If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from the last year it’s that we love learning a new skill! Craft supplies saw a huge spike during the pandemic and with programmes such as The Great British Sewing Bee, The Great Pottery Throwdown and Grayson’s Art Club it’s only growing in popularity.
“During this time the retailer experienced exceptional levels of customer demand, with sales growing in excess of 200% LFL [like-for-like] and our craft classes reaching over 15 million customers,” Hobbycraft said (source – The Guardian)
There are so many amazing small businesses creating craft kits to help you learn a new skill, create a new piece for your home or spend some time mindfully relaxing. I thought I would do a round up of some of my favourites to help you get crafty!
Needlecraft Kits to Get You Sewing
Needlecraft kits such as embroidery, cross stitch, needlefelting, knitting and more are great for doing on the sofa or on the move as they are normally quite compact and leave minimal mess (depending on how you deal with thread ends!!). These ones are some particular favourites …
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Hope and Hart sell the most beautiful, intricate embroidery kits. Just look at the detail in those flowers, I can see these kits being really mindful and relaxing to complete. Also who won’t want such a wonderful piece of textile art to display in their home?
The Bargello Edit is bringing back the retro craft of Bargello. If you’ve never heard of it before you’re in for a treat! A tapestry craft that uses straight stitches to create bold, colourful patterns, Bargello is such a cool craft to try and is perfect for home decor!
SJ’s Fluff n Stuff is a master of needlefelting! I’ve known SJ for a few years now and have attended multiple workshops of hers … they are so much fun and the perfect way to get your frustration out ! Stabbing balls of fluff with pointy needles is the mindfulness we all need!! Get yourself a kit and have a go at home.
Stitchsperation makes the brightest cross stitch kits! Each one comes with a beautifully hand painted piece of fabric for you to stitch onto. Choose from a whole range of amazing typography and motivational quotes to inspire you! I’ve got a Girl Boss one waiting to be made and I’m so excited to do it !
Needle and Stem creates the most motivational embroidery kits! Heather is the queen of mixing plants and inspiring quotes to create super cool embroideries that will get you mindfully stitching! Every one is sure to make you feel fabulous !
Fabric and Haberdashery Love
I absolutely love fabric and haberdashery … it’s a real issue for me ! These are 4 of my favourite places to shop for such beauties and I’m sure your going to love them, and the lovely people who run them!
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1st for Fabrics has such a wide range of fabrics that will answer all your sewing needs! I’ve bought so much from their lovely online shop and can’t imagine how exciting it must be to visit their actual store in Newcastle. They are great for the basics as everything is such good quality, they’re always my first go to (it says it in their name really!!).
Cloud Craft is a local business based in the next town to me and I love the range of haberdashery that they stock. When I ran my embroidery business I bought a crazy amount of hoops from Nicole and there are so many beautiful pieces to tempt you!
Cloth and Candy is run by the lovely Fuz and she manages to select the most beautiful fabrics! Everything is super dreamy and you can buy matching haberdashery too. I love scrolling through the website, especially when there’s a new range just launched!
Sew Me Sunshine is the place to get your beautiful dressmaking fabrics. Harriet stocks such a wonderful range of fabrics including lots of deadstock pieces that are so special! I’ve bought way to much from Sew Me Sunshine … last years visit to the Stitch Festival (pre lockdown remember those days!?) was an very exciting shopping experience that resulted in lots of wonderful fabrics !
Craft Kits to teach you a new skill
We’ve covered needlecraft kits but there are so many amazing kits out there to teach you other crafts! From knitting to crochet, macrame to punch needling, there’s something for every interest!
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The Girl Who Gardens creates amazing nature themed kits to help you get your green fingers out ! Renee puts together kits for wreath making (I loved making my Christmas wreath last year!), kokedama’s and terrariums. Each comes with all the materials you need along with guides on how to forage for extra plants! Her Christmas wreath kit even comes with a festive playlist!!
Lauren Aston Designs is the queen of knitting ! Lauren uses beautiful quality wools to help you create amazing knitwear and accessories that will have you dreaming of cold weather! So many of the kits are designed for beginners so if you’ve never knitted before you’ll be good to go!
Red Fox Candles has a super cool candle making kit that is perfect for trying a new skill! I’ve never even thought to try making candles but the kits look so much fun … and would make a great gift too I’m sure! There are different scents available too so you can choose the one that’s perfect for you !
Mindful Macrame has a couple of different kits that are definitely going to get you addicted to macrame! I made the wall hanging piece last year and absolutely loved it … I’ve even made more since as gifts! As the name suggests it really is mindful crafting, there’s something about the repetitive knotting that is really relaxing !
Craft Books to Inspire
I wanted to share a couple of craft books that have really inspired me to try a new craft and get me making !
Zoe’s ‘You Will Be Able To Crochet By The End Of This Book’ did exactly what it said on the tin … I can now crochet ! And I really love it! The book explains the technique perfectly and really talks you through each step. I’ve made the headband from the book and have now gone rogue using the skills I’ve learnt to make a blanket!
Tilly and the Button’s most recent book ‘Make it Simple’ is my go to dressmaking book as it has a selection of really wonderful patterns that can be made super quickly! There’s no tricky fastenings, no complicated shapes and no fancy fabrics to master! My favourite pattern is the Safiya dungarees/trousers, I’ve made so many different versions of this pattern. I’ve even made shorts which I lived in last summer ! If you want to learn how to make your own clothes I will forever recommend Tilly and the Buttons!
So if that hasn’t got you wanting to craft I don’t think anything will! I’d love to hear what crafts you’ve tried, what kits you love and what crafts you want to give a go next … let’s spread the craft love far and wide!
I’m actually going to be hosting a ‘Get Crafty’ online market in May … be sure to join the mailing list to hear all about it. And if you are a crafty business I’d love for you to get involved, click the button below to find out how to apply !
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