The humble handiwork of craft has unexpectedly become social media’s new lover – especially on the video-based platform Tik Tok where creators showcase an eye-catching blend of handmade aesthetics and pop cultural imagery.
Highlighting the increasing value that younger generations put on sustainability and avoiding fast-fashion, craft has also been a welcome distraction from the digital age, and comes with surprising health benefits.
So, with Sydney Craft Week in full swing, from macrame to tufting, ArtsHub has gathered five trending practices and lockdown-friendly projects to inspire you towards the joy of making.
EMBROIDERY
From ancient traditional practice to social media star across the worlds of fashion, interior and art, embroidery has never looked better. The release of period drama Bridgerton has spiked renewed interest in this hobby that was once the pastime of reserved aristocratic ladies. Now, it’s taking over personalised T-shirts, fabric patches and quirky, contemporary wall hangings.
An embroidery hoop is the key specialty material you’ll need for this craft, as well as the needles and thread. If you want to start from scratch, you can even try making your own embroidery hoop from recycled materials such as a plastic container.
Once you have everything ready, find the right inspiration from a YouTube or Tik Tok tutorial and get started. The best part is that embroidery can quickly revamp your preloved pieces and make use of scrap material.
Read: COVID-19 has been a boon for crafts
But if you’re not confident with sewing, cross-stitch embroidery may be the place to start, with pre-designed patterns that only require point-to-point stitching.
Or if you’re a pro at tying knots, there are a myriad of imagery that can created with the French knot technique like this cherry blossom tree.
MACRAMÉ
Speaking of knotting, using a variety of knotting and braiding techniques with cord can see you make a hanging home for house plants – which is another hobby that’s growing in popularity.
Often aligned with the bohemian aesthetic, the practice of macramé was actually spread by sailors in the 19th century who made things such as hammocks and belts as pastimes on their voyages.
Dutch artist Sandra de Groot uses the technique to create sublime wearable sculptures that evokes her storytelling narrative.
Macramé can be hung off a range of support, but a wooden ring or rod (called a macramé dowel) is often used. Here is a meditative tutorial that will take you through start to finish for a small wall hanging.
CROCHET
A surprising highlight of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics saw British diver Tom Daley crocheting (on dry land of course) a cottagecore-inspired pouch for his gold medal. Due to popular demand, Daley even made a quick ‘medal cozy’ tutorial on his Tik Tok.
Crochet has also found a special community on Tik Tok, with makers forging new connections and inspirations that may have been in the practice for decades. The platform combines seamless visuals with catchy music that is perfect to attract attention to the crafts.
Singaporean artist Kelly Limerick channels her love of Japanese kimo kawaii culture (a blend of cute and freaky) through crochet, creating large scale works that are equally lovable and uncanny. South Australian artist Trevor Smith also took up crocheting inspired by his mother – a craft that was still stigmatised and uncommon for men at the time – and that became the propeller of his 40 year artistic career.
The latest crochet trends are tightly bound in fashion, though you can create anything from plush toys to blankets. Crochet hooks are also a safer, young-adult friendly alternative to knitting needles, and one of the cheapest craft tools to get your hands on.
POTTERY
There are countless talented and diverse Australian artist working with clay, pottery and ceramics. One of them is Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran whose work you can see at HOTA, Gold Coast with his six-metre 2021 commission Double-faced avatar with blue figure. There’s also artist Zhu Ohmu who combines ceramics with 3D printing, and Vipoo Srivilasa who creates quirky figurines, and numerous First Nations artists from the oldest Indigenous art centre Ernabella Arts, who frequently make ceramic work.
So why not bring back those memories of classroom pottery with refreshed eyes, and have go yourself?
Read: Creative homeschooling: A go to list when the lesson plans fail
With a piece of clay and some cutting tools on a kitchen bench, be prepared for the day to melt away as you dive into creations such as a sauce dish or small vase. Opt for air dry clay as you won’t be able to fire it at home, but note that they will be more fragile so a mug or bowel might not be the choice. You can also spin off the fabric patch idea to make clay pins.
And if you don’t want to get your hands dirty at all? You can enjoy some quality pottery ASMR and leave the work to the experts.
TUFTING
Finally, there’s tufting, which means the art of fluffy rugs! Tufting has garnered wide attention thanks to viral creations such as a Tom melting-down-the-stairs rug from 90s cartoon classic Tom and Jerry.
But other artists have been using the medium to make bespoke artworks that are about more than just floor-rugs. Canada-based artist Simone Saunders‘ tufted artworks explore her mixed-race identity, with pulsing portraits that advocate for Black Lives Matter. And Philadelphia artist Tim Eads established a dedicated online retail space in 2018 to meet the surge of demand for tufting supplies head on.
Read: The ‘business’ of craft shouldn’t be an oxymoron
Thankfully, a tufting gun (which costs $300 upwards) isn’t an essential tool if you want to give tufting a go. Beginners can start on their own rug project using a tufting needle (which is much cheaper than a tufting gun), which you hold like a pen to punch yarn into your choice of heavy-duty backing fabric.
All you need to do is stretch some fabric across a frame or an embroidery hoop for smaller projects, and draft out your design, then thread the tufting needle through and get punching away. The technique creates a three-dimensional structure of looped yarn with the texture that you can’t help but run your hands through.
Crafting connoisseur YouTuber Jenna Phipps has a great video on how to make a cozy work of art with the bare minimum of materials.
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October 13, 2021 at 03:16AM
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Craft hobbies going viral - ArtsHub
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