How can I set up a craft area in my home?

Tips for Setting Up Your Craft Area

• Invest in a good task light that you can direct on to your work. A flexible swing-arm task light with low wattage, low heat, and located 8-12 inches from the work area often works best. Some lamps also have built-in magnifiers.
• Use light/dark contrast whenever possible. For example, create contrasting work areas by using light and dark non-skid shelf liner, placemats, or plastic table covers.
• If you use a magnifier, consider one that will keep both hands free, such as a stand magnifier or around-the-neck type.
• Prevent “visual clutter” and maintain safety by keeping the work area organized as the craft progresses. Keep a trash receptacle within arm’s reach at all times. This prevents trash from mixing with craft materials and keeps the work area uncluttered.
• Use solid, non-patterned table coverings to provide contrast and assist with cleanup. Consider plastic table covers, shower curtain liners, and inside-out brown paper grocery bags; avoid using newspapers, since the print and pictures can look "busy" and interfere with visual orientation to the craft and work space.
• Enlarge craft instructions or patterns on a copier machine, have them recorded on cassette, or use a closed circuit television (CCTV) or video magnifier [1].
• A glue stick is a good substitute for white craft glue in many projects, since it is less messy and provides greater control. When planning your craft, allow for increased drying time. Note that most glue sticks do not work well on heavy wood or plastic.
• Keep hand wipes or paper towels and water within arm’s reach of the work area at all times, especially with projects requiring glue. Be aware that hands must be clean and dry in order to provide maximum tactile information and feedback.
• For additional hints about organizing and setting up your craft area, we recommend NEW INDEPENDENCE! Craft Adaptations for Adults With Vision Impairments (Revised) [2] by Stephanie Stephens Van.

Good Organization Is Key

Organizing and identifying your craft materials is extremely important:

• Gather required materials together before beginning a craft project.
• Arrange materials in order of use.
• Always return materials and items to the same location.

Create boundaries to define your work area:

• Use a “lipped” tray or large cookie sheet to hold craft materials within easy reach.
• Smaller items, such as sequins, buttons, ribbons, or paper clips, can be placed into small boxes or plastic deli/disposable containers.
• Masking tape is an inexpensive and effective way to stabilize items and maintain crafts in a fixed position within the work area.
• Non-skid, commercially available shelf liner can be cut and placed under trays, containers, and boxes to stabilize them.

Materials in your work and storage areas can be labeled with any of the following methods and attached to the outside of each storage container:

• Large bold print with easy-to-understand abbreviations made with a wide-tipped felt marker;
• A tactile marking in braille [3] or a sample item attached to the outside of the container;
• Capital block letters pre-made of foam or cut from plastic or cardboard.
• For additional hints about labeling your craft supplies, see Labeling and Marking for People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision [4].

Craft supplies can be separated by type of item and then by color:

• Shoeboxes can hold paper, felt, and fabric;
• Plastic containers can hold ribbons, yarns, and cords;
• Jars can hold beads, sequins, and buttons.

Measuring Tips and Techniques

You can estimate approximate measures without using a ruler:

• 1 inch is approximately the distance from the first knuckle to the fingertip.
• 4 inches is approximately the width of the hand along the base of the fingers.
• 18 inches is approximately the distance from the elbow to the fingertips, with the arm outstretched.
• 12 inches can be measured by taping a ruler to the front edge of the work table.
• If rulers are in short supply, pre-measure the distance and place color-contrasting tactile tape markers 12" apart on the front edge of the work table.
• You can purchase tape measures and rulers with either tactile or large print markings — there are also talking tape measures! The large print ruler [5] shown here also has braille markings. It can be found at Maxi-Aids.

Using Needles

Keep track of needles and pins in the work area with any of the following methods:

• Tape directly to the table or tray;
• Weave through small pieces of paper and tape the paper to the table;
• Weave through the participant’s own collar or shirt front;
• Keep a magnet handy if needles or pins drop to the floor, the table, or the lap.
• Experiment with different types of needles and needle-threading devices (see photo above) and read our tips on threading needles [6].

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