Styles: Beyond Doilies and Doodads

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CREEPY EMBROIDERED DOLLS. Tables made of circuit boards. Fake-fur deer heads. The groovy DIY projects in Craft magazine ain't your mama's macramé or grandpa's whittling. The recently launched quarterly covers fresh and funky handmades (eclectic knit bags, mod clocks) that scream Brooklyn street fair, not Better Homes & Gardens. Editor in Chief Carla Sinclair filled us in on why crafting is cool.

» EXPRESS: Why do we need this magazine?
» SINCLAIR: So many magazines are very specific, devoted to one thing, like crochet or woodwork. We wanted something devoted to all sorts of crafts.

» EXPRESS: Why are crafts back?
» SINCLAIR: People have become disenchanted with consumer culture. Stores all sell the same thing. Crafting lets you make really individual things that aren't expensive. And it lets people be in a little more control of the things that they own.

» EXPRESS: But people are so busy today. How do they find time?
» SINCLAIR: For many, it's a release, like meditation. Repetitive crafts, like knitting, can be so Zen-like. But in each issue of the magazine, we try to get crafts of different lengths, from things that take 20 minutes to a Hawaiian quilt that takes nine months.

» EXPRESS: The mag shows unusual materials — soda can pull-tabs, comic books. Do you aim for that?
» SINCLAIR: Yeah, we've even lined up a project with this woman who does purses from vinyl yarn that she beads with washers and computer parts! It's fun to turn found objects or kitchen hardware into different things.

» EXPRESS: What have some of your favorite projects from Craft?
» SINCLAIR: We did counterfeit, crocheted designer handbags, like fake Chanels. It's a designer look in a campy, offbeat way.

» EXPRESS: Any advice for people who haven't crafted anything before?
» SINCLAIR: It's like cooking. Get started by picking simple things, then practice.

» EXPRESS: What if I start a project and then get frustrated by how hard it is?
» SINCLAIR: If it's discouraging, then maybe you need to put it aside for a while. Or try the same technique but on a simpler project. I've tried doing origami that is too difficult, so instead I tried some simpler animals. It helps you start to understand the techniques, and improves your skills.

» EXPRESS: What's the weirdest project anyone suggested to you? Did you print it?
» SINCLAIR: Someone talked about making paper with animal excrement, but I didn't think we should use that. But we did print how to make a tank top with flashing LEDs on it.

» EXPRESS: Is it basic human nature to want to make things?
» SINCLAIR: We're wired to create. If we weren't, we never would've made it this far. People have to be inventive to survive. That's how the wheel came about.

Photo courtesy Craft magazine