20+ Craft Hobbies You Can Start Today

Looking for a new creative hobby to learn? Check out these 20+ popular craft hobbies! Whether you are bored and stuck at home or you are looking for a new business venture to make some extra money as a side hustle, you'll be inspired with this list of crafting hobbies!

There’s just something about working with your hands and doing something creative. In fact, I’ve even gone so far as to claim that I think crafting makes you a better mom.

And the reason is that when you take the time to craft, it is a form of self-care and therapy. By setting aside time in your schedule, you are prioritizing yourself and your hobbies.

For me, crafting is that time that I set aside just for me. Working with my hands is like therapy, it lets my mind settle and gets my creative energy out. After I finish a craft and I step back and look at the DIY project, I am reminded that I am confident and capable of creating. I am reminded that I was created to create.

Now that I’ve convinced you just how important is to prioritize hobbies in your busy life, let’s talk about all of the different crafting hobbies that you could try if you don’t have one already (or you’re looking to learn something new!)

If you are a creative person, you may be looking for new crafting hobbies to try. Even if you don’t consider yourself “creative”, I promise that most of these craft hobbies don’t require much skill or creativity to get started.

Today I’m sharing a list of 20 crafting hobbies to spur your imagination! But this is just the beginning. There are so many other creative hobbies not listed here.

Below I’ve given a description of each craft hobby, along with some helpful tips like what type of supplies you’ll need to get started, and provided links to tutorials to check out for more details.

Whether you are bored and stuck at home or you are looking for a new business venture to make some extra money as a side hustle (read: crafts to make and sell), you’ll be inspired by this list of crafting hobbies!

Let’s jump in!

This post contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.

20+ craft hobbies to try

Woodworking

Woodworking is a hobby near and dear to my heart. Creating projects from wood for our home is something we love to do.

Do it yourself wood projects can be beginner-friendly and when you learn and have the right tools your woodworking projects will look as good as any store-bought version.

We have done a lot of woodworking projects for our home from small projects to building furniture and adding walls. For woodworking inspiration, be sure to check out all of our woodworking projects here.

Here are some helpful articles that will help you get started with a woodworking hobby:

Wreath Making

Wreath making is a great way to add a welcoming seasonal touch to your front door or mantle. It’s also an easy way to add wall decor to your home. Wreaths are the perfect way to express your own individual design style.

While you can certainly buy a finished wreath from a multitude of different retail places, making your own is much more budget-friendly! Using different types of materials makes them unique and beautiful.

From garden hoses to seashells, rags to pom poms, there is no end to the possibilities when you make your own wreath.

wreath hanging on a door made with a garden hose and faux flowers with yellow and blue ribbons — Garden Hose Wreath

easy DIY farmhouse wreath made with faux greenery — Easy DIY Farmhouse Wreath

wreath hanging on a door made with neutral colored scraps of rags — Neutral Rag Wreath from A Hundred Affections

yellow sunflower wreath made with burlap hanging on a door — Burlap Sunflower Wreath from Crafts by Amanda

wreath made on wooden hoop with macrame string and eucalyptus — Simple Modern Wreath from Macra-Made

Wreath made using shells and tan polkadot ribbon hanging on doors of green cabinet — DIY Shell Wreath from The Roots of Home

modern boho fall wreath in the shape of a triangle painted green with greenery — Modern Boho Fall Wreath from Love Create Celebrate

Wreath made from pom poms in all different colors — Colorful Pom Pom Wreath from Girl Just DIY

Polymer Clay

Polymer clay is a great way to get started using clay for crafts. It’s extremely versatile and easy for beginners to use, but it can also be a challenging medium if you want to try projects that are more complex.

Polymer clay fires at a low temperature, so you don’t need to run out and buy a kiln to use it. You can fire it in your kitchen oven which makes this a very user-friendly craft medium.

As long as you store it correctly, it can last forever, so make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for storage so you don’t end up with a bunch of wasted clay.

You could also try out air-dry clay, which is a little different. Learn the difference between the two here.

Polymer clay can be used to make so many different things. From jewelry to pottery, home decor to pottery, there are so many things to make using polymer clay. Here are just a few polymer clay ideas. Click the links to learn how to make the projects for yourself.

Decorative clay knot sitting on a stack of coffee table books — Decorative Clay Knots

Three sets of polymer clay earrings — Polymer Clay Earrings from Mama Smiles

Painting a polymer clay bookmark — DIY Baymax Bookmark from Ruffles and Rainboots

Black and white marbled coasters using polymer clay — Clay Coasters from Let’s Craft Instead

Chalkboard made with polymer clay with grocery list written on it — Clay Chalkboard from Craftivity Designs

close up of cactus shaped ring holder made using polymer clay — Polymer Clay Ring Holders from Lia Griffith

Sign Making

Wooden signs are so versatile and they are the perfect work of art that doesn’t look out of place anywhere in your home! Buying wood signs can run hundreds of dollars, but making your own is so much cheaper!

I know you have probably read somewhere on the internet that signs and word art are a thing of the past. Well, I’m here to tell you that I don’t agree. If you like making signs and word art is your jam, then I say, do you!

There are lots of different ways to make your own signs. Reclaimed wood, repurposing old picture frames, stencils, hand painting, using your Cricut or Silhouette, if you’re into sign making there are countless ways to do it.

farmhouse sign made with leftover shiplap with wood frame and quote painted — Farmhouse Sign with Shiplap

DIY farmhouse sign made with pallet wood and painted letters that spell out FARM with a cross made with a lug wrench — DIY Farmhouse Sign

Pallet wood sign held together with leather straps painted with the words thankful grateful blessed — Pallet Wood Sign

wooden round sign painted with ombre green to blue and metal words attached that say you & me — Ombre Painted Sign

large wood sign leaning against a house painted with orange and yellow that says hello sunshine with a sun shape painted in the top left corner — Hello Sunshine Wood Sign

wooden word — Rustic Home Sign from Love Create Celebrate

Upcycling

Upcycling or repurposing, by whatever term you call it, is an environmentally-conscience way to make home decor for your home. It is a great way of reusing old materials to create something fun and useful.

You can make almost anything into something new and save it from the landfill. From old chairs to socks, an old pair of jeans to bottle caps, cardboard boxes, the possibilities are truly endless when you let your imagination do the work.

Metal basket from thrift store turned into a round wall planter with wood semi circle and leather straps — Metal Basket into Round Wall Planter

barstool into a bedside table in a small bedroom — Barstool into a Bedside Table

upcycled 2 chairs turned into a colorful bench for your backyard with pallet wood bench top on the seat — Upcycled Chair into a Bench

flower shaped garden art in blue and yellow made from bottle caps — Bottle Caps into Garden Art from Suburbia Unwrapped

soap dispenser turned into a vase sitting on a tray with coffee mug — Upcycled Vase from a Soap Dispenser from Love My Simple Home

coaster upcycled from jeans with rainbow coffee mug — Denim into Coasters from Pillar Box Blue

owl doorstop made from socks — Homemade Doorstop Using Socks from Sustain My Craft Habit

plant stand made from a lampshade frame with plant sitting on it — Upcycled Lampshade into a Plant Stand from Craft Invaders

Painting

Painting is a relaxing hobby. You can create all types of home decor with painting. From wall murals to paintings there is no limit to what you can create using paint.

You can paint using watercolor, oil, craft paint, spray paint, or regular wall paint. You can paint on canvas, walls, and even marble.

You don’t have to be a gifted artist to create works of art for your home and there are many different techniques you can use to make them. If you can envision it, you can make it. All it takes is a little bit of time, some paint, and the canvas of your choice.

Boho floral line art painted with black paint on a tan background on the back of a thrifted wood sign — Floral Line Art

neutral boho wall art on shelves made with watercolors — DIY Boho Wall Decor

woman painting with sponge semi circle on the back of mudroom lockers — Modern Sponge Painting

mountain mural painted with blue and green colors in a little kid's room with tent reading corner — Mountain Mural

transform an old slab of broken marble into painted marble decor for a glam office — Painted Marble Decor

landscape painting in frame next to round mirror — Painting from a Photo from The Roots of Home

fern art print on kitchen counter — Printed Fern Art from Satori Designs for Living

pointillism painting of tree, woods and mountains — Painting using Pointillism from Fluxing Well

painting of birch tree trunks hanging in a bathroom — Birch Tree Painting from Practical Whimsy Designs

Soap Making

Soap making is a fun craft. You can make custom soap in any shape, size, color, or fragrance you want. They are great to make for yourself, as gifts, or even to sell on Etsy.

Making soap is easy and you can make it yourself at home with just a few ingredients. You can buy a soap base that makes it much easier and eliminates the need for handling lye, which is essential to soap making.

Essential oils make it easy to add fragrance to your soap and you can use other natural ingredients like orange or lemon peel, dried lavender sprigs, spices, or other natural ingredients to make your soap look and smell amazing.

There are a ton of soap-making tutorials online, but I rounded up a few of my favorites for you.

Four bars of melt and pour coffee soap stacked on a white coaster — Melt and Pour Coffee Soap from At Home on the Prarie

bar of pink soap on a soap dish next to a shaving brush — Honey Oatmeal Soap from At Home on The Prarie

bars of soap wrapped with ribbon — Lavender Soap with Shea Butter from Living Life as Moms

Pink heart shaped soap — Strawberry Hearts Soap from Wisconsin Mommy

two bars of rainbow colored soap — Rainbow Layered Soap from Dollar Crafter

three bars of purple soap with dried elderberries — Dried Elderberry Soap from Two Kids and a Coupon

Candle Making

Candle making, much like soap making, is a fun craft that you customize in any size, shape, color, or fragrance that you want. They are great to make for yourself, to give as gifts, or to turn into a profitable side hustle.

Candles can be made using paraffin, soy, beeswax, or stearin. Add in some essential oil and other natural ingredients and you are on your way to becoming a candle maker.

If you want to give this craft hobby a try, the best place to start is with a simple candle-making kit like this along with some fragrance oils. These ones smell SO good.

Three jar candles with cucumbers and lemons in the wax. — Mosquito Repellant Candles from Crafts by Amanda

burning candle in tin — Vapor Rub Candle from The Homespun Hydrangea

closeup view of candle in a jar — Essential Oil Candle from Living Life as Moms

Candles in a lemon — Citrus Candles from Sustain My Craft Habit

candle is glass mosaic jar — Beeswax and Coconut Oil Candles from By Brittany Goldwyn

pillar candles with concrete bases — Concrete Candles from Craft Invaders

Felting

Felting is the process of applying heat and moisture causing the matting of materials. The most common material used in felting is wool. Felting art uses a sharp needle to manipulate felted material to form a shape.

Felting is an easy craft to learn and doesn’t require an expensive list of tools to do it. If you’re just starting out or thinking about picking up felting as a hobby, it’s best to start with a needle felting kit. Then as you learn what you are doing, you can invest in other tools you need to do this fun craft.

I have seen so many neat projects made from felting. They truly are works of art. Here are some great beginner projects to check out if you are considering trying your hand at felting.

Colorful macaron garland using felting — Felted Macaron Garland from A Beautiful Mess

felted alpaca sitting on box of yarn — Needle Felted Alpaca from Lia Griffith

felted cactus shaped pin cushion with a flower on top next to gold scissors and gold baby shoes — Felted Wool Cactus Pin Cushion from A Beautiful Mess

Mini felted cactus in white pot — Needle Felted Mini Cactus from Lia Griffith

Sewing

Sewing is a fun way to make your own home decor. A lot of the soft furnishings you see for sale can be expensive, why not sew your own?

Sewing is a wonderful craft that allows you to be creative and it’s a relaxing hobby.

Learning how to use a sewing machine can seem overwhelming, but once you get the basics, you can make anything you want. Not to mention you’ll be able to hem your own pants or fix a ripped seam in your favorite shirt.

Of course, you’ll need a sewing machine if you want to give this hobby a go, but you can do quite a bit on a small and budget-friendly sewing machine like this.

throw pillows on chair with blanket and side table — Make a Pillow using Placements from Green with Decor

fabric mushrooms sewn in different colors — DIY Fabric Mushrooms from Pillar Box Blue

curtain panels hanging on a french door — Simple French Door Curtains from Girl Just DIY

image of weighted blanket filling on orange fabric — Weighted Sensory Blanket from Mamas Smiles

Yellow and pink fabric bookmarks laying on an open book — Fabric Bookmark from Beginner Sewing Projects

Colorful fabric pillow with a pocket to hold a book — Book Pocket Pillow from Artsy Fartsy Mama

Felt basket with pencils — DIY Felt Basket from Love Create Celebrate

Quilting

Quilting is when you join three or more layers of fabric by sewing by hand or with a sewing machine. There are four different types of quilting that you can do. Pieced, appliqued, paper pieced or English paper pieced. The most common quilting projects are done using the pieced method, also known as patchwork quilting.

When you are just starting out with this crafting hobby, it’s best to stick with easy straight line patterns or block patterns. Once you master those, you can move to more intricate detailed projects.

Red, white and black quilt with woodland animals — Cozy Cabin Quilt from Artsy Fartsy Mama

single denim patchwork quilted star laying on a wood slice — Patchwork Quilted Stars from Pillar Box Blue

pastel colored crib quilt hanging on crib rail — Pastel Crib Quilt from A Beautiful Mess

Orange patterned quilted laptop sleeve — Quilted Laptop Sleeve from A Beautiful Mess

Quilted wall art in white and mustard yellow — Quilted Modern Art from A Beautiful Mess

Embroidery/Cross Stitch

Embroidery and cross stitch are similar crafts. Embroidery is embellishing fabric with thread and cross stitch is a type of embroidery used in creating a design using a stitch that forms an X or “cross”.

Both can be used to create amazing works of art and detailed designs. Each can be created using different types of thread and typically your pattern will designate which type of thread to use.

If you’re a beginner just getting started, you will find cross stitch to be the easier of the two crafts.

There are all sorts of beginner-friendly embroidery kits that you can buy at a low cost with pictures already printed on the cloth that you can stitch over.

cross stitch pattern of fireworks over a cityscape — City Fireworks from Albion Gould

Hot air balloon embroidered on book page — How to Embroider on Paper from Pillar Box Blue

The word READ embroidered on felt as a bookmark — Embroidered Book Mark from Artsy Fartsy Mama

Sloth cross stitched with the saying — Not Today Sloth Cross Stitch from Ugly Duckling House

Cross stitch of a boho rainbow — Boho Rainbow from Ugly Duckling House

Fruit shaped cross stitched necklace and earrings — Embroidered Citrus Jewelry from Lia Griffith

Punch Needle

Punch needle is another form of embroidery closely related to rug hooking. It is basically just threading your needle then punching it through your fabric to form a loop. It goes much faster than traditional embroidery and you can use different textures and sizes of threads to create detailed designs.

This craft is beginner-friendly and once you learn the technique, you’ll be making gorgeous works of art. Grab everything you need to get started in a punch needle tool kit like this.

Doodle Dog Designs is a great site for beginner tutorials and all things punch needle. Here are just a couple to get you started.

Crazy Cats Punch Needle Pattern from Doodle Dog Designs

Weaving

Weaving is a form of fiber art that can be used to make amazing works of art. You cross one group of threads (weft) with another group of threads (warp) to create your design.

Modern woven wall art can be so detailed and beautiful. You can create landscape scenes, shapes, rugs, and baskets. Different materials can be used to create different textures within your project. Make them big, make them small, it’s all up to your creativity and imagination.

Weaving is fairly easy to learn! Spruce and Linen’s YouTube channel is great for learning how to create woven wall hangings! I used it exclusively when I was learning!

To get started with weaving, you’ll want a loom (I have this one), high-quality yarn, and some wool needles.

woven wall hanging using brown, white and gray yarn — Woven Wall Hanging from Sustain My Craft Habit

woven pillow cover in black, mint and green — Woven Pillow from A Beautiful Mess

woven bowls in four different sizes — Woven Bowls from Lia Griffith

woven jute mat in tan and black — Woven Jute Mat from A Beautiful Mess

Macrame

Macrame is another form of fiber art and it has really gained in popularity over the last couple of years. It’s modern and fresh and boho and adds such a fun decor accent to your home.

Macrame is the art of tying knots using a working cord to a filler cord to make macrame decor like plant hangers, wall hangings, coasters, and so much more. It is easy to learn and with just a few beginner knots you can make amazing macrame works of art.

You can follow a pattern or you can just let your creativity flow and see what you come up with. There is no set of rules when it comes to macrame and it’s an easy beginner-friendly craft to learn.

The cool thing about this crafting hobby is that you don’t need a lot of materials and tools to get started. You simply need a cord for knotting. There are so many materials you use to create macrame, from yarn to jute, t-shirt yarn to cotton macrame cord, you are sure to find a material you love to make your own macrame.

boho yarn wall hanging on a piece of driftwood with large chunky yarn in alternating gray and white pieces knotted on the wood — DIY Yarn Wall Hanging

macrame lantern holders with glass jars — Jute String Lanterns from Love Create Celebrate

macrame rainbow on light green background — Macrame Rainbow from Moms and Crafters

macrame feather wall hanging with natural and pink colored feathers — Macrame Feather Wall Hanging from Macra-Made

macrame table runner on table — Table Runner from A Beautiful Mess

macrame basket holding tomatoes — Vegetable Basket from Lia Griffith

lady in pink dress holding macrame handbag — Macrame Handbag from Lia Griffith

Card Making / Scrapbooking /paper crafting

There are so many things you can make with paper! It’s a fun craft that will give you hours of enjoyment.

You can make cards, make folded origami creations, banners, paper flowers, and the list goes on and on. Make your paper creations using card stock, construction paper, old maps, or tissue paper. There are so many things to make all you need is your favorite paper and your imagination.

Rustic Woodland Baby Shower with DIY baby shower banner hanging over food table that says baby — DIY Baby Shower Banner

paper flower wreath — Paper Flower Wreath from Moms and Crafters

Three Happy Birthday cards with masculine style — Masculine Card from Love Create Celebrate

paper roses made from maps in a vase — Map Roses from Pillar Box Blue

red and yellow origami apples — Origami Apples from Moms and Crafters

Five pink origami butterflies — Origami Butterfly from Printables Fairy

Yellow and pink honeycomb suns made from paper — Honeycomb Suns from Lia Griffith

Calligraphy/Lettering

Calligraphy and lettering are becoming lost art forms. With the invention of Cricut and Silhouette and stencils, you can make anything using calligraphy without ever picking up a pen or brush.

There is nothing like the real thing and if you’re interested in trying out these craft hobbies and honing your lettering skills, check out the tutorials below to get started.

brush lettering, lettered on a piece of paper in green and blue ink — How To Do Brush Lettering from Moms and Crafters

Brush lettering practice sheets, brush lettered on paper — Brush Lettering Practice Sheets from Moms and Crafters

Ink and Brush hand lettered using lettering markers — 4 Best Brush Lettering Pens from Lemon Thistle Blog

Crochet/Knitting

Crochet and knitting are very similar crafts. They both allow you to stitch yarn together to create a multitude of different things. Knitting used two needles to create loops that hook together, while crocheting uses just one needle to create loops that form your project.

When just starting out, you may want to give crocheting a go as it only uses one needle and it is less likely to unravel if you make a mistake. Once you master one needle you can move on to knitting and try your hand at two needles.

In more recent years crafters have moved on to arm knitting and finger knitting which is even easier as you don’t have to deal with a needle at all and are able to use much larger diameter yarns to create amazing projects.

lady wearing a blue crochet shawl — Crochet Pocket Shawl from Maple Wood Road

pink crochet pillow with purple pocket — Crochet Throw Pillow from Moms and Crafters

purple and white crochet basket — Crochet T-shirt Yarn Basket from Sustain My Craft Habit

round teal colored scrubbies on counter — Round Crochet Kitchen Scrubby from Desert Blossom Crafts

neutral colored crochet infinity scarf — Crochet Infinity Scarf from Desert Blossom Crafts

blue and white finger knit rag rug — Finger Knitted Rag Rug from Sustain My Craft Habit

crochet bag with apple laying next to handle — Crochet Produce Bag from Desert Blooms Crafts

Pottery

Pottery is the art of throwing clay on a potter’s wheel. The pottery piece is then fired in a kiln to harden the clay.

You can make dishes, vases, pots, and a lot more. Pottery pieces are wonderful works of art that require a skill using a potter’s wheel, but once you master it you will be on your way to making great pieces of pottery.

This is one of the less attainable of the craft hobbies because it requires a potter’s wheel and kiln. The best way to try this craft hobby out is to find a pottery class locally to go try before making the big investment in the tools you need. You may be able to find one at a pottery studio or a community college in your area.

To get started, check out these tutorials:

Dollhouse Making

Having a dollhouse is every little girl’s dream. Maybe some adults too. Dollhouses can be as simple or as detailed as you want. They are easy to make from wood and you can create complete furniture and decor custom to your dollhouse.