Trashionista OustaPop is a crafty fashionaddicted girl from Espoo, Finland who studied clothes making for four years and graduated in 2000. She customizes clothes for herself.

OutsaPop on trashion (recycled clothing):

The possibilities are endles. Plus you spend less money in buying material for your crafts by recycling and it is SUSTAINABLE. You also see results quicker that making everything from scratch.

Visit her flickr stream for work-in-progress photos and a peek into her fashion journal. Don’t forget her blog!

100% Shetland Wool Sweater imported from the UK
A dark blue DK yarn that is peppered with primary colors. Felted a 2 inch square to see what would happen. Didn’t felt enough… I think I need felting practice! Not sure what I am going to make out of it. Would make a great felted baby pea coat.

100% Polyester Ribbon Yarn in white
I know, polyester… but I have tightly knit a dozen small squares with this yarn to use as pot scrubbers. Each square in moss stitch is suitable scrubby and polyester does not stain as much as cotton.

60% Alpaca / 40% Nylon in natural
Wonderful yarn from a Ann Taylor sweater. I seperated the DK yarn to make fingering weight. makes beautiful crochet flowers. I have inspiration and material for a whole line of accessories.

100% Cotton in Blue
From a big and bright Ralph Lauren Sweater. I adore this yarn but cannot figure out what to do with it. It is VERY bulky and I do not have the right needles to work it.

100% Acrylic in Pee Yellow
Yes, I cannot call it anything other than pee yellow. That yarn is so loud but the material intrigued me. I am currently knitting swatches with it to see what to make of it. The yarn itself is a knit tube form a very fine filament.

For information on unraveling sweaters, try this post.

I found another book. This one is super inexpensive. It could be a great way to test you t-shirt customization skills! T-Shirt Style: Super-Easy New Looks in No Time (by Gabrielle N. Sterbenz) is from Dover Publications and it is only $7.98. There are over 30 projects in the book as well as basic instructions to use when coming up with your own variations.

In this one sumptuous and sexy volume, T-Shirt Style: Creating Fabulous Must-Have Looks, readers are offered 30 cool and chic T-shirt designs that can be created using easy and unique crafting techniques that near-guarantee the look of designer originals regardless of previous crafting experience. Providing over 300 gorgeous full-color photographs of both models wearing the stunning collection of T-shirt designs and each step needed to achieve great-looking results, T-Shirt Style is perfect for the crafter (and the not-so-crafty). Each of the designs can be done in from a few minutes to as little as an hour or two following the clear and concise step-by-step directions and the up-close detailed illustrations and photographs. Such fun and easy techniques as embellishing, painting, silk screening, photo transferring, and sewing and tailoring are used to transform the most ordinary T-shirts into runway-worthy fashion statements. The work features a section called “Decorating Basics,” which shows the essentials of each crafting technique, including professional secrets, design tips, and remedies for fixing mistakes. A special section, “The Care and Feeding of T-Shirts,” ensures that all of one’s crafting efforts are preserved. The work concludes with an annotated “Sources and Resources” section, which identifies the best places to buy craft materials and tools, and a comprehensive Index.The Collection