Folk and Fine Arts Alike
Art doesn't have to be pretentious, and Crafts don't have to be obsessive-compulsive.
To get out of the humdrum of the "art world", I find it very useful and therapeutic to become interdisciplinary, especially if you're getting too comfortable, if you know what I mean (ahem, rutt?). Creating sponatneous change is one of the healthiest and most fun ways to get going creatively. Knitting, sewing, weaving and cooking are some of the ways I like to do this, but any materials or media that are outside of your comfort zone are good ones.
To get started, I'm gonna show everyone a really simple and fun craft project. You've probably seen these cute little fabric flowery things sewn all over handbags, sweaters, jackets and scarves lately, and in fact, they are called Yo Yos, and are a folksy quilting craft from the 20's and 30's. Quilters would use their remnant scraps of fabric to make yo yos and sew them all together to make one gigantic quilt. The yo yo totally verges on obsessive - but most quilting does to an extent, and quilters (mostly women) could take these little scraps on the bus or train or while they were waiting, and have something to do (think depression - nothin but time). So there was indeed a practical reason for them in the first place.
You can make a yo yo in like five minutes, with pretty much any type of fabric. Cotton prints are usually the standard.
a little drawing and a piece of sandpaper cut into a circle sent to me by my
mother-in-law
about 4" in diameter.
The sandpaper helps it stick so you can cut and hold at the same time.
just start by folding over one edge about 1/8th - 1/4th inch and baste with
a running stitch
like that
you can pull the needle through when it's like half full and gather as you go.
more gathering once you've basted all the way round.
and when you have it gathered as tight as you like it, tie the end off, tuck
it under, and flatten it.
some people are sticklers for pressing. Either way, it'll probably stay flat
better if you press it.
Viola. Aren't they beautiful? Now you can adorn everything you got with 'em,
or go nuts and make an entire quilt. If you make a quilt: the right side is
the side with the hole, and you must sew them together in two spots on each
side - just like in the drawing up at the top.
Go Crazy!
To get out of the humdrum of the "art world", I find it very useful and therapeutic to become interdisciplinary, especially if you're getting too comfortable, if you know what I mean (ahem, rutt?). Creating sponatneous change is one of the healthiest and most fun ways to get going creatively. Knitting, sewing, weaving and cooking are some of the ways I like to do this, but any materials or media that are outside of your comfort zone are good ones.
To get started, I'm gonna show everyone a really simple and fun craft project. You've probably seen these cute little fabric flowery things sewn all over handbags, sweaters, jackets and scarves lately, and in fact, they are called Yo Yos, and are a folksy quilting craft from the 20's and 30's. Quilters would use their remnant scraps of fabric to make yo yos and sew them all together to make one gigantic quilt. The yo yo totally verges on obsessive - but most quilting does to an extent, and quilters (mostly women) could take these little scraps on the bus or train or while they were waiting, and have something to do (think depression - nothin but time). So there was indeed a practical reason for them in the first place.
You can make a yo yo in like five minutes, with pretty much any type of fabric. Cotton prints are usually the standard.
a little drawing and a piece of sandpaper cut into a circle sent to me by my
mother-in-law
about 4" in diameter.
The sandpaper helps it stick so you can cut and hold at the same time.
just start by folding over one edge about 1/8th - 1/4th inch and baste with
a running stitch
like that
you can pull the needle through when it's like half full and gather as you go.
more gathering once you've basted all the way round.
and when you have it gathered as tight as you like it, tie the end off, tuck
it under, and flatten it.
some people are sticklers for pressing. Either way, it'll probably stay flat
better if you press it.
Viola. Aren't they beautiful? Now you can adorn everything you got with 'em,
or go nuts and make an entire quilt. If you make a quilt: the right side is
the side with the hole, and you must sew them together in two spots on each
side - just like in the drawing up at the top.
Go Crazy!
posted by narangkar at
6:15 PM
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