Please answer a survey for my research paper!

[rosali]

I also find creating things therapeutic, studying and writing essays doesn't give me the same satisfaction as seeing a sewing project through to completion and having a pretty end product. I also like making gifts as it shows an extra amount of thought than just buying something 

[jane feebles]

Lots of what people have already said...

I craft for the same reason people paint, or play music, because I have something in me that I need to create and get out there.  I also started knitting more in the past few years because I love being able to make my own fabrics, and to shape whole garments out of one piece (my background's sewing)

I think for the whole 'craft movement' the appeal is to have belongings with a history. Handcrafting gives 'authenticity' to your belongings, and so they lend that authenticity to you and your experience of them.  The mass production fascination of the last century has kind of isolated people from their local communities, where 3 generations ago you knew where nearly everything you ate, wore and touched came from and who made it. That's why craftster and similar sites are so popular, because modern crafters are searching to create communities, and this is a 21st century way of creating one.  

I may have done papers on similar topics, can you tell?    I'll see if I can dig up any articles you can use.
When do you need this stuff by?

[GroggyFroggy]

I like the recycling aspect of crafting. I love that I can take something that seems to have no purpose and suddenly make it new and alive. I can't really say why I started crafting but I know that I continue for a multitude of reasons. I love looking around my home and having the hardcore evidence of my time in little stitches and paint. I LOVE deciding 20 minutes before an outing that I need a new necklace...and then whipping one up real quick. I also look forward to realizing I need a gift for someone now because I know it doesn't mean running to the mall and trying to pick up something lame that they'll have to pretend to like. I can just MAKE something. It's helped me stop smoking. (almost 3 months now...woot) It focuses my mind so that I'm not thinking about regrets and bad choices or worrying about things over which I have no control. I just love it. Great choice for a paper. Thanks for including us.

[craft-matic]

Oh, there are so many good reasons to craft. 

First, the product:

It's true that functional equivalents to the things we make are available in stores, mostly...but I think a lot of people craft not just out of an anti-consumerism sentiment, but because we're tired of having only mass-produced things available to us.  A lot of people want to be unique and express a personal style that no one else can claim. 

Second, the process:

Crafting is perfect for people who aren't neatly left- or right-brained (a division I don't believe in much anyway), because it involves a combination of creativity and engineering.  Constructing a garment or bag, or building a piece of furniture, requires as much analytic effort as creative expression, and it also allows the maker to indulge in colors and textures they love--to deeply indulge in them, as anyone who's spent 100 hours with, say, a gorgeous pink alpaca, would agree........so the process is an exercise, a challenge, a triumph (sometomes), and a pleasure, all at once. 

And at the end of all that, when whatever it is is given away, or worn, or otherwise shown off for the first time, there's the pride one feels when someone else exclaims, "You made that?!"  And you remember, again, that not everybody can do what you can do. 

[SapphireWind]

I craft because I can.  I have a multitude of ideas for projects that range from sewing to mosaic, crochet to paintings that I like to see in reality because I like to share the visuals that come into my mind.  I literally see things fully completed in my imagination and when I decide to to make it it's like I see it being deconstructed to it's beginnings so that I might start there.

I craft because I can't afford designer clothing but still appreciate the style and design and incorporate that into something that would look good on my body type, and most importantly fit comfortably and well.

I craft because it's fun, playing with textures, colors, design, it keeps my inner child content when I let her play, and helps me have an additional connection to my children because they love to craft also (who says art class has to stop just because we're grown up now?)

I craft for profit occasionally also, but profit isn't usually my goal of making something, I discovered that when I was constantly sewing and listening to whiny people who don't realize that even though their measurement  may be one thing the garment will still need to be a bit larger for movement, I rarely do custom items any more preferring to do ready mades because sewing for others once took the joy of doing a project from me.

I craft because it's a part of me, my stepmother and I used to do arts and crafts all the time, it was a wonderful bonding experience to craft with a partner or a group of peoples especially if you're all working on the same project.

Most importantly I craft because I just plain like it.

[shewolf]

I craft because:
1) Satisfaction of making something for myself
2) I can make clothes out of cheap remnants and have them be cheaper than buying premade.
3) I can choose exactly what I want something to look like
4) I can have a better fit
5) My hubby doesn't like clothes that show my sternum (he likes to kiss it, it's HIS!!1! etc.) so I can alter a halter to meet his standards, yet be fashionable
6) I can try out a design without shelling out big bucks. If I don't like it, I can unseam/frog and use the material for something else!
7) I don't want to see crochet or sewing become a "lost art".

[mornington crescent]

I craft for a number of reasons; firstly it means I can have clothes, handbags and jewlery that I want to wear, that fit me, and that aren't identical to everybody else's - I do still get a lot of stuff from stores, but I get far more complements on the stuff I make myself. It's an expression of personality as well.

Secondly, crafting gifts for people is much more satisfying that just buying something - I tend to craft only for my closest friends and family, but I know that when I do, that craft is appreciated much more. Thirdly, crafting is therapeutic - I'm not a regular crafter, but when I get started, I'll keep going for hours and feel much better when I'm done; I get the same feeling of satisfaction from cooking as well.
and everything that craft-matic said.

good luck with your paper!

[fairyprincessbeaniebaby]

i thought i should mention that you should research the indie hipster side of crafting, and all those social groups (punk, goth, emo etc) where the cool thing is stuff you make, where its almost a status symbol.

[kitschkitty]

i personally craft because i find that shopping in malls and massive chain stores makes me feel kind of alienated and like i don't fit in with the rest of the world. for me making things is about connecting with reality, and looking at life as a journey rather than a destination. my homemade item might suck compared to one from a fancy store, but it has a backstory, and it has some heart, and some truth... where shopping in a mall feels kind of like trickery - because no one really cares if you like what you buy. they just want you to buy it.

and it's what's so cool about craftster - imagine finding a bunch of people who actually get what i'm talking about!!!!

I think that's a very good point - as are all the others people have mentioned.

I craft because:

I can make things that aren't easy to find in shops, (and if I could find them I couldn't afford them)
I can make things to my exact requirements,
I love learining new skills and techniques,
I enjoy recycling,
I'm a hoarder, and if I didn't use my beads etc for my craft I'd still want to collect them  - and I'd rather put them to good use!
When I sell my jewellery my customers know it was handmade with care, and not produced cheaply by "slave labour"
I enjoy the fact that my creations are unique of of akind items that I won't see copies of anywhere else.
It's my creative outlet.
It's a good way to concentrate and put aside any personal problems - creative outlets are good way of dealing with depression and personal issues.
Also it can be a way of passing on information, ideas and skills from generation to generation, and from different cultures too.(I used to work with kids and they loved the fact that I could come up with lots of craft projects).
It's a constructive use of time - better than vegitating in front of the TV!  

[Ikkerina]

  The things you want cannot be bought in a store.

But I also craft for fun and because everyone buys the same stuff all the time. I like standing out a little. Boo to mass production.

(And don't you just love the feeling when you finish a project?