Crafting for guys

Craft & Design
Crafting for guys
dude_header.jpg
dudeCraft1.jpg

From an item called DIY Dangerous Toy – The Universel Cycle

dudeCraft2.jpg

Buddhist temple made from beer bottles

dudeCraft3.jpg

Bicycle table

I’m not ashamed to admit it: I’m a dude who crafts. I like altering books, journaling, papercraft, rubber stamping, mail art, making stickers, and… God help me for saying this … “scrapbooking” (tho not the sucky kind, I tell myself).

So, I can totally dig this website, dedicated to men who like being crafty. From Paul’s mission statement:

DudeCraft is an experiment in permission. The permission to learn and participate in crafts of all kinds. Building things from wood and steel is cool, to be sure, but so is knowing how to sew your own clothes, knit a scarf, and make something beautiful from an A4 sheet of paper. DudeCraft seeks to make it acceptable for men to participate in all crafts, not just the “manly” ones.

DudeCraft

12 thoughts on “Crafting for guys

  1. Paul Overton says:

    Gareth,

    Thanks for the nice write up on DudeCraft! Glad you like it!

    Paul

  2. Gizmo says:

    “I’m not ashamed to admit it: I’m a dude who crafts. I like altering books, journaling, papercraft, rubber stamping, mail art, making stickers, and… God help me for saying this … “scrapbooking” (tho not the sucky kind, I tell myself).”

    There is nothing wrong with that. There are no thick lines drawn that separate any two areas of making/crafting. It is all creativity of the mind to motion of hand to molding of material.

    You are “in touch with your feminine side” is all.

    I was once in touch with my feminine side, but then my feminine side got a restraining order for touching it inappropriately. :-P

  3. imake1tgirl.livejournal.com says:

    I think it’s really weird to assign gender to making stuff. I’ve known guys that knit and crochet, or quilt. They just did it. They liked it, and there was never a big “breaking into the girls domain” thing about it.

    One gentleman I know even swore by knitting as the best way to meet women.

    I guess I don’t see it as any different from a gal soldering, or playing with electronics.

    Stuff is cool because it’s made by someone.

  4. Anonymous says:

    At the zenith of carreers typicaly considered feminin there usualy well paid men involved (Celebrity Chefs, Suit Tailors, Interior Designers, Hair stylist). But that doesn’t make you any less of a nancy boy :-)

  5. Gizmo says:

    The more I think about this, the more I’m convinced that if there were not a stigma involved with doing “girly crafts” then better guys might be at decently decorating their apartments, not dressing like the undead, cooking…

  6. cyenobite2 says:

    “I was once in touch with my feminine side, but then my feminine side got a restraining order for touching it inappropriately. :-P”
    Good one Gizmo!

    I was inspired by make/craft to learn how to knit and crochet. I liked how the first few issues of makezine involved crafting and started to break the gender stereotypes… but then the zine split, and it again seemed to go along gender lines.
    I thought, surely there are other guys out there who knit, so I googled it. I think the first 2-3 websites I found were run by gay guys. (As Seinfeld would say “not that there’s anything wrong with that”).

    All that to say… I too am a new fan of dudecraft.
    So… how ’bout those Bears!

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK