Marionette Bird

Just for fun, I made a marionette puppet of a bird from an old sweater, some yarn, and buttons for feet. The handle was two dowels, filed down for the junction and held together with yarn. In this video he dances to Michael Jackson.

Durham T-shirt bag
front view

My "Durham Love Yourself" t-shirt was getting a bit old, so I decided it was time to turn it into a bag for myself. I like the way the other bags came out, and decided that I wanted one too. The inside of the bag is old flannel pajama, with a double pocket.
Another T-Shirt Tote Bag
front view

A friend gave me three beautiful ceramic cups she couldn't keep when she graduated from Stanford. In return, I made her this purse from a t-shirt she had loved when she was ten. The bag has a light denim from my second jeans on the inside, and the pocket inside has the tag from the shirt.

T-Shirt Tote Bag
front view

I made this bag from a big t-shirt. It shows a bull's meat as events that happen in Durham, North Carolina. This bag has three layers: a lining, an internal supporting layer of a thin cotton material, and the outside t-shirt material. The lining is yellow, as are the handles and the top edge. It also has a small pocket on the inside.

Click to see a close-up of where the bag's handles attach. I sewed it sort of like a seat-belt, and I think it will be very sturdy.

Fleece Hat
hat1

A very cute fellow wearing a hat from another online tutorial.

See larger

Fleece Armwarmers
fleece armwarmers

I also made a lot of arm-warmers from leftover pants fleece. They are very easy, and required no pattern.

See larger

Pretty Purse
pretty purse

I made this purse, with the help of Trevor, all afternoon Saturday. It is from a pattern in Amy Karol's book, 'Bend the Rules Sewing' (a really fun book which I highly recommend. I just got it from the library and really like it!).

The purse is made from materials from the Scrap Exchange.

The exciting thing about this bag is that it has straps fed through the sides, meaning when you pick it up it bunches closed. However, I added a snap, because this bunching wasn't quite enough security for me.

More images

Bike seat bag
red bag with white polka dots hangs under the bike seat

I made a bag to hang under my bike seat and hold tools and a spare tube. It has a reflective strip on the back in which the rear light can sit. I actually made a better one, but it and that bike were stolen.
Pink Purse
pink bag with sparkly beads

This is a purse I made for my three year old cousin out of some fabrics we found together at the East Bay Center for Creative Reuse. The bag is sized for her, and made in the same fashon as the T-shirt tote bag, although with one strap instead of two.
Buttoned Tie
tie

The tie which Trevor and I made at the 2009 Maker Faire. It was once an orange silk shirt.

See a close-up, or a video in which we and this tie are featured (skip to 2:15).

Plastic Bag Hat
hat1

This fused-plastic hat is almost directly from Craftzine. The outside of the hat is safeway bags, and the inside is a target bag. My modification was a small piece of t-shirt to keep the sharp ends of the plastic from irritating my forehead.

More images

Camera Cases
Camera case

I made a lot of fleece-lined camera bags. They have drawstrings (this one has a messy drawstring because it was the template/design one). They are for use by the MIT Edgerton center, and for a class in extreme photography at ASRA.

More images

Sleepy Bunny
sweater bunny

I made a cute sleepy bunny for my roommate, from a craftzine tutorial.
Creepy Critters
a family of creepy critters

I made creepy creatures for my family for the holidays. They were very simple to make, and are composed mostly of scrap fabrics. See more close-ups, or a tutorial on how to make them.

Comments, suggestions, questions? e-mail kaytdek(at)gmail.com. Please do not use any content on this site without permission from and credit to Katie Dektar. Last updated 2013