Fiber Art
“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”
― Elizabeth Zimmerman
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Overview
Fiber art, like all art practices, is rich with historical significance. Fiber art is an umbrella term encompassing work that utilizes different techniques using fiber as its main material. Some common forms of fiber art (I'm including textile art here as well for the sake of simplicity) include: knitting, crochet, weaving, fiber dying, lacing, felting, and braiding. By no means is this an exhaustive list.
The fiber arts field was largely embraced by the Feminist Movement in the 1970s, where the practice was reclaimed in a powerful way. Today, the practice has found another resurgence. As with most creative practices, the relative difficulty will vary depending on the technique you use. Cost will depend on the type of material used. Fiber arts can be a cost-effective creative practice as fiber material is widely available - old materials can be repurposed and turned into something new.
Fiber arts is an often-intricate practice, involving repeated patterns, weaves, braids, and strokes. The fiber materials can be formed into new pieces of art, clothing, or supplies, such as blankets, tapestries, and rugs.
Materials
Common materials include fibrous material, textiles, or dyes. Historically, many materials, such as flax, hemp, wool, or other plant byproduct have been used for fiber arts. Today, there is a wider variety of fibrous materials being used, including synthetic and acrylic materials. Depending on the type of craft, there may also be needles, looms, needles, and different colored dyes used.
Tips, Tricks, & Resources
01
Many fiber arts practices are meticulous and require practice until you've mastered the technique
02
Start small. Make a mitten before attempting a tapestry
03
Try recycling old pieces of fabric and repurpose it into something new
04
Play around with colors. Try mixing and matching a variety of colors. Don't have the color material you need? Try mixing two colors together to get the effect you're looking for (ex. yellow and red yarn to get the effect of orange)