7 Hot Crafting Trends in 2024

06 Mar 7 Hot Crafting Trends in 2024

Stitchcraft Marketing is back with a new round of predictions for hot crafting trends in 2024! This year readers can expect a few surprises; however, some familiar standbys return to stake a claim on crafter’s hearts. For example, an embroidery trend we included in 2022 and 2023 refuses to give up its spot on the list, and is joined by a quilter’s take on the trend. Keep reading to learn them all and let us know: did we forget one of your favorite trends for 2024?

Embroidered Everything

(Clockwise starting top left) @annanikipirowicz, @brittyblooms, @knittedblissjc, @lucycutspaper, @kasiajacquotembroidery, @flynn_and_mabel

This trend refuses to go away, but we’re not mad about it. Embroidery continues to find its way onto anything you can poke a needle and thread through, whether it’s paper, photographs, knit and crochet garments and accessories, quilts, or clothing. That’s partly why we’ve listed it first—if you have a crafty business that invites embroidery embellishments, it’s time to start thinking of ways to incorporate embroidery into your offerings!

Embroidering everything combines several trends quietly riding the waves of craft culture: upcycling (think boho and sashiko), embellishments (included in our 2023 predictions), and leaning into handmade home decor. The trend of embroidering onto different materials also taps into accessibility and ease. All a crafter needs is a needle and thread and a little knowledge of basic embroidery stitches—no need to purchase a canvas or hoop to get started. 

In line with embroidering everything, we’re also seen a lot more stick and stitch designs and kits on the market. It makes sense—quilters, sewists, knitters, and crocheters can pick up a stitch and stitch and easily add embroidery to anything they want. Adding stick and stitch kits to your store is an easy way to tap into this trend!

Quilted Everything 

(Clockwise starting top left) @psychicoutlaw, @stitchmodequilts, @katebrownquilts, @bluetuliphandmade, @craftykristinf, @queen.of.marigold picture of @laurahartrich

Adding quilting to garments, accessories and objects has also become a hot trend among crafters. Quilted hats have become really popular—check out these versions from Psychic Outlaw (shown above), Sundew Sewing Company, and Caitlyn Paige Creative. Quilters are stitching quilted shoes, bags, 

Unsurprisingly, the Quilted Everything trend enjoyed lots of attention at QuiltCon this year. Quilted shirts, jackets, bags, and clothes were everywhere! Designer Kate Brown quilted a structured star block and then sewed it onto a bomber jacket (shown above). Teresa Fiehn Millies snapped a pic of Laura Hartrich at QuiltCon wearing a jumpsuit featuring a quilted bull’s-eye (also featured above), which utilized the same curved blocks from Laura’s QuiltCon entry! Modern Handcraft (aka Nicole Daksiewicz) donned t-shirts with quilted cabin block motifs for every day of the convention, as did Stitch Mode Quilts, who embellished sweatshirts with various quilted designs (the heart sweatshirt seen above).

The Quilted Everything trend follows on the patchwork trend we noticed late last year, as well as the enduring upcycling trend. The trend also proves quilters’ clear desire for showcasing their craft outside of the home. This trend offers craft business owners a wonderful opportunity to create projects, kits, and classes geared towards smaller quilted items that can be turned into accessories or sewn onto clothing. 

Candle Painting

(Clockwise starting top left) @raath_bianca, @macerlyofficial, @anyarinracha, @mjtablescapes @kira_goode

Candle making was a big trend last year. In 2024, the trend has grown to include candle painting. Candle painting went viral on TikTok and it’s slowly becoming more popular on platforms like Instagram. 

Candle painting has a really low barrier to entry. Crafters don’t need to make candles or even spend a lot of money on specialty supplies. To engage in candle painting, all you need is to buy some candles and acrylic paint, or just candles! The trend started with crafters painting with acrylic on candles. It has since morphed into melting colored tea candles and using the wax to paint three-dimensional shapes onto tapered candles. 

While this is an easy trend to jump on, it’s not as easy a craft to master if you opt for using wax. So far, we’ve seen lots of comments lamenting the difficulty of painting clean shapes with wax as the material hardens too quickly—on both brush and candle. You have to work fast! Because of this, crafters are keeping it simple: think clouds, stars, basic flowers, polka dots, hearts, etc. Crafters using acrylic achieve much better results and the process itself is much easier. The effect is very pretty, and does provide a nice, inexpensive gift idea! The act of candle painting has become a strong alternative to the ever popular “paint night” for Gen Z and Gen Y girls.

Mosaic Color Work

(Clockwise from top left) Mosaic Knitting Workshop by Ashleigh Wempe, Ambah O’Brien, Amy Christoffers, Moonstrick Knits, Andrea Mowry, Melanie Berg

Mosaic color work has always been a popular technique among knitters and crocheters. However, we’ve seen a recent explosion in the number of color work garments and accessories being published by designers. It’s not surprising—of all the color work methods available (intarsia, stranded, and mosaic), mosaic is the easiest to work. It usually only requires managing one color per row, as opposed to juggling multiple colors at a time.

Credit designers like Andrea Mowry and Amy Christoffers, who have published Mosaic color work designs that have dominated Ravelry’s Hot Right Now list. Mowry’s “Tessellated” series features the same mosaic colorwork in a cardigan, pullover, socks, and recently published vest. Christoffers “Pressed Flowers” series features the same mosaic colorwork in a hat, shawl, cardigan, vest, cowl, pullover, and socks. Designer Ashleigh Wempe published a very popular collection of mosaic knitting patterns last year in her book Mosaic Knitting Workshop. Look at published designs from Ambah O’Brien, Lyrical Knits, Marly Bird, SweaterFreak, Isabell Kraemer, and Melanie Berg from the last year and you’ll notice a profusion of mosaic designs. 

(Clockwise from top left) Ana-Maria, Ana Morais Soares, Sixel Design, Briana K. Designs, Natalia Kononova, Rosina Plane

And it’s not just knitters. Crochet designers are producing lots of mosaic color work designs as well. Crochet designers like Tinna Thórudóttir, BebaBlanket, Rosina Plane and Ana Morais Soares, and Natalia Kononova have all featured intricate mosaic color work designs over the last year. 

Air Dry Clay

(Clockwise from top left) @eggiestudio.co, @lisakflower, @claymoo.co, @art_ofclay, @sculpdit

Terrazzo was hot in 2022, resin was hot in 2023, and now 2024 is the year for air dry clay. This is another trend whose popularity could be credited to ease. Of all the sculptural trends cited, it is the easiest to accomplish, with no need to fire anything—no kiln or oven necessary. Air dry clay is also very affordable and easy to handle. 

Air dry clay is also adaptable to many items. Create home decor, ornaments, jewelry, wall art, plant pots, tea candle holders and more. Air dry clay is flexible, easy to use, non-toxic, and dries in room temperature within a day or two. Air dry clay objects can be stamped, painted and embellished with beads, sequins, glitter and other materials. 

Craft Kits

(Clockwise from top left) Claymoo, LegitKits, MCreativeJ, The Woobles, Hallby

If you aren’t creating kits for your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity—not just to engage your current customer, but to draw new crafters and customers into your community. 

All of the trends on this list are currently featured in all-inclusive kits of some kind. The company Sculpd has candle painting kits and air dry clay kits. Claymoo focuses solely on creating easy air dry clay kits. Perform a Google search for “Mosaic Knitting Kit” and “Mosaic Crochet Kit” and find results featuring Lion Brand Yarn Company, Stephen West, The FIbre Co. and others. Embroidery kits abound, whether you want to explore sashiko mending or a small hooped design from your favorite designer. MCreativeJ creates embroidery kits that include thread, fabric, needle, transfer design, hoop, backing materials, sewing pins and instructions. Legit Kits sells patterns and complete kits to create paper pieced quilts. And you’ve likely heard of The Woobles, the crochet amigurumi kit company that secured nearly half a million dollars on Shark Tank and which now generates $3 million a year. 

Rather than overwhelm a new crafter with a list of supplies, creating kits makes it easy for crafters to start a new craft hobby by providing everything they need in one package. Craft kits also offer a fantastic means for generating custom content for your business. Consider partnering with independent craft designers on exclusive designs and gathering materials together to create exclusive kits. In a world where the same or similar products are a search engine away, custom kits are an effective way to stand out from the competition. 

Group Crafts

(Clockwise from top left) Quilt. Summer Camp, Knit Happy! Summit, KNITopia Philadelphia, Thimbles Paint Party, mYak Knitting Retreat with Isabell Kraemer

Now that you have kits on your to do list, add group crafts as your next task. Group craft events are huge right now, for a few reasons. 

We’re still in a post-pandemic world; some people have returned to life as usual, some have not made the full leap yet. You could draw a throughline between the appeal of events that unite crafters around specific projects and events and a desire to “get back to normal.” The other reason for the increasing popularity of group crafts is one we raised around craft kits. By fostering group crafting events, you are creating an exclusive, custom offering that crafters can’t find elsewhere. 

Recently, a group of knitwear designers created an online event called The Knit Happy! Summit. Catering to knitters, the event included classes and workshops, patterns, presentations, and live online stitch sessions. Summits, seminars, and retreats abound in the crafting world. Mary Go Round Quilts hosts a Free Motion Quilting Summit, and Quilt 2024 hosted an online summit in January and has another summit planned for the summer. Dozens of craft designers regularly host make alongs (mystery and otherwise) all year long. 

Group crafting events help to strengthen your communities and engage with your followers on a consistent basis. And again, group crafting events support singular, one-of-a-kind content in a world that increasingly relies on Googling to find the cheapest version of the other products you’re selling. Any opportunity to create a unique experience should be exploited!

Don’t feel limited by the craft you sell, either. Our client, Thimbles, regularly hosts a Paint Party at their shop for their quilting customers. Consider the crafts on this list that could first be made into kits, and then turned into group crafting events—like candle painting, embroidery, and air dry clay. 

Do you need help incorporating 2024’s hot crafting trends into your marketing strategy?  Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like to work with us, contact us today to get started!