7 quirky crafts you’ve probably never heard of but need to try
Crafting during coronavirus has taken the nation by storm, whether it is your first foray into the creative world and you have felt inspired by shows such as Kirsty Allsopp’s Keep Crafting and Carry On and Keith Lemon’s Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft, or you are a professional crafter who has used the time to experiment and prepare new products to expand your business.
Here, we are showcasing 7 crafts you may not have previously tried, for you to focus your creative energies, while away some therapeutic hours for mental health (read more on this in our post ’Crafting Your Way to Better Health’) or simply to discover something new.
DECOUPAGE
The art of ‘paper craft’ better known as ‘sticking images on objects and varnishing to make them look pretty’. ‘Paper’ elements can be anything from table napkins, fabric offcuts and magazine cutouts to old wallpaper. There are limitless possibilities for decorative decoupage, such as miniature ornaments, breathing new life into old cupboards or even making your wardrobe pretty with these floral hangers – the best bit is that it is all personalised to you.
We recommend this starter kit from Etsy containing everything you need to enter into the decoupage world, including full instructions and a number of project ideas to set you on your paper path.
MARQUETRY
Think of mosaics, but with wood. This is a truly beautiful art that uses pieces of natural wood veneer to generate patterns or images as decorative artwork or to upgrade furniture with inlays. The different colours and textures of each wood develops contrast that enables intricate designs to be produced.
For such a detailed craft, it may be worth beginning with a kit to help you get a feel for the process and the tools required.
BEAD LOOMING
Remember making bead bracelets when you were little? Well this is that, stepped up a few hundred notches. With a loom and endless supply of beads, you are able to construct a plethora of items – though jewellery is the obvious choice (earrings, bracelets, and chokers all work really well with this technique), you can branch out into bookmarks, bag handles, decorative artwork and even a festival-worthy band for hats (see below).
To kick off your beady designs, we recommend obtaining a beginner’s loom to help you practice the technique, with seed beads and pattern charts provided, before you venture off with your own designs.
PYROGRAPHY
Why stop at carving wood, when you can experiment with burning designs into it. The term literally means “writing with fire” – sounds pretty cool right? With a heat source and piece of wood, you are only limited by your imagination with the embellishments you can develop using this technique.
Different tips on pyrography equipment allow you to produce various brushstrokes for diverse effects, whilst altering pressure creates different colour tones, permitting greater dimension to be added to your pieces. Needless to say, care should be taken when conducting pyrography, but the end results can be stunning.
Have a go yourself with a kit, such as this one from Etsy, containing all the tools you need to get started.
NEEDLE FELTING
This is one craft personally tried and highly recommended as being a therapeutic way to while away the hours. With a supply of wool (roving wool is most often used) and a barbed needle, you can fabricate a plethora of 3D felted objects, though animals seem to be most popular as the process creates a ‘fuzzy’ effect akin to fur. The activity works by agitating the wool fibres so that they bond together and produce a solid fabric.
We love this super cute bee hive kit, perfect for being a permanent reminder of lazy summer days out in nature.
MACRAMÉ
We are all used to the annoying occurrence of knots, but in this case they are actually an essential component! This textile craft is based on using various styles of knots with strings and cords to create patterns – to get started you can try a few of the different techniques here. It has seen a huge resurgence in recent years, popular for its Bohemian style.
The possibilities with macramé are infinite – from delicate earrings, dreamcatchers and tasseled bags to boho furnishings including floating seating and hangers for plants. The latter could be a perfect addition to spruce up your home and garden (for more ideas on this visit the first in our series on making the most of the space you have for nature).
Give it a go yourself with this DIY plant hanger kit for a different way to bring the outdoors into your home.
METAL STAMPING
Pretty self-explanatory – using stamps to imprint designs, letters, numbers, punctuation and symbols into metal. This is an ideal technique for personalising items, especially popular with adding names and dates to jewellery. The initial outlay for the tools used in metal stamping can be somewhat expensive, but the results and longevity make it worthwhile.
If you are new to metal stamping, then why not try this handy beginners kit.
We hope you feel suitably inspired to experiment with new crafts. Remember to share your creations with us by tagging @citygirlnetwork in your posts, and we will be highlighting our favourites over on Instagram. For more ideas on activities to try if you are still at home with more hours to fill, read our ‘Staying Sane in Self-Isolation’ post.
Disclaimer: We have an affiliate deal with Etsy to keep City Girl Network Magazine running. You can also support us via Patreon or a one-off donation.
Written by Hannah Bird
