Closet).

I Heart: Blue, Stripes, Batwingy Sleeves.

I Do Not Heart: Turtlenecks and/or any style of shirt that makes my boobs look bigger than they are.

I thought snipping the turtleneck portion of the shirt would be a quick fix to the above issue, giving me the slightly off-shoulder neckline I’m partial to. Not so. The turtleneck portion contained shape-preserving elastic. Once hacked off and unbunched, the neck portion of the shirt was as wide as the waist portion, i.e. it would not stay on for shit. What a pickle.

I happened to have some excess elastic thread on hand, so I hot glued it around the top of the neckline, then hot glued a makeshift hem over the elastic. Hot glue is my BFF, btdubs. The resulting neckline was a bit more fitted, but the shirt still threatened to slide off. As a last resort, I poked some holes in the shoulders, and tied another piece of elastic to said holes across the back.

I did more than salvage the shirt in question here, people.

I made an infinity scarf out of the part I chopped off!

Good times.

How To Reuse Excess Fabric

Cheap JAP — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:13:55 +0000

As you well know, I’m fond of scissoring anything I’m sick of into a more exciting version of itself. While this tactic is intended to preserve clothes I might otherwise toss, it has a nasty side effect of creating excess fabric. Old tees can be given away, but it’s not like you can donate the leg portion of a pair of jeans after they’ve been scissored into cutoffs. That’s just dicky.

I’ve been hoarding extra fabric of this ilk for quite some time now, hoping for a flash of brilliance that might illuminate its purpose. The other day, I pulled a heinous floor pillow out of the closet, and the light bulb finally went off.

The above is technically a dog bed, purchased for fifteen bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond a while back. Misbehave in my apartment, you get relegated to the dog bed. The uber-blah appearance of the floor pillow/dog bed didn’t bother me initially; after a few months, it became a serious eyesore. It needed a covering more in sync with my living space’s aesthetic. And by covering, I mean an oversize pillowcase crafted from the material casualties of my scissored creations.

I trimmed the fabric into squares and rectangles, and fitted them together to resemble the shape of the floor pillow. I busted out the hot glue gun (best tool EVER), and glued the pieces together. I then repeated this process for the other side of the pillowcase.

I laid the finished pieces on top of each other and poked some evenly spaced holes around the perimeter. Then I placed them over the pillow, and knotted them together with ties cut from a pair of old tights.

A thrilling addition to any apartment, fo sho.

The Art of the No-Sew Knotty Tee

Cheap JAP — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:24:25 +0000

For adolescent girls, summer camp is basically an excuse to share clothes and make-out with boys. I went to performing arts camp, so the latter was obvs difficult; the sartorial savvy of my bunkmates more than made up for the lack of eligible males. My DIY skillz were nonexistent back then: I was always jealous of the edgier girls who knew how to transform old, oversize concert tees into fitted tops, and too intimidated to ask how it was done. It only took me thirteen years to figure it out on my own. Oy.

My answer came in the form of a stellar Instructables tutorial on No-Sew Tees.
I applied what I learned to an oversize concert tee purchased in the spirit of supporting the arts (i.e. my BF’s buddy’s band The Low Lows, who rock even harder than the ‘After’ shot of this shirt ).

Common sense isn’t really my bag, baby, so if using a fitted tee to guide your snipping of the big tee sounds confusing, think of it like this:

Big Tee = Paper
Little Tee = Stencil
(I used Alternative Apparel’s Mary S/S Tunic, i.e. the best long-cut tee EVER).

I folded the big tee and the little tee in half as instructed by Instructables. Then I layered little over big, lining them up to prepare for the cutting process.

Nextly, starting at the bottom hem of the paper/big shirt, I cut one horizontal slice toward the edge of the stencil/little shirt. You can cut as many or as few slices as you like as you work your way up the shirt. I’m an overachiever by nature, so I obvs made about three hundred cuts – the more knots, the better. Snippity do-dah.

The situation can get hairy about the armpit area. I highly recommend leaving the length of the sleeve of the big shirt in tact, as this will decrease your margin of error.

If you’re a scissoring badass like myself, your shirt, pre-knotting, should look something like this.

Now is the time to decide if you’re a bow person or a fringe person. If you want a more finished look, slowly back away from the scissors, and start knotting. If you’re want a raw look, snip the edges off all of your cuts first. This will give your knots a fringe-like appearance (also more chutzpah).

Behold, my final product:

I sliced the neckline and fringed the shoulders too, but to each her own.