Dust mask

Carve a Stone Bowl

Carve a Stone Bowl

Ever thought about trying to make something to last? It’s a hard problem: moths, rust, fire, thieves, and time versus the works of the mighty. Take a walk through an old cemetery. The Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., is one of my favorites. Acid rain is dissolving some of the marble and limestone headstones […]

Dye Your Own Yarn, Naturally

Dye Your Own Yarn, Naturally

Natural dyeing is a great way to learn more about the plants growing around you, as well as how your yarn is processed. Most commercially dyed wool is done so with chemical or acid dyes, since natural dyeing is more variable, and requires quite a lot of plant materials to dye on a commercial scale. […]

Ribbon-Tie Sandals

Ribbon-Tie Sandals

Nearly as long as humankind has roamed the earth, people have been wearing shoes. Ancient Egyptians, Indians, and East Asians began sporting wooden sandals thousands of years ago. Thankfully, inexpensive power tools have sped up the tedious process of carving ergonomic shoes from slabs of wood. Add a few interchangeable ribbon ties, and you’ve got […]

Urban Guerrilla Movie House

Urban Guerrilla Movie House

Rather than lamenting the slow death of drive-in theaters, I decided to build my own, mount it on an adult tricycle, and take the movies anywhere there’s an AC outlet. Vibrant online communities of DIY projector enthusiasts have ironed out the kinks and built the focal calculator software tools, and they’re building homebrew machines with […]

 Micro Forge

$30 Micro Forge

Make your own nails and other small iron parts with this simple micro forge.