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It had to happen. With all that stitch 'n' bitchin' going on, there had to come a point when DIYers got tired of making leg warmers and started knitting . . . restraints.

Okay, fuzzy pink restraints, which admittedly look more like your mother's macramé plant holder than fetishy sex gear. How about a knitted dildo cozy?

Yes, crafts are getting naughty, and Toronto sex shop Come As You Are is celebrating the fact with the First Annual Erotic Arts & Crafts Fair (today at the Gladstone Hotel).

"It couldn't be more opposite to pornography," says Cory Silverberg, one of the principals at Come As You Are, which is marking its 10th anniversary. "It's sort of sex for the lateral mind."

The wares on display are certainly that. Along with gorgeous hand-stitched lingerie and sequined pasties, there are panties made of woven balloons (not inflated), felted condom cases and erotic cupcakes.

Silverberg sees the fair as a creative outlet for members of the prolific local arts community, many of whom can't sell their more risqué projects at regular craft shows. And girls just gotta have fun with needles. "A lot of the crafters are younger women," he says.

Silverberg has no plans to stock yarn any time soon, but a recent addition to his shop's bookshelves is an indication of where things are headed -- it's called Naughty Needles: Sexy, Saucy Knits for the Bedroom and Beyond. Talk about seizing the means of seduction.

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The show runs from noon to 5 p.m., 1214 Queen St. W., Toronto, http://www.comeasyouare.com or http://www.eroticartsandcrafts.com.