Crafts from the past

The Complete Book of Retro Crafts is a vintage-lover’s dream book on retro crafts and the process of finding, keeping, and creating them

By Lisa Murphy
Published: February 1st, 2008 | 6:58pm

Suzie Millions knows her stuff, and her stuff is anything lowbrow, crafty, and old. The Complete Book of Retro Crafts is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of retro crafting culture, starting with what retro crafts are, why they matter, how to become inspired, and get organized to craft and collect. The 49 projects are a cross-stitch — if you will — of bygone eras (from the '20s to the '60s), inspiring a whimsical innocence that simply doesn’t exist today. It’s like going back in time to a place where there was always a warm, heaping slice of apple pie on a warm day with the sun shining outside and Bobby Darin crooning on the radio.

Divided into nine sections based on materials and skill levels, the projects section contains nostalgic favorites sure to please lifelong and just-beginning crafters alike. Who doesn’t love a matchstick picture frame or seashell-covered jewelry box? But it goes beyond just projects: Millions even provides advice on do-able hostess and food-related crafts, shape templates for specific projects, metric conversions, and a what-to-make-for-whom chart based on gift-giving occasions.

Although not a hardcover and far from an art/coffee table book, with its thick matte pages, colorful, interesting imagery (mostly vintage artwork, photos and illustrations with some modern shots thrown in), this bright and cheerful book is a pleasure to skim through and not at all bland. Sprinkled throughout are notes on the origins of the projects, helpful creative pointers, and tips on substituting supplies.

The author also shares personal photos and endearing childhood anecdotes like the memories behind certain craft projects from her youth — one of her earliest crafting memories involves crafting outside during summer while the Goldwater Presidential campaign drove through her midwestern town. Written in a very endearing and confessional way it has a half-cookbook half-scrapbook style that makes it clear and concise but fun. Variations on swapping out utilitarian materials like cardboard and dowels, or how to become motivated by the visual elements within a project, make the projects easy and accessible to lots of different people.

Not only does Millions have a great sense of what works and what doesn’t, she frequently yet lightheartedly reminds crafters to take joy in the ease of retro crafting, saying, “It’s not hard to find, collect, or make.” This book also does a great job stressing the ever-growing importance of appreciating and re-using old materials and always recycling.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Complete Book of Retro Crafts (Lark Books)
By Suzie Millions
176 pages
$14.95