DIY Life

A lot of people sell clothing on eBay, and a few years ago, I was a frequent buyer. But I often found myself disappointed in my purchases. Nothing sticks out in my memory like one particular dress: I searched for it for months and was overjoyed to find it... yet excitement turned to horror when I received it. Why? Because although the dress was machine-washable, the seller sent it to me covered in old deodorant. Disgusting!

The more usual experience with unwelcome deodorant stains isn't quite as off-putting: white marks and goo on dark-colored clothing. Still, we all want to keep our clothes looking nice, right? That's why I was so intrigued by the following deodorant removal tips from CasaSugar.

They suggest two possible ways to deal with this nagging issue: dab the stain with white vinegar, then allow it to soak for 30 minutes before washing the garment in the hottest water it can stand; or soak the garment overnight in a mixture of one part water and one part ammonia with a squirt of dish soap, then wash it. Either process should remove the nasty gunk from any affected areas... making your black tank tops presentable once again.

This can be a great way to source out a rare vintage find, or expand your collection of designer handbags without shelling out the big bucks. Keep your closet fresh this spring by getting rid of stuff you don't wear, and swapping them for things you will. And needless to say, this is a great way to find those rare pieces you've been coveting for your next DIY fashion creation.

[via: Lifehacker]

If you travel for work, you've probably tried cramming everything into a backpack, in an attempt to keep things simple. This is no easy task. If you do manage to get everything into the bag, it probably comes out wrinkled.

To avoid this, you might be using a small suitcase or multiple bags, but that leaves wasted space and doesn't give you the flexibility of a single carry-on bag.

For your next trip, I'd suggest adopting a minimalist approach to packing for a short business trip. With this bundle method you will wrap all your clothes around a single item; typically, this item would be a small bag with socks and underwear. No folds, no creases, no wrinkles.

The best part is that they show you pictures of the unpacked bag, and you can see how crisp the clothes look as they come out. The full post also has pictures illustrating each packing step, so you can't go wrong.

Next time you're heading off on a short trip, avoid all the hassles that come along with checking baggage: try this packing method.

What do knitters do as the weather begins to warm up? Well, it seems like most avoid knitting 100% alpaca sweaters (garments that may be too hot on even the coldest of days: there's a reason alpaca is usually sold as a blend!), and switch to smaller or lighter garments like cotton-blend sweaters, fancy socks, and feathery lace shawls.

The new Spring issue of Knitty, released on Tuesday afternoon, is all over that concept. The patterns this time around are, taken as a group, the most attractive I've seen from this magazine in a while: I don't think there's a dud in the bunch.

I'll discuss a few of my favorite patterns, as well as a few good articles, after the break.

Threading a lost drawstring through your favorite pair of sweatpants can be a mite peevish, but Lisa made it easy by teaching us how to coax a wayward drawstring back into place. Lisa's tips are wonderful, but for me, they don't always work for a string that is too far gone.

Happy Zombie has a neat trick to thread a drawstring, using a cheap letter opener. The author purchased a letter opener at her local Safeway for 99 cents. She knotted a ribbon to one end of the letter opener, fastened a safety pin to the other end of the ribbon and the drawstring, and found herself with an excellent way to thread a drawstring bag.

As Lisa reminded us in her post; to prevent the loss of a drawstring when washing and drying the item, pin the strings to the fabric of the item with safety pins first, or tie knots big enough that the drawstring can't back up. You'll be happy you did. I am sure you already know it is a serious pain trying to get a drawstring out of its hiding place.

[via: Craft]

When I was pregnant with our second I had a Bella Band. This band of stretchy material lets you wear your own jeans longer, and maternity clothes more comfortably. It also allows you to get back into your pre-pregnancy jeans sooner than you otherwise would. Somewhere between that last pregnancy and this one I lost the Bella Band. I had planned on buying one to have while I transition back to regular clothes after baby is born, then I found this tutorial. The instructions on making your own belly band are just too easy to justify shelling out $25 for a store bought one.

If you have a tube top in your closet, then the work is done for you, simply wear that around your waist. If you're like me and (for the benefit of everyone around) abandoned the tube top after baby #1, then you'll have a bit of sewing ahead of you. Take an old stretchy T-shirt and cut it into a tube top, then finish the seam. This will leave you with a thick band. If you don't have old T-shirts kicking around, pick up a couple from the thrift store. Making them in different colors will leave you with loads of flexibility. The belly band will help your pants fit better, but it also lets you wear pre-pregnancy shirts over-top. You'll know that your shirt is too short and your pants aren't done up, but look like you're sporting a trendy layered look.

The advantages of full skirts are obvious. They spin and twirl in a delightful way, and have been in style for the last few summers, usually in the form of a ruffled peasant skirt. Even when they aren't fashionable, they can be useful for all kinds of dance (salsa, flamenco, swing, modern, belly), as well as for costuming.

If you have basic sewing skills, they're incredibly easy to make. There are two popular ways to create a very full skirt: make a circle skirt, or make a gored skirt with wedge-shaped panels.

To make a circle skirt, in the most simple terms: draw, on fabric, a circle the circumference of the intended wearer's waist, then another circle as far outside of it as you want the skirt's length to be. (If that doesn't make much sense, think of a "bull's-eye" pattern.) The result is a typical circle skirt. The interior circle is the waist, which will need a waistband, and the exterior circle is the hem, which will need to be finished.

Getting the best possible results is a little more complicated than that. For more circle skirt tips and tricks, as well as everything you need to know about gored skirts (and a few useful pattern links), please join me after the break.

I've been neglecting laundry lately and as a result have piles of it taking over the upstairs landing. Today, I plan to beat the battle and run load after load until it's done. My dryer's usage is by no means exhaustive, but my poor planning does mean that it's overused in short spurts. I started wondering how this impacts the life of our dryer and furthermore, what added fire risk it might be subject too after such a long day. What causes dryer fires and how can they be prevented?

This article about clothes dryer fire prevention answers these questions, providing important information about how fires start and your steps to prevention. According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, clothes dryers cause an estimated 15,500 fires each year, resulting in 10 deaths and 10 injuries. Many of these can be prevented.

The article will elaborate on proper installation, dryer placement, vent cleaning, and hazard recognition. Lint is your biggest contributor to dryer fires. It isn't all caught in the lint trap, and can accumulate on the heating element if it's not maintained regularly. First and foremost, clean the lint trap after each load. You will also want to periodically clean the surrounding areas with a vacuum, collecting any build-up. Finally, have thorough maintenance done every couple of years in order to keep your dryer running safely and efficiently.

Depending on where you live, winter driving can be anything from an adventure to just plain stupid. If you are going to be out on the roads there are some car preparation and driving tips that are crucial. How to Winterize your Car.....and your Brain for Winter Driving outlines important tips, from preparing your car for the season to safe driving behavior and habits in specific conditions. Along with their tips, they have a supplies checklist for a vehicle emergency pack.

Vehicle emergency pack

1. Flashlight
2. Flares
3. First-aid kit
4. Blanket
5. Warm winter clothes
6. Bag of sand or salt (to use for traction if your tires get stuck)
7. Snow-brush, ice scraper and snow shovel
8. Wiper fluid
9. Paper towels
10. Food and water

You might already have some of these things in the trunk, but have a look through and make sure everything still works. Add the items you're missing and throw them together in a backpack. Hopefully you only ever need to go in there for some sand or an ice scraper, but if you do ever find yourself needing flares or warm blankets, it could save your life.

Maternity clothes have come a long way. I'm sure our mothers would say that we have nothing to complain about considering the huge selection of styles that we have available to us now. Still, despite all the cute tops and smart pant suits, maternity jeans haven't evolved as well. For the jeans that do pass your standards of style and fit they are going to cost a fortune and only be useful for a few months. Necessity is the mother of invention here as the patchwork princess takes us through a tutorial on DIY maternity jeans.

If you're a savvy thrift store shopper and have 30 min at a sewing machine, you'll have a trendy new pair of maternity pants in no time. All you need is a pair of jeans the fit everywhere except the belly, a funky print T-shirt, scissors, thread and a sewing machine. The full tutorial and pictures make this project foolproof (or should I say "baby brain" proof). Maternity couture is all the rage, you just never thought you could get it for $6.

Back when I was regularly paying $20 for a large box of Tide, I'd grumble to myself that there must be a better way. And there is! When I switched my baby from disposables to cloth diapers, I had to do a lot of research on how to get them diapies clean without leaving any residue. Along the way, I discovered there are lots of super-affordable and eco-friendly alternatives to get your laundry clean.

My fav discovery so far is this detergent "recipe", spotted on the website for Sunshine Diapers, a Florida-based cloth diapering supply company run by a work-at-home mom.

While your new fall wardrobe may never see an old wire hanger, you probably still have some hiding in the back of your closet. Most of my clothes are hung (when they are hung!) on wooden or plastic hangers. The back of my closet, and admittedly, the floor, still overflow with old wire ones. It's time to put them to use.

1. Shoe hanger
   Bend up each end of the hanger and it will nicely hold a pair of shoes. This is particularly useful for some of your nicer shoes that you don't want scuffed around on that hall closet floor. You'll need to allot them some closet space but it will keep them clean and organized.
   
2. Go fishing
   I'm not suggesting you use an old wire hanger as a fish hook! You can use it to make a net. Bend the hanger into a circle and stretch old pantyhose around it. The children can take this to look for little fish in a stream, or sift out seashells at the beach.
   
3. Unlock car doors
   While this is most successful on TV, it will still work on some older model cars. Stretch the hanger as long and straight as you can with a hook on the end. Reach down between the window and door until you feel the latch. Pull it up and you'll unlock the door.
   
   If you've locked the keys in the car with the window slightly open you can use the hanger to fish them off the seat and bring them through the window.
   
4. Unclog drains
   Wire hangers are great for unclogging drains, both toilet and sink. You can go fishing around in the drain and try to remove the obstruction.
   
5. Radio and TV antenna
   I'm sure many college students are tinkering with their old TV, trying to get reception where it doesn't seem possible. Wire clothes hangers are great, and unlike regular antennas they can be manipulated in just the right way to optimize reception. Adding tinfoil will go a long way here too.
   
6. Mobile
   This could be a really fun project for an older sibling to make for the new baby. Use the hanger as your base and attach string and decorations. Colorful ribbons, or bells and seashells would work well. You might also like to hang pictures of family and friends from the mobile. I know you don't need me to say it, but I just can't help myself: Make sure you secure everything really well so baby doesn't choke.
   
7. Bubble wand
   This is another fun one for children. With your help the hanger can be bent into any shape and used as a bubble wand. Pour bubble soap into an old ice cream lid or other large shallow dish, dip the wand in and have fun.
   
8. Hang your clothes
   While it sounds like wire hangers are a thing of the past, there really isn't any harm in using them on most of your clothes. It may distort the shape of a delicate sweater, but if you're like me, there are far more T-shirts than pretty sweaters in the closet, and wire hangers will do just fine for those.

Those are just a few of the uses for wire hangers. I spared you the slingshot and modern art, but I have to leave something for the comments. Let me know what uses you've found for the old hangers kicking around your house.

A great way to prove your independence when you go off to college is to show up wherever you go in fresh, clean clothes instead of rumpled togs that look they've spent a week at the bottom of the hamper. Staying on top of your laundry situation isn't very difficult and doesn't require a whole lot of expensive supplies.

Forget all those fancy laundry balls, ionizers, and other gadgets. All you need is a plastic laundry basket, some inexpensive detergent, a stain pre-treater, and some hangers. With the right tools and a few good habits, laundry day can be a snap.

Tee-shirt reconstruction is a fad that sees to be on the rise. By reconstruction I mean taking a basic tee-shirt, or more than one, taking it apart and sewing it back together to be something else. A new shirt, a skirt or anything else you can think of.

There are several books about Tee-shirt recon, as it's been dubbed, but unfortunately not a lot of web content that I could find. I did find this forum post on craftster where one woman did a very cute tee-shirt recon. You will find pictures to help you recreate her recon if you want to.

While tee-shirt recon seems to be making its way through on-line craft forums and craft books it hasn't become enough of a fad for there to be many web sites dedicated to it. Which probably why its as popular as it is. Without having hit the mainstream yet it's still a bit emo.

I did find a few recon patterns you can follow at omystars craft for you if you want to see what tee-shirt recon is all about. Readymade blog seems to think that tee-shirt recon may be the new hipper version of knitting.

If you are interested in book with ideas check out Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, Tease and 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special.