Star Trek is one of the original crafting fandoms. The first Star Trek convention was held in 1972 by a group of fans who pooled their money, rented a ballroom, and invited Star Trek-related celebrities to attend. Isaac Asimov, Gene Roddenbery, Majel Barrett, and D. C. Fontana attended, and the festivities included a costume contest.
Star Trek and crafting goes so well together that a book of Star Trek crafts was just published last month, to much acclaim from fans. The Star Trek craft book features a wide variety of crafts for all levels of expertise and skill levels, from beginner to advanced, from accessories to toys. If you are a crafty Trekkie, then this is the book for you!
Image courtesy Flickr/ironskyfilm
Sewing
The most popular Star Trek-related crafting was, and continues to be, sewing costumes. Perhaps because the Starfleet uniforms are not only iconic, they are also somewhat reasonable for normal people to wear (being rather forgiving in the "fit and flatter" department), as well as a manageable project for someone with decent sewing skills.
Star Trek cosplay is a whole huge thing deserving of its own article, and somewhat veering off the topic at hand. But let me say that if you ever want to be humbled as a crafter, visit a big convention and examine some of the costumes people have made. At the 2011 Emerald City Comicon I saw a pair of people dressed as Klingons (Next Gen design) who literally could have been wearing costumes from the wardrobe department, they were that authentic and amazing - but every detail had been made by hand.
There are thousands of resources for those who want to sew their own Starfleet uniforms. Why not start at the official Roddenberry shop, which sells uniform patterns for $15-$25.
Image of hand-knit Next Gen cardigan courtesy Flickr/hoder
Knitting
When I think "Star Trek knitting," I can't help but think of the infamous picture of Wil Wheaton in a clown sweater. But if you can get that image out of your mind, there are loads of other ways you can celebrate Star Trek with sticks and strings.
Double knit potholders! A baby onesie! Socks! Beanies! Fingerless mitts! Vulcan ears! The entire introductory speech charted out into a cowl pattern! Guinan's hat! Scotty's floppy hat from the 2009 movie! Just about anything you can think of, someone has knit a Star Trek thing out of it.
Image courtesy Flickr/Cassey
Cross Stitch
If you are a Trekkie who likes to cross stitch, then you are in luck. Cross stitch Star Trek designs are so popular, there's even a book dedicated to the topic. Star Trek Cross Stitch explores cross stitch projects from simple samplers with Trek phrases to intricate portraits of the crew members.
Image courtesy Flickr/ex libris
Quilting
I always felt a little bit bad for the Starfleet folks. Who could enjoy sleeping at night under a flimsy lame blanket? I don't care if the crew quarters are perfectly climate controlled, I still need the weight of a regular blanket in order to get a decent night's sleep.
There are two aspects of Star Trek available in the quilting arena: creating Star Trek themed quilts, and quilting using Star Trek fabric. Of course, you can also use Star Trek fabric to sew other things like curtains and blankets. But why not combine the two, and make a Star Trek quilt out of Star Trek patterned fabric? (Or would the universe implode?)
If you don't want to try something quite this ambitious, you might want to start with the free Star Trek quilt block patterns available at Fandom Stitches.
Image courtesy Flickr/PugnoM
Embroidery
The most common intersection between embroidery and Star Trek is for adding logos and insignias to outfits. But there's no need to restrict yourself to adding these embroidered designs to a costume! You could add them to a backpack, laptop bag, fabric cuff bracelet, hat, and anything else you can imagine.
Misc
The weird and wonderful work of creative Star Trek fans is always amazing and humbling. In researching this post I found a lot of fun and silly craft projects that can only be filed under "misc"!
- Star Trek embroidery project: Next Gen crew wearing Carmen Miranda headdresses
- Spock paintings customized with your cat
- Vulcan salute leather laptop bag
- Needle felted Spock
- Data pillow case
Main image courtesy Flickr/Camilla Hoel
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