The Handbook of Forgotten Skills

Craft, cook, build, and play the old-school way, with easy-to-follow steps for hours of unplugged fun.

Elaine Batiste and Natalie Crowley invite readers to discover how to:

Tie knots

Make a bird feeder

Write a thank-you note

Make a pie

Build a campfire

Use a compass

Wrap a gift with brown paper and string

Sew by hand

Grow tomatoes

Fix a flat bicycle tire

Make refrigerator pickles

Sew buttons

Make lemonade

Grow and dry herbs

Mend a sock

Make natural dyes

Skip stones

Start quilting

Perform coin tricks

Make an omelet

Fold paper airplanes

Explore photography

Featuring art by Chris Duriez, each chapter includes clear, illustrated step-by-step instructions as well as information about the history of that skill. For example, did you know that lemonade is credited with helping fight the plague in Paris? Or that paper airplanes became popular during World War II because traditional toys weren’t available?