*** The official and awesome DIY thread ***

[otc]

Anyone know a source for single-pair orders of Vibram or Soletech soles?

Don't want to buy a case, but the selection that pops up on ebay/amazon is limited.

Can I get them in non-standard colors? For example, the ripple soles only officially come in Tan/Brown/Black, but I have seen companies selling them in red, white, and blue:

 

[aidanc]

I know that Tokyu Hands in Japan sells single pairs of soles, both full and just heel pieces. If you can't find a more accessible source, you could try using a proxy to have some sent over. They were pretty cheap over there but the proxy/shipping costs will vary.

 

[Takai]

So I have been working on completely rebuilding this pair of jeans for quite some time now, and I thought some of you might enjoy seeing some pictures. Not done yet, but well on the way. @IRKSM

Nothing done by machine, all single needle stitched.

What I started with:




The denim on the rear, and on the knees were both paper thin, stretched out and torn. These jeans had been repaired a number of times previously.

Repairs thus far:

Darn/Reweave/Reinforce button hole





Repairs to the Rear:






I have some WIP pics for the pocket repair as well, but I cant find them atm.

Knee repair:

 

[kindofyoung]

X-post from the furniture thread

I'm no SkinnyGoomba, but I spent the afternoon putting this together and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out

My own design, consisting of two old IKEA Malm drawers and a bunch of plywood. It's in a student-room so creative storage is a must + not allowed to damage the walls in any way so I let the headboard extend past the bed, making room for putting up a small "wall-mounted" shelf (or several)

Would like to put up some kind of graphic/painting/poster/something over the headboard, so I'll gladly take any suggestions for what type/style.
(The room is largely whites and light plywood, except for the drawers and soon-to-be-bought bedcover which both are darkbrown, almost black)

 

[Rewfio]

@Takai
Damm dude...thats some handwork...
Are those gonna be for personal use? Or just messing with the denim to kill time?
Those two pics of the blue and white stitching,before the kneework pics,are crazy

 

[Takai]

@Takai
Damm dude...thats some handwork...
Are those gonna be for personal use? Or just messing with the denim to kill time?
Those two pics of the blue and white stitching,before the kneework pics,are crazy

They were actually a part of a trade with a member here. So once these are done, they will be going back to him. I have my own personals, though they aren't nearly as intense as these.

 

[arnoldpettibone]

can anyone recommendation an entry level sewing machine for doing simple alterations?

 

[Panzer]

I have this bookmarked being recommended in a previous search somewhere, http://www.amazon.com/Brother-LS212...1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1319815876&sr=1-1

I know its not the classic buy old and metal for quality. Haven't bought it so can't comment on if it's actually any good, though it is from amazon and kinda cheap, may be good enough for what you need.

The other one I have bookmared is an Elna Lotus cause it looks cool and is supposed to be good

 

[ClambakeSkate]



can anyone recommendation an entry level sewing machine for doing simple alterations? 

It depends on how much patience you have and how much of a perfectionist you are... and secondly how much money you're willing to spend.

If you want things perfect and are easily frustrated I wouldn't recommend anything other than looking for a used industrial machine. They can usually be found for around $300 on craigslist (but depending on your location and the demand you can negotiate the price a lot because usually the people selling them just want to get rid of them). But, make sure there is a decent technician nearby that can fix it or service it.

OR, if you don't mind that your work will not be super-perfect, then any entry level machine will probably do the trick. Go to a sewing machine store if there's one nearby and try a few cheap ones and a few very expensive ones and you'll soon see that sewing quality is not vastly different between the $100 machine and $2000 machine; you pay for useless features mainly.

If you're a perfectionist and $300 is too much to spend and you don't want a big heavy stinky sewing machine taking up room in your home, then just bring your alterations to a pro and save yourself the headaches.

I say this because I am personally a perfectionist and I needed to do a few projects on a home machine recently and I wanted to throw it out of the window.

 

[Naka]

I'll second the above. I have a used industrial at home and to be honest it's a pain ********** sometimes(it's really old). I'd look into a Juki if you're going that route, try to find one with an electronic pedal and not mechanical, much better control. Have you sewed before? Don't buy a machine without trying a couple out first.

 

[spacepope]

Anyone know where I can get some medium-to-heavy weight linen jersey?

Also resurrecting this thread.

 

[double00]

hmmm... medium to heavy weight linen jersey? like for a sweater or ?

 

[spacepope]

hmmm... medium to heavy weight linen jersey? like for a sweater or ?

for some beanies and t-shirts

 

[absolem]

Anyone know where I can get some medium-to-heavy weight linen jersey?

Also resurrecting this thread.

aliexpress maybe - I haven't ordered from them, but http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1442336 seems to have a wide variety including linen knits

 

[Naka]

 
Anyone know where I can get some medium-to-heavy weight linen jersey?

Also resurrecting this thread.

aliexpress maybe - I haven't ordered from them, but http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1442336 seems to have a wide variety including linen knits

If you can't identify fabrics at home by burning or with a microscope I'd be pretty hesitant to buy direct sales from factories. This isn't a latent racism thing, it's widely accepted in the industry that you need to be doing your own fabric identification tests even when you're visiting factories to determine fibre compositions.