Bra Bug Gardens – the tutorial you’ve all been waiting for!
Our household just held a massive cleanse. We decided we just had FAR TOO MUCH STUFF! So we’ve been through every cupboard, drawer and shelf cleansing out the excess stuff. The pile is immense and I’m very much looking forward to our Garage Sale this weekend to help raise funds for the Christchurch Women’s Refuge. I’m also donating 100% of pattern sales, so please pop over to the shop and pick one up.
But there’s some stuff you can’t sell too easily. And I’ve managed to filter a whole big bag of old knickers socks and bras out of the drawer (which I can now close! hurrah!). Rather than biff them in the bin, since textile production is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet, I’ve been seeking out ideas for reusing.
I’ve also set myself a wee mission this year to see how many different ways I can come up with the grow plants on fences. Long time readers will know I’m not the worlds biggest fence fan. But while it’s not possible to completely do away with them, I’m interested in finding ways to make the ones we have to have more functional. Canvases and gardens have been my two areas of experimentation.
So with that in mind I had a cheeky yet cunning idea to reuse my old bras. I’ve recently finished breastfeeding and I’m certainly not planning on doing that again so I’ve got a heap of maternity bras. They’re pretty solid so I thought they might make awesome plant pots!
PRESENTING: Possibly the worlds first Bra Bug fence pot tutorial!!
Materials:
old bras
scissors
needle and thread
stuff to decorate with (buttons, glitter, embroidery thread etc)
dirt
sand
little plants – succulent cuttings are ideal
STEP ONE
Grab a big pile of bras
STEP TWO
Cut off the back strap and shoulder straps
STEP THREE
Decorate!! There is absolutely no instruction here. Go nuts. Make your bras whatever you can possibly imagine them to be. I made bugs because these were heading for the fence at our community garden where our Permaculture Playgroup is held. Each week we have a theme and bugs was it this week.
Don’t laugh at my dorky bugs!
STEP FOUR
Fence time! This is of course the most fun bit. Find yourself a chain link fence and slip one half of the bra through and fold it back on itself so the two cups are joined. Then stitch along the side and the bottom so it holds together. You can stitch however you like just try not to leave gaps or the dirt will just fall through.
TIP 1: Use a fat long needle. It’s quite tricky pushing the needle through since the fabric is usually quite thick. Especially if you have a padded bra.
TIP 2: Get a friend to help with this bit and have a person on each side. It’s a wee bit tricky to push the needle through from the opposite side of the fence you’re standing on. It’s possible but annoying. Also, it’s more fun making stuff with friends 
STEP FIVE:
Gardening time! Fill your bug up with dirt and then plant. I was planting succulents and put 3/4 dirt and 1/4 sand so it looked pretty.
TIP: when you’re putting in the first bit of dirt make sure you stuff it in to fill the cups out, especially if you aren’t using padded bras. It’ll help it hold its shape.
And that’s it!
These ones were very much an experiment and I am quite sure I will perfect the art of upcycling old bras into spectacular mini fence gardens and I’ll try and update this post with any great lessons learned. In the meantime, have a go! I for one think the world is finally ready for the next great thing in organic, sustainable street art.
xox
The Great Xtreme Destash
With an expanding family it was time to make some tough decisions about space in our house. I made the big call and offered to hand over my craft room to be the new guest room. Then the existing guest room (which adjoins Tara’s room) can become Tara’s new big girls room.
It was a tough call to make. But when I looked at it from an efficiency perspective it was quite obvious. I don’t actually craft in there very often. I was limited to being in there when Tara was asleep otherwise a) I couldn’t watch her or b) she’d tear the room apart. So I really wasn’t in there much. And it was turning into a giant hoard room. Hardly practising what I preach when it comes to sustainable crafting.
So I decided to set myself a challenge to consolidate the room to one filing cabinet and one tall set of shelves. I’m only allowed to keep what will fit in there. This means getting rid of a heap of stuff.
Readers might remember last year Cate from Polka Dot Rabbit started the Buy Nothing Craft Month. It completely changed my crafting. Rather than buying piles of crap because I might make something out of it one day. I stopped buying and started making. It did truly radical things to my output and my savings! Other than embroidery floss and sometimes aida fabric I’ve pretty much stopped buying stuff. But I got given a fair bit so the stash wasn’t going down too far.
But now I’m getting serious!
My mission is to make, give away, or sell as much out of that room as I can over the next couple of months. And I’m gonna share the results. But to add a bit of a challenge I’m going to try not to throw any of it away. So I’m trying to find uses for all the scraps too. Given the massive environmental impacts of the textiles industry, I believe we’re obliged to at least try to find uses for our scraps. And given the resources out there, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
A little while ago a friend gave me the book Generation T – 108 ways to transform a t-shirt (warning – last time I opened their website there was a blimmin loud auto play video on it that started with an ad. I’d mute before clicking..). It’s a fantastic resource and filled with heaps of ideas on how to reuse fabric. While most of the projects do rely on t-shirts in an existing form, a fair few of them don’t. And a bunch of them don’t even need t-shirt fabric.
I’ve been inspired by a couple of projects. Firstly there’s a great tutorial on how to make an ‘it’ doll. A nice wee baby friendly gender-neutral soft doll. Given how livid the mainstream toy industry makes me, I thought it made perfect sense to get organised and make my own. Now I have a stash of future presents and stall items for markets!
The first bunch I made I used some terry towling I had lying around.
Believe it or not, I wasn’t actually intending to make aliens. It was just a fluke I picked the green fabric. And it wasn’t until I finished them I had that ‘would you look at that’ moment. I gave one to the neighbours wee boy and he loves chewing on it. The best things about them is that they can be thrown in the washing machine if they get dirty – perfect baby toys!
I decided to have another go making them but with a bit of variation.
I call these ones ‘little hugs’. Gave them extra long arms so they can give their friends lots of big cuddles. And I gave them faces; stitched on, so there’s no dangerous fally off choky bits.
I’m quite proud of them, they look really cool! And were nice and easy to make. I think all up it took me about three hours to make four of them at a time. Can’t wait to give them to some certain little people…
Next up is still a WIP. But I decided to get into my scraps bag and make something fun with all the crazy unmatched scraps in there. Another project in the Generation T book is a couple of great patterns for rugs. I decided to make a braided one as a new mat for our toilet. Our existing one is pretty damn ugly. And it’s a room in our house that needs more craft in it!
All you have to do is cut your fabric into strips, stitch the strips together (I used a zig zag stitch on the sewing machine but you can hand stitch it no problems), braid three lengths together and then using a running stitch/whip stitch, stitch the braid on the under side into a spiral. It’s a bit slow to do but it looks cool! And a great way to use a heap of fabric. I started with three lengths about 3 metres long and I’ve got a rug about 30cm wide. I need to add another couple of metres worth I reckon, to make it big enough for a loo mat.
This last shot shows the underside. The red thread is my running stitch holding it together.
This is a great project for using very different types of fabric since they get mixed up so nicely. I used everything from nice japanese cottons to upholstery fabric selvedge. It’s a fun way to remember all your past projects! Will post a pic when it’s finished.
My craft room is also supplying all the resources I need for the Interventionist Guide. Other than a roll of gutter guard I picked up from an op shop. Everything in the show is coming out of my stash.
I’m also planning to sell a few things. Mostly things I know other people could really appreciate that I’m simply not appreciating enough. All in the Radical Rags store and living in the vintage supplies section. Yesterday I listed a couple of Golden Hands books. They’re in excellent condition. Don’t think the original owner ever used them. And I haven’t either.. I’ve got a few of them to list yet so if you’re a collector and have a hole in your collection, let me know and I’ll let you know if I’ve got it.
So it’s a blimmin big mission but one I’m determined to complete. Stay tuned for updates.
In the meantime I have to share this pic of Tara. I so wish I was as cool as her
The gifts that give twice
OK so I don’t have time to write much at the mo, but I don’t want you all to think I’ve stopped loving you. Far from it, I’m working on plenty of exciting things to share. But in the meantime, I thought I’d cross post an article I wrote for the Aotearoa Green Party members blog gblog. Enjoy xox
Us Greens know the importance of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling (in that order!!) and now climate change seems to be at the top of the world’s agenda, greening our lives can be a real money spinner.
What I think we all need to be reminded is that we can’t save the earth by buying more stuff. Quite the opposite in fact. It can be quite astounding the number of products out there now that directly claim that you can help stop climate change by buying that product. Even cars!
Of course, reducing is one of the most effective environmental strategies we have available. Thinking twice about the things you buy is a powerful way of analysing your environmental impact. As is speaking up amongst your friends and family about the stuff they buy you.
I recently had a birthday and it was very interesting the conversations that arose when I requested that people give me something handmade (by them or someone else) or nothing at all. Not only did some of my friends surprise me with their hidden creativity, but we had some great chats about the old saying ‘it’s the thought that counts’. After all, what do you think you’re saying you think about your friend, if you give them a cheap, plastic, throw away trinket made in a sweatshop? Personally, I’d rather get no gift.
The skill of making things with your hands is something many of us have little time for these days. But there’s a surprising number of easy, gorgeous looking and most of all useful things that can be made from our recycling bins. And there are a ton of free step by step tutorials on the internet.
One tutorial that sparked my interest the other day was one I found at greenUPGRADER for newspaper yarn.
It seems to be very easy to make and there is an endless list of possibilities of things to make out of it. Sure, it’s not a material you would want to use in a very damp environment, but newspaper is a surprisingly strong material, and twisted like this would make it very strong. Sure recycling newspaper is good but it’s definitely better to try and give it another purpose first!
Another website worth checking out for inspiration is Crafting a Green World, which is bursting full of inspiration, ideas and well-researched information. They’ve recently started a Carnival of Green Crafts and the latest Carnival is focussed on turning Trash into Treasure. There is so many wonderful ideas in here. I recommend making a cup of tea and settling in for a good read.
Those in the craft world use the term upcycling to describe the art of taking something unwanted, and turning it into something fabulous. And it’s a trend that encourages not only creativity but also a good healthy imagination, which is something we all need to deal with all the issues that we all face locally and globally!
So next time you need to give someone a gift, don’t reach for your wallet, grab your snips and glue and a needle and thread and let your imagination run wild.
Green Jeans
No not those tragic coloured jeans we got to experience in the early 90s. I had a purple pair! Lord please don’t let these come back into fashion..
No I mean putting jeans to a green use. Another Limited Rebellion has a story about how an organisation called Access Cotton is collecting those old jeans that simply can’t be fixed any more and turning them into insulation for homes in needy communities.
In 2006 they collected over 14 thousand pairs of jeans which is enough to insulate about 28 homes. They have been working with Habitat for Humanity and have been focussing on the rebuilding project in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina.
This is such a fantastic idea. Not only is it a brilliant use of a waste product. Especially since fabric is one of the least recycled materials in our society and also one of the most energy intensive to produce. But also because insulation is such a sound investment.
While I’m on the topic of insulation. A huge well done to the Greens and Labour in NZ for the announcement of the new state housing retrofitting scheme.
A whopping $53.4 million will be spent over the next 5 years renovating the public housing stock to make the houses drier, warmer and more energy efficient. As well as insulating 21,000 homes they will also spend money on draft-proofing windows and doors, wraps for hot water cylinders, efficient shower heads, lagging of pipes and, if appropriate, new energy efficient home heating.
This is absolutely brilliant news for public housing tenants. Not only will it improve their health and well being but it will also make a hugely positive effect on their utility bills. The Greens have estimated that the country will recover this investment four-fold over the next twenty years in energy and health savings.
Chur.
Tie Crazy
My latest crafty obsession is reclaiming old ties and using them to boldly proclaim an objective in life, or current role within the patriarchy. In jest, naturally.
I believe ties are the strongest symbol of the stranglehold that patriarchy has on men. Many people are under the misguided impression that patriarchy is a power that only affects women. Men are also strongly oppressed by the patriarchal system, just in different ways. I strongly recommend reading at least part of (it’s a feckin’ long book) Stiffed by Susan Faludi.
Sometimes I lament the lack of understanding some feminists (both female and male) have towards men and their behaviour within the patriarchal system. I get particularly wound up when men do attempt to educate and support themselves about how they are affected by issues of gender and they are not supported in doing so. I have experienced a number of occasions where women have tried to interfere and dictate processes for men trying to organise themselves against gender oppression. And I have had to seriously wonder if they get it at all.
How do you think women would react if men tried to tell them how to run a women’s only group? Well, we know because it happens all the time, the women involved, rightly, get quite pissed off. So how is it different when men organise? What gives women the right to dictate their processes?
I’m not saying there should be no dialogue; quite the opposite in fact. I think it’s imperative there is dialogue and collaboration between men and women organising on issues of gender. I certainly think that some of the angry men’s rights groups who predominantly organise around fathers rights issues, for example, could do with some dialogue with feminists, so there could be an understanding that they’re fighting the same fight.
Returning to the topic of this post…
I think that part of the reason the ‘men in suits’ are able to act without any apparent compassion for other human beings, or the planet on which we depend on for life, has a lot to do with a lack of oxygen flow to the brain.
The problem?
The tie.
The Slave tie has been sold but the other two are for sale. I will get around to putting them online soon otherwise you can contact me directly. And I have a few more ties left to stitch. If you have any suggestions, please comment below.
PUPcycling
I love how artists and crafters are so good at taking other peoples waste and turning it into something wonderful and clever. I reckon plastic bag upcycling is the best example. There are so many amazing things that can be done with a plastic bag other than chucking it in a landfill.
The most obvious is turning plastic bags into even better plastic bags and the proliferation of fused and knitted/crocheted grocery bags out there is very heartening. A friend of mine has even made an entire lace curtain out of crocheted plastic.
But this tops all of that.
These plastic bag animals are tied to subway grates in New York. When the train goes underneath they act just like Marilyn’s skirt.
That’s clever street art. The world needs more of it.
Upcycling greatness
let me introduce you to one of the stall holders at the Melbourne Craft Cartel Market. Dan is the man and he has a label called Nearly Roadkill.
Nearly Roadkill is a bag and accessory label established in 2006 by Dan Vaughan. The bags are made out of recycled car uphoistery, just saved from their fate as roadkill.
Dan makes wallets and messenger bags, back packs and hand bags and they’re all handmade.
And they’re really hot!
(so is Dan incidentally, I always get a couple of people come up to me and ask me what his marital status is. I don’t know, for the record. And I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this. Hopefully he’ll be flattered that lots of people think he’s hot.)
I can’t show you any pictures, you have to go look at his site. Or come and see them in person at the next Market (March 3, diaries)
And while we’re on the theme of ace upcycled bags, check these babies out
The brain child of Motor City Handbags, they’re made out of that orange stuff they use on construction sites. Super cute and very, very strong. I could definitely see one of these in action at the Footscray Market.
They also make seatbelt bags, like this diaper bag (or nappy bag as us who don’t live in the US tend to refer to them as).
I love people who think of the parents!
For those of you who don’t know, upcycling is a term which means to take an objects (usually waste, or unwanted) and reconstruct it into something of value. And it’s a super, brilliant, crafty way of saving the planet.