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Hobbycraft has surveyed 10,000 UK adults for its first annual Craft Report, which details which crafts are popular, which are on the way up, and which are dying out.
The arts and crafts retailer says the crafting movement is a growing trend, with almost two-thirds of the survey’s respondents describing crafts as ‘fashionable’. It notes that sales of jewellery making kits are up 54% at Hobbycraft compared with last year, and accessorising blanks have increased by 445%.
Katherine Patterson, customer development director of Hobbycraft, said: “It’s official: we are a nation of makers! More people than ever are now taking up creative hobbies as a way to relax and escape their busy lives, as well as looking to learn practical craft skills. Our first Hobbycraft report reveals what’s trending now and what’s next for the world of crafting.
“Shockingly, the report exposes that one in five people can’t sew a button on. As a result of this, we’ll soon be launching our Great British Button Challenge, giving free buttons to primary schools across the UK to get kids sewing.”
Nearly half of those polled aged 44-54 were taught at school to sew a button on, compared with just a third of those aged 25-34. And 31% of those aged 18-24 cannot sew on a button compared with just 5% of those aged over 55. Women are on top when it comes to sewing, with nine in ten able to sew on a button compared to just three-quarters of men.
The specialist chain forecasts that 2018 will see the rise of new more specialist crafts becoming mainstream, as the nation gets more adventurous. Predictions for the tops crafts this year include lino printing, candle making, weaving, jungle prints and macramé.
The retailer also reveals five crafts that are falling out of favour: mosaics (-36.1%), candy making (-19%), jewellery making (-37%), maché crafts (-13.2%) and adult colouring in (-13%).
This spring sees Hobbycraft championing ‘craftrepreneurs’, as the retailer host its first ever Open House event to recruit British brands and makers interested in launching their products in the retail sector.
Hobbycraft already has many long-standing small British suppliers such as Randall’s Candles in Norfolk, which has been exclusively supplying Make Your Own candle kits to Hobbycraft for the past year.
Founded in 1995, Hobbycraft bills itself as the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK, with more than 80 stores nationwide. It offers over 25,000 products for 250 activities including cookware and baking supplies; art materials; craft kits and components; paper craft; knit, stitch and haberdashery; and ready-to-make jewellery.
