Crafts include several art forms, ranging from knitting and printing to sculpture and metalwork. They are an outlet for human expression, influenced usually by the local culture. Crafts also possess the power to change cultures.
A craft can be described as a physical manifestation of the internal creative impulses of humans. There are a few types of crafts that can be found across the world. Here, we’ve tried to cover the most popular types:
1. Papercrafts
As it is apparent from the name, paper crafts are created out of paper. Millions of children across the world get introduced to paper crafts during their preschool days. Using paper, they create several items and hand-printed designs. A more grown-up version of this type of craft is linoleum and wood engraving. Paper-making, calligraphy, and papier-mache are some of the other popular papercrafts.
2. Decorative crafts
The most common forms of decorative crafts include basketry, furniture making, stained glass, and metalwork. Decorative crafts also include gilding, stencilling, toy making and a few other arts. Unlike all the fine arts, decorative arts have an element of utility associated with them. Usually, the final product in this category of crafts is a piece of decor.
A chair provides a space to sit and it can also be a beautiful piece of furniture. One of the popular trends in recent times is combining metalwork and furniture-making. Home decor and arts and crafts magazines often feature contemporary items of furniture. They are constructed using wood but have certain parts with amazing metalwork.
3. Textile crafts
Knitting, weaving, dyeing, quilting, and applique are some of the examples of textile crafts. They include any type of craft that uses yarn or fabric extensively. Many of the textile crafts also fall into the category of fashion or decorative crafts. This is because the finished products are often sold as wall hangings or sweaters.
Since they all begin with the fabric, they technically fall under textile crafts. Among the other examples of textile, crafts are the Japanese art of ‘boro’. It is a form of decorative repair that combines textiles from various sources. The Japanese decorative stitching is called ‘sashiko’.
4. Fashion crafts
This type of craft covers all elements of dressing, such as garments, jewellery, shoes, hats, bags, belts, and wallets. It naturally involves other types of crafts. For example, jewellery can also be categorized as metalworking and garments can be considered a form of textile craft. A wide range of materials is used in fashion crafts.
They include soft fabrics like cotton, wool, and linen to stronger materials like nylon, canvas, and leather. When it comes to making a garment, sewing is just one aspect. The designing of that particular garment can be a multi-step process involving careful attention to detail.
5. Functional crafts
The four types of crafts described earlier can also be classified as functional crafts. For instance, decorative pottery involves the creation of utensils that are suitable for daily use. Many of the furniture pieces can be quite decorative and can be functional at the same time. To attract a wider customer base, it is always a good idea to have functionality built into the craft.
