The Web's Top DIY Resources

Photo: Alex Vietti, Earth911

Crafts

• Craftzine.com: Like its sister publication MAKE magazine, Craftzine.com features a library of DIY crafts such as upcycling a cereal box into a pencil case and building a toy camera out of recycled materials. The online magazine, which Newsweek called “Martha Stewart for geeks,” also encourages crafters to submit their own projects for publication and to share resources and tips through the site’s community forums.
• Crafting a Greener World: As its name suggests, Crafting a Green World is the place to head if you’re looking for sustainably-minded crafts featuring recycled materials, organic fabrics and non-toxic art supplies. Pick your project based on the item you’re trying to reuse from the site’s Reuse Resources page, or click on a category in the left navigation bar for the type of craft that interests you – sewing, holidays or artwork.
• Craftbits.com: An Australian mother and daughter team launched Craftbits.com in 1999 to share their crafting expertise with teachers, therapists and crafting enthusiasts. The site has grown to include an extensive collection of projects, from scrapbooking and crochet patterns to crafts that use recycled materials.
• ManMade: Sometimes the crafting blogosphere can feel exclusively female, but writer and maker Chris Gardner’s blog, ManMade, invites the postmodern man to get involved with this part of the DIY movement. Through videos and how-to posts, the blog highlights “masculine” crafts like making a magnetic knife holder and using a book cover to disguise a wireless router.

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Fashion

• New Dress A Day: Marisa Lynch is on a mission: to upcycle 365 secondhand dresses in 365 days for 365 dollars. Check out her blog, New Dress A Day, for inspiration – and instructions – on how you, too, can create affordable, but stylish fashions by sewing, dying or cinching items you found at the local flea market or thrift store.
• Threadbanger: From making a Lady Gaga Halloween costume to recycling an old T-shirt into a no-sew hobo bag, Threadbanger is the No. 1 destination on the Web for DIY fashion how-to videos – often submitted by crafty users of the online Threadbanger community.
• Refashion Co-Op: Refashion Co-Op is a collaborative fashion blog that celebrates DIY makeovers:  transforming old garments and accessories into new styles. Sign up to contribute your own refashioning projects, or browse through the blog’s archives for ideas like sprucing up old sunglasses with scrap fabric or turning men’s tuxedo trousers into a sassy miniskirt.

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