Our Favourite Winter Crafts
I don’t know about you, but I have some very specific requirements when it comes to winter crafts. For me, they need to be cozy, couch-potato friendly, and cute/colourful enough to chase away the blues that come with the cold days and long dark nights.
Traditionally—and you’d be forgiven for thinking it—knitting and crochet are the go-to options. But what else is out there if you are not the stitch counting type?
We’ve rounded up a list of creative crafts that deliver those warm fuzzy feels, and create cheerful homewares that you might want to try while hibernating this season; and who knows, you might just find a favourite new creative outlet!
Needle Felting is a vey cathartic craft. It requires very little to get started, and the possibilities of what you can create are truely endless!
For those of you who haven’t heard of Needle Felting; it is the process of taking loose wool (a.k.a wool roving) and repeatedly stabbing at it with a barbed needle so that it knots into itself and condenses, allowing you to create both flat and three-dimensional designs. Depending on your patience, you can create intricate pieces, but simplistic shapes and designs are just as effective.
It’s a great craft to do while listening to an audio book, or rewatching your favourite movies or tv-shows on those long winter nights. In the past I’ve used this medium to create sculptural pieces, children’s toys, table setting decor, and more! But it also offers a practical use, as you can use the technique to repair and adorn clothing! Working especially well on woollen jumpers.
Be careful though - as your confidence grows, so does your ability to stab yourself with those long barbed needles! That’s when I usually decide to take a break and reach for the snacks.
A more accessible cousin to Needle Felting (that is just as satisfying) is sewing your own Felted Ornaments!
All you need is some felt sheets, some embroidery floss, a needle, and your imagination to be able to create some cosy bag accessories, Christmas ornaments, and trinkets!
It’s a great medium to explore stitch-work, beading, and other adorning techniques; but if you find yourself anxious to start, all you really need is a good handle on the blanket stitch and a willingness to try something new.
Felting ornaments is a great entry point into sewing crafts if your young person has indicated wanting to try, as the embroidery floss and felt are hearty against untrained hands (making it harder for the thread to break and fabric to pucker). They can create felted versions of their cartoon characters in this medium, create bookmarks, crowns, and so much more! It truely is a gateway craft into how versatile felt is as a making medium.
I strongly believe that the Preserved Flower trend is coming to an end, as I see more preserved flower pots being donated to op shops or sold on Facebook Marketplace for half the sum that they were originally worth. But for the savy DIYer, that comes with a silver lining…
With materials becoming cheaper and more accessible, you can turn some of these bouquets that are looking a little worse for wear into charming decor that matches your own unique vibe and adds a pop of colour into your home.
Now - preserved/dried flowers provide a great material source for a bunch of floral adjacent crafts, but the reason I specifically creating a terrarium is to ensure your creations longevity, as preserved/dried flowers can degrade quicker when in the direct path of aircon, and protect them from dust.
To help you get started I’ve linked the cheat sheet we use at workshops here, but basically you want to glue a material like styrofoam (points for re-purposing!) or floral foam that you then stab the flowers into. The beauty with this is that if you are indecisive, the base allows you to keep playing until you create your perfect arrangement. Just remember to check the height of your jar whilst building so your florals aren’t too squished.
Weaving is an all-ages friendly craft that encourages process play, and is again very versatile in its outcomes. You can Weave small coasters and friendship bracelets through to homewares and wall tapestries depending on the size of your loom, which you can literally make out of cardboard!
You can Weave with clothing scraps, paper, ribbons, organic materials, wool roving and more; but the most common starting ground is wool which you can invest in, or buy second hand at most Op Shops.
If you’re just trying out the craft for the first time you’ll find heaps of tutorials online for how to create weaving tools from items you can find around your house, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself having a new found appreciation for all the clothing and homewares made from woven materials around your home as you really begin to respect the process.
Decoupage is a craft that doesn’t necessarily align with my self identified couch-potato checklist of avoiding a liquid clean up; However, it is such a charming craft that’ll allow you to rejuvenate and up-cycle your homewares into bright and colourful homewares. I’m confident that once you finish one project, you’ll be eagerly looking around for something else to decorate.
We do have a few tips to help you get the optimal results…
You’ll be best to start with a flat surface like a tray or thick photo frame. If you’re going to start with something like a vase, ensure it has an even circumference (like in the photo attached) . The most beginner friendly (and cheap) material to decoupage with is napkins - and removing the lower plys of napkins and only gluing the top ply with ensure a really clean transfer and edge of the piece. Lastly, don’t brush any glue on top of the piece if you suspect the glue underneath is still wet, as this could cause the napkin to tare.
The steps above aren’t there to deter you, but rather allow you to jump past a lot of my own learnings.
Polymer Clay is a bake-able clay that allows you to create pretty much anything… most commonly jewellery, but its also fantastic for making miniatures, 3D characters, and so much more!
All you need is some packs of Polymer Clay (you can truely just start with one as you can paint your baked items!), and of course - an oven to get you started! And then, if you (like us) find yourself enamoured, there are many tools and accessories you can purchase to push your designs further.
The best part about Polymer Clay is that you only need to bake what you truely love! As you can disassemble most things without too much product loss, and if you pack it away in something relatively airtight it’ll last quite a long time.
There are different brands out there, but I do believe paying a little extra for the Sculpy brand is worth the investment as it cooks more evenly and is at less risk of burning.
I hope you’ve found this post useful, and that it has perhaps led you to think about exploring a new craft this Winter! If you have any questions about the materials or processes for the above crafts please feel free to get in touch, or let us know what you favourite Winter craft is!