Telephone Directory plaited Clutch Bag
by Lois Walpole
The paper strips are each wrapped with polythene before plaiting, , the strap is from an old camera and the button is a key from a defunct laptop.
Author Archives: EcoResearcher
The fine art of visible mending
Really good overview of Visible Mending by Constance Eyre. She identifies 7 types; Boro/Sashiko Darning, Iron patch & Blanket stitch, Portholes with an Eyelet stitch, Crochet mend, Darning/Needleweaving, Swiss Darning/Duplicate stitch and Embroidery.
Cardboard log basket
I love this log basket made from cardboard beer carriers. Lois describes how she came to make design decisions.
The Basket Sanctuary
Lois’s blog has many posts about old baskets she comes across. This one highlights her method of cleaning them.
Tetra Pak Beach Bag
Lois shares some of the decision making that went into selecting the method of making this bag.
Handmade fire screen
Lois outlines how she made a fire screen with aluminium can ‘fireworks’.
Lois Walpole on weaving with Tetra Pak
The apple basket was the first recycled tetra pak I ever saw and it made a big impression on me. Lois talks about working with tetra pak – part of a larger post about teaching students.
Plaiting Iris Leaves
by Lois Walpole
Tidy the garden and make something highly useful from dead leaves. Instructions include 2 videos.
The Law of Material Sufficiency
Article by Lois Walpole
This is a phenomenon I can relate to. It’s also a lovely account of restoring a chair using polypropylene strapping tape.
Handmade Broom or Swale
Lois’s knowledge on Besoms, Brooms and Swales inspired by the swale made by her neighbour. Abridged. I am inspired to test which of my local shrubs will work well for a broom.
Woven cradles to coffins
Lois Walpole writes about woven cradles and coffins. Abridged.
Photographing your own work
Lois Walpole always photographs her own work and explains in a couple of places in her blog, the reasons for doing so. It’s another whole skill set for makers to learn, and one I struggle with, so it’s encouraging to hear experiences from others.
Plaiting garlic
Beautiful, convenient and keeps your garlic fresher longer because of improved air circulation.
by Lois Walpole
Scoubidou tying techniques
by Isla from Confounded Crafter
2 of the most basic knots for Scoubidou. Use them to make a simple bracelet, keyring, USB tag or zip pull.
Woven Tetra Stars
Instructions by Lois Walpole
Northern Europe, America, Scandinavia and Japan are the most commonly claimed locations for the origin of these decorations.
Making a wire gauge for cutting tetra pak into regular strips
Two videos by Lois Walpole showing a simple way to cut tetra pak cartons into strips for weaving and more.
Pot Holder Loom Weaving How To — “Houndstooth”
Houndstooth pattern also known as Pinwheel. Rachel recommends 100% cotton loops for potholders rather than blend or jersey loops – to stop fingers getting burnt.
Windmill Coconut leaf toy
Quick video by Archetypal Visual Arts showing how to make a coconut leaf windmill toy.
Make a Porotaka
Instructions how to make a porotaka by Avalon Primary School, New Zealand – flax leaf spinner toy from the Cook Islands.
Windmill toy, porotaka
Instructions by New Zealand Electronic Text Collection – from the Cook Islands
Sea urchins from PET plastic
Bold bottle base spheres by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi.
Jewellery by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi
An overview of a view different methods of working with PET to make jewellery and more.
Woven PET Bags
Bag designs by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi. The simple shapes are very striking.
PET flowers
Delicate flowers and wreaths made from PET bottles by Brazilian designer Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi.
What to do with cardboard tubes?
Careful video instructions showing how to weave a simple basket from toilet roll tubes. Love the gold paint.
By Vicky Carabalí
Form follows function? Or material follows content.
Beautiful sketches by Malena Skote illustrating the basics of Windmill Loop weave. The title refers to an architectural or industrial design concept that means “the shape of a building or object should primarily relate to its intended function or purpose”.
Sanded Bottles
Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi uses sandpaper to achieve a frosted finish on PET bottle vases.
How to make a box with PET ribbons
Instructions to make a box from PET bottle plastic by Miriam Mitsuko Utsumi. Includes photos of her other related woven designs for folding screen, chair, folder and more.
Racing Extinction
Powerful documentary. Recommended watching and sharing.
Plastic net from Bottle string – test
The beginnings of how to make net from bottle string. First half of the video is how to make a cutter and string.
By Roman Ursu
Woven rawhide seats
Woven with a continuous strip of 50 foot half inch rawhide. This diamond pattern seat is said to be very durable.
By Chris
How to Weave Rope Seats
Great video showing how to make a woven seat and the tools you need to do it.
By Repairs 101
Tetra Pak plant pots
Nice design that uses the aluminium layer and can be decorated. Has Video.
By Sintra Journal
Bottle top mural
Op art inspired mosaics made out of plastic bottle tops – great design.
By Nina Clayton
Weaving Fan Guards
I just love the colours and shape. Looks like a fun project.
By Nina Clayton
Fishing Buoy curtain
Beautiful colours of these fishing buoys in Cambodia.
Lighter Lampshades
Lampshades and bunting made from the semi transparent plastic casings of disposable lighters found during beach cleans in Kep, Cambodia. Video showing how to disassemble lighters.
Bottle cap steps
Some beautiful designs using the humble bottletop. All caps are from beach cleans in Cambodia and steps are made with eco bricks.
Make Art Not Waste
Intro to some of the work with ocean plastics by Nina Clayton who lives on the island of Koh Seh. Great video, too.
Ocean Plastics
Great overview by Nina from Make Art Not Waste.
How to Strip Copper Electrical Wire for Jewelry Making
A great tip from Lisa Yang – use a vegetable peeler to strip wire.
Reclaiming Copper Wire
Some notes on reclaiming copper wire. Some have coating that needs removing and some don’t. Sandy reckons it is actually cheaper to buy new than reclaim.
How to Make Perfect Earwires with a neat trick- Make 2 at a time
Shows how to make earring hooks using pliers and specialised tools, or with pliers, a pencil and emery board.
By Jessica Barst
Shrink Plastic Bottles (fix stuff)
Fixing a split vacuum cleaner tube by heat shrinking a plastic bottle.
Video by one2three
Pop Bottle Heat Shrink Straps/Tubing
Not the clearest of instructions – the gist of it is shrinking the plastic to create a strong method of carrying bundles of objects.
by Wiley Coyote
PET Bottle As a Heat-shrinkable Sleeve for Free
How to join an aluminium tube to an exhauster inlet using a plastic water bottle and heat gun.
Instructions by Stesla
Soda Bottles Used As Heat-Shrink For Wood Joinery
Comments on a discussion – Soda Bottles Used As Heat-Shrink For Wood Joinery by Dan Maloney
Joining Bottles
Heating plastic bottles so that it shrinks and forms a bond – samples and wood stools.
by Micaella Pedros
Bottle it
Experiments with thermoforming plastic bottles to join wood to make a chair.
Project – Bottle it – by Charlène Guillaume
Littering says a lot about you
Clever anti-littering ads by Live Green Toronto.
What is a Makerspace?
A very thorough description by MakerSpace.com
(abridged to exclude Techshop who went bankrupt in 2018)
PET Lamp
A global story for a reuse product that incorporates traditional artisan weaving skills. Founded by the designer Alvaro Catalán de Ocón
Sponsored in Colombia by Coca-Cola.
Technological Disobedience: Ernesto Oroza
Great interview with Ernesto Oroza. ” I’m interested in these recurrences, patterns and individuals who find similar solutions in different places, seemingly under different economic and ideological forces.”
1000 improvised and provisional drinking vessels
Experiments in design aimed to solve a basic need: to drink. No not 1000 here, I picked out a few of my favourites.
Ernesto Oroza
Cup made out of plastic bottle
It took me a while to figure out how clever this cup is. Take a close look and see if you can work it out.
Ernesto Oroza
Umbrella spoke dome
Cool structure made from 450 discarded umbrellas, New York.
by slo architecture
Newspaper Pages cut like Lace
Beautiful and powerful. French-Canadian papercut artist Myriam Dion.
These images are from 2013 as I prefer her earlier work.
Bottle cutter – String from a plastic bottle
This has made my day! So simple and it works well. No need to make a complicated version! Ideal for a quick go, and makes this versatile string accessible to everyone.
Video by MyHands
The Animal Rug Company
I simply love the rich colours and patterns in these rugs. I see how the shapes of the fabric lend themselves to being placed symmetrically.
Blanket Stitch Darn
Ideal for toes and heels.
Article from GRIT magazine.
Ladder Stitch Darn
The ladder stitch darn is similar to the running stitch darn. These instructions aren’t the clearest but you can work it out by studying the photos.
Article by Caitlin Wilson, GRIT magazine
Basic Running Stitch Darn
Another instruction for basic darning of socks, with background info and ideas for making darning eggs from dried, shellacked gourds, or a river rock.
By Caitlin Wilson, GRIT magazine
How to Darn a Sock Using a Woven Repair
Good clear instructions by Maddy from Custom Woolen Mills. If you don’t have a darning mushroom or a darning egg… use a lightbulb!
About Visible Mending
About Visible Mending. Kate gives a good introduction and I include examples of her favourite underpatch and sashiko method.
Recycled Corrugated roofing sheets
Made from shredded Tetra pak, Daman Ganga group, South Gujarat, India
The Fixer’s Manifesto – by Sugru
I was interested to discover there are 2 versions of this manifesto – the original by the inventors and the revised version by the current makers. I include both, so you can pick out your favourite and make your own!
LEGO fix for distressed walls
Fun, eye-catching and colourful – just what many city streets need a bit of.
By Platform21, Netherlands
Platform21’s Repair Manifesto
You might bump into this influential Manifesto if you like repairing things. Download a copy and pin it up where others can see.
DIY Elbow Patch
“Wear your heart on your sleeve.”
Can be used to repair wearing out elbows, too.
By Erica Chan Coffman
Craft Hack: Needle Felting with a Sponge
No need to buy new foam. You can also put old dish sponges through the washing machine and use them again.
Video by Blitsy Crafts
Silicone Paste Recipe
The free recipe for this dough, tested and approved by the designer Thomas Thibault. Repair the shower hose, the rucksack handle, or else protect your smartphone from a fall with major consequences…
How to use Sugru
€8.99 for 3 x 5g single-use packs. Use sparingly.
About Sugru
What is Sugru? Silicon mouldable glue. Is it a good eco option? Use sparingly – good for prolonging life of broken objects such as all types of shoes, cracked plastic, repairs to dishwasher/fridge and more.
The Sugru design story
I love to find out the story behind the idea, the design, the name, the journey. Excerpts from Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh’s story (the parts I;m interested in!).
Needlefelt mending – WoolFiller
“Make a feature out of a defect”. Love the Woolfiller idea – A repairing fibre that provides a new solution to an old problem. I particularly like the video showing repairs to interior of an old cadillac – and the comment about nostalgia being a misplaced desire for the past.
Needlefelt repairs – Denim
Heleens trials showed that needlefelting denim didn’t really work, but she did come up with a great fix for a loose woven denim.
Needlefelt repairs – Elbows
Invisible mend for elbows that are wearing thin. Real wool.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.
Needlefelt repairs – Mittens
Instructions – How to mend a large hole using a piece of old jumper as reinforcement.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.
Made to Mend – Repairable textiles
Is this the future for sustainable clothing and textiles?
By Heleen Klopper, Made to Mend.
Gansey knitted jumpers
The Gansey Jumper – great design and interesting history.
From Heleen Klopper, Made to mend.
Needlefelt mending – Jumpers & Cardigans
Fix holes in your favourite jumper with felted wool.
By Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.
Needlefelt mending – Socks
Fix a woollen sock by needlefelting.
Tutorial by Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller.
DIY Upcycled Clock Frame
Simple way to reuse a broken clock by Grace Bonney.
(Abridged version)
DIY project: paper frames
I like the simplicity of this idea.
Project by the by The BBB Craft Sisters
Craft Like A Zero Waster, Whatever Your Age
I was interested to read about Tammy’s experience of ‘flow’. The pschology of ‘flow’ makes for interesting reading’. She has created a long list of Zero Waste materials that beginners may find useful. Slightly abridged version of original article.
Reclaiming creativity: Filippa Malmegård
Video where Filippa talks about the empowering nature of Do It Yourself and Hacking being a holistic approach to creativity. She sees hacking as a fun and sustainable solution to a common problem, suggesting that design ideas could be so much more useful if design blueprints were more openly shared.
Card heads
These characterful masks made from toilet roll tubes are a lot of fun. Coloured with natural pigments.
Parisian paper sculptor, Junior Fritz Jacquet.
Amazing khatiya bunai
In this interesting video a quick moving man skillfully strung a tightly woven traditional charpai bed in an astonishing seven minutes.
Video by chintu arya
The PHiZZ Unit
A collection of a few sources of instructions for making the modular units to create truncated Dodecahedrons and Icosahedrons.
How to make a paper lamp (truncated icosahedron)
Beautiful paper lampshade – I like the comment “Isn’t that a great alternative to typical Ikea paper balloon lamps?” Video in Spanish – by Papelismo.
Make an envelope from a magazine cover
Sewn magazine cover into envelope.
By Cintia, My Poppet Makes.
Tetra Pak CD Case
How to make an envelope out of Tetra Pak cartons. Sewing method. Holds CDs and they’re non scratch in the post.
Benigna Iwasaki, a German designer based in Tokyo.
DIY – Easy origami envelope tutorial
Another great envelope. This one uses A4 paper and has a place to tuck the flap in, so it is reusable.
Video by Julia DIY – Easy origami envelope tutorial
How to make an envelope with printable template
Clear instructions, a template and lots of suggestions from Cintia from My Poppet Makes.
Plastic bag rug without Crocheting
Method involves simple plaiting with 4 strands. Uses one whole bag at a time.
Video by Mom Eberhard
Dodeca Rubber Fidget Ball From Inner Tubes
Simple woven dodecahedron with rubber ball inside.
Instructions by Waldemar Sha
Tube Chopper
Simple jig to cut inner tube rings.
Instructions by Waldemar Sha – Another, Better Tube Chopper
Backpack Cargo Net From Inner Tubes
Using 3-way weaving to make a hexagonal net attached to a backpack for attaching objects externally.
Instructions by Waldemar Sha
Decorated Windmill Loop woven baskets
Baskets decorated with what looks like thin ribbon.
By Sora Products, women’s group from the Phillipines
Basket with lid
Very cute small basket with lid and button fastening.
Video by Eliza Fermin