Diy Punk - Blog Posts

this is my vest so far! I've been working on it in my spare time, and though it's slow progress since im embroidering almost all the patches by hand, im super proud of what I've managed. if anybody has any ideas for sci-fi / cryptid / queer supportive / spooky patches, please let me know!

as a side note, i do have a large back panel for this vest where the "protect trans youth" patch is. the back piece will only be attached with safety pins, so i think I'm going to put my more political patches there so if i feel unsafe i can cover them up. i made it over the summer but i recently started going back and touching it up, so I'll make a post with it soon!

for about a week now I've been working on a DIY vest. it's not a battle vest, but i am taking inspiration from some of the patch ideas and maybe adding spikes

here's my process so far:

(EDITED with image descriptions - thanks for the reminder in the tags!!)

i dyed a pale blue vest with one full bottle of graphite synthetic dye. it's still sadly a little blue, but it's dark enough that it isn't super noticable, so I'll live. if you have any questions about the exact process, ill answer them in the comments!

i then added two regular pockets after seam ripping the fake ones - why do they even put fake pockets on these - and two inner pockets using the shape of the upper pocket as a guide. one of them is embroidered with quotes from a post by turboennui on here about Laika, the first dog in space sent from Russia

then i added a detachable hood taken from an old sweatshirt, which is attached to the vest via six buttons. i get anxious when i don't have a hood on my clothes, so if i don't wear this vest over a sweatshirt, i still have the option to have more comfort

yesterday, i planned out and began embroidering the back panel. it will be a detachable piece of black fabric from an old button up shirt, connected only with safety pins so i don't have to commit to a theme and instead have multiple artworks to swap out. this one is a few black ferns and a pale blue moth (type undecided) atop a starry night sky background

if you guys have any ideas of stuff to add or embroider, or tips for making a denim vest in general, comments are greatly appreciated! ill post another update once the vest is finished

this info must be shared ‼️

DIY How-To; Aluminum Can Spikes

Preface; This will work with any kind of can as long as its metal. (soda, monster, ect) You can make them in colors depending on which side you trace your stencil on but im gonna teach you how to make them silver

And i cannot stress this enough,

BE CAREFUL WITH THE RAW CUT EDGES OF THE CANS, THEY ARE SHARP ENOUGH TO CUT BADLY

Material needed;

Empty clean aluminum can(s)

Sharp scissors (maybe a stitch ripper for attaching them but scissors work too)

A sharpie or permanent marker

Superglue if you want them perfect

An abundance of patience and caution

1 Gather your aluminum

First step is to turn those cans into flat sheets of metal. Start by making a small cut near the rounded edge of the top or bottom, about this distance

Then cut around the top to connect back where you started and take the ends off.

Next you cut a line straight down the side to interrupt the loop of aluminum.

What I do next is kinda just flatten it the best I can? Press it against a flat surface, make tiny bends against the curve, just to make it easier to work with, always being careful of the sharp edges

2 Make a stencil

So the general shape youre gonna wanna make it is like this

The big point will be the tip of your spike, and the little nubby ones will hold it on

imo it helps to have an extra can to experiment with what works best for what youre going for, but once you figure it out, have one flat cut out piece to trace for the rest, to make sure they all come out the same!

3 Trace a bunch and cut them out!

Sounds easier than it is. if you work with it, you can get more spikes sometimes by drawing them close together, but then theyre harder to cut out. Again, be careful of edges. If you want silver, trace on the printed on sign so you dont get sharpie on your spike (or dont, mistakes are punk)

4 Roll them up

This takes a little practice, but what you wanna do is roll up the wider end of the triangle, one edge over the other, into a pyramid, forming a spike with the point of the big triangle at the end. (this ones harder to draw)

Sometimes theyll stay curled tight on their own, sometimes they need a little help (superglue) i havent figured out how to make em curl perfect every time yet. You can also fill them with hot glue to make them sturdier ( BEING CAREFUL OF THE SPIKES WHEN THEY HEAT UP FROM THE GLUE) But the good news is your spikes are done!

4 Affixing them to your shit

Once you figure out where you want them, hold the bottom triangles on the first spike up to the spot it goes like you mean to put it in, mark where they touch the fabric, and then take your scissors or stitch ripper and cut four little tears that DO NOT connect at those points.

It should look like this, with the center dot representing where the spike point is centered!

You should also give each spike enough room that the tears dont run into each other. I usually do them one at a time but i dont think it matters.

After the tears are cut, you carefully insert the bottom triangles into the rips

flip it over, and fold the triangles in over themselves like a staple

Repeat until youve added on all your spikes and your piece looks sick as fuck

5 Bonus; patching over the studs

So when you do this, like a staple, theres the little pointy bits sticking in, and if its a wearble item, it'll prick your skin. If youre autistic like me thats a big drawback, but you can remedy this by sewing a patch of a thicker material (i use denim) over the place where these spikes are holding on.

made me and bro matching anarchy pins :D