Get ready to learn old-fashioned skills! Get ready to make fresh, fun projects!
When we started writing this book, it was called Fiber for Kids. We quickly enough realized that it sounded more like a breakfast cereal than a book — and not in a good way — so we renamed it. But fiber is still what this book is about: yarn, string, thread, and fabric, and the different crafts you can do with them, including sewing, embroidery, felting, knitting, crocheting, and weaving.
These are all old-fashioned (and just plain old) skills, but the projects in this book are fresh, and that’s our favorite kind of combination! You can make lots of super-cool stuff, but you’ll get a chance to unplug and unwind, to use your own two hands, to make awesome, inexpensive gifts for your family and friends, and to do something deeply satisfying that needs no batteries, doesn’t involve a trip to the mall, and frees up your mind to talk or think or listen to music as you’re doing it.
These are productive activities instead of consumer ones, which means that you’re making things rather than buying them and using them up, and (as our own kids are sick of hearing about) there’s pretty much no better feeling in the world than that. Are you simply knitting some shoelaces? No. You’re becoming a more capable, resourceful, and creative person. (And you’re knitting some shoelaces.)
We’re covering what we think of as the basics. Our idea is that you can pick up this book and learn any of the skills you need to make all of the projects in these pages, before going on to be lifelong sewers and weavers, knitters and crocheters. (What? Is that too much to ask?)
The chapters don’t need to be followed in any particular order, but we’ve organized each chapter from the easiest project to the hardest, so that you can build skills as you go. If you want to skip around, that’s fine; you might just have to refer back to an earlier instruction to learn the necessary skill. You may also need to refer to other chapters as you work, because many of the projects involve more than one type of craft. In other words, you will felt in the knitting chapter, sew in the crocheting chapter, and embroider in the felting chapter.
You’ll see that we have lots of instructions in these pages, but we also want to encourage you to improvise (make something up) and experiment: to not follow the rules, to figure out a way that works better for you, to adapt and adjust so that everything is just how you want it to be. You will make mistakes along the way, and that’s perfect — not only because that’s how you learn and that’s how you understand the problems that need solving, but also because that’s how you invent new techniques and better ways of doing things.
We have lots of instructions in these pages, but we also want you to improvise and experiment: to NOT follow the rules, to figure out a way that works better for you.
If you’re reading this book and you see a term you don’t know, try looking it up in the Glossary or Index.
Because these six crafts require different materials and skills, we’re introducing each one separately in the chapters that follow. But whichever craft you choose to do, you will need materials, and we can’t help recommending that you be as thrifty and resourceful and recycle-y as possible!
Gather materials from your home — think old sheets, odds and ends of string and yarn, outgrown clothes that can be cut up — and from generous relatives who have fabric stashes you can raid or knitting needles they’re not using right now. Look in thrift shops and flea markets for craft supplies, fabrics, and T-shirts and sweaters that can be recycled into yarn and fabric, as well as more basic tools, such as needles and hooks.
We like recommending recycled materials because you’re just learning and you might need to start over — and an old T-shirt is a less stressful thing to have sewn badly than a piece of new, expensive fabric.
But we have a slightly mixed message here (sorry) because, while we want you to use what you have or can adapt, we also want you to love the material you’re using! These are slooooow crafts, which means that you’ll be spending a lot of time with them. If you feel like your yarn is ugly or scratchy, that time’s going to be less fun than if your yarn is super soft and your favorite color. Find the right balance for yourself of using what you have and investing in a few quality materials that you absolutely adore.
Our other main piece of advice for getting started, regardless of the craft you’re doing, is to be patient: patient learning and patient doing. You know the expression, “It’s the journey, not the destination”? That’s what crafting is.
You’re not knitting a hat simply to end up with a hat. If that were true, you could just buy one for a dollar from your local thrift store. You’re knitting a hat because knitting is a deeply satisfying thing to do. (Very Zen, right?) Try to remind yourself of this if you find yourself rushing, wishing something would be done already, or on the verge of giving up. There’s time; take it. So make sure you’re comfortable! Warm enough or cool enough. In a work space that has plenty of light. Sitting in a way that doesn’t tire your back. Working with a nice big glass of bubbly water or a mug of hot tea beside you and, maybe, a bowl of popcorn, because snacks are important.
Kelly Lambert is a scientist who studies the body’s nervous system and has spent a lot of time researching the connection between doing stuff with your hands and feeling happy. Her conclusion is that when we perform activities that our brains think of as life-sustaining — providing shelter, making food, creating clothing — our bodies release chemicals in the nervous system called dopamine and serotonin, which make us feel good. (That’s your brain rewarding you for taking care of important tasks.) Do sewing, knitting, and other fiber crafts count? Yup.
As she puts it, “Our brains have been hardwired for this type of meaningful action since our ancestors were dressed in pelts.”
So craft with fiber because it’s fun, because there’s something you want to make — or just because it will make you feel good.
All kinds of things are made from fiber. Take a quick walk around your house and you’ll see lots of examples: sheets, blankets, couches, chairs, drapes, clothing, bath mats, dishcloths, shower curtains, carpets — and all of it’s been knit, woven, crocheted, or felted by someone (or, you know, by a giant machine). Touch these items and look closely, and you might be able to figure out where the fiber came from. Fiber can come from many sources, but these are the main ones:
Animals. The fleece or hair of sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, rabbits, and camels is spun to make wool, mohair, cashmere, alpaca, llama, and angora yarn and other materials, depending on the animal it comes from.
Worms. Thread is unraveled from silkworm cocoons to make silk yarn or thread.
Plants. Material from the stalks and seedpods of cotton, hemp, jute, and flax is spun to make cotton, hemp, jute, and linen yarn, thread, or string.
Human-made materials. Fine strands of glass, metal, and plastic are processed in a variety of ways to make fiberglass, steel wool, acrylic, polyester, nylon, synthetic fleece, and more.
Many of our projects call for recycled materials that you’ll cut up and stitch over. You probably know what’s okay in your house, but ask a parent if you’re not sure. (You don’t want to cut something up only to find out it was your mother’s favorite college T-shirt.)
One thing we love about fiber crafts is that they’re fun to do in a totally solitary, quietly thoughtful way and they’re fun to do with a friend or even a group of friends. Informal craft parties and get-togethers are super delightful, and they can be especially great for learning new skills, asking questions, and getting help with the project you’re working on.
We also recommend bringing your project with you wherever you go, partly because it’s satisfying to pull out your knitting while you’re waiting for the orthodontist (hello, time not wasted!), and partly because you may end up in the company of a person who knows a lot about it.
We have to confess: we love this book, and we’ve done our very best to make the instructions clear, but there is still no substitute for learning these skills from a real, live human. Your siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, teachers, babysitters, counselors, and friends are the greatest resources you’ve got. Ask around to see who knows how to do what — and then ask that person to teach you! It’s one of the best ways to learn, and it offers an amazing chance to deepen your relationships — especially with older people who are sick of asking for help with their smartphone and who will relish an opportunity to teach you something for a change.
You’re not knitting a hat simply to end up with a hat. You’re knitting a hat because knitting is a deeply satisfying thing to do. Try to remind yourself of this if you find yourself on the verge of giving up.
Besides human teachers and this book you’re holding, there are lots of other places to turn, should you need help learning or mastering a skill.
If you are learning skills and following the steps and they feel wrong to you, then you might want to experiment with switching hands. (This is likely to be especially true in the Crochet chapter.) Every time the instructions says left hand think right hand, and vice versa. Likewise, when the instructions simply refer to left and right, try reversing them (you can even make notes right in the book, if that helps). If the visual how-tos become hard to follow, try looking at the illustrations in a mirror so that they’ll correspond to the hands you’re using.
We didn’t include a chapter on knots in this book because, while we think of knots as a skill, we don’t really think of them as a craft — maybe because knots tend to be about solving problems, while crafts tend to be about making things. But some knots are used in crafting and some crafts are entirely based on knots: macramé, for example, and some friendship bracelets.
Suffice it to say, we love knots, and knowing a couple of them is vital if you’re going to be sailing, camping, or mountain climbing (as well as, you know, doing the fiber crafts in this book). Besides, they’re fun to learn.
A square knot is a strong and attractive way to tie together two ends of a string or rope. It’s an important knot for sailors and scouts, and it’s also used decoratively, for tying sashes and in macramé.
Used by boaters and climbers, this is a great knot for tying a rope to a pole (or a horse to a post).
This is a reliable way to make a loop at the end of a string or rope. It’s especially useful because it’s strong, but also really easy to untie when you’re done with it. Sailors refer to it as the King of Knots.
