Summer Craft Activities To Keep You Cool
There is something deliciously ironic about being a crafter in summer. The very season that fills knitters and crocheters with the urge to make, create and produce is the same one that makes your usual materials feel entirely unappealing. Nobody wants to sit with a half-finished Aran sweater over their lap when the mercury is rising. The wool tends to get put away. The knitting needles go quiet. And for a few blissful, sweltering weeks, the question becomes: now what do I do with my hands?
The good news is that summer craft activities are a world of their own – lighter, breezier and often just as satisfying as the cosy indoor pursuits of autumn and winter. The long, unhurried days of July and August are a wonderful opportunity to explore creative territories we might not normally venture into. So before declaring a crafting holiday to spend the summer months horizontal in the garden, read on!
Why Summer is a brilliant time for crafters
There is a tendency among committed crafters to think of summer as a creative gap – a pause between the productive seasons on either side. But that rather undersells what the warmer months have to offer. Natural light is extraordinary for colour work. The outdoors becomes a studio. Children are home and looking for things to do. And the relaxed pace of summer lends itself beautifully to crafts that are portable, sociable and unhurried.
Here are some of our favourite summer craft activities to keep your hands busy and your creativity alive.
Summer craft activities worth trying this year
Pressed flower art
There is something almost meditative about pressed flower art, and summer is when the raw materials are at their most abundant. Take a slow walk – through the garden, a hedgerow or a local park – and collect flowers, leaves, seed heads and grasses that catch your eye. Press them between the pages of a heavy book with a layer of absorbent paper, and leave them for two to three weeks. The results can be genuinely beautiful. Pressed botanicals make stunning greetings cards, handmade bookmarks, framed wall pieces or even decorations for hand-poured candles. It’s also a craft that costs almost nothing and produces pieces of real charm and originality. Children take to it with enthusiasm, which is always a bonus during the long summer holiday.
Leaf printing
One of those crafts that sounds deceptively simple but produces results that genuinely surprise. Gather leaves of various shapes and sizes – the more varied the better – and apply a layer of fabric or acrylic paint to the underside where the veins are most pronounced. Press firmly onto paper or fabric, peel back carefully, and you are left with a natural print of extraordinary detail. Repeat across a piece of cotton and you have a piece of fabric that looks entirely original. Use it for a tote bag, a cushion cover or a tea towel. It’s also a wonderful way to record the season – a print made in July will look quite different from one made in September as the leaves change.
Watercolour painting outdoors
Watercolour is the quintessential summer medium – lightweight, portable and perfectly suited to capturing the quality of summer light. A small artists travel kit, a pad of watercolour paper and a jar of water is all you need. Take yourself outside – into the garden, onto the beach, or to a local view you’ve always meant to sit with – and simply look. You don’t need to be an accomplished painter to find the process deeply satisfying. Loose washes of colour, impressionistic landscapes, abstract studies of light on water: watercolour is wonderfully forgiving when you let go of the idea of precision and just play. If you’ve never tried it, summer is the perfect moment to start.
Friendship Bracelets
Don’t let the name fool you into thinking this is only for teenagers. Friendship bracelets made with embroidery thread or fine yarn are genuinely absorbing to make, completely portable and deeply satisfying to give. The knotting patterns range from simple chevrons — which you can pick up in an afternoon — to complex woven designs that take considerably longer. They are ideal for crafting in company: at a garden table, on a blanket in the park, or waiting for the bus. The repetitive rhythm of the knotting is genuinely calming, and the finished results make lovely, thoughtful gifts.
Decorated Tote Bags
A plain cotton tote bag is a blank canvas waiting to happen. Using fabric pens, fabric paint or screen-printing inks, you can create something entirely individual — a piece of functional art that is actually used every day. Sketch a design in pencil first, then work with paint or pens to build up the image. Florals, typography, abstract patterns and illustrated portraits all work beautifully on fabric. A heat-fix with an iron makes the design permanent. These make wonderful gifts, sell well at craft fairs, and are a genuinely satisfying way to spend a sunny afternoon.
Tie-Dye
A perennial, saleable summer favourite. The basic spiral, bullseye and crumple techniques are easy to master, and the results have a wonderful unpredictability to them — no two pieces ever come out quite the same. Rubber-band your fabric, apply your dye in sections, wrap in cling film, leave for several hours or overnight, then unwrap to see what you’ve made. T-shirts are the obvious starting point, but there’s no reason to stop there. Socks, tote bags, pillowcases, tea towels and even canvas shoes all take tie-dye beautifully. A sunny afternoon’s work can produce a wardrobe of originals.
Air-Dry Clay
Air-dry clay asks for very little in the way of equipment but offers a great deal in the way of satisfaction. Roll it, pinch it, sculpt it and press textured objects into it to create patterns. Make small pots and bowls, keepsake trinket dishes, simple figurines or decorative tiles. Press leaves or flowers into the surface before it dries for a natural, botanical finish. The clay dries hard at room temperature over 24 to 48 hours (so ideal for outside drying) after which it can be painted with acrylic paints and sealed with varnish. It’s a remarkably versatile medium and particularly good for summer, when the warm air helps it dry evenly.
Macramé Plant Hangers
Macramé has had a quiet but very thorough revival in recent years, and for good reason. It requires no specialist equipment, produces results that look genuinely architectural, and suits the summer aesthetic beautifully. Sell these as the perfect gift for green-fingered friends or family members to help them grow trailing plants or herbs in pots. Ideal for someone who only has access to a smaller area such as a porch or a balcony.
Using cotton cord in varying thicknesses, a small repertoire of basic knots – the square knot, the half hitch, the gathering knot – when combined, will enable you to make increasingly intricate patterns. Add wooden beads or copper rings for a more contemporary finish. The results will make any space feel considered and alive.
And if you need a craft break altogether…
Sometimes the creative well needs to refill. If that’s where you are this summer, you’re in good company. Why not use the slower months to catch up on competitors’ social media, sketch out new product ideas, plan a marketing campaign for autumn, learn a new skill, or do the studio housework you’ve been putting off. Or sleep! There is no shame in rest. It tends to produce better work.
One thing that doesn’t take a summer holiday
Whatever you’re making – or not making – this summer, your craft insurance should be quietly doing its job in the background. Whether you’re selling online, at a workshop, attending a summer fair or just experimenting with new materials at home, it’s worth knowing you’re covered.
At Craft Insurance, we provide specialist cover for UK crafters of every kind — hobbyists, sole traders, craft clubs and registered businesses alike. If you’d like to find out what’s included, or if you have questions about the right level of cover for your summer craft activities and beyond, we’d love to hear from you. You can reach us by phone or email, and have a chat to Sam or Naomi, both of whom understand what crafters do.