Textile crafts include any type of craft where you work with fabric, yarn or surface design. Some examples are knitting, quilting, appliqué, weaving and dyeing. Many textile crafts can obviously also fall into the decorative or fashion crafts section, since the finished good is sold as a sweater or wall hanging. However, they are technically textile crafts since it all starts with the fabric.
This article focuses on the textile craft of knitting. Knitted goods are used in many different types of ways. Garments - for example: sweaters, dresses, skirts, accessories like scarves, shawls, hats and gloves and home décor items such as accent pillows. Knitted goods can look amazing different based upon yarn, needle size and pattern.
Kaffe Fassett:
If you want to see the work of one designer who elevates the craft of knitting to an art, check out the handicraft of Kaffe Fassett. He pioneered a special method of intarsia knitting, weaving elaborate patterns using only two color changes per row. I purchased his book, Glorious Knits back in 1985 and it has been an inspiration for me since.
Intarsia Knitting With Two Colors per Row
Fassett's basic premise is that his designs are easy to recreate since the color changes are limited to 2 per row. However, you still are carrying many different colors with you from row to row. Fassett refers to his method as knitting in or weaving in as opposed to intarsia.
Converting his hand knitting instructions, I was able to successful recreate a vest on a simple knitting frame. It was kind of tedious, I don't think I could have gone the extra couple of miles and done a long sleeve sweater. Also, it took quite a few hours. I didn't make it for resale, it's doubtful that I would have been able to sell it for anywhere near approaching a reasonable price per hour worked.
Morphing Into Different Craft Disciplines
However, I utilized his color schemes more with the surface design of fabric. Glorious Knits and other books that followed in the series are just a vast source of color and pattern combining ideas that would be suitable for fabric dyeing, block print and to a certain extent batik. The good news is that most of these books should be available at your local public library.Fassett has morphed his basic design aesthetic as well. Checking out his website,he's moved into painting, mosaic, patchwork and needlepoint. I can also see a potential application for the paper crafts kirigami, hand printed wallpaper and wrapping paper.
This is an excellent lesson for crafters to keep in mind. Take your skill set and think about different craft areas into which you can expand. For example, a knitter can take the basic skill set of combining colors and shapes in a sweater pattern and hook up with interior designers to create mosaics using eco-friendly recycled glass tiles.
