If you’ll be in London next month, make a point to stop by the U.K. Aware 2010 exhibition from April 16-17. This is the third annual event and this year features 200 booths and 50 guest speakers who will show you how to give your life a green makeover.

E.S. friend TRAID will be there to lead DIY projects to update your old closet workhorses.

According to the event organizers, the £6 cover charge will net you the following perks:

• The Green Machines Expo: the UK’s largest showing of low carbon vehicles.
• The Green Business Start-up Surgery: an oasis of solutions for budding entrepreneurs to help make dreams become reality.
• Clothes swapping party: a chance for anyone to get a completely new to you wardrobe without damaging the environment or spending a penny.
• Kids area: shows and interactive activities designed to inspire young minds…a perfect Easter holiday outing!
• Morsbags: an oasis of creative surprises and haberdashery delights — voted best feature by our visitors last year.

Register here for the early-bird discount!

Don’t think you can DIY? Courtesy of the ever-fabulous Ashley at Monsterbites365.com comes this incredibly easy, foolproof DIY circle-scarf project that absolutely anyone can do.

All you need is a cozy XXL men’s tee-shirt or fleece (bonus points for thrifting an old one) and a sharp pair of scissors:

Directions:
1. Find a super soft, super big XXL men’s T-shirt with NO seams along the sides.
2. Fold the T-shirt in half length-wise to help you cut out your scarf.
3. First, cut a straight line along the bottom hem.
4. Then, cut a straight line just under the armpits of the T-shift (see diagram below).
5. Finally, experiment to your heart’s content with this versatile fashion accessory.

Need advice on how to wear your fancy new scarf? Check out our guide to chic neckwarming.

I probably fall into a very small sliver of people who have a box or two purely of fabric scraps.

Unless you sew quite a bit, you will likely not accumulate this many too-small-to-make-anything fabrics scraps. So unlike the women in India will old saris to convert into floor mats or women in the old south converting gingham dresses into quilts, you probably couldn’t do much with a “here’s how to make something out of your fabric scrap box” DIY article.

But that’s not to say that you don’t have an extra fabric resource. You just may never have thought about it before.

The Problem: Copious amounts of worn-out tee-shirts. I used to have stacks of them. Maybe you have ten you still wear, but sixty you don’t want to throw away—because you got the darn thing at a [family reunion/football game/your ex-boyfriend/in Vegas/from a sensitive glue-gun wielding relative]. What do you do with them? Nothing. So they collect dust…and one day, you’ll get over the nostalgia long enough to throw them out.

The Solution: Make a tee-shirt quilt. Ultimately, each beloved graphic tee-shirt will yield one to two quilt squares — one from the logo on the back, and one from the front.

1.     Take a long look at your t-shirts, and pick out as many as you want to cut up.

2.     Based on the size of your shirts it might make sense to make 10, 12 or 14-inch squares. The logos on my shirts worked best with a size 14X14 in.

3.     Determine based on how many tee-shirts you have what the dimensions of your quilt will be. Remember, you need twice as many squares as the dimension of your quilt (front and back). Mine is 6 square by 9 squares, front and back, so I needed 108 squares in all from more than 54 t-shirts.

4.     Make a cardboard cutout at the size you want each of your squares.  I cut a large whole in the middle, making it more like a frame, so I could see where I was placing the square.

5.     Lay the square on a t-shirt and trace around the edge.  Repeat on the opposite side.

6.     Cut out as many shirts as you have plans, piling up the squares.

7.     Lay them out in the pattern that you want, for example, checkered light and dark squares, all the big patterns on one side, or some more involved placement.

8.     Begin to sew the squares together in strips, keeping the seam width the same.  For my quilt, I had 2 sets of 6 strips of 9 squares.

9.     Sew the strips of squares together. Then you will soon have two large squares, the front and back of your blanket.

10. Put the two sides together, right sides facing inward. Trim the excess fabric to make both pieces the exact same size.

11. Pin and then sew around the outside, leaving an opening to turn the quilt inside out.

12. Turn the quilt inside out and iron around the edges. Be sure to iron under the edge that has the opening, in order that you can easily stitch over the opening.

13. Run the sewing machine around the edge of the quilt, to finish off the edges of the quilt.

14.  Find several points around the quilt to attach the two sides together, basically tacking the quilt in four or eight places with a hand or machine stitch.

15.  You may notice a pile of scrap fabric that you have left over. This shouldn’t be wasted. Hear are a few ideas: Shred finely and use as stuffing, make another quilt with smaller squares, or the most practical — use the left over scraps as rags for work around the house.

By making a fun quilt that’s full of memories and using the leftovers for new rags for housework (which can later become rag rugs), zero waste isn’t an impossible goal for any of us.

Scarves are synonymous with winter, and just because you are pairing them with a boring black coat, your scarves don’t have to be! Frankly, a gorgeous scarf is one of the most exciting things about the part of the year when you can’t see the sun.  And I can’t resist sharing some lovely DIY scarf ideas, just in time for Christmas (and Christmas gifts!). I focused on jersey and polar fleece — two fabrics that don’t fray.

Jersey DIY

The internet has several variations of an easy DIY scarf made out of jersey knit, but here is the one I followed most closely for a boho look.

I purchased 2.5 yards of gray viscose jersey, and evenly cut it lengthwise into 3 long pieces, roughly 20 inches wide (three new scarves!). You can also cut and sew together strips from 3 old t-shirts to make a similar scarf.

Cut off the shirt beneath the arm holes, so you effectively have a t-shirt tube, pick a place and cut it open. Once you have done this three times, even out the width, and sew them together into a long strip. I cut each end inward 15 inches into three even sections, and then split each section into seven even strips, also 15 inches long.

I braided each end into 7 braids total and then secured them with rubber bands, which I later removed.   Instead of just knotting the braids, I decided to be more festive. I spent a few dollars on silver metallic thread and threaded it around and through the end of the braids with a sewing needle, before taking several feet of the thread and wrapping it around the end of the braid.

For a fun DIY scarf, you can pick any color jersey you want, and any color thread you want. All that said, you don’t even have to put the braided fringe on the jersey scarf for it to be cute.

Polar Fleece DIY

The classic DIY scarf is the polar fleece scarf. During the holiday season, fabric stores are flush with bolts of festive fleeces. Snow flakes on a navy background, candy canes on a red background, snow-families caroling in bucolic settings.  Very Grandma Moses!

If you find a fun pattern or solid color you like, 2.5 to 3 yards (at 60 inches wide) of fleece can be enough fleece for 5 or 6 scarves, 10 to 12 inches wide.

Fringe the ends by cutting inch wide slits about 4 inches long, then knot them individually at their base and pull them tight. You can make the fringe as skinny or as wide as you like — and you don’t even have to knot them, since it won’t fray. A sharp pair of scissors and you are good to go. That’s the great thing about fleece!

Appliqué DIY

To jazz up your fleece with contrasting colors (like white on a navy background), sew on appliqués. Cut out a basic shape from another swath of fleece and with a sewing machine or simple needle and thread, affix the cut-out to your scarf.

You could add a trio of cute snowflakes to the end of a fleece scarf, for example. Or a trio of brown polka dots to the end of a pink scarf. A wide zig-zag stitch (use more of that metallic thread!) can be adorable, if you are careful to be accurate. Pay attention to your stitching with appliqué, because they will stand out.

Quick and Dirty DIY

Only have enough patience for a fast project? Try these guerilla DIY techniques:

Sew on a ribbon to a scarf than needs some pizzaz.

Find three or four silk scarves and carefully stitch them together to make one long scarf (if you sew carefully, you can always undo the stitch later).

Pick any fabric you want, like a family plaid, and carefully iron over the edges (twice, so there is no fraying) to sew a hem.

Felt, another fabric that does not fray, makes for great appliqué. And beads and sequins will serve you well as embellishments.

We stumbled across the mega-talented LoveMaegan’s directions for DIYing a gorgeous fur neck warmer and we had to spread the good word. Nothing could be more wearable in the cold season than a super-soft infinity scarf!

The creation LoveMaegan models here is faux but you could always upcycle a thrift-shop fur (if you trust your sewing skills) if you prefer the feel of the real thing. And hey, if you want to make two, your humble E.S. bloggers wouldn’t mind one…

Last night we attended the champagne reception for Sustainable Sirens, a fashion project by Reel Green Media to showcase the waste produced by Hollywood’s entertainment industry.

The project will oversee the production of six dresses made from the recyclable trash generated by the movie business. The first dress is patterned after the fabulous type of gown worn by Marie Antoinette and is themed “Let Them Recycle.”

According to the project’s press release:

This unique campaign consists of a series of six costumes, each made from the recyclable products used in specific departments in the film and television industry. The dresses are photographed and printed as posters for distribution to prop houses, costume rental shops, guilds, studios, high production traffic areas and production base camps. To broaden the impact of the project, the images will be paired with an interactive website where crew members can find information about alternatives proper disposal of materials. The completed series will then travel as an art exhibition to museums, award ceremonies and events to educate people about waste prevention and sustainability.

See more photos of this unique event — including close-ups of that fabulous dress — on our Facebook page. And if you’re in the L.A. area and want to see the dress in person, it will be on display at West Hollywood boutique Code C through December 6.

For your viewing pleasure: We just found this slideshow from Beijing’s Condom Fashion Show this summer. In the same vein as the prom dress made from coffee filters, we are seriously impressed by the creative minds that came up with these ballgowns and one-pieces made from latex.

A few more photos after the jump.

(more…)

The fall fashion shows are winding down, but one trend was very clear across continents and runways: Accessories are where it’s at this season. And that goes for ethical fashionistas, too, of course.

So with that in mind, we present to you E.S.’s 24th magazine issue: Ethical Accessories.

• First, we cover the trends — learn here what they are and who is pioneering the hottest styles.
• Next, Kara Cook, our DIY Doyenne, talks you through pearl jewelry, one of the hottest trends in fall accessories. Whether you go real or faux, she has the secret to making them work.
• Grechen Cohen from GreenGrechen.com was awesome enough to share with us her picks for the best recycled leather handbags, from under $50 to over $600.
• And because we’re always conscious of your budget, we’ve put together this list of ethically produced scarves under $30. Your toasty necks will thank us this winter.
• Finally, once you have all the bags, belts, baubles, scarves, and shoes you need in your arsenal, we show you how the crème de la crème of personal style put all the pieces together. They make it look easy, and you can too.

It’s your DIY Doyenne here, loving the response we got to the Skeleton Key Necklace: A Two-Minute DIY Project in May. That got us thinking about other easy jewelry DIY projects that might be just as useful especially going into fall! Pearls are back, although yours truly is sure they never went out of style—and thanks to the fact they’ve been around for centuries, there are a lot of DIY things to be done with pearls.

Rihanna, who I wouldn’t immediately assume has the aesthetic for pearls, seems to have a particular penchant for them and has been spotted many times wearing anywhere from one to what seems like 30 strands. Katherine Heigl, Sandra Bullock, and Keira Knightly have all also been spotted layering a variety of pearl necklaces. Many are pearl strands with various sizes of pearls and various colors, on several strands or all on the same strand. So how can you copy the look and make it your own?

First, unless you own a pirate ship, you probably have a mix of real and fake pearl necklaces already—both are great and there is no reason they can’t be worn together. It might take you a few minutes, but go through and try on several of your strands of pearls together. Even try twisting longer strands around shorter ones. Find a few that make a statement but really work together.

Making your own strands of pearls really pays off as well! If you have some basic jewelry making skills (which you do, you just don’t know it yet), a simple set of jewelry pliers and wire cutters can be purchased at a local crafts store for $10 to $20. Joann’s, for example, has everything you need for your first few necklaces in its Jewelry Maker Jewelry Designer Kit. A basic kit should contain pliers, stringing wire, a clasp, crimp beads, and something that can cut wire.

A few years ago, I started collecting old strands of pearls (real and fake; plastic and painted glass) from estate sales, garage sales, used clothing stores, and gaudy rejects from friends. Each necklace on its own wasn’t very fashionable, but they were cheap. Many were too gaudy, looked like I had robbed Barbara Bush, or were simply the wrong length of strand.

The great thing is that with a basic jewelry kit you can make your own strands of pearls if you have one. A few snips with scissors and you can have literally hundreds of different types of pearls, which you can restring however you want. Make one long strand you can just coil around your neck as many times as you want; or multiple short strands you can close with a clasp in the back. Mix cream ones with white ones, or colored pearls. Combine large pearls with small pearls. Pearls are timeless and classic, and mixing and matching them (even man-made ones) is a new take on a classic piece.

One final note: Old strands of fake pearls are often actually glass, not plastic, and some of the ones I found at estate sales had the pearl-paint chipping off.  Acetone nailpolish remover will actually remove the paint coating completely from the pearl, revealing a milky glass bead beneath — which is actually quite pretty in its own right. I like them so much I put them on my multi-strand multi-pearl necklace, and now I put a lot of effort into finding old glass pearls.

We had the privilege of hanging out backstage last night at Ximena Valero’s fashion show at the Los Angeles Theatre.

In the middle of a tornado of hair stylists, makeup artists, and dressers, the pint-size Ms. Valero took a minute from the last-minute scramble to chat with us about her spring collection and her advice for DIYers who want to follow her path to becoming a designer.

E.S.: Your designs evoke femininity and womanhood. Are there any celebrities you’d particularly like to dress?

X.V.: My inspiration is when I go to a party and I see real people wearing my dresses. Oh my gosh, I feel so honored. I already dress Jessica Alba, Alicia Keys, and Eva Longoria, among others. But — Shakira! I would love to dress her.

E.S.: You are from Mexico City and you have done several shows throughout Latin America. Are you involved in the fair-trade movement there?

X.V.: No, all of the sewing is done in my showroom in Eagle Rock [Los Angeles]. But I’m always open to charity work.

E.S.: Do you have any advice for would-be designers?

X.V.: Explore. Play. Take a risk. In this spring collection, you’ll see a lot of the same silhouettes in all the dresses, but you can tie them different ways. It’s very versatile. What I want is for people to become creative and put their own personalities out there.

For more behind-the-scenes photos from the show, check out the Ximena Valero photo album on EthicalStyle.com’s spanking-new Facebook page!