TUTORIALS
EXCERPT: I haven’t learned to knit in the round yet, but I wanted to knit a hat so I devised one made of three rectangles sewn together. It turned out well and friends have asked me to make more. It’s simple, using only 2x2 rib stitch, moss stitch and a simple
EXCERPT: My friend Ellie carries her own chopsticks with her wherever she goes so that she doesn’t have to use disposable chopsticks at restaurants. Each year, 25 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks (waribashi) are used in Japan. That’s 200 pairs per person. There are a few recycling programs, but most used
EXCERPT: Flared skirt in action I bought some crazy kabuki ghost fabric a few weeks ago and it’s been sitting around waiting for me to need a new skirt. Finally, I had a need for a nifty outfit, so I designed a flared skirt and whipped it up between breakfast
EXCERPT: About five years ago, I taught a workshop on Digital Photography to an audience of DigitalEve members. Today I found the materials I used and realised that they are still useful, excepting some time-sensitive bits about price, online services, and upcoming DE events. It’s embarrassingly full of photos of me
EXCERPT: Download the PDF (345 KB) I love the simplicity of the Morsbag pattern, but the original written instructions were not going to work for non-native English speakers. I recreated the pattern from scratch in pictures with minimal text. I think this is pretty easy to follow no matter what
EXCERPT: An urban myriorama of three cards. Click to see another arrangement A myriorama is a panorama made of little cards that can be arranged in any order - the “endless landscape.” They were popular in the early 19th century. I was playing around with a reproduction of one today
EXCERPT: My sister coined the word knitangle to describe all those wonky rectangles we beginners knit and crochet. I have a stock of them and until I learn to increase and decrease, I’m going to make quite a few more. But I hate the thought of all that knitting going to
EXCERPT: This long A-line skirt has a tulle-edged slip peeking out from the bottom, soft wide waistband, and back sash/bow detail. It sews up in under three hours. Perfect for a last minute holiday outfit! There will even be scraps enough to make a matching bag. Materials 3 meters cotton
EXCERPT: Lantern Decoration in Goa Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that launches a two-month festive season, had just ended when we arrived so everywhere we turned, we saw decorations. One of my favorites were these large lanterns with streamers. I decided to make my own on a smaller scale
EXCERPT: For our upcoming trip to India, I wanted a lightweight, appropriately modest skirt that would be comfortable to walk in and also easy to pack and hand-wash in hotel sinks. I came up with this straight line, mock wrap skirt in linen. It has a separate elastic waistband that allows
EXCERPT: Earlier this summer, there was a craze in the sewing/crafting world for “wardrobe refashioning,” taking an item of ready-made clothing and turning it into something else. There were some really clever ideas (here are some photos) and I wanted to play, too. Finally, today, I grabbed a t-shirt I never
EXCERPT: One evening last week in Matsudai, we heard the most delightful chorus of frogs - deep croaking, quick peeps, and a percussive almost wooden clapping. But as we approached the little garden pond for a closer look and listen, the frogs stopped their songs. Kimie-san started talking to them. She
EXCERPT: Step 1: Wait for a phone call from a desperate friend who: a) had a model cancel at the last second; b) didn’t realise another model was needed; or c) has a client with shifting requirements. This is how I get all my modelling jobs. Yesterday Sayaka called me at
EXCERPT: Ephrata Playhouse, where my mom’s been doing community theatre for 20 years, is producing the gothic comedy The Mystery of Irma Vepp later this summer. So Mom called on me, creator of the life-like furry albino lobster pattern, to draft a pattern for a life-sized dead wolf to be
EXCERPT: Bees are attracted to light and move away from darkness and shadows. If a bee enters your room and buzzes against the inside of the window trying to get back out into the sunny day, and if you have access to the outside of the window, here is a sure-fire
EXCERPT: Japan’s post office is very efficient. If you’re not home when they deliver a parcel, they leave a slip with several options to get the package to you: stop by the post office in person, return a postcard telling them when and were to bring your box, make a
EXCERPT: Tetrapouches This is a flat pack, L-shaped piece that folds into a self-closing, 3D pouch. Tetrahedrons, four-faced pyramids, are used for a wide range of items from packaging (tetrapacks) to weapons (caltrops). This soft felt tetrahedron makes a good coin purse, or in a larger size with a strap
EXCERPT: Tasty Inspired by the recently reported kiwa hirsuta lobster, I designed a plush toy. Although she’s not anatomically correct in every detail (PDF), I think she is an identifiable member of this new species. For anyone interested in sewing one of their own, I’ve developed a pattern with instructions
EXCERPT: Copper and brass bird masks I fashioned these masks for a masquerade ball we attended last week. They are rustic but elegant and not too difficult to make. And if you are careful not to dip your beak in it, you can sip a glass of wine or champagne
EXCERPT: In preparation for next week’s recipe—a Japanese winter stew—here’s a video to show you how to do some of the decorative cuts that make nabe as lovely to look at as it is delicious to eat. Simple Japanese Decorative Cutting 3.7 MB 1’41” MP4
EXCERPT: Not many people will guess that I’m a shy person. I’ve learned how to hide my insecurity when I converse and many people believe I am an extravert. Let me tell you how I do it, because these three pointers can help anyone go from wallflower to halfway-decent-conversationalist. Return the
EXCERPT: I shrunk some yardage and fell about 50 cm short for the dress I wanted to make, so I turned the fabric into a skirt. This is an easy design that will adjust to many sizes. The measurements are for my skirt—I’m about 5’7” and I wear a US size
EXCERPT: A couple of weeks ago, Tracey was asking me why some colors look better on people that other colors. “Maybe you can explain it on Creative Perspectives,” she suggested. Well, that’s a tall order—books have been written about color theory & professionals charge an arm and a leg to give
EXCERPT: Over at iPod My Photo you can send in a digital picture and they’ll turn it into an iPod style ad for you. It costs $20. If you have Photoshop and a little bit of time, you can do it yourself with respectable results. The instructions that follow are for
EXCERPT: Now that you have a name for the dish, how should you describe it? It’s a bit more challenging to explain how to write a description, but here are some pointers and examples. Some menus don’t use descriptions at all. This is fine if the name of the dish makes
EXCERPT: Recently, a friend asked me to give her some tips on creating menus for restaurants (though how she knew that this is something I’ve done I don’t quite know). I wrote up a few short e-mail lessons that I thought I’d present to you. You never know when you’re going
EXCERPT: It’s nearly impossible to find free sewing patterns on the ‘Net, so here are the patterns and how-to instructions for two styles of unisex casual pants I made yesterday. Now you can make your own. Thai Fisherman’s Pants These are one-size fits-all pants that wrap around and tie with a
EXCERPT: A Brief History of Zero Kristen McQuillin, July 1997 (revised January 2004) Once upon a time there was no zero. Of course people knew if they had nothing, but there was no mathematical notation for it. Zero was independently invented only three times. The first recorded zero is attributed to
EXCERPT: Tackling Movable Type templates and CSS for the first time can be daunting. The MT default templates contain four kinds of code: CSS, HTML, MT tags, and Javascript. If you’re new to all this, you’re about to learn that it pays to make a careful study of the code. Once
EXCERPT: Every time a phone rings, I jump. For as long as I can recall, the blare of the telephone has startled me. I’m often on edge in trains, on the streets, in shops and during meals out and about in Tokyo, because other people’s keitai are always ringing. To keep
EXCERPT: Download the PDF, includes exercises (401 K) What are “usability” and “user interface”? Usability is the ease-of-use factor—how simple is it for your audience to do the things they need to do on your site? Can they find the information they want, buy a product, search, and send feedback to
