Category: Craft

Emergency USB Power Supply (3D Printed)

This project makes use of a 12V battery, like you would use for a vehicle, for charging USB devices in case of a power outage or camping trip. It’s as simple as affixing a USB car charger to the battery. After Hurricane Sandy, I was without power and used an inverter/battery setup at home, but it was huge and heavy. This project revisits the concept with a smaller battery (meant for motorcycles/ATVs) and DC-only charging.

I’ve also created an optional 3D printed battery topper to cover the battery contacts and hold the USB ports. The design is available on Tinkercad so that you may modify it to fit your specific battery and USB charger.

The compact design makes it easier to transport and store. There are many situations where this device could be useful:

  • power outage
  • camping
  • off-grid living

Supplies:

(more…)

Skeleton Sweater story for Lost Objects Series on Hilobrow

Illustration for PROJECT:OBJECT by Monica Garwood

I wrote a short story about my lost skeleton sweater for the Lost Objects series on Hilobrow:

Hand-knitting an adult-sized sweater is a big achievement for any knitter. Making one that fits properly is the ultimate knitting win. I managed to accomplish this one time only, and with the addition of a complex custom two-color skeleton design, naturally I loved my handmade cardigan. I wrote up the pattern and posted it online with a tutorial — one of the first of hundreds I would create over the course of my career.

Shortly after finishing it, I brought the sweater, along with several other precious handmade projects, to Maker Faire to show them off. My luggage went missing on the way home⁠ — on a direct flight from SFO to PHX⁠ — and was never found. It felt like the previous creative year of my life had just vaporized. The business cards of all the contacts I had made during the event, the gifts I had purchased, and my original artwork that I had brought in the first place — all gone.

I made a claim with the airline for the lost bag, but they only take responsibility for clothes, tools, and toiletries, and you need to submit receipts for everything over a certain value. How could I possibly show the value of my handmade sweater? I phoned the alpha knitter in my life: my mom. She had a recent receipt for some expensive yarn, which I submitted with my claim. The reimbursement was some solace.

The lesson I learned from this experience is to never, ever check anything you’re not willing to lose or able to replace. Ship stuff ahead with an insured carrier, or carry valuables on with you.

Making the skeleton cardigan piqued my interest in digital knitting machines, since it took over 80 painstakingly attentive hours to knit by hand. Surely a machine would be faster, and give a higher-resolution result. I later bought a computerized knitting machine, and became known online for having “hacked” it to knit out custom digital graphics made on modern software. I can draw a straight line between the desire to replace my lost sweater and the notoriety I gained later on regarding the knitting machine. My usual drive is fueled by curiosity and excitement, but this time I could also feel the palpable motivation to fill an empty space left by my missing sweater, since our time together came to a premature end.

I think about what happened to my suitcase — since it was green (not black), it wasn’t likely in the luggage warehouse, but more likely stolen off the carousel in Phoenix, where I was living at the time. It’s true the pickup curbs are right outside the luggage carousels at PHX, making bag-snatching a cinch. What did the thieves make of the bag contents? Six new blue blank notebooks, my embroidery samples, my hand-knit sweater, tools and camera accessories, and my recently-purchased Thingamagoop synth toy robot… did any of my things come to be significant to those who came across them next?

read the story on Hilobrow

I created the skeleton cardigan in 2008.

(more…)

Skeleton Sweatsuit (Free Pattern)

This year I stitched up some skeleton costumes using black sweatsuits and white stretch fabric. I stuffed up the bones to get a 3D effect.

This project will give you lots of practice using your sewing machine’s free arm. If you’re new to machine sewing, try Mikaela’s excellent, free Instructables Machine Sewing Class to bring you up to speed.

For this project, you will need:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

Print and Assemble Pattern

Print the PDF pattern (formatted for US letter-sized paper). Align the tiled printout’s registration marks and use tape to secure. Cut out the pattern pieces with scissors.

Download Free Skeleton Pattern (Printable PDF)
(more…)

How To Hand Sew a Plush Toy

This guide will walk though making a plush toy that’s simple to sew by hand.

This tutorial is based on my friend Moxie’s Free Range Monsters project in CRAFT Magazine volume 6. I’ve used this project for years to teach introductory sewing to my students at SVA. It’s fun, creative, and doesn’t require much in the way of specialized tools.

To make this project, you will need:

(more…)

Silver RFID Ring

This guide will demonstrate how to make a silver ring that holds a glass RFID tag. It’s the same kind folks get implanted in their hands to unlock things like door, computers, or vehicles. I’m not quite brave enough to get the implant but I do like making jewelry and wearing rings, so this solution is perfect for me.

I got these tiny glass ampoule tags and RFID reader from Trossen Robotics– they are the daintiest tags I could find. Normally when mounting a stone on a ring, it’s surrounded on at least one side by metal. I was worried the standard bezel would impact the tag readability, so I wanted to create a design that would allow the most possible open space around the tag. I prototyped the design without a tag, just to see how comfortable it was before scaling up to add the extra pieces and figure out the construction.

I got these tiny glass ampoule tags and RFID reader from Trossen Robotics– they are the daintiest tags I could find. Normally when mounting a stone on a ring, it’s surrounded on at least one side by metal. I was worried the standard bezel would impact the tag readability, so I wanted to create a design that would allow the most possible open space around the tag. I prototyped the design without a tag, just to see how comfortable it was before scaling up to add the extra pieces and figure out the construction.

Prerequisite guides:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter.

Supplies:

To make this project, you will need:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

(more…)

Workspace Inspiration – My Desks and Studios Throughout Time

I love being in my studio, whether its shooting a tutorial, using the workbench, or just attending a conference call. Since moving to NYC in 2003, I’ve always had to make do with a smaller-than-ideal workspace, except for those two years I lived in Arizona. Here’s a trip through workspaces of my past, starting with college.

I shared my freshman dorm with three other students. Four desks, four beds, four dressers, four NYC college freshmen women. I ended up doing a lot of my art school homework in the dorm’s study room or at the house where I babysat. But the furniture was the same at my next place:

The first space in NYC I had to myself was a single-off-a-suite I lucked into via the student housing lottery. The dorm was on Union Square West, just a few floors of the otherwise-privately-residential building above Blue Water Grill. (I’ve heard it has since been converted back to regular apartments and is no longer a New School dorm.) Since my bed was lofted, I could take over the whole floor with projects. Continue reading for the complete history of my workspaces:

(more…)

Geometric Succulent Planter

I designed and 3D printed this geometric succulent planter in Tinkercad, which has five chambers with drainage and a catch tray.

Supplies

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

(more…)

Embroidered Portrait – Randy & Jenn

I embroidered this portrait of my friends Randy and Jenn as a wedding gift!

An embroidered portrait of the happy couple is a perfect wedding gift! I made this one for my friends Randy and Jenn and would like to share the process with you (with their blessing).

An important part of this project is selecting the right type of stitch and line weight for different parts of the portrait. If you are an embroidery beginner, check out our free Instructables Embroidery Class, written by master stitcher Jessy Ratfink, to get you up to speed on the fundamentals.

Supplies

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

I was inspired to make this piece by seeing Brenna Allsuch’s beautiful embroidered portrait of a curly-haired couple. Check out her Etsy shop!

(more…)

Plywood Storage Wall

We’re renters in NYC who needed some more storage space beyond what our kitchen cabinets and closets could provide. This guide details the construction of our storage cabinet solution, made entirely of 3/4″ plywood. The design has 12 shelves, one of which we left open, which can be used for a cat tower or fish tank.

Materials:

  • Interior furniture-grade plywood (we used 7 sheets of 3/4″ Purebond maple)
  • Heavy-duty drywall anchors (we used snap toggles)
  • Pocket hole screws
  • Wood glue
  • Hinges
  • Door handles
  • Polycrylic or other protective finish
  • Primer & interior paint (optional)
  • Roller/brush for applying finish
  • Old carpet scraps (for optional cat feature)

Tools:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

(more…)

Glowing Eyes Costume

Twin Jawas! Double Orko! Two ghost wizards from Bubble-Bobble! This costume hood can be any LED-eyed creature you choose just by changing the colors. I first made this project in 2015 with a very simple circuit and code, but this year I wanted to create an upgraded version with simultaneous animation control across two costumes. This circuit uses one simple, close-range RF remote to control two receivers on the same frequency, and Arduino code employing interrupts to achieve responsive animation changes, based on Bill Earl’s tutorial code.

For this project, you will need:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

(more…)