Not to sound like a 90s shallow prep, but how you dress can affect your self esteem, and putting energy into wearing things you actively like and projecting an ideal of yourself through fashion instead of seeing clothes as things you have to put on out of obligation helps.

It also can give you a sense of control over your appearance that you otherwise wouldn’t have lmao

I bought a cape because of this

this post is written in a humorous tone but this is the realest shit.

two years ago i wore baggy sweatpants and flip flops every day because i was depressed but then decided eh to hell with it and bought some black edgy emo clothes bc thats how i always wanted to dress but never got a chance to and it was only then that i realized that the sweatpants flip flops look was just keeping me in my depression funk. i didnt like the way i looked and i didnt identify with the clothes i was wearing and it only made me feel worse.

i then went through my entire wardrobe and got rid of everything that made me feel that way.

now i have multiple outfit possibilities requiring different levels of effort but on days where putting on clothes just seems like a project i just have to put on black jeans and a band t-shirt and i can still feel good about the way i look which is a really good way to start off my day.

i can not recommend this approach to clothing enough.

Can I just say this is the healthiest mindset related post I have seen on this sight and I want every single person on here to read this

Also let me just say because I’ve encountered it a lot—people who try to sneakily put you down by implying that you’re overdressed/a “try-hard”/somehow insecure because you put effort into what you wear could probably stand to try a little harder at finding small things they can do for themselves, like getting dressed each morning, that spark joy… because that’s a pretty freaking joyless takeaway from seeing someone in a cool outfit.

I'm seeing a lot of people say that punk fashion is expensive and inaccessible, which is very wrong. here is a list of some ways you can make punk fashion easier, cheaper and more accessible for you, since that's... kinda the whole point.

others are encouraged to add onto this!! (just don't recommend corporations like amazon. not cool.)

1. patches!! you don't need to buy them. DIY patches are not ugly or boring. in fact, they are encouraged here!! DIY, in my opinion, is always the best thing to do when it is an option and is safe to do so.

2. speaking of DIY, spikes!! you can make them!!

cut the top and bottom off of an empty can. cut down the middle of the cylinder and flatten it, so it's just a flat rectangle of metal.

cut out a shape that is kind of a third of a circle, but around 3/4 of the curved edge is taken up by triangle shapes. (I'm not very good at describing, so here's a badly drawn picture)

roll it into a cone, leaving the 4 triangles sticking out at the bottom. this bit is optional, but you can fill it with hot glue to make it more sturdy, just be careful touching the hot metal. I tend to hold the cone by one of the triangles with a bit of fabric wrapped around my fingers for this bit. cut 4 small holes in your fabric in this kind of shape:

and put the spiky bits of triangle through the holes. fold the triangles in on themselves to secure the spike in place. boom. spike obtained. this is one I made and attached to a little piece of fabric to test this method out:

3. battle vests!! (like the base jackets). the best places to buy these are charity shops and second hand websites in my opinion, but if anyone else knows any better options, please reblog with those!!

a good trick I find works well on eBay is to filter search results to your country (or state? can you do that in the US? idk) so that a: fast delivery because local, and b: all the sellers of everything that shows up are in YOUR TIME ZONE.

why is this important? when people sell something for really cheap, it goes FAST. check eBay at like, 2am or something. all the scalpers in your area are asleep. grab the cheap stuff while they can't.

4. sewing!! want patches, but can't sew for whatever reason? I've heard of a lot of people with joint conditions like arthritis complain about the inaccessibility of patch stuff, and that does sound extremely annoying, however:

safety pins!! while they are still a little fiddly, they're much less work so you don't have to fiddle about for long. if you can, you could even ask a friend to help, since it doesn't take long at all I'm sure someone will be willing to help out!! (I know I would, but that's just me, and I love this kind of thing). safety pins on clothes are also widely considered to be a symbol of solidarity, so if anything, you're adding some extra love and meaning to your patch pants/battle jacket.

if that's still too fiddly, fabric glue is always an option. unfortunately this means you won't be able to remove/reposition patches, at least without leaving a massive patch of residue, but if you're ok with that then fabric glue is probably your best bet.

for people who prefer sewing: as for where to get the thread, I've heard a lot of people recommending dental floss, as it's apparently much cheaper and works just as well. I haven't tried this myself so can't confirm that, but I thought I'd share it regardless.

5. where to get fabric!! old clothes. rip em up. you don't need any kind of fancy fabric from the craft store. my patches are made of old jeans that I grew out of.

don't have any old clothes and you don't want to waste any good ones? I'm not sure about other countries, but in the UK, as long as you're not on private property (trespassing), dumpster diving is perfectly legal.

I definitely ;) do NOT encourage ;) trespassing rich people's land ;) to steal from their dumpsters ;)

or tbh it doesn't matter too much how rich the person is, since it's all going to landfill anyway. if it's in the bin, it's free game, but you didn't hear that from me. ;)

please add onto this where you can!! and if I missed something or got anything wrong, add that on too!!

Beating the Heat while Fat: A Summer Survival Guide

Summer is (almost) here and it’s going to be hotter than ever. If you’re fat (like me), you know how much hot weather sucks. Specifically, we get to deal with fun issues like underboob sweat, chub rub, skin fold sunburn, and more. And while I like to take a body neutral approach to everything, this can be hard in summer thanks to exclusion and neglect.

The thing is that not a lot of people really… talk about these things, though, because that would interfere with our image of summer. Not a lot of companies are marketing their stuff as a solution to fat people’s problems, because that would be acknowledging that fat people might actually want to go outside during summer.

Having been fat for many a summer now, I want to share some of my resources for enjoying summer! These are all based on personal recommendations and things I have directly experienced. Please feel free to reblog and add on with your experiences and recommendations!

However, if your commentary is even remotely fatphobic, you will be blocked and your comments will be deleted. This post is not for you, and nobody is actually interested in what you have to say!

Back and Underboob Sweat

Two words: Gold Bond. Gold Bond fixes this. It comes in powder, stick, and spray form. I’ve used the powder in shoes, but not on my body. They’ve recently released an invisible form of the spray, which I’m very excited about.

Spray this under your breast tissue or other skin folds, or on flat areas of skin like your lower back that tend to sweat. Some of their powders have aloe in them, which is delightfully soothing for the skin.

Make sure that if you’re sensitive to scent, you buy one of the unscented versions. The “fresh” scent is nice, but it is a scent!

When you’re using this type of spray, do it clean but dry. Don’t do it right after a shower- give your skin a chance to dry off. Lift your breast or skin fold, spray underneath, and then hold it for a couple of seconds to let the spray dry down.

You can also use other types of powder, like body powder or baby powder. There’s mixed evidence about talc-containing powder and its link to cancer, but some people do find talcum powder more irritating than talc-free powder, so whether or not you use this is up to you.

Do keep in mind that this is NOT sunscreen! Apply your sunscreen first for areas of exposed skin.

Chub Rub

Dealing with the tops of your thighs rubbing together is extremely unfun. There are a couple of ways I like to deal with this!

Slip Shorts

I actually reviewed a bunch of these a few years ago. Slip shorts or bike shorts are perfect for wearing under dresses or loose-fitting rompers as a way to stop your thighs from rubbing. As a bonus, if you’re using bike shorts, sometimes they come with extra pockets to stash stuff in.

Friction Sticks

If you’re wearing a swimsuit and don’t want to wear shorts, or just don’t want to wear shorts, period, then a friction stick is another good way to avoid chub rub! I have a couple, Bodyglide and Gold Bond.

If you’re buying Bodyglide, they have one that’s just as good, Bodyglide Outdoor, that is sometimes cheaper. There’s a Bodyglide “For Her” which I’ve never tried, but that’s usually more expensive and let’s be real, do you really need to moisturize your inner thighs? I think not!

There’s also creams you can use but I find those messy and less effective than the sticks. You might like them, though! Experiment with products to find the one(s) that work for you.

Friction sticks can also stop foot blisters. Rub a little on your heel, toe, or wherever you get hot spots. 

Dealing With Sweat

I sweat, you sweat, we all sweat. Humans were meant to sweat. Sweating’s a good thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s fun, and frankly I hate being sweaty. Typically, fat people sweat more than thin people, for several reasons related to the way we thermoregulate.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to make summer sweating less annoying. I’ve written about this before, so you can check out that post for some of my favorite tips for dealing with sweat. Here’s some of the highlights.

Evaporative Cooling

A bandanna or other wrap filled with water crystals can do AMAZING things. You can make this yourself really easily- if you can’t find water crystals, you can just use Orbeez. They sell little 99 cent packs of those in the checkout lines at some stores and at the dollar store, and you can make several cooling wraps with one packet.

You can also get evaporative cooling towels, like Frogg Toggs. I don’t like those as much because they tend to start smelling a little funny, but they’re great for larger area coverage.

Using these will help cool you down and will do the same thing that sweat does– without being sticky.

Hair

If you have long hair, get it off the back of your neck. I used to put it up in a bun with a bun former, but now I just use claw clips. They’re cuter and easier! Seriously, this will help you so much. Get the hair up and away from your skin, you’ll feel so much better.

Hand Fans

I always have a hand fan with me, but not one of the little battery operated ones. I’ve tried a lot of those! I even took one up a mountain once, and it was the only reason I survived. But they never provide the same level of breeze that my folding fan does.

I use this one because it’s cute, and you can get cute ones for a couple bucks on Amazon. I do prefer fabric to the stiff paper ones, just because they’re a bit more durable- I’ve had mine for years now. It’s good.

I’m also not a huge fan of those fans that go around your neck, but I’ve seen many people enjoying them. If they work for you, great!

Hydration and Electrolytes

Carry water with you when you go places, and if you’re gonna be out for a while doing anything strenuous, take some electrolyte tablets with you. I like Nuun because I think they taste good, but there’s lots of brands out there.

There’s no one mineral called electrolyte, just so you know. Electrolytes are a group of minerals that includes sodium, potassium, and chloride as the primary (or significant) electrolytes. Electrolytes are important because they have a natural positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water. This electricity is how your nerves transmit information and how your cells make your muscles contract, so low levels of electrolytes can cause some serious issues. Different electrolyte imbalances have different symptoms, but common symptoms include nausea, fatigue, confusion, tremors, muscle spasms (cramps), and dizziness.

If you’re feeling those as you’re moving around outside, get somewhere cool, drink some water, and either eat some food or add electrolyte tablets to your water. This will help stabilize you quickly!

Skin Fold Sunburn Prevention

Everybody should wear sunscreen, period. End of story.

But if you’re applying sunscreen by yourself and you have skin folds, it can be a pain to reach them! This is especially true for any folds that form on your upper back or around your upper arm.

These areas can burn and be very painful, especially if you’re in swimwear or a sleeveless top. It’s also VERY easy to forget that these areas need sunscreen!

If you don’t want or don’t have someone to help you apply those areas you can’t reach, spray sunscreen can be a way to get those areas. If you don’t like the spray or want heavier coverage with a cream, then use a lotion applicator!

If the stick style doesn’t work for you (like if you have shoulder mobility issues), the strap style asks for a different range of motion. If you can’t find one that works for you at a big box store, look at a pharmacy. These are often sold as disability aids or for elderly people with a reduced range of motion.

But honestly, one of the most important things about this is just knowing your body. Know where your skin folds are and think about how they move as you’re applying sunscreen. Get underneath them- as you move, those areas can be exposed to the sun, too.

So yeah, that’s my best advice for beating the heat while fat. If you’ve got other tips, feel free to share them!

Sustainable fashion for the Solar Punk

If you enjoyed this, consider checking out my Ko-Fi for a printable zine version (or just to support my art :))

@wastelesscrafts

[ID: a before and after photo of a gray couch that has been scratched open by a cat. The gash in the fabric has been mended with floral embroidery. Text below photos: "Someone in this group showed a person embroidering their couch where the cat had damaged it and it inspired me to fix my own couch with embroidery. So I thought I would share the end result :) A massive thank you to the person who shared the idea originally :)."]

Thank you for the tag!

That's an amazing example of visible mending on a couch.

The origin of these photos seems to be a post by Stephanie Louise in the Facebook group Tips4Home. An account by the same name has uploaded a YouTube tutorial for this project.

Mending a rather obvious rip in the butt of my dad's jeans, so I'm embroidering a dad joke on the pocket to make ironic

Pocket is complete!

Idea: sew some cute little moths with scrap fabrics and sew them on holes you have on your clothes so you can keep wearing them :)

@wastelesscrafts

Thank you for the tag! That's such a lovely way to cover up holes in fabric.

The original link leads to Pinterest, so here's a direct link:

Simple fabric moth and butterfly sewing pattern (by Sew Modern Kids)

I bought this lovely woolen blanket at the bargain section of Ikea a while ago – it had been there because it had a hole. I thought it could be an opportunity to learn/practice darning. Unfortunately, I then had to realise that it must've been slashed while opening a package, so it really has more like five to ten holes. I got really discouraged and left it lying on a mending pile for ages.

Since I've been sick all week, I've been puttering at home a lot and sorting things and I came upon my mending pile and the blanket. I decided to finally tackle it and some other projects and looked up darning methods and was ultimate led back to tumblr.

Thanks especially to @wastelesscrafts I got the motivation and instruction I needed to start doing some visible mending and boy, do I love it. Thank you!!

I've been happily hyperfocussing on darning away (and watching sense8 while doing it) all day and here are the first results:

They're a little wonky (also the coarsely woven fabric is quite hard to work with) but I'm super happy with them anyway. I did them with sock yarn because I felt like that went with the texture of the blanket.

Well done!

Whats it called when you mend something but you make it obvious you mended it via a cute design i forgot what its called

Decorative mending? Visual mending? Something along those lines I believe @wastelesscrafts do you know the term I know you do that stuff

That would be visible mending.

A mend is something to be proud of. It's a sign of the love and effort you've put into maintaining an object, and every mend is an opportunity to practice a skill, have some fun, and see the progress you've made.

Some mends are minor nuisances that simply needed fixing. Others are remnants of difficult times, or a memorial to someone or something you loved. A good day that was worth ripping your pants over. Anger over a broken system. A reminder of what an object means to you.

And with every mend you make, that object becomes a little more personal. That hole is a memory, and the patch over it a piece of personality. Every stitch signifies some of the time you've spent using or wearing it.

Mending is an opportunity to bring some joy to your life, or at the very least make it a little more comfortable.

So why hide all that? Add that cute design! Make it match who you are, and show it off.

Make it visible!

It's about to hit us here in Oklahoma and the rest of the southern states that are not used to this level of cold.

Please take this seriously if you live somewhere this is going to impact significantly.

I just sincerely hope texas' power grid doesn't fail them again.

but at least a small blessing is that this isn't bringing much precipitation with it and the worst of it will be the wind.

Anyway. Stay inside, wear layers, and bundle up. Get your cold weather shit prepped now if you haven't yet.

0.0?!

This is "if you go outside you will have frostbite in minutes" type cold, this is "your car may not start up" type cold, this is "your schoolboard should be advising you not to send your kids to school by foot" type cold, i live in Ontario and I've only ever seen it get to -44C here.

If you are in this swath of area and have never experienced this type of cold before please take whatever precautions you can. in extreme circumstances like this the best way to do that is to isolate activity to one or 2 rooms of the house that have as few outward facing windows as possible, make sure you wear lots of layers and even insulate those layers by putting wadded up paper between them, keep your extremities covered, keep your face covered, if you have blankets or pillows to spare and non-carpet flooring lay those out to help insulate the room, you can hang bath towels in front of any windows to help absorb the cold. Please limit going out to as little as possible, and if you have to make sure anything that can be covered is indeed covered, if you have to wear denim please layer something underneath it, wear ur heaviest fabrics, double up on socks and gloves if you need to, if you can get thermal underwear you can always layer those. When in highschool and had to wait at the buss I would often microwave some potatoes or perogis and keep them in my pockets to warm my hands as I waited for the bus. Keep extra blankets and candles and clothes in ur car. For whatever reason if you get wet and you're outside, please find somewhere to get inside while you dry. If you live in an area that's getting this and you don't have winter clothes like scarves or mitts take whatever thick insulating cloth you can find and use that instead. it might not be comfortable but it will be better than frostbite, I promise.

This is the type of cold that also comes in insanely dry so if you are prone to nosebleeds this will be a problem. Make sure you have moisturizer for ur hands and lip balm so you don't end up cracked and bleeding on top of freezing, its a shit combo.

I know this isn't a 100% on theme for this blog, but please take care!

People have been so kind as to add more advice on how to deal with this type of cold in the notes of this post, so don't forget to check those too.

Side note, especially with antique or vintage traditional european folk clothing… sometimes they were made not to be washed at all (heavy color embroidery on a white cloth, gold thread) or to be cleaned with snow during frosty days (woolen thread embroidery). You take your item outside on a freezing winter day, throw copious amount on snow on it, hang it outside and at the end of the day you pat the snow out together with all the dust.

Thank you, that's an interesting addition.

I can confirm the snow technique. One of my family members recreates historical textiles in their spare time, and they occasionally use it to clean their wool items.

(Always make sure the item is completely dry before storing it afterwards to avoid mold.)

Thank you for this amazing post! I saw it last year (2021) and it stuck with me because it reminded me of some projects I had back when I was a teen. '60s and '70s style jean bell-bottoms were popular in the '90s (which also were cousins of the popular raver jnco jeans in terms of shape), they used a similar idea, splitting the outside at the knee, then inserting a triangle of funky fabric to create the bell shape. Punk and Goth styling also obviously has a lot of sewing involved - especially when one is above typical sizing.

So when I got a non-returnable skirt from torrid during an online clearance sale last Xmas that didn't look like a pencil skirt but actually was a pencil skirt (a shape I dislike on me) I remembered this post and have been re-styling it to be more of a classic kick-skirt shape with a 80s Lauper-esque Punk aesthetic. Thank the reblog for reminding me to finish it!

Shape altering can be as finished or unfinished looking as one likes. I repurposed a bust-flattening type undershirt/bralette (the flattening was intentional, as a note) that no longer fits into the side panels for this, and honestly, I think it's coming along nicely.

Thank you again for this wonderful post. I'll always reblog when I see it! And for anyone debating about trying to modify their clothes to fit better, give it a go! You likely aren't wearing it now, so what have you to lose by trying?