World of Geekcraft: Step-by-Step Instructions for 25 Super-Cool Craft Projects

by Susan Beal, Jay B. Sauceda (Photographer)

Geek meets craft in this fun collection of 25 kooky projects for geeks of any affiliation, from D&D dice earrings, Star Trek pillows, and Super Mario cross-stitch to Star Wars terrariums, a Morse code quilt, and much more! Organized by difficulty from "Not a Jedi Yet" to "Warp Speed," World of Geekcraft covers a range of popular crafting techniques including beading, quilting, appliqué, embroidery, and needle felting. Best of all, it's easy to get started with step-by-step instructions and handy templates included in the back of the book. With lots of photos and plenty of geekery throughout, this one-of-a-kind book shows that geek and craft go together like...pixels and cross-stitch!

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts, Art, Reference, Adult, Geek

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2011

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to delivering quality craft books, Susan Beal has it covered. Just like all her other creative titles, this one is specific, wholehearted and written with mucho detail!

World of Geek Craft is dedicated to those who love all things sci fi, fantasy and more. Rather than solely relying on collectibles to purchase, Susan shares how to make our own pieces of pop culture gold.

What I love the most is that this book is perfect for guys and boys. With the right theme, they too can be lured into the world of cross stitch, mosaic art and sewing! I'm talking Buffy and Einstein to Star Wars and Harry Potter.

The reason every crafter needs this book is because at some point they'll come across a geeky family or friend that will need to specialty gift. This book is the best source for that!

The only trouble is, where to start?

[Corniferous · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found the projects in this book to be engaging. my crafty side is totally thrilled to hang out with my inner geek and cause some trouble. the instructions for the projects are clear and the projects themselves range from sciencey projects (Star Wars Terrariums!), to things to make with thread or yarn, designs that encourage recycling, creations inspired by the geek canon (tribbles!), stuff to keep you warm (how rad is a Secret Message Quilt?!), shiny goods to wear (d20 Deluxe!), tasty treats to eat, and even a new take on old school basics (LOVE the buffy project!). not only is this book filled with deliciously geeky projects, it caters to geeks of all ages with built-in nostalgia (oregon trail!) and newfangled nerdiness (consider the title's wink!). plus, the assortment of projects varies in skill level offering crafty adventures for the beginning or novice crafter all the way to the crafter extraordinaire.

the layout is aesthetically pleasing and the geeky stories from the contributors adds more pizzazz to an already personality-filled text.

[ModCloth · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll geek out for this book. Hehe.

[Lafcadio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent ideas for geeky projects!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - 3 stars. A few cute projects, but nothing I personally want to make. Some projects would be easy with kids, others would be very complicated and are better suited for adults. The book does cover a wide range of project types from a cake, to a wooden mousepad. While this means regardless of your particular crafty interests, there's probably a project in here for you. Unfortunately, it also means the range of necessary equipment and tools is vast and varied. I also wasn't able to open the templates online which I found disappointing.

[Cynthia D · Rating 1 out of 5]

My rating: 1/5

Eeek. I love crafts of all types, and I love nerdy/geeky stuff, but I really couldn't get into the crafts outlined in this book. The only one that I thought I might do myself was the planet plates. The rest of them seemed more like crafts meant for kids or teens to do, and they were things that I really couldn't see myself trying to make. I'd probably suggest passing on this book.

[Nadina · Rating 2 out of 5]

There may have been some cute projects, and I'm sure they appealed to some people, but they require some skill and knowledge of each of the crapt types for the projects seen as there is no real guide on step by step how to do a certain thing (such as crochet stitches).
Cute ideas, but definitely require crafting skills and the steps do not seem overly descriptive.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only flipped through the book to look at the projects. Seems cute and like a nice book, but I don’t really want to make any of the crafts. Loved the Mario this is not a pipe cross stitch. The wii controller holster is a cool idea. And the dice jewelry could be really cool. And the fuse bead portrait is a cool idea. The Morse code quilt is a cool idea.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some cool crafts in this book, and some of them are useful (like a quilt and a totebag), not just decorative. Which is a bonus. While it's fun to make things, it's even more fun when you can use them and show them off.

[Rowena Knill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed in this book. As an avid geek, I was hoping to find a couple of projects that I would make. However the projects were disappointing, many being truly ugly. I wouldn't make a single thing from this book.

[Sonja H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for craft programs

I would use for Middle school to highschool programming at the library. I don't see myself making them as an adult.

[Kris Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun, geeky crafts. Great for if you need to get rid of some time with your teens and have the resources.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars may seem a little harsh...but I am following this as the stars list... it was just ok. It wasn't anything crazy or new. It was just there. Its worth a read but I wouldn't read it again.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nifty

Some really cool ideas but that coraline box stole my heart! I cant wait to try it. So much fun

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

some great geek crafts starting from a basic level with a wide range of mediums and skills

[Jodi Geever · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a craft adjacent person, I’ll say these crafts are intimidating and look very challenging, but I’m excited to try a couple!

[Aimee]

From 2011, so nearly all of the blogs and sites were deleted that were linked in the book.

Cute, but no projects I would actually make.

[R Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The wow pattern is ridiculous. Tribble pattern ok but there’s a million of these free online. Honestly don’t want to make anything in here

[Shala Kerrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of geeky crafts? Do I even need to tell you how enthused both my daughter and I are about this book?

World of Geekcrafts is a collection put together by Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty of geek themed projects by many artists. There are 25 projects in all.

The projects are wide array of mediums. There is a large fuse bead Buffy the Vampire Slayer portrait, lots of sewn projects like the machine sewn Morse Code quilt or the hand sewn Periodic Table of the Elements cozies. Susan Beal has a project for a Harry Potter costume for a baby or toddler that uses knitting and sewing to create all the pieces for an adorable little wizard. There is also cross stitching, cake decorating, drilling and many other techniques used for the projects.

What kind of geek? Science fiction addict, tabletop RPG player, old school video games and science all make strong appearances.

My favorite projects are Garth Johnson's Planet Commemorative Plates (decals), Paul Overton's The Day The Earth Stood Still Tool Box (mosaic) and Susan Beal's Star Wars Terrariums. My daughter's favorite projects are apparently the whole book.

Diagrams are minimal in this book, but the instructions are well written and easy to follow. The photographs also are great guide. All beautifully done and easy to see the details. Many of the crafts are made using repurposed things, so yay! I love repurposing and upscaling items in crafty ways. In geek crafty ways it's even more wonderful.

[I was provided with a complimentary copy of the book to review on my craft blog- Don't Eat the Paste]

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not quite geeky enough to recognize everything in this book, but I'm geeky enough to enjoy it anyway. The book is very well done. Not only do we get geeky crafts, beautifully displayed, but we get background on each designer, websites where we can see more of their crafty or geeky selves. I especially like the "best geeky memory" feature for the artisans.

Truthfully, most of the crafts featured do not appeal to me. Even if we had saved all the Star Wars action figures, I would not be making terrariums for them. Nor do I feel the desire to memorialize Oregon Trail hunting expeditions or anything relating to Mario. I did enjoy looking at everything, and I like seeing craftiness cross the country-motif barrier. It's wonderful to see people of all sorts making things that reflect their own interests.

There were three projects which stood out to me: a morse code quilt, a mosaic toolbox, and a cute robot stitchery. Two of those are on the front cover. I doubt I'll ever make the quilt or toolbox, but I am trying to think of what I could embellish with that robot. A placemat would be perfect. Maybe a pillow.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

World of Geekcraft is a delightful book. The 25 projects run the gamut of geekdom, from jewelry made from 20-sided dice, to crocheted Tribbles, to a replica of the sewing boxes from Coraline. While many of the projects are inspired by a specific world of geekery (Buffy, Star Wars), others are just generally geeky (a Morse Code quilt, a steampunk pendant, a needle-felted solar system mobile).

Patterns are arranged in order of difficulty, and run from extremely easy to rather intricate and detailed. There's something for everyone, as some projects are of the glue-gun-and-scissors variety and would require no special skills, while some require a fair bit of prior knowledge -- the aforementioned quilt, for example; some knitted items that assume you already know how to knit. This is a book to turn to for project inspiration, not one to learn new techniques.

And what projects will this geek be making from the book? First and foremost, the Oregon Trail-inspired cross stitch. It is ridiculously awesome.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touches on all kinds of crafting (cross-stitch, knitting, paper crafts, sewing, 3-D design, mosaic, jewelry-making, etc.) organized by level of difficulty. Also touches on a wide variety of geek cultures, including pop-culture (Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Star Trek! Star Wars!) and books (Coraline! Harry Potter!), gaming (D&D! WoW! Pac Man!), and science-and-tech-love (Solar system! Computer Humor! Morse Code!). Clear directions, patterns, and photographs. I looked at the ebook version on my phone, which was totally fine from a utilitarian perspective, but I think the physical book version, or maybe the ebook version on a laptop/desktop screen would make for a better crafting experience, because you'd be able to view the photographs at a larger size and view more steps in the instructions at once.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-have for anyone who is a nerd with a bit of crafty knowledge like myself or someone who is crafty and has a geeky significant other like my wife. The featured cross-stiched framed underworld pipe from Mario with the caption "ceci n'est pas une pipe" is pure GENIUS and I want it on my mantle so bad I want to learn how to cross stich! There are a multitude of projects in here to suit any nerdy or geeky taste, and if you or someone you love needs a gift of a limetime...this is the guide. How sweet is it to make something as awesome as the projects in here yourself? If you found any of the things in this book in a cool little shop in a hip part of town, they would fetch hundreds of dollars and be sold out in minutes. They are that amazing.

[Laura Eydmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my God, what an amazing book! Combining two things I love… geek and craft, this book is brilliant. There are detailed step by step instructions for all the different projects, ranging from easy to difficult, covering many different types of craft, paper, embroidery, knitting, sewing… you name it!

The projects are easy to customise as well, and there are a lot of different projects I am dying to start, in particular, the mosaic and the solar system mobile! Be warned, if you know me, you may be getting one of these for Christmas/Birthday…

There are little interviews and profiles throughout the book too, with good websites and other resources – so worth a flick through if you are into either geekery or craft. I would highly recommend this book!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book is lively and entertaining. I enjoy the short anecdotes between projects. I wish there were more projects included in the book. The instructions are clear and seem easy to follow. The book makes an attempt to include projects for varying ability levels. There are a few I want to try as-is (Hoth terrarium!) and others that I will modify a bit. Overall, this is a solid craft book for nerds, but you would be able to find most of the information very easily on geeky craft blogs. If you have the money, I say buy this book to support creative crafters. Or, find yourself something brilliant on Etsy. You know you want to!

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of over crafty books in general, but this one is pretty funny. With projects ranging from sci-fi book cozies to Oregon Trail cross stitch, there are plenty of laughs and Joss Whedon references. I'm not a Star Wars Star Trek* person, but the knitted tribbles are extremely cute. Does that mean they are dangerous? If you have geeky people in your life, there is probably some inspiration in here for your holiday crafting.

* No, I don't know the difference.

look, i even took cell phone photos for you:

Clockwise from top: Tribbles, D20 jewelry, Oregon Trail cross-stitch.

[Kristel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some interesting ideas in it, but nothing I was really interested in making. I liked the mosaic tool-box, but it's not something I need, so that one is struck off the list. I like the idea of the morse code quilt, but that's a whole lot of effort with a so-so result - I could see myself more likely to translate the idea into cross-stitch or embroidery. My two favourite projects were the planet plates and the solar system mobile, but I'd be unlikely to make use of either. The rest? Eh.

[Katey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2 star rating is highly subjective: I am not geeky enough (or into the shows/movies/other that many geeks are) to feel any need whatsoever to recreate anything here, even the Coraline sewing box. Still, it was interesting to look through, and if you're crazy about those kinds of shows/movies/other that many geeks are, you'll like this book.

But the Buffy mosaic oozes creepiness with a stalker kick. Not good.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collection of crafty projects with geeky themes. I was expecting more of them to be WoW themed projects, but they really run the gamut from gaming to Star Wars to WoW and beyond. Projects are in quickly increasing skill levels. Some are quite detailed and require some degree of proficiency in crafty type activities - like crochet. Peppered between projects are stories from geeks about geeky things.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are crafts in here for every skill-set and for almost every type of crafter. I only wish there were more in each category. Such a range is covered that to do all the projects would be quite an investment in supplies. It is pretty awesome though. It would be neat to have more of these books come out for each category, like fiber-crafts, wood-crafts etc... If you are geeky in any way, or know someone who is this is a great book. You can give it as a gift or make things inside as a gift.