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by Trystan L. Bass
Wed, August 29, 2007, 8:00 am PDT

Lexicographer by day, vintage dress fanatic by night—well, by day also—Erin McKean is clearly the right person to catalog the surprisingly arcane and always wonderful world of women's wear with her site, A Dress A Day.

Last year, we gushed about her stories of the secret lives of dresses and her rants against the Handbag Industrial Complex. Recently, we sat down in her virtual sewing room for a conversation about fabulous fabrics and fashions.

Why did you start your blog?

I was out with my husband Joey one night and was talking about the blogs I was reading, and I told him I really wanted there to be a blog that talked about a dress every day. And because my husband is the kind of guy that intuitively understands what you really want and then eggs you on to do it, he said "Why don't you do it?"

I registered the domain name dressaday.com and then sat on it for a year, not doing anything. So when it came up for renewal I felt as if I had wasted a year in which I could have been doing something fun and cool, just because I was "too busy." I figured I would never be LESS busy, so I'd just have to make time for it. I'm so glad that I did!  Read the full profile...

by Molly McCall
Fri, August 24, 2007, 8:05 am PDT

We should have written this Pick months ago. But we're incapable of coming near Etsy without abandoning all sense of time, obligation, and, let's face it, fiscal responsibility. Forget any other web phenom you've heard about recently, the Greatest Current Thing is Etsy. Here, creators and lovers of fine (and funky) handcrafted items buy and sell a wide variety of goods. Tote bags, artists' books, photographs, knitted wear, collage work, jewelry, ceramics, polymer beasties, they're all here, plus much, much more. Surely, we've already lost readers to the addictive, ebullient site, but for those of you still with us: Begin with the main showcase, check in with the featured seller, experience the space-craft continuum with the "time machine," and perhaps take a joyful romp through the "shop by color" section. And then, let your fancy guide you. You've entered the joyous realm of Etsy.
by Trystan L. Bass
Mon, July 30, 2007, 8:00 am PDT

Being green comes in many fashions—it's not all hybrid cars and compact fluorescent light bulbs (although those are great, too). One Australian stay-at-home mum is wearing her environmentalism on her sleeve, literally, and has invited the blogosphere to join in.

In 2006, Nichola Prested started Wardrobe Refashion and welcomed fellow crafters to take the refashion pledge. Their vow? To abstain from buying manufactured clothing items for two, four, or six months.

The only "new" clothes "refashionistas" can have are ones they make or recycle from pre-loved items. Exemptions are allowed for undies and shoes, and crafters can buy some new fabric and yarn, but the emphasis is less consumption, more creativity.

This collaborative blog and Flickr group fast became a hit, and each new refashion cycle has added more and more participants. We talked to Nikki about her sustainable style.  Read the full profile...

by Trystan L. Bass
Thu, July 19, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

Bang a thread with Threadheads Rob and Corinne as they give weekly fashion and craft tips and show off viewers' cool creations. Catch new videos every Friday or subscribe to the video podcast so you can learn how to stud your clothes for a hot punk-rock look or dress up old shoes with bleach and paint. See how to get the perfect fit by pinching and pinning a baggy old button-down so it becomes a stylish shirt or by building a duct-tape double so you can sew your own clothes. Want some oh-so-hip jeans that look vintage and worn-in, but usually cost big bucks at the fancy boutiques? Soak your jeans in coffee and then sand the edges for trendy style on a budget. You might want to study up on these thrift-shopping lessons first, so you can find the perfect denim to caffeinate. If all these DIY projects aren't enough to keep you busy, check out the Threadbanger blog for links to nifty advice around the craft blogosphere. That's where you'll find viewer submissions like a fabulous video tutorial of how to hem pants. Or cruise the forum and chat with fellow Threadheads about topics like spray paint—good or bad? You're not doing it all by yourself when you have these handy pals helping you out each week.

Filed under: Fashion, Crafts, Vlogs, DIY

by Gordon Hurd
Mon, June 11, 2007, 8:00 am PDT

What would you think about doing a project-a-week for an entire year? Jeffrey Yamaguchi thought it'd be a great idea and a great web site, so he created 52 Projects. Since his humble hotbed of HTML first launched in 2002, Jeff’s project-about-projects has turned into a blog and a book, and it’s turned thousands of people onto the joys of photographic undertakings, crafty missions, and do-it-yourself ventures of all shapes and sizes.

“Projects are the most energizing thing for me,” says Jeff. “Not just with creative things, but even treating daily tasks as projects fuels your creativity and helps you get things done.” Life is a project: a simple idea that blossomed into a thriving online community. And it’s a perfect example of how the Web can spark creativity and keep it burning for a lot longer than a single year.


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