DIY Goggles

Make your own goggles for stylish fun.

Goggles can be used for a variety of situations from welding to swimming to making your own steampunk costume. Buying pre-made goggles can be expensive, however, and if you're on a budget that might discourage you from completing your project. But with just a few household items, you can make your own goggles from scratch. So not only will you have the eyewear, you'll also have the bragging rights of DIY project done right.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Leather baseball
• Old black jeans
• Two plastic caps
• Clear plastic container
• Black spray paint
• Metallic spray paint
• Scissors
• Utility knife
• Strong glue
• Glue gun
• Needle
• Thread
• Binder clamps

1. Cut the stitching along the seams of a leather baseball. Remove the outer leather covering. Pull out any leftover stitching. Pick off any of the internal glue or threads from the baseball core. You only need one-half of the outer leather covering. Save the other half for later projects.

2. Lay out the piece of leather from the baseball and cut it in half. Spray-paint it black. Set it aside, and allow it to completely dry before using.

3. Cut a circle from the center of one plastic bottle lid, about one-half-inch away from the edge. Throw away the part you cut out and keep the threaded lid with the hole. Repeat this with the other lid, and then paint both with metallic paint. Allow them to dry completely before using.

4. Remove the hem from the leg of a pair of black jeans. Cut along the underside of the seam so there will be no need for sewing. You will have a long strap of denim fabric.

5. Lay a lid on one piece of the leather. Trace the inside of the lid shape onto the leather with a pen or pencil. Repeat this with the other leather half and lid. Now cut out the circles you made on the leather pieces. When cutting, leave four leather tabs making a cross pattern in the circle.

6. Apply glue to one side of the leather straps you made. Place the lid over the circle and tabs. Lift the tabs and press them and the glue into the inside of the lid. Repeat this step with the other piece of leather.

7. Cut out two circles from the clear plastic container to the size of the lids inside. Glue the clear circles inside the lids. They will be the goggle lenses. You may need to trim them a little bit when fitting them in the lids. Make sure the glue is not showing by keeping it hidden under the one-half-inch lip you left on the lids.

8. Cut a piece of the black jeans to use as a nose piece. Fit the goggles to your face to get the right length to cut. Glue the nose piece, connecting the two goggle components.

9. Cut a slit on the outer edge of both leather pieces of the goggles, close to where your ears will be. Thread one end of the black jeans through one of the slits and sew the end of the jeans to the leather to hold in place. Place the goggles on your head and wrap the strip of jeans around your head. Pull it snug so it fits to your face but not too tightly. Slip the loose end of jeans in the open slit. Remove the goggles as you hold the jeans strip in place. Cut to size and secure to the leather by sewing into place.

10. Test the goggles again. When you're happy and comfortable with the fit, cut away any extra material or glue.

References

• Thread Banger: Steampunk goggles