The Best Craft & DIY Kits on Etsy

It’s time for my annual Etsy gift guide! In previous years, I’ve covered sewing gifts and fiber arts gifts that you can find on Etsy. This year, I’m going in a slightly different direction.

I love doing crafty things. But sometimes when I have time to sit down and work on a project, I just feel overwhelmed by choices and decisions. What should I make? What supplies do I need? Do I have enough yarn or fabric for that pattern? If I’m creating a new pattern or project, I have to think through the whole thing and troubleshoot as I go. That can be fun to do, but sometimes I just want to sit down and make something without all of that extra planning that goes into starting a project from scratch.

I started buying craft kits from Etsy, so that I’d have a self-contained projects, instructions, and supplies all together. You could buy these kits to make for someone else for the holidays, or you could get these kits for someone who wants to make them.

Since I’m only getting around to posting this in December of 2019, I imagine you’ll be thinking about buying these as gifts, rather than making them as presents, unless you’re quite speedy at making things. Or you might be lucky enough to get an Etsy gift card for the holidays and want to buy a kit for yourself with it! The kits I got ranged from $15 - $45 at the time that I bought them, and most fell between $20 - $30, so they’re quite affordable.

I’ve really enjoyed all of the kits I’ve made so far. They’ve helped me to start new projects, learn new techniques, and finish in a reasonable amount of time. Here are the kits I bought from Etsy, along with my notes on each one. I’m still in the process of making some of them, but I’ll start with the ones I’ve finished first.

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Nuno Felted Scarf Kit

Nuno felting scarf kit from Etsy seller nunofeltingsupplies

Before getting this kit, I’d never felted anything before, so it was fun to learn a new technique to go along with this project! The kit doesn’t include felting instructions, but the seller kindly emailed me a tutorial. I like how this kit came with color-coordinated elements, but also includes some room for creativity and making it your own.

Ribbon Embroidery Kit

Ribbon embroidery kit from Etsy seller exoticbuy

This one was a lot of fun to make! I’ve done ribbon embroidery before, but this one doesn’t have any complicated stitches, so it would be fine for a beginner. It works up fairly quickly, since the ribbons are wider than most embroidery floss. If you have any trouble pulling the thicker ribbons through the fabric, you can use pliers to help. The design is beautiful and the kit is reasonably priced. The only slight downside is that it comes from China, so you will have to wait a little while for shipping. The instructions are also largely in Chinese, but there are lots of pictures, and I didn’t find it hard to follow the pattern.

Historical Pocket Kit

Items related to embroidery from Etsy seller PennyRiver

I know I’ve said this before, but this might be my favorite thing I’ve ever bought on Etsy. I love this historical pocket kit, and although I haven’t done a lot of hand embroidery before, I really enjoyed making it. I’ve been bitten by the embroidery bug, as you might have noticed from some of my recent posts.

Unfortunately, the exact kit I got doesn’t seem to be available at the time of writing, but hopefully PennyRiver will get more in stock! There are some other embroidery kits available, and they’re all historically-themed. Here are a few shots of it in progress and the finished pocket!

Floral Embroidery Kit

Embroidery kits from Etsy seller EllucyStitches

This is one of the most popular embroidery kits on Etsy, and I can see why! I love the pattern, colors, and overall design of it. It’s beginner-friendly, and it works up fairly quickly. It took me a few hours to do, but as I noted above, I’m just getting into hand embroidery, and I’m probably a slower stitcher than some of you out there. I really enjoyed making this one. Unfortunately, this particular kit seems to be out of stock at the moment, but I’ve linked to some others from EllucyStitches above. Here are some shots of it in progress and the finished object.

Leather Wallet Kit

Leather Wallet Kit from JustSewLeather

I really enjoyed putting together this wallet kit! I’ve been using the wallet for several months now, and it has held up very well. It was probably one of the quickest projects I made from the kits I bought. You could easily make your wallet in an hour or two. I’ve done some leatherworking projects before, but this was still a pretty easy project to put together, even for a beginner. It didn’t come with any instructions, but it’s fairly easy to figure out from looking at pictures of the completed product in the Etsy listing. You’ll also want to look up how to do saddle stitching, but it’s not a complicated technique to learn, and the seller included two needles to go with the kit. One thing to keep in mind: this is coming from Russia, so you will have to wait a little while for shipping, but I think it’s worth it.

Silk Painting Kit

Batik flower fabric painting kit from Etsy seller ColorCruiser

This silk painting kit was really fun and easy to complete! I liked the range of colors included and the designs offered by the seller. I’d like to sew mine into a bag or pillow or something, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Overall, I like how it turned out, but the colors seemed to fade a little bit as they dried, so keep in mind that they may not be as vibrant as they look while wet. I used my clothes steamer to try to set the colors, which I’ve done when dying silk before, so it should be possible to wash this now without washing out the colors, but I haven’t tested that theory out yet.

Beginner Embroidery Kit

Beginner embroidery kit from Etsy seller HoffeltAndHooperCo

After I made the other embroidery kits, I was searching for more to make, and I found this one. It’s simple and yet eye-catching. I love how it’s only two colors, with the dark green background and the white design elements. This one is a little more involved, since it has a lot of small elements in it, and I’ve been using one strand of embroidery floss to achieve the desired delicacy and control in outlining some of the smaller flowers and animals. It’s beautiful, but it’s a kit that will take me a little longer to finish, and I’m not quite done with it. It’s still beginner-friendly—it just won’t stitch up as quickly as some of the other kits.

Felt Bag Kit

Woolen Tote Bag from Etsy seller Jingsfun

I love making bags, as you might have guessed from some of my other posts, so I liked the idea of buying an all-in-one bag kit. The seller describes it as “woolen,” but I’d say it’s probably acrylic felt. I don’t think it’s deliberately misrepresented but more likely a translation error. The seller sent pdf instructions to me along with the kit. It looks fairly straightforward, and I like the design of the bag as well as the color palette. However, I just haven’t gotten around to making it. One note: this kit is from China, so while it’s a nice bag kit, you will have to wait a little while for shipping.

Handbag and Kitchen Towel Sashiko Kits

Chic Traditional Blue Kogin Bag Kit and Cherry Blossom Pink Kitchen Cloth Sashiko Kit from Etsy seller JapanLovelyCrafts

I’ve been into sashiko and visible mending lately, so I got these two kits. I find sashiko really soothing to do, but it is a little time-consuming, and that’s why I haven’t finished these yet. I’m really enjoying the process of working on them, however, and the seller was very kind and encouraging to me when I bought them. I would definitely buy more from her once I’ve finished these up. One note, however: these come from Japan, so they’re authentic, but you will have to wait a little while for shipping.

Needle Felting Kit

Black Sheep Felting Kit from Etsy seller BearCreekFelting

I didn’t finish this one in time for the gift guide, but I absolutely love the idea behind it. Along with the pocket kit above, this is up there with my favorite Etsy purchases of all time. The wool for this kit comes from the seller’s sheep! I’ve never needle felted anything before, so I actually wanted to try out the process with something else before starting the sheep, and that’s where I got stuck. But this one is high on my to-do list once I get the hang of needle felting. You could probably try this as your first project—it doesn’t look too complicated, but I don’t want to mess it up, so that’s why I waited.