''AlternaCrafts'' is a hip and fun craft book with an ''indie spirit.'' Its 20-plus quirky projects and funky, bold graphic design target teenagers and twenty-somethings (as well as older crafters open to newfangled ways) who want to make their own unique mark on the world. Among the projects are a Jean-ius Bag (made from a pair of old jeans); Vegan Print Pillowcases (pillowcases printed with simple shapes cut from potatoes and other veggies); Chain Mail Cuffs (knitted metallic cuffs); and Knot Again (the 21st-century version of a macrame choker, embellished with nuts from the hardware store instead of traditional beads). With an emphasis on recycling, making projects from scratch, and improvisation - as well as reliable, detailed, easy-to-understand instructions - ''AlternaCrafts'' gives the newest generation of crafters the skills they need to self-express by shaping their own environments, whether they're working on their bodies, their bedrooms, their lockers at school, or their first apartments.