DOES Craft HAVE A PLACE IN THESE MODERN TIMES:
Does craft have a place where factories and cheap labour
is an easier source and within a shorter production timespan.??????
Most of us appreciate treasured keepsakes,
collectors items, museum pieces.
We are in turn leaving our heritage behind
for the next generation.
There is also the rewards a crafter gets from their art and hobbies.
Relaxation, Therapy, Satisfaction, Sense of Achievement.
We had previously accepted that we were a throw away society and that everything
is easily replaced. But I feel that it has turned the corner with the new wave being DIY
and putting your own personality on your surroundings.
I myself am one of the baby boomers, and at that time fashion was not all that easy
to come by. Therefore I was taught to use a sewing machine, and to read patterns a little.
I found I learnt most of my dressmaking skills from Vogue patterns. Needless to say there
was a lot of unpicking and wishing I had not done certain things, but I progressed.
At that time it was more cost effective to purchase fabric and make your own clothing.
( bonus being you would not see anyone else wearing the same outfit.)
to come by. Therefore I was taught to use a sewing machine, and to read patterns a little.
I found I learnt most of my dressmaking skills from Vogue patterns. Needless to say there
was a lot of unpicking and wishing I had not done certain things, but I progressed.
At that time it was more cost effective to purchase fabric and make your own clothing.
( bonus being you would not see anyone else wearing the same outfit.)
The next step for me was making my own furnishings for my home and delighting in the joy of sewing, knitting and crocheting for my first child and by the second was I quite skilled.
The 60's was a time of re invention, making your own fashion statement. Getting ideas from magazines and putting your own twist to them. How I miss the fabrics back then, bold patterns
( which are back in ) laces, brocades you just don't see anymore.( Believe me I have been looking)
The 60's was a time of re invention, making your own fashion statement. Getting ideas from magazines and putting your own twist to them. How I miss the fabrics back then, bold patterns
( which are back in ) laces, brocades you just don't see anymore.( Believe me I have been looking)
There is also the benefit now of re- purposing clothing, furniture etc, as a sustainable option.
You will find many websites devoted to this as a DIY project. I am a lover of lace and doilies and
is no better option than to re create these into something valuable and useable. Then they will be
valued for another generation or more. Keep it going for a cultural inheritance.
We admire the work of earlier generations and Vintage and Retro have become an everyday word. But where would we be if crafters of previous generations had not treasured their craft items and
just tossed them away.
just tossed them away.
So as a fellow addict I say keep on with your craft whatever it maybe, we know only too well
how much love is put into each stitch, each card, each ball of wool.............
Carol Daisy
