Printed T-Shirts and Sarongs with Sea Stars and Sea Horses

Printed Fabrics How-To

Use this technique on pillowcases, shirts, and sarongs. Print with rubber forms or beach finds (such as shells). Mix paints to find a shade that suits the fabric.

1. Cover your work surface with a few layers of old towels (for shells and sea stars) or with paper (for forms).

2. Brush fabric paint onto part or all of 1 object using a sponge brush.

3. Print shells and sea stars: Lay fabric flat; press object as if it were a rubber stamp. (Towels allow for some give, yielding a detailed impression.)

Print forms: Lay fabric on form; press with fingers. Remove fabric.

Let set according to paint manufacturers instructions.

Tips: Test on scrap fabric. For a sarong, cut fabric to size (ours was 44 by 66 inches). Finish with a rolled hem: Turn edge over, and secure with tiny stitches. Wash objects with warm water and dishwashing liquid after printing.

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   How to Fuse Plastic Bags Into a Laptop Case

   

   

   

   There are many things you can do with the many plastic bags floating around in the world, such as make plastic yarn and knit a funky bag from it, or make a kite! Either way, the durability that makes plastic bags bad for the environment can make them good accessories. In this article, you'll learn how to turn plastic bags into a sturdy laptop case

   

   Cut off the handles and save them.
2. 

   Cut off the bottom of the bag.
3. 

   Turn the bag inside out if there's a logo on it.
4. 

   
   

   Fold the bag twice so you have eight layers. You can fold horizontally then vertically to create a square, or fold the same way twice to make a long rectangle.Get ready to start fusing. Open your windows for ventilation and turn on your iron to a medium setting.
5. 

   Sandwich the plastic bag between two pieces of wax paper.
6. 

   Iron over the "sandwich". Keep the iron moving at all times. After 20-30 seconds, flip the "sandwich" over and repeat on the other side.
7. 

   Peel the wax paper away from the plastic bag. Check for bubbles in the plastic; if there are any, don't use it for your laptop case because it'll lead to tears.
8. 

   
   

   Fuse about 10 plastic bags. One thing you can do is cut out logos and fuse them onto another plastic bag, if you're feeling whimsical. Save the wax paper for later.
9. 

   True up all the fused plastic bags by trimming the sides. (This means making sure all of them are rectangles or squares with nice, straight sides and square corners.)
10. 

    Arrange them in a rectangle that's large enough to fit your laptop twice, plus a little extra for a flap.
    
    
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      Make sure there's a 2.5" seam allowance all around.
11. 

    Sew the pieces together by overlapping them slightly and using a zigzag stitch.
12. 

    Cut out a piece of lining fabric (in this case, an old sweatshirt) that's the same size as the fused plastic bag piece.
13. 

    Stack the pieces together, right sides facing in. Hold them together with bobby pins (not straight pins, see Warnings below).
14. 

    Remove the bobby pins from one short side. Sew the pieces together along the edges, but leave this one side open.
15. 

    Turn it inside out.
16. 

    Sew a seam about one inch in from the sewed edges.
17. 

    Sew a seam about two inches in from the bottom edge (the sewed short edge).
18. 

    Stuff the inside with the handles and wax paper you set aside, and/or additional plastic bags. When you've stuffed four inches up from the bottom, sew a seam (parallel to the bottom). Every time you stuff four inches, sew another seam. Do this until you get about six inches from the top.
19. 

    Fold and sew the open edge closed.
20. 

    
    

    Place the case right sides together, leaving room for the flap. Sew down both sides and turn it right side out.
21. 

    Fold in and sew the edges of the flap.
22. 

    Add velcro to close the flap.
23. 

    Put in the laptop and you're done!