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| plyders

I’m experimenting with a no-sew technique of cutting and tying strips to create seams. The smaller the strips, the more fragile, but it also makes the seam more closed (i.e. less exposed skin.) I cut a trapezoid shape out of an XL men’s t-shirt and sewed a traditional elastic waistband at the top. The sides were joined by knotting 1/2” x 2” strips that I cut along the edges. I covered a rather large existing graphic on the front by sewing on 1/2” wide strips cut from the remaining bits of t-shirt. The strips naturally curl and create an interesting texture. The finished product works both as a skirt and a sleeveless top.

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I once purchased a large piece of artificial turf carpet to use as decor for an event. Ugly stuff really. Plastic, itchy, and just…artificial. It’s been rolled up in a corner of my garage for a couple years now. But I was inspired yesterday to do something with it. Using a pair of utility scissors and a circle template, I refashioned the turf into a contemporary outdoor area rug – slash – putting game for the kids.

| plyders

I created two new prototypes for my plicious clothing line. The first one, created from a single XL men’s tshirt, is an open back overshirt with tiny pleats at the base of the v-neck. The second, made from two XL men’s tshirts, is a v-neck poncho with extra wide fringe at the base. Both of these will be available on plicious.com soon.

| plyders

As a last minute gift for Easter, I made a minimal, modern sock bunny for each of my girls. Since my sewing machine is being serviced, these were hand sewn in secrecy late Saturday night after the girls went to bed. Bleary-eyed in the wee hours of the morning, I opted to leave them faceless with the intention of having my daughters decide what kind of face they want.  Surprisingly, both of them actually really like the bunny without a face.

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I scored the biggest t-shirt ever at a thrift store – 9X!  It is large enough to make two one-sleeve dresses, and I’ve finished one so far.  I even kept the shirt pocket as-is which put it right in the middle of the dress. 

| plyders

My daughters love their American Girl dolls, and I love making things using the leftover moving boxes in our garage. Voila, a doll chair that can attach to the dining table. After careful measuring, I created a pattern and traced it onto several flattened boxes. I then cut about 35 layers (about 5 small boxes) and glued them together. This rough-looking chair might not appeal to every girl, but my daughters were very happy.

| plyders

As alternatives to a traditional centerpiece for the upcoming auction at my daughter’s school, I created a mobile and a tripod. Both use natural materials that can be found on the school’s site, like dried branches, pine cones, and pine sprigs. Additions to the mobile include origami stars and crystals tied to the sprigs.  The tripod of juniper branches are tied with gold ribbon. Then the branches are ornamented with pine cones and felted balls home made from local alpaca wool.

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Our family handmade holiday card is much more fun and playful than ones I’ve made in the past. I wanted to include my family in the making rather than just including photos. So I asked my daughters and husband to draw a picture of themselves as a snowman. Then I scaled, cut, pasted, and created a “backside” for each drawing. I also asked my family for a quote of what they wish for humanity. The string of snow people stand inside the card below their quotes.

| plyders

This year’s handmade ornament is an origami star that collapses into a small, neat square by moving a bead along ribbon. I used embossed cardstock instead of traditional origami paper so the star is sturdy. A thin, double-sided tag serves as a minimal greeting and includes photos of past handmade Christmas decor.