I’m sure you’ve seen the trends all around social media. Crocheting, knitting, sewing, diamond painting, embroidery, cross-stitch, needlepoint, art by number, gardening, baking, bird watching- the list goes on and on! Granny hobbies are surging because so many of us are tired of scrolling and consuming content without making anything creative! I’ll be honest: I still scroll throughout the day, but I’ve been making a conscious effort to create something that brings me joy before reaching for my phone. It might mean bringing an extra tote bag everywhere I travel, but for the joy of making something with my hands, I’m ok with that.
You may still be asking yourself, “Granny Hobbies? What are they?” Here is how I like to think of them. They are the things we do to take time for ourselves throughout the day. To create, to recharge, or to do something that brings us joy. They are also thought of as crafts or activities that we would see our grandmothers, grandfathers, and the more elderly folks doing because, honestly, they usually have the time, and why not do something that makes your heart happy?!
My Current Granny Hobbies:
Cross Stitch – You can do this hobby WAAAY cheaper than Needlepoint. Get yourself a cute pattern (PLEASE support small businesses and DO NOT use shops that make their content with AI generation; you’ll be so disappointed because they generally do not check if their pattern can actually be made!) Purchase some floss (DMC is my favorite), a few tapestry needles, some AIDA cloth, and a hoop! This is my top hobby right now.
Needlepoint – This is a little pricey to start, but for good reason. Instead of counting stitches like you do with cross-stitch, the creators will paint the design on the cloth for you. All you need to do is pick up thread colors you’ll enjoy, some needles, a stretcher bar, and tacks (if you want), and you’re good to go!
Embroidery – Another pretty inexpensive hobby; the hardest part is finding a pattern to start with because there are so many amazing ones (same disclaimer as above with AI-generated content, please be mindful of not supporting those who use it); you’ll also need some cloth to stitch on, an embroidery hoop, some embroidery needles, and floss (again, DMC is a great one that can be found in most places)
Sourdough Baking – one of my amazing friends got me hooked on making my own sourdough. This is a more involved hobby, as it does require you to keep your sourdough starter alive, so it’s not something you can just put down (unless you do the fridge method!) because it needs loving daily. You’ll need: sourdough starter, a container (or two) to keep your starter in, bread flour, and depending on how invested you want to get, you can purchase banneton bowls, bread slings, Dutch oven(s), the list goes on. I have seen many crafty folks who don’t use any of those items and make their bread just fine.
Now that I’ve shared some of my favorite hobbies that I’m currently loving, let’s talk about revamping what we call these hobbies. I personally enjoy the term granny hobby, but I can understand why most of us ‘younger’ folks might not and that’s ok!
Here’s my list of ideas:
- Slow crafts
- Analog crafts
- Cottagecore crafts
- Mindful Making
What name would you give your favorite cozy hobby? Please share any photos of your most recent hobby so that we can all oooooh and ahhhh together.
