Crafts

I

Introduction

Crafts (also handcrafts or handicrafts), the making of decorative or functional objects, generally by hand. Hand and power tools may be used, however, in making some craft items. The term crafts also refers to the objects made.

II

Functions of Crafts

This article is concerned with crafts as creative hobbies, practiced primarily in the home with a minimum of specialized equipment. Crafts as so defined have certain functions. In a world that is becoming increasingly mechanized and standardized, they give people the opportunity to work with their hands and to express their individuality. Crafts also are often used in occupational therapy; for example, a patient might be taught a craft to develop weakened muscles or to help in gaining use of an artificial limb. An emotionally disturbed person might be taught a craft that would serve as an outlet for feelings. Craftwork also provides the disabled with purposeful activity that diverts attention from their handicaps.

Many hobbyists find themselves going into business. A craftsperson who perhaps has at first sold craft items only to friends or at local bazaars may find that increased demand leads to a wider clientele and sales by mail order, at crafts fairs, or through a shop.

There is a fine line of distinction between crafts produced by amateur hobbyists for their personal satisfaction and crafts that in the hands of gifted artisans approach or can be considered art forms, generally made with a view toward the use and enjoyment of others. The difference between hobby-produced crafts and formal decorative art objects lies in the degree of innovation in form and technique and in the intention of the artisan.

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Crafts can be grouped by technique or medium. Under the headings that follow are brief descriptions of some of those crafts most popular with hobbyists today, with indications of the degree of skill and basic equipment required.

III

Paper Crafts

Papier-mâché is the craft of fashioning objects from any kind of absorbent paper that has been soaked in a solution of water and glue. When dry, sealant and paint are applied.

Decoupage involves the use of flat pieces of paper (often patterned) to decorate three-dimensional objects, anything from lunch boxes to clocks. Scissors are needed to cut out the designs, and glue is used to attach them. Many coats of varnish are then applied.

Bookbinding techniques can be used to create diaries, photo albums, address books, and notebooks from chipboard, paper, heavy thread, cloth, and glue. Bookbinding requires dexterity and care but is not difficult to learn.

IV

Textile and Fiber Crafts

Weaving is a method of creating fabric by interlacing two sets of yarn threads called the warp and the weft. The warp threads form the base for the weaving; they are arranged parallel to one another and held in tension on a loom. The weft is a single thread that is passed over and under the warp threads in a systematic way to create a solid or patterned piece of cloth. Beginners can outfit themselves inexpensively by making or purchasing simple looms. More advanced weavers working on large pieces use the treadle loom, a large, fairly expensive machine that holds long warp threads and can make quick and complicated changes in the placement of these threads to allow for many patterns.

Basketry is the craft of making baskets and bags, mats, rugs, and other items through weaving, plaiting, and coiling techniques. Traditional basketry materials include reed, cane, rush, sisal fiber, and ash-wood splints. Equipment is simple: a knife, scissors, a sturdy needle for sewing together coiled baskets, and roundnose pliers for pulling difficult reeds. Beginners are able to produce satisfactory, simple products, and more advanced basket makers find challenge in complex patterns and forms.

In macrame, or ornamental knotting, cotton, linen, or jute cord or rug yarn is used to make bags, wall hangings, and containers. A knotting board with pins helps keep the work in place, and a yardstick and scissors are also useful.

In embroidery, a needle and thread are used to create designs on fabric. Many styles of embroidery exist. Some are used to decorate areas on a piece of cloth, usually linen; other styles, notably needlepoint and bargello, are used to fill in completely with pattern an openwork mesh canvas. Embroidery requires frames and hoops to hold the fabric in tension, embroidery needles, scissors, thread, and yarn.

Rug hooking is the craft of making rugs by inserting thin strips of wool through a heavy base fabric by means of a hand hook or a punch needle. In rug knotting, rugs are created by tying pieces of yarn on rug canvas with a tapestry needle or a latch hook, or on warp threads arranged on a loom. Both hooking and knotting require patience and practice but are easily mastered.

In quilting, three layers of fabric (a decorative top layer, filler, and a liner) are stitched or tied together. For patchwork quilts, pieces of cloth are sewn together to form a large, patterned material that serves as the top layer. Quilting calls for templates for cutting patchwork shapes, quilting needles, thread, and scissors. Hand quilting also requires a quilting frame.

Batik is a method of creating patterns on fabric by applying wax to areas of the cloth that will then retain their original color during dyeing. Equipment includes special tools to apply the wax and for dyeing. The process is not difficult but requires care.

Fabric may also be patterned through silk-screen printing. A silk screen is a rectangular frame over which silk has been stretched; on this rests a stencil of the desired pattern or design. As different colors are applied, portions of the screen are blocked out with photographic film, grease ink, wax, paper, or other substance wherever the image is to remain unprinted. The cloth is placed under the screen, and a squeegee is used to force dye through the unblocked portions of the screen, thus transferring the image onto the fabric. Silk-screen printing is also used to print designs on paper with ink or paint.

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