Hobbies and Crafts: Home
Welcome, hobbyists and crafters!
The Winnipeg Public Library has a large collection of books and videos to inspire your next crafting project, as well as dedicated librarians who will help you find what you need. This guide is a curated selection of resources available at the library and beyond. Looking for new crafting ideas? Trying to figure out a new crafting technique to create your vision? The Winnipeg Public Library has the resources to help you, whether you're just starting out or a seasoned craftsperson. Find books, videos, and links below on project ranging from paper mâché to wood carving, from scrapbooking to coin collection and more!
Crafting in our Community
- Manitoba Crafts Council: Centre 2 Crate for Craft
The Council was established in 1978 to promote, develop and advocate for fine craft and its makers. - ArtsJunktionArtsJunktion gathers reusable materials from businesses—materials that would otherwise be considered waste—sorts them and makes them available to the public at their depot. All supplies are available take-what-you-need, pay-what-you-can
- Mentoring Artists for Women's Art: MAWA
Mentoring Artists for Women's Art encourages and supports the intellectual and creative development of women in the visual arts by providing an ongoing forum for education and critical dialogue.
eBooks & eMagazines on Crafting
- Wise Craft by Blair Stocker
Wise Craft is a guide to the homemade life, turning old things into special new objects that enhance the home. Based on the popular blog of the same name, this guide focuses on creating a homemade atmosphere that reflects you, without spending a fortune. - 1, 2, 3 Sew by Ellen Luckett Baker, Laura Malek
Sewing is as easy as 1-2-3! In this creative teaching book, craft blogger Ellen Luckett Baker offers a wholly unique approach to sewing: she presents projects in groups of three, each building on the techniques used in the project before. Baker shows, for example, how to sew a glasses case, then build on those skills to create a zippered pouch, and from there, make a more advanced cosmetics bag. - Overdrive - Creative Ideas eMagazine
Creative Ideas is all about MAKING your world beautiful. Packed with inspiration, fresh ideas, easy projects and step-by-step instructions, this magazine is the go-to guide for crafters, stitchcrafters, makers, cooks and DIY home decorators. - Overdrive- Make it HOME eMagazine
Special Edition eMagazine features over 290 projects to make your space look and feel creative!
More on Crafting in our Collections!
This Can Be Beautiful by Publication Date: 2016Whether it's sprucing up some old wallpaper, rejuvenating your bedsheets, turning an accidental bleach stain into a multicolored sensation, or even hosting a party and re-thinking how you make lootbags, Tiffany's creative energy is fantastically contagious.
Paper Craft by Publication Date: 2015Paper Craft makes it easy -- and affordable -- to design handmade crafts that are guaranteed to impress.
Hello Tokyo by Publication Date: 2017Full of fun and inventive projects, Hello Tokyo is a cute and quirky guide to living a DIY lifestyle inspired by Japanese crafts and trends.
Oh Joy! by Publication Date: 2015A beautiful, colorful, inspired guide to help anyone bring joy and whimsy into their lives with stylish projects, from home decor to food to fashion, from the popular Oh Joy blogger and Pinterest sensation.
- Search for crafts in the catalogue
Search the Winnipeg Public Library's catalogue for books on crafts.
Recommended Books on Crafting
Supercraft
52 creative craft and sewing projects easy enough to complete in just one weekend, designed to keep crafters busy all year long. Supercraft is packed with DIY craft and sewing projects that use everyday materials and innovative techniques so you can upcycle your way to creating something new and stylish.
Making It Gudie to Crafting
With the all-star duo of Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman leading the way with puns, advice, and good vibes, Making It became the competition series we didn't know we needed, stealing our hearts and encouraging our most creative ideas.
The Crafty Gardener
Awakening the gardener in all of us: Gardening allows us to live in a much more human way, grounded in nature and connected to Mother Earth and all she provides. Even if your garden is just a hanging basket of cherry tomatoes or a windowsill filled with herb pots, you will still reap the benefits of gardening.
Handmade, a hands-on guide: Make the Things You Use Every Day
Call it maker, handcrafted, or handmade, a new DIY movement has taken off big time. The common thread that ties makers to DIYers and handcrafters is the desire to build something rather than buy it.
Video and online resources for crafting
- Kanopy - Handmade Nation
Handmade Nation documents the new wave of art, craft and design. It is the feature film debut of director, author, artist and curator Faythe Levine. Levine traveled to 15 cities and covered more than 19,000 miles to interview artists, crafters, makers, curators and community members. - Make: Magazine YouTube Channel
The Make: Workshop is the perfect place for anyone who likes to build things with their own hands, whether it's with wood, metal, wires, code, or anything else. - The Crafts Channel
Sewing, quilting, knitting, papercraft, wood carving and more. - Craftzine YouTube Channel
craftzine's , Make Magazine's sibling publication, YouTube channel. - Troom Troom YouTube Channel - Fabric Dyeing Ideas
Aimed at younger audiences, the Troom Troom channel features short craft projects (and pranks). This is their fabric dyeing playlist. - Troom Troom YouTube Channel - Greeting CardsAimed at younger audiences, the Troom Troom channel features short craft projects (and pranks). This is their greeting card playlist.
- Troom Troom YouTube Channel - Paper MacheAimed at younger audiences, the Troom Troom channel features short craft projects (and pranks). This is their paper mache playlist.
- Cool School YouTube Channel - Crafty Carol
For younger audiences, the best of Craft Carol from Cool School. - Curbly Video Podcast YouTube Channel
All sorts of craft and DIY video instruction. - LoreChirik YouTube Channel
Learn to sculpt characters from video games and pop culture. - Wood Carving YouTube Playlist
A playlist of videos from many different sources on wood carving.
Software for sketching, designing and crafting
- Autodesk SketchBook (free windows app)
From quick conceptual sketches to fully finished artwork, sketching is at the heart of the creative process. You never know when a great idea will strike, so access to fast and powerful creative sketching tools is an invaluable part of any creative process. (For Windows 8 or higher.) - Blender
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite. While it can be used for creating 3D models, it also does a lot more, like woodwork and jewelry design and is most used in video editing and game creation. Blender has a reputation for having a steep learning curve, so be prepared to invest some time to learn how to use it. - Bforartists
Bforartists is a fork of the popluar open source 3d software Blender. The primary goal of the Bforartists fork is to deliver a better graphical UI and a better usability. This means a complete switch in the useage philosophy. Away from the hotkey and speed centered useage. Towards a user friendly and intuitive graphical UI. - BrikL
BrikL is a browser based app for designing clothing. Here is a YouTube playlist on using BrikL. - Prêt-à-Template
iOS based fashion design app. Free with in-app purchases.
