Upskill in downtime with the crafts to learn at home

Embroider your way through self-isolation

Embroidery was already making a comeback as a craft form, but as we search for ways to keep our fingers busy during our extended periods at home, its resurgence is likely to grow and grow. Keep one step ahead of the crowd by buying a starter kit from Etsy. There are lots of different patterns to choose, from portraits of famous faces such as Frida Kahlo to exotic flowers and motivational slogans. A lovely gift to send someone you’re thinking about, each design comes set in a circular frame ideal for hanging on the wall.

Etsy embroidery kits from £5 – buy here

Sketch, colour and paint away your worries

Expand your art skills with a subscription to Artful. Each quarter, the company works with a featured artist to select a range of premium art tools (from state-of-the-art brushes to unusual paints), each designed to challenge and inspire budding artists to get creative. These are then packed into a box and posted to your door as a pot-luck range of materials to ignite your artistic flair. As for tips and advice for how to draw, look to the Instagram account of Luke Adam Hawker. The artist posts regular tutorials on how to sketch some of London’s most prominent landmarks.

Artful subscriptions cost £35 a quarter / £120 annually – buy here

Knit for gentle concentration

Craft supplies company Wool and the Gang has managed to take the age-old, unfashionable art of knitting and make it look hip, cool and contemporary. Their gorgeous knitting kits are split into four skill levels, ranging from beginner to advanced, and feature everything from bobble hats and roll neck jumpers to crochet bags and snoods. Kits come with plenty of material, needles and instructions on how to stitch your chosen design. With more time on your hands – not to mention the websites of many fashion retailers struggling to keep up with high demand – knitting your own garments could prove the project that keeps you busy in isolation and well-dressed when you’re finally out and about again.

Wool and the Gang easy knitting kits from £18 – buy here

Learn the art of calligraphy

Use this downtime to put pen to paper and learn how to draw beautiful letters with a starter calligraphy set from Quill London. Founder Lucy Edmonds usually teaches calligraphy workshops at its studios in Islington and Clerkenwell, and while both studios are currently closed, you can still purchase Quill’s gorgeous sets online and set about designing invites, writing cards or simply playing around with the brand’s clean and minimalistic aesthetic. You could also purchase Lucy’s book, Modern Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Art of Creativity, to guide you.

Quill London’s calligraphy kits from £7 - buy here

Mend broken plates with a kintsugi kit

Born from a philosophy that embraces change and imperfection, kintsugi provides the perfect means to turn your accidents (broken pots and mugs etc) into art. The practice is based on a Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold. From experience, it’s a truly uplifting activity to throw yourself into while you’re stuck at home. Many online stores offering the kits are currently closed, but Not On The High Street is still up and running, selling a range of different kits.

Sandy Leaf Farm’s Kintsugi Repair Kit, £15 – Buy here

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​Make your own terrarium

Terrariums – plant life grown in sealed glass pots – have been all the rage for a while now. Mesmerising to look at with their layers of soil, stones and greenery, these ornamental ecosystems are a great alternative to having a garden and a chance to bring the outside world indoors this spring.

Rather than buying one ready-made, build your own with the help of London Terrariums, a New Cross Gate-based studio run by passionate horticulturalists who worked with the V&A on its Fashioned From Nature exhibition. While its studio is closed and workshops have been put on hold right now, you can still buy a range of terrarium-making kits from the website.

London Terrariums’ DIY terrariums from £25 – buy here

Become a pro biscuit baker

As pronounced by Mary Poppins, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in tough times. But rather than resorting to shop-bought treats, look to a Master Icing Kit from artesan online biscuit company Biscuiteers. Each kit comes with a selection of icing pastes and paraphernalia, plus cutters, skewers and a cake tin – so all you’ll need is the store cupboard essentials to make the dough. Follow the instructions in the pack to decorate your bakes exquisitely, or take part in the Biscuiteers Ice-olation challenge: weekly tutorials in how to perfect the art of biscuit baking and decorating. Lessons are led by the company’s head designer Lucy and are posted on the Biscuiteers website.

Biscuiteers’ Master Icing Kit from £50 – buy here

Ferment your own kimchi

Kimchi – a spicy condiment of salted and fermented vegetables that’s filled with healthy bacteria and probiotics – has long been a staple in Korean cuisine. It’s gained popularity in the western world too, lauded for its many health benefits – from lowering cholesterol levels to boosting immunity. At a time when we’re making few, precious trips into the outside world each week, finding a stockist might be tricky right now. But there’s really no need; kimchi is easy to make once you have the right ingredients – and it can be jarred and stord for months.

For all the ingredients and equipment in one easy bundle, look to Love Kimchi, a Liverpudlian-based kimchi specialist offering home delivery.

Love Kimchi’s kimchi making sets, £34.78 – buy here