the time for change is now

a personal blog dedicated to sustainability, upcycling, climate change etc. with a focus on the Southern hemisphere and the Pacific in particular. Queer, Trans and Punk for life.

[wastelesscrafts]

hey I've seen in the past you recommend embroidering the edges of fraying shirt cuffs and I love the look of it... but I can't figure out what kind of stitch is used? I tried looking on google and ur blog but didn't see it ):

Embroidering frayed sleeve cuffs

If I've got the right stitch in mind, it's the blanket stitch. Check Embroidery for Beginners for a text tutorial and Red Ted Art for a video tutorial. The blanket stitch is used to finish off raw edges, but can also be used in a decorative way.

You could also try a whipstitch, as demonstrated in text by The Spruce Crafts and in video by Rokolee DIY. It's usually used to sew two layers of fabric together, but can also be used as a decorative element.

A blanket stitch will be stronger, but will have a defined ridge which the whipstitch won't have.

(Image source) [ID: close-up on a cuff of a blue denim sleeve. The edge has been embroidered over in various colours of thread, using a blanket stitch with very little space between each stitch.]

(Image source) [ID: close-up on a blue denim pocket. The edges have been outlined with a blanket stitch in white thread with spaced out stitches.]

(Image source) [ID: a pink circle of felt fabric. The edges have been outlined in green thread using a whipstitch. Text: "© 2016 Oliver Rabbit".]

[sew-n-tell]

Repairing holes in knitting

[wastelesscrafts]

Thank you for tagging me! This video’s a good illustration of several techniques I summed up in my post on how to mend holes in knit fabric.

[fatmasc]

Avoiding Fast Fashion: How to Repair your Stuff

A friend texted me asking how to avoid fast fashion and the short answer is: you cant. unless you have the money to make all your own clothes, fast fashion is going to be a part of your life because it has permeated every corner of the fashion industry. However, you can learn basic mending and repair techniques to help your clothes last so that you are contributing far less to the fast fashion industry

Basic Hand Sewing How-to

How to Mend Jeans using Shashiko Methods

How to Mend Clothing (this channel is all about how to sew so check out her other videos)

Repairing a Seam

Re-attach the sole of a shoe

Repair holes in shoes 1 2

[wastelesscrafts]

Sustainable gift wrapping ideas

Introduction:

Everyone likes unwrapping a gift, but why buy new wrapping paper when there are more fun ways to wrap a gift that don't require buying and throwing away new paper?

Two ways to avoid waste when gift-wrapping:

Reusing something you already have

Wrapping your gift in a second gift.

Here's a few ideas:

Reusing materials:

Reuse wrapping paper

Newspapers

Fabric scraps

Reuse a cardboard box

Reuse a bag

Glass jars

Old maps

Old posters

Anything made of paper or cardboard can be drawn on to customise your gift's look.

A gift as a wrap:

Totebag

Thrifted scarf

Cloth napkins

Cloth handkerchief

Towels

T-shirt

Pillow case

Furoshiki

Dishcloth

Drawstring bag

Thrifted casserole or cooking pot with lid

Thrifted lunch box

(Image source) [ID: a graphic showing 14 ways to wrap an item using furoshiki: otsukai tsutsumi, yotsu musubi, suika tsutsumi, katakake fukuro, entou tutsumi, hira tsutsumi, tesage bukuro, kousa tsutsumi, hon tsutsumi, futatsu tsutsumi, kakushi tsutsumi, bin tsutsumi 1, bin tsutsumi 2, sao tsutsumi.]

(Image source) [ID: a gift wrapped in a newspaper page with cartoons printed on it. Beige yarn is tied around the gift.]

Who's the present for?

If you don't know where to start, think about the person you're wrapping a gift for. Do they like fashion? Maybe get a second-hand scarf they'll like and wrap your gift in it. Do they like cooking? There's plenty of cool casseroles or Tupperware to be found at second-hand stores. Maybe your giftee just started living on their own and still need to buy their own bath linen: why not wrap their gift in a towel?

(Image source) [ID: a gift wrapped in a red dishcloth with white lines and fringes. Twigs of holly and ivy have been tucked in one of the cloth's folds.]

Conclusion:

Unconventional wrapping methods are fine, and so is not wrapping a gift at all. People are happy they're getting a gift! So what if it's not wrapped in fancy paper?

There's plenty of ways to wrap a gift in a sustainable way without taking away the fun of unwrapping. Want some more ideas? Check out these zero waste gift wrapping guides by Trash Is For Tossers, Greenpeace, and Sustainably Chic.

(And while we're on the topic: it's totally fine to give someone a handmade or second-hand gift, too. The perfect gift isn't new or store-bought, but thoughtful.)

[chanceyknits]

every stitch, depicted and demonstrated

This database holds a ton of useful materials for embroidery! many different types of stitches in various difficulties, all incredibly useful!

[purple-fox-for-luck]

@wastelesscrafts does that look useful?

[wastelesscrafts]

[ID: an embroidery database showing 24 stitches of the chain stitch family (chain stitch, whipped chain stitch, double chain stitch, magic chain stitch, lazy daisy, Russian chain stitch, long tailed daisy, feathered chain stitch, Basque stitch, petal chain stitch, reverse chain stitch, heavy chain stitch) and the blanket stitch family (blanket stitch, buttonhole stitch, whipped buttonhole, double blanket stitch, closed blanket stitch, crossed blanket, buttonhole wheel, buttonhole wheel cup, rosette of thorns, buttonhole bar, barb stitch, mirrored blanket).]

That’s an amazing resource! Thanks for the tag.

[wastelesscrafts]

Upcycling sweaters

Sometimes you're stuck with a sweater you just don't wear any more. Maybe it shrunk or became felted in the wash, or maybe you outgrew it. When this happens, there's a variety of ways you could upcycle your sweater into something new.

Knitting:

Do you like knitting? One way to recycle your sweater is to unravel it into a skein of yarn. This way, you can reknit your sweater into a garment you actually wear. This process takes a lot of patience, but if you particularly like the material your sweater's made from, it's well worth it.

Refashioning:

If your sweater has become too small, you could try to upsize it by adding in extra pieces of fabric. You could knit your own, use scrap fabric, or sacrifice a second sweater to cut out panels or gores from.

(Image source) [ID: a gray knit cabled sweater with gores made of floral pink fabric sewn to the bottom, starting at the waist.]

Sweaters that are too big are pretty easy to downsize, too. If your sweater's made of a natural fibre, you could try shrinking it in the wash. Otherwise you'll have to tailor it. Add in darts with the ladder stitch, or resize the sides by using a fitted sweater as a template.

Your sweater doesn't have to stay a sweater! If the shoulders bother you, then remove the sleeves and turn it into a sweater vest. Chest too tight? Cut open the front and turn it into a cardigan. Top not fitting right? Cut off the bottom and make yourself a skirt or a pencil skirt.

(Image source) [ID: a before and after picture of a gray sweater being turned into a cardigan.]

Reusing:

There are many ways to upcycle a sweater. In the end, your sweater is just fabric/yarn in a sweater-shape. You can reuse it however you want. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Sweater mittens

Cozy hat

Scarves, mittens, arm warmers, hats

Pillow case

Basket

Blanket

Socks

Leg warmers

Infinity scarf

Gift bags

Tote bag

Slouchy boots

Sweater rug

Pet bed

Plushies

Pot holders

Basket with handles

Box bag

Jewellery

Cat ears hat

Hot water bottle cozy

(Image source) [ID: three sweater diagrams showing how to turn a sweater into an ear warmer, fingerless gloves, infinity scarf, arm warmer, slouch hat, cowl scarf, traditional scarf mittens, and a beanie hat. Text: "© Jenuinemom.com".]

Conclusion:

There's no need to throw away a sweater if you don't wear it any more or if it doesn't fit you any longer. You can always resize, alter, or upcycle it into something new.

If you don't feel in a crafty mood, please consider giving your sweater to a friend or family member, freecycling your sweater, or donating your sweater to a charity rather than throwing it away.

[kirkypet]

I did a slouch hat!

Yes there were errors but that gives it Individual Charm

[wastelesscrafts]

[ID: a red slouch hat made out of knit fabric with a pink and green embroidered rose at the centre top.]

That looks lovely!

[thoughtportal]

[desfraisespartout]

This is a nice video showing an blind/invisible stitch, which is quite useful for repairing tears or finishing something (ex. cushion).

Also, that extra step for putting back the seam is really nice.

[thoughtportal]

[reblogthatartyoulike]

If you like this check out @wastelesscrafts

[wastelesscrafts]

This is a lovely example of how you can cover up a hole with embroidery!

One suggestion to make this mend last longer is to fix the hole first, for example by sewing on a small patch on the back or by darning it, and then adding the embroidery on top.

[ouyangzizhensdad]

“vegan leather” “artificial whale bone” “synthetic fabric”

[average-smoothie-enjoyer]

"100 companies carbon blah blah I'm gonna do whatever I want" is the new climate change denial.

[asaflowerblossoms]

In her book Fixation, Sandra Goldmark has a quote that I really admire. She talks about how the ultra wealthy and oil corps are primarily responsible for destroying the planet, so why bother doing anything for the environment?

"because not taking these actions -individually- is even more ludicrous; it denies each of us a place in the world. If our actions are part of the problem, then they must be part of the solution."

She then quotes Jonathan Safran Foer:

"the ways we live our lives, the actions we take and don't take, can feed the systemic problems, and they can also change them. Both macro and micro actions have power, and when it comes to mitigating our planetary destruction, it is unethical to dismiss either, or to proclaim that because the large cannot be achieved, the small should not be attempted."

[wastelesscrafts]

You posted a picture of some shorts that were made bigger with a floral fabric panel down the side. Do you have a tutorial/ know where I can find one on how to do that to a pair of jeans? Thank you for your help & thank you for this blog!! It inspired me to do visible mending on a pair of old pants and they look SUPER cool. I love your blog.

Did you mean this picture?

(Image source) [ID: side view of blue denim shorts with a dark blue floral fabric insert at the side seams.]

How to upsize a pair of pants:

Written instructions:

These shorts were upsized by the owner of the Blue Corduroy blog, who explains how you can upsize your own pants in this upsizing tutorial.

This technique is quite simple: measure out how much extra fabric you need (+seam allowance), and cut corresponding strips of a fabric with a similar fibre and weight as your pants. Open up the side seams of your trousers, insert the strips you've cut, then finish up your seams and you're done.

(Image source) [ID: a pair of cut-off blue denim shorts with opened-up side seams. A seam ripper and a pile of loose threads lie beside the shorts.]

(Image source) [ID: a pair of cut-off blue denim shorts with opened-up side seams. A strip of dark blue floral fabric has been sewn onto one of the opened seams. A second strip lies besides the pants, along with a pair of scissors.]

This tutorial shows you how to do this on a pair of shorts, but this works on full-length pants and even skirts as well.

Video tutorial:

If you prefer video tutorials, Confessions of a Refashionista also has a video on this:

Some general notes:

If your insert fabric is too thin to match your trousers' fabric, try using two layers instead of one like the video above demonstrates.

For extra comfort, use strips twice as wide as the width you need to add and size them down again by adding shirring (or some other type of elastic insert). Do this at the waistband level to get a fitted waist and flared legs, or do this across the strip's entire length to get a pair of fitted trousers with a shirred panel. This technique is also great if your size fluctuates a lot because the elastic allows the pants to expand and shrink along with your body.

The image below (by Suzy Bee Sews) shows what this looks like on a dress, but the principle's the same for pants.

(Image source) [ID: close-up of a shirred side panel in a blue dress with light blue flowers printed on the fabric.]

These inserts work best for garments that need a lot of extra space. If you only need a few centimetres, you could also try to let out your trousers instead of adding extra fabric.

[neil-gaiman]

I mean, it’s actually not funny. Stoats were introduced to New Zealand by idiots who brought them to try and deal with the rabbits they had previously introduced to New Zealand, who were breeding like rabbits. And the stoats went “hurrah! A land where birds have no predators and some of them even lay their eggs in burrows! Let us feast in this new land!” So dealing with stoats is a real problem.

But Stoat on the Loose is such a great title. And it’s obviously followed up by Stoat on the Loose 2: Stoat in the Big City and Stoat on the Loose 3: Stoats in Space.

[a-selkie-abroad]

(warning for mention of how stoats brutally eliminate prey)

okay sorry to rant on your post but ur right this really isn’t funny

not only are stoats lose in New Zealand, this poster is talking about the Predator-free islands - small island off the coast of New Zealand that are nature reserves, many having populations of animals extinct on the mainland due to predators or extremely vulnerable to them - eg nesting grounds for endangered birds and such. Even ONE predator here could wreak havoc to a native species with such a small, at-risk population, AND GOD FORBID if a breeding pair somehow gets loose. 

Those little fuckers may look cute and innocent but they are VICIOUS and go after wildlife not even to eat them, but for fun, they’ll leave killed animals (they seem to kill, at least the one that lived in my area, by tearing their prey’s throat out) on our lawn otherwise untouched. Just. Dead animals, not even killed for food cause they weren’t eaten. WTF stoats?? Who hurt you??

Then there’s -excuse my French - FUCKING possums. Those little shits decided that “when we eat leaves, lets do it to trees who can’t support having so much damage done to them! Also, LETS JUST COMPLETELY CHANGE OUR DIET FROM VEGETARIAN TO OMNIVOROUS BC FUCK YOUUUU BIRDS WE’RE GOING TO EAT YOUR EGGS” bitch, why

tangent aside, I know stoats, ferrets, rats, mice, rabbits and possums are cute, but man you have to get over it. They don’t belong here and they’re driving native species extinct. I know its a harsh take to have little to no sympathy for these invasive buggers, but there’s an entire country’s ecosystem at stake!! All the birds, bugs, plants and reptiles!! More and more of them are being driven extinct every year!! Keep your goddam cat inside if you live in New Zealand  it’s killing the native birds too!!

On a related note, next time you travel to new Zealand, don’t complain about the strict restrictions on what you can take in, AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T SMUGGLE STUFF YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING IN. Bacteria, tiny bugs and other small organisms can still be invasive and cause just as much havoc, and those protections are there for a reason!! FOLLOW THEM!

tl;dr THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD AND ALTHOUGH I APPRECIATE THE HUMOUR MY KIWI HEART IS HIGH-KEY PANICKING,  SOMEONE CATCH THAT STOAT OH GOD

[neil-gaiman]

Absolutely endorse this 100%.

And hedgehogs make me extra sad because they are doing so well in New Zealand, where they are not wanted, while the numbers crash in the UK, where they ought to be. And sometimes I imagine an airdrop of ten million hedgehogs from New Zealand to the UK and tiny hedgehogs in parachutes…

[theexoticvet-deactivated2022070]

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Migratory Bird Program | Conserving America's Birds

Do wind turbines kill birds? Yes. And we do need to find a way to mitigate that. But outdoor cats are the overwhelming leader in causes of bird deaths.

[todaysbird]

The good that wind turbines will do for the environment, and by association birds, mitigates their unfortunate losses. We need to continue to work on and improve wind turbines’ avian safety, but acting as if they are bird Armageddon is wrong.

[flareonfloof]

also please for the love of GOD keep your cats inside

[doomhope]

[ID: A graphic titled "Wind Turbines Not the Top Killer for Birds - Annual estimated bird mortality from selected anthropogenic causes in the U.S." Listed below are several of those causes, along with the median/average estimated bird deaths associated with that cause.

Cats cause about 2,400,000,000 bird deaths per year.

Building glass collisions cause about 599,000,000 bird deaths per year.

Vehicle collisions cause about 214,500,000 bird deaths per year.

Poison causes about 72,000,000 bird deaths per year.

Electrical line collisions cause about 25,500,000 bird deaths per year.

Electrocutions cause about 5,600,000 bird deaths per year.

Wind turbines cause about 234,012 bird deaths per year.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

/End ID]

[timeclonemike]

There’s a wind turbine design developed by an inventor named Mike Waters that sort of looks like a hamster’s exercise wheel. There’s a flat circular disk with angled vanes mounted perpendicular to the disk surface, so all the wind passing through that volume of space is harnessed to produce energy, not just the wind that happens to be interacting with the three blades of a conventional turbine.

The turbine shape itself is easy for birds to see and avoid, compared to birds trying to fly in between turbine blades and getting killed when they miscalculate.

Not only that, the turbine is more efficient than a conventional three blade assembly, so it can produce the same amount of electricity while occupying much less space, so they can be built closer together. And because the turbine assemblies are smaller in general, they can be made from less material AND they don’t have to be made from high tensile strength composites, which are a bitch to recycle or dispose of when a normal turbine reaches end-of-life.

[solarpunkandsustainablity]

Every time I check the follower count on this blog I'm always baffled by the presence of TERFs.

Y'all know I'm one of those Scary Transgender's right?

[lethotep]

It's interesting... the more skills and hobbies I have, now that I no longer feel pressure to "stick with" one thing really gives me great joy.

Each skill builds on the other, and with each additional skill, I realise how it fits in with everything else.

How everything in life connects together really, as I make small and big connections that I never had to think about before.

Like today, when I was doing the hard yards of prepping the garden for Spring next month, and I was pruning off branches from the plum tree. And I realised how I'd struggled to find green wood to learn to whittle and carve previously, and now suddenly I have a pile of it. And now I know that the time for me to do whittling is late winter, when you're pruning back growth.

And how I first decided to start spinning yarn, then wanted to go back a step and learn how to wash and card and make rolags, and then learning what's the best time to dye the wool using natural dyes based on what's forageable in my area at different times of the year. And now I know how to wash, card, spin, dye, crochet, weave, felt, and knit. Basically, the only thing I haven't done is shear the sheep personally!

Being a Jack of all trades is great and really fun when you embrace it!

Sure I have no "goal" in life

But that's because I have new goals every week

[decaffeinatedvoidwombat]

*sits down*

dont you think its weird. dont you think its weird that the space race last time was two of the biggest powers in the world. and now its a handful of rich men. dont you think its weird they can afford that. dont you think its bad that rich men can afford the same things as the government.

dont you think its weird that while the world is suffering and poverty is everywhere, where there's wars and climate change and human pain and homelessness. the same month I've watched people die on the news from unbearable heat and unprecedented flooding. that a rich handful of men are going to space, causing more carbon emissions. dont you think its weird that instead of putting their vast amount of money to use for good they're using it to find a way off the planet theyre destroying.

dont you think its really fucking weird.

[jedi-anakin]

“In 1998, a Blue Planet film crew stumbled on an event little known at the time. Coral reefs were turning white. The white color is caused by corals expelling algae that lives symbiotically within their body. When you first see it, you think perhaps that it’s beautiful, and suddenly you realize it’s tragic. Because what you’re looking at is skeletons. Skeletons of dead creatures. The white corals are ultimately smothered by seaweed. And the reef turns from wonderland… to wasteland. At first, the cause of the bleaching was a mystery.”

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet (2020)