MetaFilter posts tagged with crocheting

The Ugly Side of Crafting

orange swan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:13:28 -0800

Crafting can be great. But beware: crafting can also go spectacularly wrong. Fortunately for the benefit of those of us who might become so proud of having made something, anything, all by ourselves, that we are oblivious that the result is an aesthetic travesty, there are websites making a valiant attempt to document the legion of ways in which crafting can get totally out of hand. Before you pick up those needles or scissors or fire up the kiln or soldering iron, check out: Glitter Gone Bad; Handmade Gone Wrong; What Not To Craft, Homemade Hilarity; and Kraftomatic. The sturdy souls at CraftFail (previously) deserve special credit for documenting their own crafting mishaps, and Regretsy (also previously) and Etsy WTF will help you choose wisely from among Etsy’s hand-crafted wares. I can’t begin to warn you about all crafting’s pitfalls, but I will give you a few pointers. Knitting your own toilet paper is extremely time-intensive and hard on your plumbing and municipal sewage system, so I recommend you don’t do it. For that matter, it’s probably best to avoid all toilet-related crafts, even the commemorative “I just potty trained my kid” craft. Think twice before you choose to let Edward Cullen leer at you while you’re peeing. And TMI is always TMI, no matter what the medium or how painstaking the needlework. Much as I respect the skill and ingenuity that goes into food-related crafts, I’m always struck by their sheer pointlessness. But hey, not here to judge. If it makes you happy to dress up like a burger, go for it. Do use consideration when making gifts for others. If you can kick your substance abuse problems through crafts, great, but I strongly advise against slyly replacing your loved ones’ drugs or cigarettes with homemade substitutes, however lovingly made or well intended. And please do be extra careful about what crafts you inflict upon your children. This yarmulke will not make your son’s bar mitzvah “fun” and “edgy”, regardless of how good-humoured your Egyptian friends are. And if your child is used as billboard, expected to play with a Knitler, or an anthropomorphized vibrator, or even simply subjected to a sewing project gone wrong, the long-term consequences may be serious. In general, the results of all your hard work may not be what you envisioned: your plastic bag jewelry may be less than elegant; your attempt to hide the cigarette burn in your scarf may make the scarf look worse; your significant other may never wear the sweater you made him or her; and your clown paintings may give people clown phobias. None of this is meant to discourage anyone from crafting, of course! It’s just a word to the wise, etc.

The Needlers and the Hookers and the damage done

orange swan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:26:57 -0800

Crafters may look like a close-knit group, but the reality is that there are armed camps within crafting. Knitters and crocheters brandish their respective tools and claim their craft is easier to learn or more versatile, while those who are bistitchual remain determinedly on the fence. For the uninitiated/uncrafty, here’s an explanation of the difference between the two. “Wooly Bullies” [sic], a documentary, explores the animus between the Needles and the Hooks. When Sandi Wiseheart of Knitting Daily dares to mention the “c” word, she gets many comments from knitting readers who, while stressing that they have nothing against crochet, just don’t want to see it in their ~~backyard~~ magazine. When Kim Werker, editor of Interweave Crochet, tries to talk to the Knitting Daily crowd about crocheting she gets even more negative feedback. Part of the problem seems to be that while knitters contend with the “old lady’s pastime” stereotype, crocheters are up against the much more negative “granny square and toilet paper cosy” stigma. [shakes head in sorrow] Crafters, can’t we all just get along? and make stuff?

It's curtains for your old linens!

orange swan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:17:05 -0800

Does your linen closet runneth over? Yes, you say, you have a stack of towels you regularly use in the bathroom and for swan origami, but you have others that are getting worn. You have tablecloths and aprons you never use, your dish towels seem to breed in their drawer, and you have pillowcases which have outlasted their matching sheets, king-sized bed sheets for the bed your ex took when you split, and your linen closet contains a selection of linens that are faded or torn or leftover from former decorating colour schemes. What are you to do with them? Well, you could make a beach towel, bathrobe, hooked bathmat or comfy bathroom pillows out of your excess towels. Your tea towels can be turned into slippers, a window valance, bench cover or cushion. If you need an apron, you can make one out of an extra pillowcase. If you have an apron and don’t need it, you can make it into a curtain. Old pillow cases can become a Christmas stocking, placemats or seat covers, and old quilts can become headboard upholstery. An old print bedspread can become a number of coordinating accessories for your bedroom. Sheets have lots of possibilities because there is so much fabric to work with. They can become pillowcases, curtains, the lining for a sewing project such as a child’s jacket, or a summer dress. If your linens are too worn to be serviceable as fabric, cut them into strips and braid or crochet the strips into a bowl or potholder or a rug. Check out these articles for more ideas on how to reuse household linens. And then smile as you behold your new, useful items that you made yourself, as you survey your linen closet which is no longer stuffed with items you’ll never use, and as you tell your ex you just don’t know where the sheets for the king-sized bed could have gotten to.

High Craftibility: crafting with old vinyl records, cassette and VHS tapes

orange swan — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:17:21 -0800

Audio visual technology changes so fast that if you’re of a certain age you’ve been left holding the bag of cassettes, VHS tapes and vinyl records. What will you do with these AV artifacts if you no longer want to play them? Have no fear; you can have lots of crafty fun with your real audio. You can make a cassette tape mini journal, a cassette wallet or cassette coin purse, or a mini cassette lamp. If you’re into melting stuff, you can make a sculpture, such as this skeleton, from the plastic. The tape can be crocheted or knitted into items like totes, evening bags, Barbie halter dresses, or baby booties. If you’ve got old VHS tapes kicking around, the boxes can be turned into storage cases, or a chair. You can crochet with VHS tape as well, and make some purses. We had a vinyl record craft post a few weeks ago, but here are some additional vinyl record crafting ideas. You can make clocks from them, regular or Dali-style. Vinyl records can be used to make books or journals, tote bags or purses, or earrings. They can also be used to make silhouette cutouts, serve as a canvas for paintings, or made into wall art. And what a relief, huh? You thought you’d have to smuggle those New Kids on the Block or K-Tel compilation albums to the nearest thrift store in the dead of the night.

Because the landfills out there are frightful, but crafting is so delightful

orange swan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:59:56 -0800

Christmas is coming, but while the goose may be getting fat, your wallet is not. And you’re dreaming of a green Christmas. How, you ask, can one decorate a home economically and with consideration for the environment? This depends on what you’ve got sitting around the house already. Do you have lots of old Christmas cards that always seemed too pretty to throw away? Use them to make a star or two, tree ornaments, angels, gift boxes, a basket, a wreath or a small tree. If you’ve been making merry with the aid of copious amounts of alcohol, you can use the empty bottles or cans to make a tree. Aluminum cans could be used to make angels; a wine bottle can make a small tree; an old pop bottle can become a star. A plastic tub from the kitchen and a Christmas-themed paper napkin can become a flower pot. Your old CDs can be used to make tree ornaments or a wreath. If you’ve been going broke buying baby food, use the jars to make a centrepiece. If you’re a starving student and have spent your all on textbooks, use them to make a tree. Old light bulbs can be used to create new ornaments, like these snowmen, this reindeer or this Grinch, and old tin cans make cute snowmen or Santa jars. Scratched Christmas ornaments can be made useable again with crocheted covers. You can also recycle old clothing to make ornaments for the tree, or Christmas stockings for everyone in your household. And now you can only hope that Santa will consider that being a good crafter is tantamount to having been good.;-)

These shoes are ripe for crafting

orange swan — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:41:02 -0800

While you may not be the shoe hoarder some people are, you have shoes in your closet you never wear and you'd like to know what to do with them. Are they just boring? In that case you could just experiment with new ways to lace them, or find a way to make them light up when you walk into a room. Or you could draw on the shoes with markers or sharpies. You could also paint them, going with the theme of your choice: Art Nouveau, Picasso, Day of the Dead, or any of the ideas here. You could cut motifs from fabric and glue them on to your lace-ups, cover your flats with new fabric, bling up a pair of strappy shoes with glitter, or embellish your flip-flops with some yarn. Is the old upper worn out? Knit or crochet a new one. Want to get where you're going faster? Make custom roller skates, or modify your bicycle. Do your shoes hurt your feet? Put them on your face instead as a wrestling mask, or turn them into an iPod case. Your shoes could also become a birdhouse, a planter, a centrepiece, or an integral part of a coat rack, bookends or leg lamp. If you're really not up to crafting, here are 11 non-crafty ways to recycle old shoes. But what fun is that?!?

ravelry.com is a knit and crochet community.

jragon — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:23:53 -0800

Ravelry is a knit and crochet community that my wife tells me is stirring up a lot of excitement lately. I'm not a knitter but I was impressed by the screenshot tour and the handy "check your place in line" tool.

Knitting for Geeks

orange swan — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:29:42 -0800

The Top 10 Geekiest Yarn Creations If you've ever felt knitting was in danger of getting too sexy these days, the people at Threadbanger have provided an antidote. They've compiled a list of the ten geekiest projects on the net, which include an Atari 2600 system (on which you will never max your Pac-Man score), a knitted Hogwarts (though it appears to actually be crocheted and needlepointed), and a scrollbar scarf. And if anyone wants a crocheted yoda hat and matching light sabre, I am not taking orders.