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Our 6 Favorite DIY Fashion Accessories by Mark Montano

By Tiffany Yannetta

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  • Couture Resin Jewelry
  • Beaded Fringe Necklace
  • Sweeter Sweater Gloves
  • Dramatic Chain Scarf
  • Virgin Mary Suitcase
  • Vinyl Computer Envelope

Mark Montano's second volume of his Big Ass Book of Crafts is filled with lots of DIY projects, and though we've never considered ourselves too crafty, we've picked out 6 of our favorite-related ones, and at some point or another (maybe over this long, glorious Thanksgiving weekend), we'll try to replicate them. Have a look at six of our favorite finished products (Mark's, not ours) in the gallery above, and click through to read step-by-step instructions for two of them.

Beaded Fringe Necklace

What you'll need: 100 inches of gold or silver chain, wire cutters or needle-nose pliers, 1 yard of beaded fringe on a ribbon, needle and thread, 14 jump rings, 1 lobster claw closure.

How to do it, in a nutshell: Cut three length of chain. One should be 25", another should be 34", and the last should be 41". Then cut three lengths of beaded trim, each 21" long.

Fold the ends of each ribbon over twice (1/4" and then 1/4" again) and stitch the fold closed with a needle and thread for a finished edge. Center a length of beaded fringe on each chain, then sew the finished ends of the ribbon to a link of the chain.

On each chain, evenly space four jump rings, 4" apart. Put the ring through a link of the chain and around the ribbon part of the beaded fringe, then close them up with pliers.

Arrange your chains into three rows with the shortest on top and the longest on the bottom, and link one end of all three chains together with a jump ring. Close the ring, and put a jump ring through the lobster closure. Link all three chains together at the other end with the same jump ring, and voilà, you're done.

Sweeter Sweater Gloves

What you'll need: Sweater "you really should toss," scissors, one pair of knit gloves, straight pins, sewing machine

How to do it, in a nutshell: Evenly cut off the sleeves of a sweater, any length you like. Pull the cutoff sleeves up your arms by the cuffs. (Note: the cuffs of the sweater should be tight enough to keep them in place on your upper arms. If you used a giant grandma sweater and they're not, pinch them and see how much you will need to take in.)

Turn the sleeves inside out and place the gloves in the end that you cut off, matching up the openings—the fingers of the gloves should be pointed toward the sweater cuff end.

Place a couple of straight pins in the openings to hold the gloves in place, then sew the raw edge of the sleeve to the opening of the glove using a 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure you stretch the fabric while you're sewing so that the glove opening stretches when you put them on. Then, put them on! You did it. You made something—two things, maybe. Congratulations. Now go ahead and pick up a copy of the book for DIY projects to keep you busy (as in, away from Netflix).
· Mark Montano [Official Site]
· Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2 [Amazon]

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