Crafts and making
Weaving, pottery, carving and other handed-down skills.
Crafts and making are the skills of hand and eye that are handed down in families and workshops: weaving, pottery, carving, metalwork, embroidery, dyeing, basketry, paper, leather and wood. A craft tradition is also a tradition of knowledge, about plants, clays, tools and patterns, and of values such as patience and care. Here they are listed by country, with notes on where the craft is practised and how makers keep it alive.
Skill passed on
Most crafts are learnt by watching a parent or master for years. A weaver in Bonwire, a potter in Oaxaca, a lacquer worker in Kyoto and a carpenter in Norway all learn by doing. Some crafts are kept within a family or a caste, others are open to anyone willing to learn. The tools are often simple and the techniques ancient, though the best makers experiment within the tradition.
Craft in a changing world
Mass production and cheap imports have put many crafts under pressure, but there is also a revival, with designers, schools, cooperatives and fair trade shops supporting makers. UNESCO and national bodies list living treasures and protect skills. Buyers can help by choosing handmade pieces and asking who made them. A craft survives when someone still wants the object and someone still wants to learn to make it.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Crafts and making (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇨🇳 ChinaManchu platform shoes
Wooden-soled shoes worn by Manchu women from the early Qing dynastyDress
🇧🇦 Konjic, Bosnia and HerzegovinaKonjic woodcarvingKonjičko drvorezbarstvo
A traditional hand-carving craft shaping furniture and home ornaments in KonjicCraft
🇨🇳 ChinaHuadian花鈿
A forehead ornament of Chinese women, painted or fixed on, still worn with hanfuDress
🇰🇭 CambodiaAv pakអាវប៉ាក់
A Cambodian women's shirt in silk or cotton, embroidered or laced, for festivalsDress
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCholi
A cropped, fitted bodice worn with saris and ghagras across South AsiaDress
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBatik kawung
An old Indonesian batik pattern of four neat ovals, read as fruit or lotusCraft
🇷🇺 RussiaPodvorotnichokподворотничок
A detachable white fabric strip sewn inside military uniform collars for hygieneDress
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsKoningsmantel
The Dutch royal cloak of red velvet and ermine, brought out when a monarch is sworn inDress
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBliaut
A fitted medieval overgarment with trailing sleeves, worn in France and nearby landsDress
🇿🇦 South AfricaIsidwaba
A knee-length leather skirt of cowhide or goatskin, worn by married Zulu womenDress
🇯🇵 JapanKirikane截金
A Japanese craft of cut gold, silver or platinum leaf for Buddhist statues and paintingsCraft
🇵🇭 PhilippinesInabel weavingAbél-Ilóco
A handwoven cotton textile tradition of the Ilocano people in Northern Luzon, Philippines.Craft
🇯🇵 JapanTairyō-bata大漁旗
Traditional Japanese flags flown by fishing boats to celebrate a bountiful catchFestival
🇯🇵 JapanAuxiliary armour (Japan)
Extra guards that filled the gaps left by the six main pieces of a Japanese armour setDress
🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaSeal carving篆刻
The Chinese craft of engraving characters and personal emblems into stone stamping sealsCraft
🇬🇷 Sparta, GreeceChitonχιτών
A draped tunic of wool or linen worn across ancient Greece and RomeDress
🇧🇪 Oostduinkerke, BelgiumShrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Fishers ride draft horses into the sea at Oostduinkerke to net brown shrimpCraft
🇰🇬 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreAk-kalpakАк калпак
A traditional Kyrgyz four-sided white wool felt hat worn by men across generationsDress
🇹🇿 Tanzania and 4 moreKanga
A colourful printed cotton wrap bearing proverbs, worn across East AfricaDress
🇨🇱 ChileChilote ponchoPoncho chilote
A thick, striped wool poncho crafted in the cold and rainy Chiloé ArchipelagoDress
🇨🇳 Zhongshan, ChinaChinese clothing
Robes, gowns, and suits shaped across dynasties, ranks, and daily life in ChinaDress
🇨🇳 Nanjing, ChinaYunjin brocade雲錦
A traditional Chinese silk brocade woven with coloured silk, gold and silverCraft
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDhaka topiढाका टोपी
A patterned cotton cap worn across Nepal as part of the national dressDress
🇵🇭 PhilippinesBali-og
Layered necklaces and fringed collars from the Visayas and MindanaoDress
🇬🇧 United KingdomGuernsey
A traditional seamless wool sweater crafted for seafarers across the British IslesDress
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPatadyong
A traditional Philippine wrap skirt and versatile woven cloth from the VisayasDress
🇺🇿 Bukhara, UzbekistanAsrlar Sadosi
An annual outdoor festival celebrating Uzbek folk arts, sports, crafts, and heritageFestival
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 2 morePeineta
A curved decorative comb worn by women beneath a lace mantilla in the Hispanic worldDress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
🇭🇷 Marija Bistrica, CroatiaWooden toys of Hrvatsko ZagorjeDrvene igračke Hrvatskog zagorja
Hand-carved wooden toys from the Zagorje hills of Croatia, painted bright by the families who make themCraft
🇷🇺 Vladimir, RussiaRozhokрожок
A traditional Russian wooden trumpet played solo and in pastoral horn ensemblesPerformance
🇬🇧 Skye, United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk square kept by Clan MacLeod on Skye, said to hold magical powers for the clan.Folklore
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalTraditional Newar clothingनेवार समुदायमा भएको संस्कृति पहिरन
The customary handwoven dress and ceremonial garments of Nepal's Newar peopleDress
🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese wedding dress
The ceremonial bridal garments worn in Han Chinese marriage ceremoniesDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Huadian: Gu Kaizhi (c.345-c.406), Public domain, source
- Av pak: Puppetcreator, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Auxiliary armour (Japan): Samuraiantiqueworld, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke: Roosde, CC BY 4.0, source
- Wooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje: Roberta., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manchu platform shoes: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Konjic woodcarving: LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Choli: Janavi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Batik kawung: Alteaven, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koningsmantel: Thérèse Schwartze, Public domain, source
- Bliaut: Edmund Blair Leighton, Public domain, source
- Isidwaba: USBSMG1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kirikane: 内閣府, CC BY 4.0, source
- Inabel weaving: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tairyō-bata: Wiki4423, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Seal carving: Cyclohexane233, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chiton: Berlin Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Ak-kalpak: Clément Bucco-Lechat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kanga: Petr Berka ( Petrberka ), Public domain, source
- Chinese clothing: Yan Li-pen, Public domain, source
- Yunjin brocade: Dr. Meierhofer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bali-og: Patrick Poculan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dhaka topi: Sophie Graubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guernsey: LeGroweur, Public domain, source
- Patadyong: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Asrlar Sadosi: Patisserie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peineta: Hiart, CC0, source
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Rozhok: Obakeneko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Traditional Newar clothing: Uray1130, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional Chinese wedding dress: Tunere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source