HOW TO: resuscitate that old t-shirt!

as i've mentioned here on the {newnew} blog before, one of my favorite forms of recycling is wardrobe recycling, aka wardrobe refashioning. instead of heading to h+m when you feel like you have nothing to wear, why not shop in your closet instead, and re-make something that doesn't fit anymore—or just doesn't fit your current style?

one of the easiest places to start refashioning is with t-shirts. we all have them: the t-shirts we don't wear but can't seem to let go of. here's what i did with one of mine.

this was part of my college uniform:

not only is it ridiculously big (as all of my clothes were back then), it had developed some issues in the back....

...and so had since been relegated to the pajama drawer. but i never wore it, because i was afraid it was just going to keep ripping and completely fall apart. clearly, it was time to dismantle it myself.

i started by removing the sleeves, then cutting across the back horizontally at the spot of the enormous gaping hole, leaving me with this:

then i cut down the sides vertically, making two pieces, and slit the part of the back that was attached to the front down the middle, comme ca:

i decided that those two pieces coming off the top of the front piece would become straps, so i trimmed them a bit to make them slimmer and equal widths, and hemmed the edges. i also turned the neckband under in the front and stitched it down to make a uniform hem all around.

then i put it all together: pinned the side seams and sewed them up, hemmed the top of the back piece, attached the straps to the back, and hemmed the front piece— which had ended up longer than the back—at the bottom. and this is what i got:

putting it on, i realized that the part where i had hemmed under the existing neckband stuck out...

...and i was going to fix it by turning it under one more time and re-hemming, but then i realized that i liked it the way it was. i also love that the finished product retained some of the pinholes and frayed edges of the original shirt.

and so something destined for the scrap heap became a fab, totally original "new" top.

- cakehouse

Pre-Earth Day Team Swap

What is it about spring that inspires one to sort, edit, and organize their belongings? The lengthening days, casting an unforgiving light on the piles of accumulating unused supplies? The extra energy that accompanies the blooming trees and warmer air? No doubt it is something primordial - straighten up the cave before summer arrives!

Whatever the reason, what is one to do with the resulting bags of perfectly wonderful yet no-longer-necessary-to-you stuff?

Last night several members of the {New New} tackled this seasonal dilemma by participating in a swap at the home of jewelry designer and all around crafty chica Joanne Tracy. Needless to say, the attendees brought a fascinating assortment of goods ranging from fabric, beads, and fancy paper to clothing and lamp shades! (And of course wine - everyone brought wine. It is ill-advised - if not impossible - to host a swap without libations of some sort.)

Almost everyone found a treasure to take with them (the most recent issues of the New Yorker - score!), and whatever items did not find a taker will be donated to a local church that does a lot of charity work in the neighborhood.

If you'd like to know how to host your own swap according to Real Simple magazine, be my guest. But it really wasn't that complicated. Put the stuff people bring out on tables to rummage through. Give them wine and delicious homemade cookies. Bask in the warm glow that comes from keeping a whole lotta stuff out of a landfill.

-MaryAnne
aka WabisabiBrooklyn.etsy.com.Etsy.com

Celebrating Earth Day

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States on April 22, 1970.

Earth Day is now celebrated on an annual basis throughout the world.
And so, what started as a day of environmental recognition in the United States has evolved into a global campaign to protect our environment.
Here is a link to the EPA's website about Earthday.

Senator Gaylord Nelson is the founder of Earth Day. He wrote an article called,
"How the First Earth Day Came About." It troubled the senator that the state of the environment was not an issue in politics.
Senator Nelson's concise and very interesting article about how Earth Day began appears here.

Have you ever heard of Earthday.gov? I hadn't heard of it until today. According to this website:
"Earth Day is a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress."

Earthdaynetwork: every day for everybody appears to be an extremely interesting website that provides links to very important information.
I really like Earthdaynetwork's link to RESOURCES: where:
"Earth Day Network provides resources and materials that help organizations around the world build cleaner, safer and healthier communities."

by
Nina Kuriloff