The neat thing about Virgin Fest, is that they are committed to being as green as possible. They had a whole exhibit based on their efforts, called the Green Spot. At the exhibit you learned that all of the paper products, t-shirts and other “merch” were sourced from organic cotton, recycled content and corn based plastics. Generators used biofuels and composting bins were placed next to recycle bins. It was wonderful to know that even though music festivals are large events, small changes can make a big difference. But what really got me going was an awesome bandanna skirt that I spotted in the crowd. It was clearly handmade and loved by the wearer (sorry no pix!). It was constructed out of old band bandannas that had been obtained from said corresponding concerts. It was a wonderful reuse of materials that were crafted into a wearable memento. So here’s how to make your own tribute bandanna skirt as well as some other ways to use old bandannas: To make a bandanna skirt you can use the following two A-line skirt tutorials; one from craftgrrl that uses paper to help make a pattern and a pattern-less tutorial from Dana. Use them as loose guides when shaping the skirt but the main thing is to get a base fabric by sewing your bandannas together and measuring to get the right fit. To get your base fabric you can follow the outline on the right, (excuse my Painter skills!) and sew along the edges of your bandannas. You will need to cut some in half to make the bottom and top work out. Dana’s tutorial finishes the waist with some elastic for sewing beginners. Craftgrrl refers to using a zipper for finishing, but that is definitely for the more advanced sewers among us. With a little bit of re-imagining, your skirt will come out awesome and ready to rock. Pair it with your vinyl wrist cuff to really show your DIY side. Here are some other amazing ideas for reusing bandannas:
Square bandanna skirt Another bandanna skirt Bandanna halter top
Have other ideas for bandannas? Leave ’em in the comments! [Image credit: gazelystare under creative commons license]
