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Next Saturday afternoon will probably find many Torontonians engaged in such time-honoured activities as menorah-polishing or digging out last year's Christmas ornaments. That is, unless they are one of the city's more crafty citizens involved in the all-day raising of a seven-foot-tall hand-knit house.

The creation of a yarn dwelling - including knitted teacups and windows - is just one of the many activities on offer at City of Craft, a newly created craft fair and celebration of do-it-yourself collaboration taking place at the Theatre Centre.

Organized by craft scenesters Becky Johnson, Jen Anisef and Leah Buckareff, City of Craft is billed as an effort to support independent business and also encourage the larger community to embrace their crafty talents.

And much of Toronto already appears to have embraced craft in all its myriad forms. In addition to small craft fairs and large craft showcases such as the annual One of a Kind show at Exhibition Place, which kicked off on Thursday, knitting and sewing studios are popping up all across the city as part of a larger DIY trend.

Megan Ingman, owner of Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market, says she has seen an increase in the popularity of knitting. "I think it has to do with the need to balance our lives with technology," she says. "People want something more tangible and tactile."

"I see it growing on a very professional scale," Ms. Buckareff says of the Toronto craft scene. "The first craft show I put on five years ago, most of our vendors were people who made a wide variety of things and just put it all out there in a big jumble. But now this whole alternative economy is really growing, and it seems to be going pro - as much as indie crafts can go pro."

The City of Craft organizers are well-established members of the Toronto crafting community. Ms. Johnson, who runs the Sweetie Pie Press, sells her goods in 250 stores across North America; Ms. Anisef runs the Toronto Craft Alert, a popular craft-news blog; and Ms. Buckareff runs the Coldsnap Bindery and is "Reverend Mother" of the Church of Craft, an international organization whose vernacular may be tongue-in-cheek but whose dedication to crafting verges on the divine.

Ms. Johnson, Ms. Anisef and Ms. Buckareff attended the Craft Congress in Pittsburgh this past March, an inaugural event that brought together 50 indie craft leaders from North America and the United Kingdom. The three crafters soon discovered that the Toronto craftscape was unique, and set out to develop an event that reflected the charms of the city's DIY community.

The organizers are particularly touting the participatory aspect of City of Craft. In addition to vendors selling a host of goods - including handmade soap, Poly-Foam puppets, beaded jewellery and unique fashions - the event will offer several opportunities for the "craft curious" to get involved.

Patrons are encouraged to help assemble the aforementioned knit house, part of the StreetKnit Project's ongoing effort to help warm up the homeless.

"We want to bring attention to the campaign to get scarves and blankets into shelters, and also encourage people to keep homelessness in mind," StreetKnit's Ryan Kamstra says. Donations of hand-knit items will be accepted at the event.

Workshops will be available to City of Craft patrons, including screen printing, goldsmithing, crocheting and fashion design. A station where you can make your own gift wrap will also be available to patrons who are shopping for the names on their "nice" list. And the Toronto 'Zine Library will provide a reading lounge in which patrons can browse the library's extensive collection.

The desire to cross-pollinate multiple elements of the Toronto's independent craft community was a key part of the mandate that emerged from the Craft Congress. "There's a big separation in the States between organizers and crafters," Ms. Buckareff says. "It seemed very commercial, with these big shows. Toronto feels a lot more grassroots."

Ms. Anisef agrees, and also points to the diversity of the Toronto craft scene. "I just got an invitation to a sexy Goth craft fair," she says.

While said sexy Goths may not be manning a table at next Saturday's City of Craft event, organizers promise an abundance of opportunities to do some holiday shopping while indulging your crafty desires.