Tag Archives: hand-made

The Best Craft Books For Christmas

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Christmas is fast approaching and our wallets are bracing themselves for the onslaught. There is a more thoughtful and cost effective way to let people know how much they mean to you, and it is fun too: Craft. So Frost Magazine has gathered up some excellent craft books for hours of fun and brilliant, original gifts for the people in your life.

Clangers

An excellent knitting book on the incredibly popular and historical British Television show, Clangers. The Clangers have been around since the 1960s. You can make the Clangers and their entire universe in 15 fun step-by-step projects. The book has original Clanger knitting patterns. Clangers is a very well illustrated book full of imaginative ways to make the Clangers universe. A must buy for fans and interesting for those who are not acquainted.

This fantastic new book will allow you to knit your own Clanger. Choose from Major, Mother, Granny, Small and Tiny. Includes instructions on the Soup Dragon, Iron Chicken and of course the Froglets. There are insider tips and tricks to create your very own Clanger planet with step-by-step instructions for Tiny’s boat and Major’s rocket as well as sets and trees. Learn how to make scenery, backdrops and props, and perfect that distinctive Clanger whistle!

Clangers: Make the Clangers and Their Planet with 15 Easy Step-by-step Projects (Knitting)

Best in Show: 25 More Dogs to Knit

I love this book. It shows you how to knit dogs, actual dogs. Whether it is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Shar Pei, Lurcher or Greyhound, your favourite breed of dog will probably be in here. And what an awesome present. Your sibling might get your mother something from Boots but imagine telling her you knitted her a DOG. It is an ace in sibling trump cards.

The book is separated into sections such as Toy, Utility, Working, Terriers, Gun Dogs. I think this is an excellent present. Full marks for coolness and imagination.

www.knityourowndog.com

The leading knitting books of 2010 and 2011, Best in Show Dogs & Cats have been outstanding global successes. Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne are back with 25 even more fabulous dog designs. You can knit your own precious pet, reproduce your favourite breed, or even knit the dog you have always desperately wanted.

Best In Show: 25 More Dogs to Knit

Mollie Makes Christmas

This book has over 20 projects to keep you entertained in the run up to Christmas and beyond. Buy this book and learn how to make Heirloom Stockings, Crochet a reindeer, make some festive stationary, knit an iPad cosy and make a Christmas Tree

You can make finger puppets to keep children entertained and cushions to pass out on when exhausted or when you have had too much wine. Fun for you and all the family. A great fun book.

If you’re hooked on crochet, hanker for handmade and would rather create your own unique Christmas than buy from a superstore, then this little book is for you. It perfectly captures the ‘living and loving handmade’ spirit of Mollie Makes magazine, celebrating the world of ‘granny chic’. Featuring over 20 new projects from Mollie Makes magazine’s favourite designers, Christmas showcases a passion for handmade. All the projects are easy to follow with clear step-by-step photographs and instructions, plus handy tips along the way. Many are suitable for beginners, but the Mollie Makes ethos is to give it a go and be proud of the end result. We positively embrace imperfection. Here’s to living and loving a handmade Christmas!

Mollie Makes Christmas: Living and Loving a Handmade Holiday

We Knit You a Merry Christmas

This book is as excellent as it’s name. This adorable book has 20 patterns for festive handmade gifts. A cool Turkey, ‘Let It Snow’ which is adorable snowballs on a sledge. Gingerbread men that look happy, Baa Humbug – cute sheep wearing Christmas hats. The most adorable deer. Santa and a polar bear. A Penguin, Three Wise Men, an Angel… It has everything to make your Christmas fun.

This book also has excellent and easy to follow knitting basics, sewing basics and conversions at the back which are really handy.

Christmas is a time for sharing, and hand-knitted gifts for friends and family are the perfect way to spread a little festive joy. We Knit You a Merry Christmas has something for everyone.

Traditional Christmas characters such as angels, choir boys, Father Christmas and the three kings make great decorations. Or add some fun and laughter to your Christmas celebrations this year with knitted animals such as sheep (‘Baa Humbug’), crocodiles (‘Snappy Christmas’) and Three French Hens, as well as quirkier items like chillies, sledging snowballs and of course the famous pea (‘Ha Pea Christmas’).

So forget gold, frankincense and myrrh and give the gift of knitting this Christmas.

We Knit You a Merry Christmas: 20 Patterns for Festive Handmade Gifts

Why not make your home a Handmade Haven and help your local economy at the same time?

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By Gillian Montegrande

You don’t need me to tell you that we are smack bang in the middle of a really awful economic
slump, created dare I say, as a result of the ‘buy now, pay later’ culture we have come to know but
not necessarily love. Couple this with the ‘discard that and buy the next model’ attitude, it’s no
wonder we’re in the mess we are.

What happened to the time when we saw something that we really wanted or needed and then
knew that it would take us ‘X’ amount of weeks to save up for it? Then, wasn’t it a sweet moment
when we could go along and make our purchase? Furthermore didn’t we value such an item all the
more because we were only too aware of the effort in acquiring it?

There is nothing wrong in having to wait for something, surely we now realise that in most cases,
instant gratification is just that ‘instant’ and the pleasurable after effect is very short-lived.
I would like to suggest that by altering our attitude to the way we purchase and what we purchase,
we will not only help our economy but we will actually be providing ourselves with a more
meaningful, sustainable and happier existence.

I speak specifically about handmade products and services.

Today the media is full to bursting, of programmes and articles dedicated to the tangible
achievements of the past, where experts extol the virtues of craftsmen and craftsmanship. They talk
about the detail, the design, the skill, the workmanship and the fact that many of these items are
still in working use, literally hundreds of years later.

It may be surprising to learn that there is still, to this day a thriving handmaking and craft industry in Britain today worth an estimated, £3bn per annum to the UK economy* and if common sense has
any part in our future then this figure will rise exponentially.

In buying handmade products and services we are not only making a considered purchase, we are
making a connection with another human being, who has taken it upon themselves to learn a
particular skill, coupled with their life experiences, to produce the most beautiful, useful and
desirable things, that will not only make a statement and command attention in our home, but
which will also become treasured possessions and heirlooms of the future, that have meaning far
beyond their aesthetic or functional value. Our homes will truly become ours when we fill them with
individually crafted interiors that reflect who we are as people rather than the generic profile of
some large chain store. While we will be secure in the knowledge that we are not only spending our
ever more hard-earned cash really well but that we will be genuinely contributing to our local
economy by supporting our local craftsmen and women. (Source: how to buy XRP debit card)

And while we not only have the economy but the environment to consider, we will be much closer
to having a positive effect in this direction as well, if we purchase products and services that have
been created with an almost instinctive awareness of sustainability because handcrafted items are
more often than not produced from renewable or recycled resources.

So my message would be ‘buy once but buy well’ and keep your local craftsmen and women going.
Don’t think for a minute that I am talking about turning your house into a living museum, as an
homage to purely traditional/heritage crafts; There is some really cutting edge, contemporary stuff
out there, it just happens to have been beautifully crafted by hand and will almost certainly outlast
it’s machine-stamped counterpart by years if not generations. If that’s not value for money I don’t
know what is!

Gillian Montegrande

Founder of Made by Hands of Britain

* (Creative and Cultural Skills Report 2008).