Each October the library celebrates all things fiber crafts. Whether it’s knitting, weaving, origami, sewing or anything in between, there’s a fiber craft that will probably appeal to you. As the weather gets cooler, crafts you can do indoors with a warm cup of tea or cocoa by your side are a perfect way to keep your creative juices flowing.
Take & Make Craft Packs
To help get you started or move in a different direction on your creative journey, we’re giving out free craft packs every week in October. These packs include all the materials you’ll need to make a small project. You can pick one up in the Gallery each week while supplies last.
Weekly Craft Packs
- October 2-8: Appliqué on felt
- October 9-15: Origami
- October 16-22: Knitting
- October 23-29: Wet felting
Getting started with fiber crafts
Fiber crafts give you the freedom to play with color, variety and design without a big commitment to supplies and tools. A lot of the materials are inexpensive and you can find them easily at local craft stores.
To get started for free check out Arts & Crafts kits from the library. You can check out these kits for 21 days and each comes with enough materials to try a craft. You’ll learn something new without spending money on supplies you might never use again.
Start with just a few skills
Often, once you learn a few basic techniques or skills, you can apply those to a wide variety of projects. You can use a simple garter stitch in knitting to make scarves, sweaters and hats. Use an easy running stitch to embroider a huge range of designs or to sew napkins or pillows. You can use the over-under simplicity of plain weave to create many different household items like rugs, place mats and towels.
Be kind to yourself while you create
When you’re taking up a new hobby, don’t get discouraged if your first projects don’t turn out exactly as you’d hoped. Think of these experiences as learning opportunities because now you know what not to do.
Resources for expanding your skills
Sometimes it helps to see a technique demonstrated to get the hang of it. Your library card gives you access to hundreds of videos through Creativebug. Classes range from less than 10 minutes to several hours, depending on the complexity of the project. There is something for every skill level from beginner to expert. Professional artists and designers teach all the video classes.
Of course, we also have books, books and more books! Check out the booklists below for some of our favorite fiber craft titles.
Brea Black
Brea Black is the Art Librarian and Book Arts Curator in the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery. Her favorite thing is to share the wonderful world of artists' books with the community. She also leads the Arts & Crafts team and teaches workshops on book making and a variety of other crafty topics.