25 Low Cost Hobbies You Must Try
We love crafting, creating handmade items, and generally exploring new ideas. The problem is, many of them can get expensive quickly as craft supplies add up. While there are many free hobbies that come to mind first, such as going for walks, birdwatching, writing and journaling, drawing or sketching, stargazing, meditating or doing yoga at home, singing or listening to audiobooks, some others don’t come so easily to mind. Picking up a low-cost hobby is also great for keeping you out of debt.
Another advantage of picking up a low-cost hobby is that, once you get good at it, it’s possible to turn it into a money-making side gig. Many people master a hobby and try to turn it into a business, but fail to correctly calculate the costs of making the product and the profit they make. We’ve created a pricing calculator spreadsheet template, perfect for running a small business. Having produced and sold over 2,000 handmade items, I surely wish I had this tool when I was starting out.
These are our favorite creative and low-cost hobbies that are engaging, fun, and accessible to almost anyone.
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1. Knitting
Knitting is no longer just a craft for old ladies or something your grandma did while watching TV. It provides cognitive stimulation, develops fine motor skills, and can reduce stress through repetitive motion. There are so many cool modern patterns available on sites like Etsy, Ravelry, Love Crafts, Knitty, and Hobbii. For those with children, knitting sweaters can be so rewarding. It’s a great way to keep your hands busy while waiting for lunch or for homework to finish.
Knitting needles, too, have come a long way since the last time my grandma knitted. It’s easy to pick up a nice case with a zipper, with needles of all sizes that can be made into round needles with adjustable connecting wires. Markers and all accessories come in the pack, and they are also affordable.
Knitting is also the perfect indoor winter activity. Looking for things to do in the winter? Check out our Cozy Winter guide to a Happy Winter at Home
There is also something to be said about the tactile feel of working with yarn. Knitting can be rewarding and calming, offering a great way to unwind and manage stress. It’s easily transportable and leaves no mess. However, it’s not recommended if you have cats at home who may like to play with the yarn.
2. Origami
Here’s a craft that costs next to nothing and requires many hours and patience. Not one that we’ve personally mastered at all. It’s also great for kids, as it encourages creativity and focus while they watch amazing animals and figures emerge from thin paper.
Since reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, we have spent many hours making origami.
The Origami World channel on YouTube is a great resource for learning to master origami. And completely free to.
3. Point Lace Embroidery
Point Lace embroidery is another favorite here. Since it demands focus, concentration, and hand-eye coordination, it is a great craft for aging individuals seeking to maintain mental agility and dexterity.
It has a very low cost – only the cost of buying the thread materials and needles, if you don’t already have them. The hours spent crafting each item are well-rewarded by the end result.
Point lace needlework makes beautiful tablecloths that look gorgeous on a dark wood table. Best to put a glass top over the table for easy cleaning, so it can be used daily. And of course, you can always decide to make a business out of it. It’s a beautiful, high-level craft that takes skill and patience to master. We love the channel Threads Tribe – By Veena Rao.
4. Book Binding
Book binding is a great way to practice your patience and skills. It encourages attention to detail and can be calming, providing a break from screen time. Depending on how serious you are about mastering this craft, you may decide to acquire some additional tools.
The options are endless, as you can stain the pages of the paper you use, or even make your own paper out of discarded scrap paper.
For the cover, there are many options, including leather or matted cardboard. Leather-bound journals can make a great small business for an additional income. There are many amazing YouTube videos that can serve as teaching resources if you decide to try this centuries-old craft.
If you decide to purchase a book-binding kit to get you started, you have the added bonus that you can also use it for a flower press, although, of course, not at the same time.
5. Baking
We are great fans of baking, especially bread. Baking can help improve precision and patience and serve as a therapeutic, creative outlet. There’s nothing like the smell of home-baked bread coming out fresh from the oven.
We’ve mastered the art of making the most delicious, easy bread that only needs to be kneaded twice and rise twice. It literally takes us 6 minutes to make it. We’ll add our recipe below so you can try it too.
6. Cooking
This is a pretty obvious one, but it’s amazing how many people don’t cook. Cooking can be an amazing way to spend time, learn new skills, and foster creativity. There is a transformation of energy that flows when you change the form, shape, taste, and properties of raw ingredients.
The food items you can make are innumerable. Baked dishes, fried dishes, and slow cooker recipes. Even foods like sushi can be surprisingly easy to make with the right instructions, a video, and the right ingredients.
We recently made Thai soup, sushi, kebabs, crackers, granola bars, and more. Take cooking on as a hobby, surprise yourself and your loved ones. It’s time well spent. And of course, you can always decide on ways to turn your newly discovered passion into a money-making side hustle.
7. Painting with watercolors
Watercolors are inexpensive to buy, but the paper and brushes are not always so. Nevertheless, painting with watercolors makes for an excellent hobby. It packs small and can easily be taken with you on a hike or a walk in nature.
We absolutely love watercolors, especially those from Winsor & Newton. The colors flow together beautifully, and they last a very long time. This particular set includes 16 colors, 3 tubes, a brush, and a palette, all in a very compact size.
As with many other things, when it comes to watercolors, you get what you pay for. I strongly recommend against buying the cheapest watercolor set you can find, as the colors won’t blend or be well pigmented, and you won’t enjoy using it.
Once you’ve mastered painting with watercolors, there are so many ways you can make money with it. You can make postcards and sell the digital files on sites like Etsy; you can make clip art with them and sell the separate elements on sites where graphic designers can find them; or you can use them as backdrops for staged pictures for other purposes, too.
8. Creative Writing, Journaling, or Blogging
You can write. Letters to a pen pal. Did you know there is a comeback of letter writing? Pen pal groups have popped up all over Facebook, where one can find a pen pal from anywhere in the world. As I read those groups, it amazes me that there are people who don’t know how to read cursive and feel they need to mention it to avoid future letters not being read.
You can write in your journal – thoughts, emotions, frustrations, plans, aspirations. This habit can help clarify thoughts, improve self-awareness, and serve as an emotional outlet. Something nice happens when you pick up a pen and paper and actually write something down, rather than typing it all down.
9. Learn a New Language
Learning a new language is a rewarding hobby that keeps your brain active. It makes you smarter and sharper, and it improves your ability to remember other information.
There are many apps and resources to help you get started. Much of it depends on your learning style: whether you prefer apps or desktop applications.
10. Learn to Play an Instrument
Learning to play an instrument can significantly reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s later in life. It enhances memory, patience, and motor skills by requiring the brain to form new neural connections. There are so many new brain connections that need to be formed that it is no wonder so many people give up and don’t continue learning if they were taking lessons as children.
It’s never been easier to learn to play an instrument than now. Music instruments are cheap and well-made compared to a few hundred years ago. Advancements in musical instrument manufacturing make it possible to have easy access to what was once a very unattainable art.
11. Listen to Audiobooks
For people who aren’t much readers or don’t have time to read, audiobooks can be a great way to ‘read’. In addition to convenience, listening to audiobooks can make routine tasks like cleaning the kitchen or doing laundry more enjoyable and help you relax, learn, or de-stress while staying productive.
Many sites, such as archive.org, offer public-domain audiobooks for streaming. Actually, the site even has a feature that lets you have any book read aloud to you, though the voice sounds mechanical.
For paid sites, Audible is the winner here. Look for special discounts or subscription plans.
12. Lace cut pottery, Pierced clay, Filigree pottery
Let’s face it, not everyone has the space for a potter’s wheel in their home, or can deal with the mess that comes with it.
Lace-cut pottery is a great hobby because it relieves stress, builds patience, and yields beautiful pieces that can be sold at a premium.
13. Upcycle Furniture
Some people flip houses, some – furniture.
If you have some spare time, energy, physical mobility, and are bursting with creativity, upcycling furniture can be extremely rewarding. It’s easy to obtain an unwanted and often free piece of furniture on online marketplaces or “buy nothing” Facebook groups. You are then to arrange transport to your place, where you can sand, scrape, paint, varnish, or otherwise reshape this otherwise often brown or ugly piece of furniture beyond imagination.
Pro tip: There is a product called Liquid Sandpaper that can often eliminate the need to hand-sand or otherwise create dust in your place. Whether you are using liquid sandpaper or a sanding machine, wearing a proper respiratory mask is a must.
14. Papier mache
Papier mache is an extremely low-cost and very creative way to create beautiful objects out of, well, paper, or toilet paper. All it takes is an idea, some table space (and a table protective cover), and glue. You mix the paper with the glue and apply it in layers over an armature (which can be easily made from wire) or another object you use as a mold.
The object you create can be painted afterward, and you can add as much ot as little detail as you like. It can be varnished to protect the paper from moisture and add shine, if desired.
15. Polymer clay jewelry
The jewelry style from the 60s is making a comeback. There are plenty of small shops on Etsy that have popped up, making this type of jewelry. Making polymer clay jewelry is not only fun, but also boosts fine motor skills and offers endless creative expression. Once you get good at it, you’ll have the opportunity to make a business out of it.
16. Sewing
Sewing has been one of the oldest professions. People have made clothes since the beginning of time. It’s a good way to practice your patience, express creativity, and reshape old clothes. Whether you are starting with new fabrics or reshaping old ones, sewing can be a very rewarding hobby.
And the bonus – you can create gift items, clothes for your children, boutique items you can sell, or simply make your own custom pillows, or save on paying for a seamstress.
We really like this Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine because it lets me sew full-grain leather and make moccasins. You will need to buy a special needle for leather; however, the time it saves not having to do it by hand is priceless. Needless to say, it effortlessly passes through fabric, blankets, felt, and more.
17. Needle embroidery – goblin
This was a favourite hobby of my grandmother, and I have a special place in my heart for it because of that. It takes a lot of patience to create a large piece. There are patterns you can get featuring famous paintings and using many different colours of thread. The patterns have numbers on them for each colour used.
German people have been known to pay a premium price for goblins made of well-known paintings. Using special threads that don’t fade in sunlight can help you get a premium price for your work, should you choose to sell it.
18. Macramé
Macramé originated with 13th-century Arabic weavers who used knots to finish textile edges, and later developed it into decorative fringes.
Nowadays, stay-at-home moms use macramé to make chandeliers, wall hangings, and hanging pot baskets. It’s a great way to make things you actually need for the house, using only rope, a plan, and some patience.
In India, some women make beautiful macramé swinging chairs that are hung in the living room or the garden. They can be very expensive to ship to the US or Canada, if shipping is even offered. It’s a beautiful way to add practical decor.
19. Wet form leather
I choose to add wet-form leather because, even though purchasing leather isn’t necessarily inexpensive, wet-forming an item takes time, making it a budget-friendly hobby overall.
You’ll need a full-grain vegetable-tanned hide to start with. It’s often possible to get off-cuts for a fraction of the price, and they are a good way to start.
Some of the best items to make are knife sheaths, as you already have the mould (the knife) around which you can work to make your item (the sheath).
There is a very nice niche market for leather sheaths, and it’s perfectly possible to make a profitable business around it.
If you don’t have a cool pocket knife to use as a mould, you can purchase a 3D-printable pattern to build the perfect mould. You then take the mould and wet the leather around it. The result? A perfect sheath that is the same size every time, guaranteed to fit. We have selected this 3D-printable pattern from MyLilRefuge on Etsy, which will make making your sheath a breeze.
20. Resin art
This is another one of my favourites. It’s extremely durable and can be very beautiful; it can also create boutique items that look high-end and expensive.
You can make cup coasters, small bowls, paintings, coffee table tops, or embed dried flowers. The possibilities are endless.
What I don’t like about it is that you have to wear a respirator and work in a designated protected area, as it can be very messy.
However, you can totally make a profitable business around it and create exceptionally beautiful objects.
If you are looking for inspiration, Lola ART is a great YouTube channel to start with.
21. Pressed flower art
This is one anyone can do, and it is a great free activity for children. You basically collect leaves and flowers, then press them in a plant press you can easily make. The plant press has white pages that slowly wick moisture out of the plants. In a matter of weeks to months, you have colorful, dry flowers, which you can then use in your flower art, whatever that may be.
You can use it to make flower art paintings, under a glass table top, in your resin art, or for nail art.
To make a flower press, use two identical pieces of plywood, a drill, and four bolts. If you prefer less work, you can purchase a ready-made press. As an alternative to bolts, you could use a belt to hold the press together, though it may not be as tight.
22. Dried flowers
Much the same effect as the pressed flower art, but this time you use silicon gel grains to dry your flowers. This way, your flowers can retain their original shape and not end up flat, but remain three-dimensional. You can then use them for flower arrangements, to make a resin table top to proudly display at home, or to create resin jewelry.
23. Grow a flower garden
Growing flowers can be extremely rewarding, beautiful, and just awesome. And you can harvest the flowers to use them in your pressed flower art, resin art, and more.
We love this variety pack. It has 480,000 seeds, weighing 1 lb, and is good for zones 3-10. Even if you’re not a gardener, something is guaranteed to grow.
24. Grow a vegetable garden
Much like growing a flower garden, growing a vegetable garden is extremely rewarding. A common misconception is that you need a lot of space to do it; however, that’s not true. You can have a wonderfully satisfying vegetable garden in a few pots on the porch or balcony.
Whether you buy starter plants from the greenhouse or grow your own from seed, it’s an extremely satisfying hobby with endless possibilities.
Growing your own vegetable garden opens a world of possibilities for other hobbies you may pick up in the future. Canning, preserving, making jam, dehydrating, growing herbs, making medicinal tinctures, making skin salves, and even making skin care products. The possibilities are endless.
25. Grow bonsai trees
They are so beautiful, really. There are many ways to grow them, depending on your level of patience and desire for involvement.
You can grow them from seed, which requires the most time, patience, and involvement.
You can buy a plant from the store and make it into a bonsai by pruning and wiring the branches, pruning the roots, and repotting it. There are YouTube channels that teach you exactly how to do it.
Lastly, you can buy an already-grown bonsai tree and learn how to take care of it.
I hope this has given you some ideas, and now you are excited and electrified about your new hobby 🙂
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