Surviving The Apocalypse – With Crafting!!

10 reasons why crafters will ALWAYS survive the apocalypse

Knitting and crochet will keep you warm if you are able to loot a yarn shop after the world ends. But what else could you make? If you had no yarn readily available (and really, what’s the point in carrying on in a world like that?!) you could always use natural fibres – you can make string from nettle stems. If you managed to fashion yourself a crude wooden hook, you could make some fibre and then make…a fishing net!! Make it tightly crocheted and all you have to do is scoop out the fish. Dinner is served!!
Sewing – useful for blankets and clothing obviously but also for sewing up woulds and injuries. If your patients don’t mind a bit of whip stitch/ chain stitch/ blanket stitch on their bodies to show off to their friends. If you can sew – you can save (lives that is!).
Stamping and printing – artwork for the wall and cards for every occasion. But what about when the enemy (aliens?) are on top of you and you need to get a message out to people? Well, obviously, you have a secret code and having a stamp you handmade yourself you look like a crazy person decorating a destroyed city…in reality you are sending a message! Flower, Flower, Leaf, Tree = Left, Left, Right, Straight On!
Weaving – Not just blankets and cloth but rugs for the home. Keeping clean is important and so is keeping warm. And also a tent if you need extra storage/ housing.
Gardening – Not strictly a craft, but a lot of people who like to make things also like to grow their own, so it’s going on here. You’ll know how to grow your own food, preserve your own food, and be creative with the sowing and harvesting. Your pumpkins at Halloween will be the prettiest. Also, you will know that it isn’t just food that you’ll be growing but herbs and plants for medicine and natural dyeing – for fabric and wool.
Soap making – some supplies will be hard to come by in the apocalypse, since you’ve made your own bath and beauty supplies for a while now, you’ll know how to make your own soap from scratch…even if it means using tallow or lime ash (are these a thing for making soap in the old days? I seem to remember these words, but I could be mistaken!).
Candlemaking – will there still be electricity after the end of the world? If not, you as a crafter of all crafts will be able to make your own, even making your own wicks from cotton or wood.
Woodworking – have a basic knowledge of woodworking and its tools? Then you will be in high demand in the apocalypse! Not only can you chop firewood, make furniture and housing, but you can also make toys for children, storage boxes, simple things like a wooden wheelbarrow, wooden carts for horses, grow-boxes, fences for livestock…the (New) world is your oyster!
Basket Weaving – this is a craft I have always wanted to try, willow basket weaving. With the ability to make a basket, you can then go hunter-gathering, just think of all the berries and leaves and fruit and veg you could fit in a willow basket. And that’s not all you can make…shelters, chairs, even an eco friendly coffin! And don’t forget the woven panels to keep out predators and keep livestock in.
And finally, Pottery, we will need plates and bowls and mugs after the dust settles…so why not make sure we have beautiful things to eat with? You could make a ewer/ pitcher for water, storage urns (to ferment things), candle holders, lamps, plant pots, trays…if you have a kiln/ way to fire items then you could make bricks! You could make a house! I am sure I read somewhere that pottery used to be used in making rat-traps at one time in history.

If you can master a crafty skill or two, you can quickly rise through the ranks after the apocalypse to Leader. You will be indispensable to those around you, a fount of all knowledge! You will never go hungry, cold, thirsty, dirty, be out of the loop communication-wise or even bored if you can only know a craft or 2.

Learn to craft – save the world!!