crafting humour: poking fun at the pattern makers
three blogs (and probably more) offer a steady flow of rib tickling reviews of patterns from the present and the past. i should add that the opinions on these websites are not mine but you are just putting the info out there and opening it up for discussion!
- What not to crochet
- You knit WHAT??
- Thread Bared
of course, in matters of taste it is easy to offend; humour is a risk. and there are inevitably some hurt egos.
there seems to be alot of cross-over success in these blogs, with readers who aren’t just crafters. you don’t need to be a craft-interested person to find the humour in many of these images. threadbared simply enjoys making ribbing captions under the sometimes very strange photography and illustrations on the patterns.
many giggle-filled images are found in past patterns (threadbared lists by decade), but there are some completely cringe-worthy things coming from some of the biggest names in crafting even today, all in the name of capturing the wallets of your ‘hip’ crafty selves. vogue, rowan… how do they get it so wrong… and yet for the purposes of humor… so right? it seems that the staff at pattern design places are maybe several seasons and possibly several lightyears removed from what is actually going on… like some rarified culture… it breeds these lovely odd creations that are really just loads of fun to look at, now and long into the future, i hope.in betsy’s post right here on whip-up, the ‘adorn’
magazine editor said “I think there’s a bit of a lag between traditional craft companies and modern crafters.” in a recent post at ‘you knit what?’ said: “the art directors of the yarn companies show their cluelessness.” I suppose eventually, with all this prodding the companies are going to get smart… maybe?
quote from you knit what?
Explore posts in the same categories: knitting+crochet+yarn
June 11th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
ugh. crafters critiquing other crafters is just not cool. the thing i love most about crafters is that they are an amazingly kind, generous, and supportive group of people. it takes a lot of courage to design something and to put it out there for all to see. even the most talented and experienced designers have bad moments, but so what? i’m much more interested in blogs that celebrate what other people are creating. i don’t waste my time reading those that tear people down.
June 11th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
We all know that there are designs out there that are just UGLY. I know that it’s politically correct today to say Only Good Things, but jeezopete. Sometimes you have to call a shovel a shovel. Doesn’t mean you hate the designer or the knitter/crocheter/crafter though.
June 11th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I love the craft blogging world for being so supportive and enthusiastic, but it sometimes can get cloying. So I love this stuff. I think we all appreciate that it takes crazy skills to design and bravery to put a pattern out there, and I think the best writers on these blogs convey that appreciation when they’re targeting current patterns. And like Heather said, the target of ridicule is often the photography or just the aesthetic of the times from which the patterns came.
June 12th, 2006 at 8:20 am
Don’t forget about stitchy!
http://stitchymcyarnpants.com/moks06
June 12th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Although I’ve visited these sites in the past (and had a good laugh) I find myself avoiding them because even though what they say is often humorous, it’s also negative.
June 12th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
i’m with karrie — don’t forget about stitchy. http://stitchymcyarnpants.com/moks06
she’s in a class all to herself. she manages to mock with softness because as a crafter she appreciates the work involved.
she’s got a book coming out in september.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594741115/ref=sr_11_1/102-5990318-0493707?%5Fencoding=UTF8
June 13th, 2006 at 4:30 am
I was looking for a magazine and saw that one on the rack - flipped through it - put it back.
Happy to be 47!
June 18th, 2006 at 2:27 am
There’s really two issues here. One is the benefit of being creative. Everybody who does anything crafty on their own time can get fulfillment out of that. So it’s cool that the crafting blogosphere has been so positive for so long.
But not everybody who’s healthily creative can make good art — sorry, cafe poets! If you keep repeating that one about “purple halls of death,” somebody is going to wretch.
It’s just like that with crafting.
June 20th, 2006 at 3:40 am
There is most definitely a fine line between creativity and honesty. One person’s taste is another’s ick. I see in all the magazines how fashions and ideas seem to come back after 20-30 years, but really, some of those ideas/fashions/trends really need to be buried and forgotten.
August 20th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
I can see the humor..I can also see the damage.
Some of the comments on these blogs are enough to make a person think they are “tasteless” when they occasionally like an idea that is ridiculed.
The saddest I ever saw was on a knitting guild forum where there was a thread on what they call ridiculous knitting patterns.
ALOT of what they found ridiculous..many others have loved. Or they may not love it, but know someone else that would!
They ended up sounding and seeming like the stereotype of knitters..old ladies. They more or less ridiculed anything that was even remotely creative.
I suppose if miles of flat stokinette is your thing and you are scared to try anything new..then a cape for your dog is a bit much…personally, I think some dogs really need capes.
I also think I could have an occasion to need a knitted cupcake.
I have small children..anything is possible.
That said, there is and will always be ugly or impractical out there.
And someone else will love it.
There will be beautiful..and it just will not be thing for at least one someone.
It is subjective..and everyone has the right to their own tastes.