Inspire Your Creativity With 2024‘s Best Crafting Hobbies [Free Guide]
If you are stuck in lockdown, have run out of things to do, or simply want to unleash your creativity, then this list of crafting hobbies can’t be missed!
Below, you will find a wide range of hobbies for those that want to learn something crafty, which are typically easy to learn and provide great fulfillment.
Let’s get started!
Unleashing Your Creativity With 23 Crafting Hobbies 2024
1. Origami
Origami is a paper-folding art where a person can create objects, shapes, patterns, and more of different sizes and complexities.
If you love working with detailed and delicate materials and have good focus and patience, then this hobby is for you!
To begin, you can get started with simple guided designs, working from instructions, before you move onto the more complex creations. Here are some designs to try which are great for beginners.
2. Collage
This is one of the easiest and enjoying crafting hobbies that almost anyone can try. Collage allows you to explore your creativity using different methods of layering materials on one another.
Most of the time, collages are made of materials such as old magazines, newspapers, books, or other images, that are cut and arranged on a board, frame, or any kind of object, to cover it with the materials to create art.
Collages can be sentimental, or purely abstract which makes them such an appealing crafting hobby. If you want to get started with collage, check out this article for beginners!
3. Paper Quilling
Also known as paper filigree, quilling is definitely one of the more unique crafting hobbies. The craft itself involves using small strips of paper that are rolled, curled, twisted, and shaped and bonded together to create decorations and designs.
Luckily, anyone can do this craft, without needing a special skill level! All you need is some patience and a strong focus to work with your hands and small delicate design.
To begin, it does help to have special quilling tools (which are affordable) and some paper to get started, as well as a tutorial or course, such as these ones here. However, you can also get started with just a pen and some colorful paper!
4. Foil Art
Next on my list is foil art, which is artwork that is covered in a silver or gold film, known as ‘foil’. Some practical examples of this are greeting cards that have beautiful foil embellishments.
To take up this hobby, you will need the metallic film to transfer on you your designs, a laminator, an inkjet printer, and some card/material to create the artwork on.
Compared to other crafting hobbies on this list, this one is very delicate to work with, as you need to make sure you are treating the foil in the right way. To learn more about how to get started, check out this article!
5. Embroidery
Hand embroidery is one of the more traditional crafting hobbies you can take up and has been enjoyed by many generations! Using a needle, you apply yarn or thread to fabric to decorate it, or to make specific imagery and designs.
If you like sewing, knitting, or just working with fine art with your hands in general, you will love embroidery! It takes time to create, so patience and having lots of time to work on your art is key.
To get started on the right foot, you can learn the correct sticking techniques to get started with embroidery by a guided tutorial, like this list of online courses.
6. Paper Making
Did you know that you can make your own paper? This eco-friendly hobby uses basic materials and tools to create sheets of paper.
If you care about the environment or love bespoke designs and handmade paper, this unique crafting hobby is sure to spark your creativity! To get started, check out this resource for all that you need to know as a beginner to make paper.
7. Decoupage
This hobby is similar to collage, where you glue the decorative paper onto objects, like frames, jewelry boxes, and other items.
To get started with decoupage, you will need some special decoupage glue to stick and seal the objects, as well as some beautiful patterned or colored paper for decorating. Want some inspiration for stunning decoupage art? Check out some examples here!
8. Pottery
As another one of the more traditional crafting hobbies, pottery goes back thousands of years and allows you to create sculptures, bowls, plates, and tons more.
To begin with pottery, you will need the right kind of clay and kiln (pottery oven) and potentially a wheel, to start this hobby. It’s recommended to start by joining a local pottery studio, and if you love it, you can create your in-home studio. To learn more, check out my guide on online pottery classes.
9. Polymer Clay
Similar to pottery, polymer clay allows you to create objects, especially very small items like jewelry and miniature models and figures.
Polymer clay is actually easier to work with than natural clay, and you don’t need a special pottery oven and you can simply put it in your home oven to cure it. This makes it one of the easiest creative hobbies to get started with.
Polymer Clay modeling is perfect for people who like crafting small things or want to create jewelry or other tiny objects without needing a whole pottery studio. Check out some tips for crafting with polymer clay here!
10. Basket Weaving
Next on my list is weaving, which is arguably one of the oldest crafting hobbies in existence due to its practicality and simple form.
To start weaving, it is surprisingly easy and you can use lots of different materials to make baskets, like thread, stems, straw, vines, grass, and more.
There are tons of basket weaving tutorials online to see the different ways you can weave, and start with something simple for your first attempt.
11. Flower Arranging
Arranging flowers is an enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful crafting hobby that has no limits, and can be done by anyone (as long as you don’t have hayfever ????).
All you need to get started is to get some flowers at your local market (or pick some outside if you have a great garden) and start intuitively in what you feel looks best.
To be a little more professional about it, you can take flower arranging classes, or even look into Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arranging.
12. Flower Pressing
Another one of the crafting hobbies dedicated to flowers is flower pressing, which is the art of preserving flowers using a book or flower press to flatten them.
Once the pressed flowers are dried, you can mount them, frame them, or decorate the house in other creative ways. This hobby is for everyone and can be started at any time.
When it comes to getting started, you can go for a walk, pick some lovely looking flowers, and press away! To learn more about the pretty things you can do with flower pressing, check out this blog.
13. Candle Making
If you love scented candles and the lovely dim lighting they bring, try your hand at making your own candles from scratch as a new hobby.
You’ll select a wick style, and wax, as well as other ingredients like fragrances and dyes. We suggest starting out with a candle making kit, which gives you the tools you need. The best part is that once you’ve made it, you can use it!
14. Soap Making
Similar to candle making is soap making, which is another one of the fun and useful crafting hobbies for adults where you get to use the soap that you make.
This one is great as there are so many combinations of ingredients you can use for your soap making, like fruit puree, tea leaves, oats, essential oils, and more! Learn about the different soap making methods like cold and hot-pressed, melt-and-pour, and more, here.
15. Upcycling
Environment-lovers will get on board with this hobby, as it’s a great way to create something that might otherwise be unused, or thrown away. Upcycling involves transforming unwanted items and furniture into something else, or making it ‘new’ again.
You can add value to something through simply getting your creativity onto it, but painting, changing it, making it something else entirely, or whatever your heart desires. Learn about interesting upcycling projects on these tutorials here.
16. Rubber Stamping
For those who love to send unique, stylized, and one-off letters or decorations, learning how to make your own DIY stamps will be a great addition.
All you need is a block of rubber and carving tools to create your desired image, words, or abstract design to then use in card making, scrapbooking, or other art. To learn more, there are endless online recourses that provide great tips on how to do it properly that can be found here.
17. Die Cut
For this crafting hobby, you would use a small machine to precisely cut paper into designs and shapes to use in scrapbooking, gift making, handmade cards, and other crafts.
Beginners can start this hobby, no matter their skill level, and can also make designs on a computer using digital CAD software to then have machines print out the cutout version of the paper.
18. Dollhouses
If you loved playing with dollhouses as a kid, you have children yourself, or you enjoy all things miniature, then constructing dollhouses out of wood and other materials might be your perfect hobby.
Making dollhouses is a form of scale modeling, which is reconstructing often large-scale things – like buildings or cars – on a much smaller scale.
You can create an entire house, or start with just a room, and make all the tiny furniture to go. Some kits can be used, or you can create it all from scratch. Learn more about making dollhouses here.
19. Doll Making
If you’ve picked up dollhouse making, then another hobby to go along with it could be doll making. Alternatively, maybe making the dolls is even more up your alley.
You can make small hands-stitched or crochet tools, or use other tools. If you know how to sew or have already created scale modeling, you’ll find this even easier.
The possibilities are endless when creating your own dolls – you are the designer and creator. For some ideas, check out this great site!
20. Quilting
This is one of the pastime crafting hobbies that is often shared between generations within the family. Quilting is the craft of sewing fabrics together to create a blanket or other garments.
Usually done using a sewing machine, it is an easy hobby to have once you learn how to use a machine. You can continue with a certain style of quilting has been in your family, or make your own theme up.
For expert tips on how to easily make amazing quilts, check out my guide here on online quilting courses!
21. Knitting
Not just for your grandma, knitting is a very relaxing hobby to spend time getting lost in the ‘meditation’ of knitting together yarn into blankets, clothing, or other objects.
You need to learn how to knit with the two needles first and start off with some basic creations like a blanket, scarf, or socks. Then you can progress to more complex knits.
22. Crochet
Crochet is similar to knitting, where you are stitching together yarn, thread, or other material, though instead of using two needles, you use a hook.
Again, anyone can start with craft with ease, so long as they learn the basic crochet stitch. Then you can let your imagination take the creation to different places!
23. Macrame
Finally, to round off our list of crafting hobbies, macrame is a unique knotting craft where you bend, twist, and knot fiber together to make wall hangings, home decor, jewelry, and more.
Anyone can start with the basic macrame knots, learning them in tutorials or through books. Then you can add to your skills and get more complex.
Final Thoughts On Starting New Crafting Hobbies
Many people are intrigued to start a new crafting hobby but too intimidated to try mastering the techniques or buying exotic supplies. So they daydream instead of diving in.
Don’t let that happen to you.
We’ve found that Domestika is the best online course provider to help you get going. Especially for creative pursuits.
Check out our review of their platform as well as a list of their top creative hobby courses.
