Lumberjack luxe is all the rage in the fashion world these days, and although I haven't yet skipped on board, I do see the appeal. After all, who wouldn't want to be swathed in flannel all winter long? Luckily, CraftyStylish has a new way to make a formerly plaid and pathetic frock work for you -- by turning it into a chic little vest number!

Ready for the 11-step tutorial?

1. Take off the pockets.
With a seam ripper, carefully remove the pockets and pocket flaps. If the shirt has manufacturer registration markings from under the pocket, remove them.
2. Remove the arms.
Use scissors to cut off the sleeves, leaving the seam behind. The seam will prevent the vest from fraying too much after washing.
3. Cut off the top.
Remove the top of the shirt, just below the back yoke. Use the lines in the plaid to help you cut a straight line across the back and front.
4. Measure and mark the tucks with chalk.
For each side of the shirt, determine how many tucks will take in the correct amount of fabric. A 1⁄4-inch tuck takes in 1⁄2 inch of fabric.
5. Sew the tucks.
For each tuck, fold the fabric along the chalk line so the wrong sides are together. Sew 1⁄4 inch away from the fold to make the tuck. Backstitch at the beginning and end of each tuck.
6. Sew the shoulder seams.
Turn the vest inside-out, and pin the shoulder seams (right sides together). Then try it on, and reposition the pins to adjust the fit. The length of your shoulder seam determines the size of the collar. With right sides together, sew a 1⁄2-inch seam allowance; make sure that all of the pin tucks point toward the center of the vest.
7. Finish the neck.
Sew a 1⁄2-inch seam allowance around the edge of the neckline. This will prevent it from fraying too much after washing.
8. Secure the collar.
Remove two buttons from the leftover sleeves or the top of the shirt. Fold the collars down at the neckline to determine where to place the buttons that will secure them. Hand-sew the buttons.
9. Cut out the pockets.
From each sleeve piece, cut out one 6 1⁄2-inch by 6-inch rectangle on the bias.
10. Fold the pocket edges.
Turn down the top edge of each pocket 1 inch, and press. Turn under the sides and bottom edge of the pocket 1⁄2 inch, and press.
11. Sew the pockets in place.
Pin the pockets on the vest front, making sure that the edges of the pockets are aligned with the plaid on the vest. Sew 1⁄4 inch from the edges along the sides and bottom of each pocket.

DONE! Now that's what I call lumberjack chic!

It's ironic: the target audience for this article may never know it exists. See, if you didn't notice -- it would have been nearly impossible for anyone who owns a TV and watches networks other than NPR, let alone those of us who spend a lot of time online, not to notice -- Halo 3 came out on Tuesday.

How many gamers planned their vacation days for this week? How many living rooms are slowly filling up with empty pizza boxes and spent Mountain Dew bottles, as the inhabitants frag, frag away? (If not Mountain Dew, insert favorite over-caffeinated beverage -- er, I mean, "beverage with just enough caffeine to keep you going!" -- here. Gamer fuel!)

I'm assuming the number is massive... as massive as this game launch. Which means that those people probably aren't spending too much time browsing the Web. Nevertheless, we have some awesome Halo-based DIY projects for everyone. When the people who would appreciate them most finish the game, or at least come up for air, this article will still be here.

Join us after the break to get your Master Chief on. You know you want to.

I don't like folding my clean clothes, especially my shirts. To attest to this fact, I have a laundry basket sitting in the corner of my room that's literally overflowing with clean, but incredibly wrinkled t-shirts. Each morning, when I'm wasting time ironing that day's shirt, I think to myself, "if only I'd take the time to fold these darn shirts, I wouldn't have to waste my time ironing them every freaking morning. Why won't someone invent a shirt folding robot, and end my miserable plight?!" Unfortunately, the good people at Honda have yet to respond to my letters asking them to teach Asimo how to fold t-shirts, which means I'm stuck doing this tedious job manually for the rest of my life... or am I?

When I came across this video from Dan Pereda earlier today, demonstrating how to build and use your own t-shirt-folding machine, I nearly fell off my chair. It seems as though Dan has created a simple folding mechanism out of little more than foamcore and duct tape, and in so doing has solved one of the most pressing problems of all-time.



I can't wait to go buy some foamcore, and build one of these machines later tonight. I bet I can burn through my entire basket of t-shirts in less than an hour! Woo hoo! My life is finally complete! Thank you t-shirt-folding machine! THANK YOU!!!