Cucumbersome » tutorial

Plants That Water Themselves

britt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:03:01 +0000

I alternately fret over and neglect my plants. As you can imagine, they are alternately over-watered and… dead. We bought a rubber plant which is supposed to be one of the hardiest household plants, but well, I don’t want to talk about it. I really do love having (live) plants around, so the idea of a self-watering planter has wooed me. You only have to water occasionally, and the plants drink only what they need between waterings. So I still get to overzealously water them, and then abandon them for a bit. The only difference is that when I go back to water them, they are not only alive, but have grown. Automagically.
There are, in my mind, two kinds of sub-irrigating planters available for sale. One kind is expensive and looks like it came from space. The other is more reasonably-priced, but looks like an ugly tub. I wanted something that just looked like a regular planter – not overly fancy, just not something resulting in disparaging looks from our neighbors in our building (okay, for the sake of full disclosure, I made some ugly tub planters a while back but they made me sad).
This method can be modified for pretty much any planter, and is really easy. I created a tutorial, but first…

The Super Simplified Science Behind Sub-Irrigation, as I understand it (with diagrams! exciting!):

The basic idea is to water the plants from the roots up. It’s incredibly efficient because there is no water lost, and the plants only drink as much as they need. However, you can’t just plop a plant in a puddle because the roots would rot, and it would also make a big mess. So the planter needs a resevoir for the water that is separated from the roots. This barrier needs to have holes in it to provide aeration to the roots. But then how does the water get to the plant? You need a wicking chamber – something to wick the water up into the soil. You fill the chamber with your potting mix and the water rises up though capillary action. You then cover your barrier (which is holding up the plant and potting mix) and wicking chamber with landscaping fabric to prevent the roots from growing down into the water reservoir.
If you’re interested in further reading about this, I learned a lot from reading Inside Urban Green. I also studied the Earth Box and the Earthtainer (free detailed instructions for building a sub-irrigating planter out of a plastic storage bin).

Tutorial
What you need:
Planter – completely sealed (no hole in the bottom), must be something you can drill a hole through (plastic works well). I used this one.
Plastic canvas – available at craft stores (or Amazon), used for beginner’s needlepoint
Plastic egg crate light panel – 2′ x 4′ sheet available at Home Depot for about $10 (or this pack of 10 on Amazon if you’re making a ton of planters). Looks like it’s for giant needlepoint (see scale in the next photo), but it’s actually used for lighting in drop ceilings. Don’t know why it’s called egg crate.
Zip ties – I used 4″ ones I already had, from the dollar store
PVC pipe – from Home Depot
Utility knife
Pliers
Scissors
Hand saw
Note: As there is a saw, a knife, and jagged bits of plastic involved, I urge you to be careful and use eye protection. Also, you should read this DIY safety info (from my dad) with some things to keep in mind.

Here’s a piece of the plastic “egg crate” to show you the scale (below). Use pliers to cut it by holding it firmly where you want the break and wiggling it until it cracks. It breaks easily, but I was serious about the eye protection. Don’t worry about the jagged edges, because they help to wedge the barrier in place.

This is how my barrier ended up looking (below). Yours will depend on the size of you planter. Mine sits in my planter about 4.5″ from the ground. I had to keep breaking off bits until it fit. If you’re making more than one planter, you can copy the shape once you know it fits. You’ll need to break open a space for the wicking chamber, and the fill pipe.

Now to build the wicking chamber. You want the chamber to be touching the bottom of the planter and the barrier, so the height is determined by how big your water reservoir is. Cut a strip this wide (mine was 4.5″ but I had to trim it down a bit for a good fit). You’ll also need a square for the bottom of the chamber (see below). My wicking chamber turned out to be about the size of a can of coke zero. The decision wasn’t very scientific. In fact, if anyone here is an avid gardener and would like to chime in regarding the size or planter to chamber size ratio, please comment. My planters seem to be working just fine so far.

Use zip ties to secure the plastic canvas into a cylinder (below).

You can cut off the ends of the zip ties. Now to start securing the bottom on (below).

Zip tie the bottom on (I used four ties).

Now you can trim the ends of the zip ties and the bottom, being careful not to cut into the squares the zip ties are secured to (below).

Tie it onto the barrier over the hole, in four places (below).

Seen from the top:

(Below) You’ll need to cut at least four supports to help hold the barrier up out of the water. You can add more supports if your container is bigger. The size, again, is determined by the size of your water reservoir. You’ll want one flat edge (from the edge of the 2′x4′ panel) to rest on the bottom of the planter evenly. I found that the jagged bits on the top helped to secure it to the barrier, so don’t worry about them.

(Below) Secure them to the bottom of the barrier. If you fiddle with the zip tie to have the head resting on a flat edge, you can get it nice and tight.

Here’s all four supports tied to the barrier (below).

(Below) Cut your pipe to the height you want (a bit longer than your planter height) and cut the bottom on an angle. If it’s not cut on an angle it could sit right on the bottom and not let water in. I used a 3′ length of pipe and only had to make one diagonal cut (for two planters).

Here it is all ready to go:

(Below) You also need to cut a small overflow hole in the side of your planter. It should be a bit below the barrier so that there is .5 – 1″ space between the water level and the barrier. You can use a small utility knife to make the hole if you are using a plastic planter. Just twist it around and around.

Just wedge the barrier in place in the planter. You want all four supports and the wicking chamber to be touching the bottom. You need to tap it in a bit, and the jagged edges cut into the sides making it more secure. Once it’s in, you can slide the pipe in place with the diagonal cut on the bottom. Here’s what it looks like inside:

(Below) Here’s what it looks like from the side. Yeah, not much. The hole is on the right side. You can put it anywhere as long as it is either visible or easily accessible. You need to know when water starts trickling out so you know the reservoir is full. I hold my hand below the hole while I’m filling so I can feel it.

My reservoir holds about 7L of water. Two of my planters have tomatoes which do need to be watered fairly often, especially if it has been hot. Probably every three days or so. The herbs I have, on the other hand, can go quite a bit longer. If you keep track of how much water you put in the first time, you can water every day for the first few days to get a sense of how fast the reservoir is emptying.
I fully intended on documenting the planting process, but it occurred to me while I was covered in dirt that I didn’t want to sacrifice my camera. It may be for the best, because I just started gardening myself. I am quite confident in the actual, physical planter, but not as much in my planting. Allow me to direct you over here, where you can find detailed planting instructions (all they ask is you make a donation to Feeding America).
If you have any suggestions or questions, let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

Printing on Fabric, the Lazy Way

britt — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:39:08 +0000

Here’s the short story for you skimmers: Freezer paper + fabric + inkjet printer = banner.
And now for the slightly longer version: When thinking of how to make a banner for my brother’s wedding, I contemplated the freezer paper stencil method which I have used before (seen here, forgive the bad photos) with some success. The idea of cutting out intricate letters wasn’t thrilling me though. Suddenly I remembered reading that you can use freezer paper to stiffen fabric enough to feed through an inkjet printer so you can print directly on the fabric. I was skeptical but I had a bit of freezer paper lying around and a designer to help execute the idea (he wasn’t lying around mind you, but kindly offered to help with the type. Thanks, hon!).

All you do – and it’s really deceptively simple – is iron the glossy side of the freezer paper onto the wrong side of the fabric and then cut it down to fit in the printer (8.5″ x 11″). Then just print on the fabric side, and peel the paper off.

This example (above) shows the heart with the backing on the left, and the same heart sans freezer paper on the right. I love how pulling the backing off pulls at the threads and warps it ever so slightly.

For the banner part, I cut the letters down to the same size and folded and sewed over the tops to make a pocket for the twine. The whole project – from start to finish, from layout to threading the letters onto the twine – took less than an hour. Easiest banner ever.
I recommend checking out this instructable, which goes over the process in better detail and discusses what to do to make the fabric washable.

Kitchen Tools as Lights

britt — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:48:12 +0000

These lights remind me of the trouble light-inspired pendants from Anthro that I posted about. But these little guys are made from vintage industrial whisks! Want. (Check out this tutorial, via Remodelista.) Ashley Ann came up with another light inspired by the trouble lights using a wire basket (thanks for the link, Sarah!).

A vintage bundt pan pendant light? Fantastic! I really like it, and not just for the novelty factor. Even if the pan had been created for the sole purpose of being a shade I would like it. The fact that it has been a carrier of cake does make it a little sweeter, though. Easily DIY-able, of course. Get yourself a lamp cord kit, thread it through the center and hang it low so you can see its fluted sides. (Images from Light Locations, via Decor8)
There is a very cheap lamp cord kit at Urban Outfitters, but it’s a swag-style light. You can find the hard-wired pendant kind at your hardware store (or here).

Grey Suede Shoes

britt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:45:04 +0000

Just wanted to share this great tutorial that I used to make these tiny baby shoes for Piper. The easy-to-follow tutorial took me about one hour from start to finish and was generously provided by Joanna of Stardust Shoes. I want to make more, maybe with some cuter fabric. I used really soft white leather for the soles (left over from this necklace project) instead of the bonded fleece recommended, which worked out quite well. So if you are looking for a baby gift and have a bit of sewing experience, check it out. I wonder if I could convert the pattern and make some slippers for myself…

Time for Tea Soap

britt — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:07:04 +0000

Drinking tea is such a lovely ceremony, what with the dainty cups and small spoons and little dishes reserved only for steeped tea bags. The aroma is such a huge part of that experience. Sadly, I’m finding that one can only drink so much tea in a day. So why not pull those luscious scents into our lives in other ways? This was my thinking when this idea popped into my head. I whipped up a batch of small Earl Grey tea soaps (see my instructions below) and folded them into individual tissue tea bags.

I have included a full, rather detailed tutorial for you to make these yourself. You can even download my tea soap tags, if you are so inclined. Each tag has a “Made by” and “For” on the back, so you can give these little soaps as gifts. You could also write a tiny message on the inside of the tag. I assure you that these are extremely easy to make, and cheap as well.
Click through below for the free tag download and how to!

You can buy all the materials you need here.
(a) Soap: I used a Melt & Pour Soap Base which some may think is cheating, but I think it’s fantastic. It’s incredibly easy – you just cut up the block of soap and melt it in the microwave (or if you are like me and don’t have a microwave, use a double-boiler) and add in whatever ingredients you want.
I used Earl Greyer Tea which has more bergamot than usual. Then just pour it into a mold or pan and let it set. After a few hours mine was set and I cut it into rectangles about 1″ x 2″. These are small (think hotel soap) and I was able to get eight soaps from a 1 lb. block, plus scraps that I can melt down into another one or two. You can see more detailed instructions here. I would recommend wrapping each soap in a dark-colored paper.
(b)Tags: You can create your own tags, or download mine here. Each sheet has tags for Earl Grey Tea Soap, Green Tea Soap, Citrus Mint Tea Soap, Ginger Peach Tea Soap, Rooibos Tea Soap, Jasmine Tea Soap, and Tea Soap (plain). Just cut them out, fold them in half, and snip little notches in the corners (see photos). [A note about the tags: Feel free to print out these tags for your personal, non-commercial use. Please do not redistribute in any way.]
(c)White tissue paper: Pieces cut to approximately 6″ x 9″, one per soap. *Not intended for use in the tub or shower.
(d)Tape
(e)String
(f)Stapler
(g)Scissors

How to fold, tea bag-style:

1. Place one soap on the tissue paper, centered vertically but slightly higher than the middle.
2. Fold the two sides over the soap so that they overlap slightly. Tape closed.
3. Pinch the edges to form a rectangular box. Pleat the sides inward.

4. Fold the bottom up over the soap and secure with a loop of tape (or double-sided tape)
5. Trim so that the front and back are the same height
6. Fold the two corners in to form a peak.
7. Pull the peak down and tape shut.

8. Flip over and staple the string onto the bag, tying a knot in the end to keep it from slipping through. Staple tag on the other end of the string.
If you have any trouble with these instructions it might help to inspect a real tea bag. For the sake of comparison, here is a real tea bag with mine:

Here are the tags that are available (click here to view and print):

Now I’m off to have a cup of tea…
Thanks for reading.

Tutorial: Leather Chain Necklace

britt — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:27:56 +0000

I must really have a thing for soft, fabric jewelry. First, the t-shirt necklace, now this. I have been admiring these leather necklaces by Handle & Spout for quite some time. Can I use the “imitation is the sincerest form or flattery” line again?
What you need:
Leather piece – approximately 12″ x 12″(if you are in Vancouver, check out Dressew for cheap leather in various sizes. I got a 24″ x 24″ piece for $7)
This template, printed out on heavy cardstock (The image is 300dpi, and when printed will be 3″ wide)
Utility Knife (like an x-acto knife)
Scissors
Needle & thread (matching your leather)
Instructions:
After you have printed out this template on heavy cardstock, cut it out with your exacto knife. This is my paper template (as you can see, my utility knife is not so exact):

Now on the back side of the leather (the rough side) trace your template in pen, like so:

Cut the shape out of the leather with scissors, making sure to cut just inside the pen marks so you don’t have any lines showing. To cut out the center, fold it and make a little snip with your scissors and then cut (like the one below). I tried to use the utility knife and it looked really rough and found scissors to be more accurate.

Continue cutting out the leather shapes until you have a bunch. I used 36 pieces to make a longish necklace, but it totally depends on how long you want it to be.

Fold one piece in half so the smooth side is on the outside. Then push half of the next piece through the hole as shown:

Now fold the second piece down and continue fitting them together:

Keep going, holding it up to your neck until it gets to be your desired length.

For the closure, you could do something fancy like a snap or a button. My necklace is long and I can just pull it over my head, so I folded the last loop over my first one and stitched it closed:

I feel (and look) pretty awkward about posting a picture of myself here, but so you can see the length of the necklace, and the size of the links, here it is:

Notes: You could also buy a leather jacket from a thrift store and cut it up. If you didn’t want to use leather, a good quality felt might look nice (just not the cheap stuff – I think it would end up looking like a kindergarten project) or you could use two fabrics fused together with double-sided fusible interfacing.
Click the thumbnail below for a full-sized version of the template:

DIY Neckline Detail

britt — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:14:31 +0000

I’m so excited to show you all the inspiring work from Kate. She uses lots of free patterns to make her gorgeous clothes, but they are heavily altered and tastefully embellished. I really love her fabric choices.
I was particularly taken with the shirt shown above. There are several corsage-style shirts out there right now at places like J Crew and Anthropologie, but I love Kate’s version.
She made the entire shirt, but I think the neckline detail could be added to an existing shirt for a quick DIY.

This tutorial is courtesy of Kate.

Cut a rectangle out of your fabric that measures 1 yard (36 in.) x 4.5″. Fold fabric in half, length-wise, with right sides facing in and iron. The fabric should measure 1 yard x 2.25″. Sew along the long raw edge, 1/4″ in.

Turn fabric right-side out. Press the strip of fabric so that the seam is on the bottom.

Fold each side in and stitch along each edge. Using a long running stitch, sew two lines down the middle of the fabric (length-wise). Make sure the two lines are 1/4″ apart from each other, and centered on the fabric. Holding the two ends of each line, scrunch fabric until it measures 16″.

Attach by hand to your shirt, with the first end starting at the shoulder seam, and the other end attached at the neckline. I formed mine into s squiggle shape, but you can do it however you want.

More of Kate’s creations:

This Dress was inspired by an anthro dress.

Lei Neckline Top, complete with directions on how to draft a pattern from your favorite tank.

Thank you so much for sharing your handiwork with us, Kate!
Everyone make sure to check out her blog here.