Project 9: Jewelry/Accessory Organizer

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(Excuse my hula hoop; space is tight in a dormitory.)

Materials:

• 1/2 inch wire mesh
• Molding hooks
• Open S hooks

I really, really needed this. If you saw the sad state of my jewelry collection before this, you would understand. Having all my accessories out in the open forces me to keep them neat, and it's helpful to be able to look at everything I own at once when accessorizing an outfit.

This is so easy: just purchase some mesh at the hardware store (watch out, the edges can be sharp), hang it on the wall, and hang all your stuff on it. Necklaces and bracelets are hung by open S hooks, but you can hang earrings and pins by simply sticking them through.

The most difficult part of this project was probably untangling all of my necklaces, if you don't include losing a few small bits of metal clippings in my carpet and potentially getting one stuck in my foot later. (Eeek, I should vacuum.)

Project 2: T-Shirt Necklace

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Materials:

• T-shirt

This is a massively easy project that I've been meaning to do for a long time. Since my Friday project is taking a long time, I decided this would be a quick fix for Thursday.

The necklace itself is inspired by the Necklush, an accessory which has recieved a bunch of press. Seriously? $24-$74 for something I can make by cutting up a shirt I got at the thrift store? I think not. Save your money; do this:

1. Get a t-shirt. It shouldn't have any seams down the torso. The larger the shirt, the longer your necklace will be. Plain old unisex shirts (like Hanes Beefy T, etc) work the best. Freebie shirts are great for this.
2. Lay it out flat.
3. Cut a straight line under the armpits. I used a ruler, but you can just as easily freehand it.
4. Cut off the bottom seam.
5. Cut horizontal strips off the remaining section to form loops. Mine were a little wider than an inch; if you want strands of different thickness modify accordingly.
6. Stretch out the loops (like a rubber band). The jersey fabric will roll up and won't fray.
7. Gather the loops. Cut a strip of fabric about an inch wide from the remaining material. Wrap it around all the loops several times and tie a tight square knot to secure. Trim the ends.

That's it! As you can see, my necklace isn't as full as most of the Necklushes, but I could easily have made it with more t-shirts to get more volume.


Any questions?