#solarpunk diy

A choker, a pair of earrings, a belt/waist chain and some bracelets using 100% thrifted/recycled materials! The choker and the bracelets have two layers so that the sharp aluminum edges on the back of the tabs aren't making contact with skin, you can kinda see it in the pictures. Here are more pictures:

[Image ID: 8 images. The first one shows a choker made out of soda tabs, with black cord weaved through it forming x shapes. There's a silver spike charm hanging from every other tab about an inch apart from each other. Im in the picture wearing the choker, my face is not in frame but my pale as fuck neck is visible and so is my dark brown hair.

The second image shows a pair of clip-on earrings laying on a sage green background. Each earring is made of 6 soda tabs weaved into a flower shape with green yarn, and three dangles hanging from the bottom. The dangles are made of a wire link with a black bead on in and a silver spike charm hanging from that. The same spike charms I used for the choker.

The third image shows a 2 ft 7 inch long belt chain made of the soda tab flowers from the earring image. Each flower is made of six tabs weaved together with the same green yarn but they yarn fades to yellow towards the end of the chain. 16 soda tab flowers are linked together with large jump rings and there are large silver clasps on each end to attach to a belt.

The forth image is my hand wearing a black compression brace and two soda tab bracelets. They are weaved together the same way as the choker, with the cord forming x shapes, but the cord is orange and not black. The bracelets are the same size, 8 inches long when laying flat including the clasp. There are two layers of soda tabs which makes the bracelet a little thicker.

The next 2 images shows a dress form wearing the belt chain from two different angles. It had a black skirt with a soda tab belt, with various spikey chains hanging from it. There's a black strip of grommet tape hanging on the right side of the belt and my soda tab flower belt chain hanging on the left side.

The front. [ID: A blue denim vest with colourful patches and pins on the chest pockets and shoulder panels. Most of the patches are library or book related. End ID.]

Close-ups of the front. [ID: Two close up photos of the front patches and pins. They feature book related imagery and slogans like "Read Books and Dismantle Systems of Oppression", "Wishbone Book Club Member", "Libraries are for Everyone", "Check This Out", "Proud to be a Radical Militant Librarian", and "No Shelf Control". End ID.]

The Back. [ID: The back of the same vest, which currently features 5 patches. The biggest one covers most of the back panel, and reads "Support Your Local Library, Free Information is Punk". A smaller patch directly above it says "Read Banned Books". The other patches include a UFO patch that reads "I'm Out", a book patch that reads "The Characters are Fictional, but the Emotional Damage is Real", and a patch with an image of an oak leaf and acorns. There is still a lot of blank space left to be filled. End ID.]

The front.

[ID: The front of a black jacket with grey hoodie sleeves and a hood, and red-and-black plaid shoulder panels. Almost every inch of the jacket is covered in colourful patches and pins. End ID]

Close-ups. [ID: a series of close-up photos of the patches and pins on the front of the jacket. Many feature slogans like, 'Smiley Day', 'DIY or Die', 'No Libraries, No Democracy. Freedom of Information for all', and 'Save on Groceries, Eat a Weston'. End ID]

The Back. [ID: The back of the same jacket, which has 'Just Don’t' painted in the middle in large, graffiti-style letters, and a variety of patches surrounding them. The patches feature slogans like 'Eat the Rich', 'Land Back', and 'Be Nice'. End ID]

The Hems [ID: The hem of the jacket has two slogans embroidered in red and white thread around the circumference: 'Pain = Chronic, Vibe = Iconic', and 'Anger is a Rational Response to Injustice'. End ID]

I painted the back of the jacket with fabric paint, and made most of the patches and all the wooden pins by hand. The ones I didn't make myself were all purchased from artists at my local Punk Rock Flea Market or from locally-owned shops, with a couple that I got from Etsy. I still have a tiny bit of space on the back that I might embroider something in, but I haven’t decided what yet (if anyone has ideas, feel free to comment!).

You Will Need:

Plastic grocery bags (though you can also use plastic packaging if it didn’t contain food, or really just any plastic if it’s long enough and clean.)

Scissors

Pen that can mark the plastic

Something to measure with

I’m not the best at describing things, so I’m going to do my best to supplement with images. I would put alt text but I don’t honestly know how to meaningfully describe the images that’s not what I write in the tutorial. Also don’t mind my dirty desk!

Instructions!

Grab your bag! I’m using this blue one because I thought it would show up better on camera and I have a bunch.

Flatten it out, like so! I like to hook one thumb in the bottom flap thing, where it’s sealed shut, and the other in the handle.

Fold it up! I fold it in half, twice, hot dog style. Should get you a nice long rectangle. Make sure the edges are nice and lined up, especially the bottom and the handles.

Chop off the sealed bottom as close as you can to the seam, and the handles as straight as possible. You want nice square corners. You’ve basically got a cylinder of plastic, now.

Unfold one side. It should have only one layer of plastic. If it has more, refold it up and flip it over, and unfold it again.

Measure and mark the width you want your plarn to be! I use an old staples box for the perfect width for my use, but you might want it thinner or thicker depending on. Too thin might cause issues with stretching while working, though.

Cut off any excess. This is where I’m discarding the damaged part!

Mark the top edge, staggered from the bottom marks. Exactly half way! This will be a guideline later.

Cut the marks on the folded side. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY ACROSS! Only cut the folded parts, into strips.

Unfold it! Everything should be attached on one side only. It’s time to Spiralize This Bitch.

Cut on a diagonal where one cut ends and the next begins. Hopefully that makes sense? You’re trying to take this tube and make it into a long spiral.

Ta da! You have 1 bag worth of plarn! Tie any subsequent strips together, and have fun working with your plarn!

I wasnt super happy w the prices I saw tho, for an item i was a little suspicious of the impact of

but u know what i have on hand? wool yarn. and even better, i had no plans to use it and its been sitting in my stash for a hot sec :'). so i crocheted a ball, stuffed it w more wool yarn, and its finished :3 its not as dense as the store ones, but i think it'll help some.

materials:

air dry clay

one old can of sprite

elastic string from broken bracelet (at the ends to tie onto headphones)

dental floss to tie the fabric together (i dont have needles so i had to improvise)

old worn-out green shirt with a few rips

And it's too small for the mug I made it for 🤦