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-the home of Simple, Speedy Sewing.

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Meri Blouse is a traditional dress worn in the Pacific Islands, originally introduced by missionaries I've heard. I made these four for a concert at church for some New Guinean ladies. The pattern cutting is very simple with little fabric wasted. And
To finish Me Made May, here's my favourite make of all time, worn by the lovely Emily. It's 5 metres of Ikea upholstery fabric, patternmaking uses subtraction cutting methods (google Julian Roberts, he has lots of free resources). As you can see from
What can I say? I'm in no danger of running out of handmade clothes for Me Made May (last count- more than 50 items in my wardrobe) but they are getting more...unusual. This flatpack shawl (it is a flat shape with armholes) was a college design proje
I made three of these dresses, because they look more complicated to make than they really are. This is black linen with a bit of sashiko stitching - cool to wear in summer or over a tee shirt when the temperatures go down. #memadewardrobe #sewers of

Cheap Craft on a budget of $0 / ManCraft

Spent a week camping on Moreton Island - big outdoor kitchen shaded by casuarinas,  the Blue Lagoon instead of taking a shower, the roar of the surf as you drift off to sleep... Yep, got pretty good at blocking out the sound of the 70 school students we took with us!  Every year I organise craft activities for our church camp.  This year was particularly primitive - no electricity, (what! no power tools!), no running water (bye-bye screenprinting) and worst of all no budget. 

Tie-tanic - handcrafted on Moreton IslandOur recession crafts were made from donated scrap fabrics that were sewn into props for our "formal" dinner night on the beach.  I thought the boys would enjoy a handsome 80's print tie to wear over their T-shirts and boardies.  And for the girls, who wouldn't want an an attractive corsage! (How-to instructions at Pink Paper Peppermints).  Scrap fabric CorsageTurned out to be a lovely night - who knew that dancing on sand kicks up so much dust? - it looked like we hired a smoke machine!

 

Getting the guys at our camp interested in craft takes some planning.  Samples of mancrafts from previous campsHere's some mancrafts that have proved popular over the years -  leather wrist cuffs, Maori bone-carving, hardware jewellery and macrame friendship bands or anklets (technically known as manklets for boys). 

 

 

Great resources:-

Summer Crafts by Marjorie Galen (easy macrame instructions)

Hardwear - Jewelry from a Toolbox by Hannah Rogge (lots of cool jewellery ideas from gear you can buy at Bunnings!)

Another gem from Garth Johnson's Extreme Craft blogAnd for the ultimate mancrafts visit Garth Johnson's fabulous Extreme Craft website!