Why Crafts?
By: Emma Snow
“Oh, I’m not very creative,” is the complaint of many individuals when approached about starting up a craft. The truth is that everyone is creative. Some of us just got the notion in third grade that since we weren’t the best artist in the class that we weren’t “the creative type.” The Creative Type: a mysterious individual with messy hair and outrageous attire who frequents museums and the theatre and mutters
FAN STITCH
The Fan Stitch consists of straight stitches and diagonal stitches, which creatae a "fan" type look. Each row should be worked in the opposite directions of the previous row. This
Fan Stitch (Diagram 1):
Bring the needle up at A, move up over four canvas threads, bring the needle down at B. Bring the needle up at A (again), move up over four canvas threads and to the left over two canvas threads, bring the needle down at C. Bring the needle up at A, move up over four canvas threads and to the left over four canvas threads, bring the needle down at D. Bring the needle up at A, move up over two canvas threads and to the left over four canvas threads, bring the needle down at E. Bring the needle up at A, move to the left over four canvas threads, bring the needle down at F. This completes the first Fan Stitch. Now, continue on to Diagram 2...
Fan Stitch (Diagram 2):
This diagram illustrates how the second Fan Stitch is worked into the first Fan Stitch and how the second row is worked into the first row. Please note that the second row is worked so the stitches radiate in the opposite direction of the first row.
 | ||||
stitch may be adjusted to fit your project. However, do not make the stitches too long - they will snag. Two diagrams have been used to demonstrate this stitch. Clicking on the PRINTABLE VERSION icon, located at the end of the series of diagrams, will direct you to the page to print these instructions.
| ||||
Advertisement...
Advertisement...
Advertisement...
Advertisement...
Do you have a sample of this stitch that you would like to share? If so, click here...
valentines or Christmas cards. Worn out sheets were made into pillowcases, then into handkerchiefs, and eventually used as rags. There were not the malls open in the evening as there are today, nor were there the myriad forms of entertainment to be had, so people stayed home and worked needlecraft or baked.
This mentality continued throughout the forties and fifties, but as the war generation aged crafting changed. Crafts were something you made in your leisure time. Since crafting was traditionally a women’s activity, it was tied to
domesticity and subordination. As the women’s liberation movement entered the scene, crafting was looked down on as anti-progressive. Mass produced clothing and other articles made sewing virtually obsolete.
Crafting Today
Today is a new movement, present even among the very educated, wealthy, and politically progressive. Betsy Greer coined the term craftivism, a call to shrug off the plague of mass produced goods available, in turn for an appreciation of all things unique and handmade.
Many still ask why, when it is cheaper, faster, and more convenient to pick up this or that dust catcher at your neighborhood Wal-Mart, why would anyone pick up a needle? The answer is manifold.
Some craft because the activity creates satisfaction and gratification in a way that few other forms of entertainment today
may not realize it. Crafting has a very positive impact on one’s mental health, as it engages the mind in creative and imaginative problem solving, as well as the hands.
do. They enjoy both the process of creating as well as the finished
product. There is a certain amount of pride and confidence felt when using something made with one’s own hands—whether it is a bookshelf or a crocheted dishcloth. And then there are the crafters who do what they do for no other reason than that crafts are fun.
Perhaps others craft for their health—although they
Psychologists and therapists have taken note, and many nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals offer craft classes as a potent form of recreational therapy.
Crafting has also created its own community, which is a huge draw in our isolated society. Whether you scrapbook or throw pots, there is likely an association in your city where you can join with other like-minded individuals to craft regularly. This feeling of community extends even within one’s own family. Many parents now schedule a regular arts and crafts time with their children. This is time well spent—crafting with children builds important practical skills as well as interpersonal bonds.
About the Author:
Source: ArticleTrader.com
route to work. As humans, we have a basic need to express ourselves, and how we express ourselves is creativity.
A Short History of Crafts
Crafting has gone in and out of fashion over the last few decades. In the 1940s crafting was done out of necessity. Because of WWII, making do and using up what you had was a respected form of patriotism. Middleclass women made quilts from their family’s old clothes, and their children used catalogues or ads to make paper
tirelessly to him/ herself when in public. As legendary as Santa Claus—and just as fictional. Real creativity manifests itself in a myriad of different ways. Creativity is that urge that makes you want to move the furniture around, for the third time this week. Creativity is the calm that comes over you as you chop vegetables for tonight’s dinner. Creativity is the tickle of excitement you get when you find a new scenic
***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
A - I
***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
I - Z
Copyright 2006...Stitchopedia...All Rights Reserved
| ||||||
| ||||||
Stitch-opedia
An encyclopedia of needlepoint Stitches...
