Though many crafts have made a huge comeback in the past few years, there are many that are still relegated to those pioneer books and the few brave souls who seek them out. Sewing and knitting are relatively easy to pick up because the equipment is relatively inexpensive. Other crafts, on the other hand, require you to rent out someone else’s studio space or go to a class that provides you with supplies.

Stained glass is one of those crafts you probably won’t be doing in your basement any time soon, and if you are not a homeowner, you may wonder why you should bother to learn how to make windows at all. Well, you don’t necessarily have to make windows; you can make smaller pieces that hang in windows. The UW Experimental College offers a stained glass class, or you can check out Seattle Stained Glass Inc. in Wallingford for class schedules. We don’t get sun very often in Seattle, so when we do, you might as well make it count by having it spill through stained glass.

Another craft that has yet to gain popularity among the younger set is tatting. This may have less to do with the fact that the craft is expensive and more to do with its perception as not being terribly useful. Similar to macramé (but with fancier materials)tatting really falls under the lace category. It is often employed to create small doilies, collars or even little butterflies, using a series of knots and loops. The finished products are quite pretty and would be well suited for use as embellishments on clothing or bedroom linens. This is a portable craft, good for keeping you from boredom on the bus and will give you an alternative if you get your knitting needles confiscated at the airport. There are ample resources on the Internet. For example, www.be-stitched.com has instructions as well as a brief history of the craft.

Weaving is a craft often passed over because it requires large, complicated equipment. Many looms could take up an entire room, or the whole top of your dining room table. The craft itself is a great way to create textiles to your own specifications and allows the user to create a nice alternative to the knitted scarf. Depending on the size of the loom in use, the weaver can make shawls, table runners and a variety of other decorative pieces. The Seattle Weavers Guild is a great resource and has an annual sale for those of you not ready to invest in a loom or the time it takes to learn to weave.

An option for those of you into the instant gratification genre of crafts is tablet weaving, or what is sometimes called ‘card weaving.’ This name is used because cards are used to create a sort of makeshift loom that is easily portable and will create a thin strap — good for belts or handbag handles. A square card has four holes punched into it and is then strung with thread according to a pattern chart. The pattern of the piece depends on which way you turn the cards (forwards or backwards) and how many colors you use. If you become really good you can even spell out names in your weaving. A good place to start is www.stringpage.com/tw/basictw.html or with a basic search at your local library for books on the subject.

Though these crafts have yet to join the hip new cult of craft, they are wavering on the fringes hoping to get in. Some just seem too large for the average person to take on, while others may have little use to you in your daily life — but remember people thought the same thing about things like knitting and building things by hand. And look at us now. Knitting has exploded and people flood the home improvement stores thinking that they can make things better than someone else. So try out an obscure craft — who knows, you may become the maverick of tatting with your own books, Web site and fan club. You never know.