Make and mend, not spend: Britain is now a nation of crafters

We heard from a lot of Cricut members telling us how they were turning to their hobbies even more during lockdown. Some used their crafty skills for good, making face coverings for themselves, their families and their communities and some saw the benefits of spending some time crafting to help stay mindful, aid mental health and spend time crafting together as a family.

We decided to look into this a bit deeper and carried out some research into the nation’s crafty habits and we have to say we weren’t too surprised at the results!

• Three quarters (79%) of Brits said they now craft more than they did pre-lockdown
• The majority (96%) said they now plan to continue making their own products, rather than buying them from their usual shop
• 78% plan to create more activities from scratch or holiday from home
• Nearly half (46%) cancelled plans, instead preferring (or ‘in order to’) to spend more time crafting
• Hosting a garden party (73%) was the most popular activity to recreate from home

We also discovered that the nation is proving selfless and generous, with 82% creating in order to gift presents to family and friends.

Half (49%) of Brits are also using their newfound skill to create cancelled experiences at home. Hosting a traditional garden party tops the list (73%), followed by a recreating a baby shower or pre-wedding celebration (39%). The cancellation of this year’s Glastonbury may also be influencing our choices as a fifth (22%) are also hosting their own music festival.

It’s not just crafting we’ve been trying – three quarters of us (73%) have learnt a new skill. The top skills being practised after crafting include DIY and Baking (34%), followed by a new language (6%) and learning a musical instrument (3%).

84% of Brits also revealed that social media has inspired them to become more creative. With celebrities like Stacey Solomon leading the way with her tap to tidy trend, showcasing how easy it is to recreate these craft skills at home.

This research shines an interesting light on our attitudes to getting creative during lockdown. A positive legacy from the lockdown is that people have used their unexpected time at home to develop a new hobby or skill, something which they can hopefully continue to love and progress with once things return to the new normal.

With more people developing craft as a hobby than ever before, those looking for inspiration for new ideas and projects can look to Cricut to find them in abundance. Our range of Cricut machines cater for every person, whatever stage of the crafting journey they are at, whether this be beginners’ level such as home organisation and personalisation or crafting connoisseur dreaming up grand projects.

The research survey was carried out by Cricut to a total of 6,145 people across the UK.