Creative Social Communities
By Margalida Pujol | Culture | April 9, 2026
Cover Illustration: Crochet & Knit Club meeting, 22/02/2026, Veronika Majsnerova
From lonely nights of grandma hobbies to rooms full of creators: Soft news reporter Margalida Pujol explores the role of Amsterdam’s craft clubs.
During the last few years, younger generations have popularized the concept of “grandma hobbies” such as crocheting, knitting, journaling, baking and gardening, or what has been called the “return to analog”, recognizing their benefits for mental health and the development of creativity and manual skills. The new appreciation for these cozy-style pastimes and aesthetics has led to creation of online and offline communities where people share their passion.
Specifically, it has sparked the organization of “craft clubs”, social groups in which an activity that was once considered solely individual is turned into an opportunity to get together in a close location and meet like-minded people while indulging in your favorite hobbies. In Amsterdam, Charina’s Craft Club, founded by Charina, and Amsterdam Crochet & Knit Club, founded by Ray and Krisha, host monthly meetings, creating their own social communities around crafting and letting creativity flourish.
How it all started
In the 20th meetup of Charina’s Craft Club, founder Charina told me how she has always enjoyed all kinds of crafting, but growing up as an only child, she did not have anyone to share these hobbies with. Mainly, her idea for creating a craft club started with the need to make new friends and craft together after the pandemic, aligned with her passion for creating content on social media. She explained, “I saw a lot of craft clubs on social media, specifically the ones in the US, and I thought to myself, why do we not have that?” Since the first meeting in September 2024, Charina’s Craft Club has collaborated with the art studio Pansy and Sam & Julia’s Mouse Mansion in special editions of the craft club.
Social media videos were also a huge visibility boost for Amsterdam Crochet & Knit Club, with their digital invitations on TikTok attracting new crafters to their hangouts. One of their founders, Krisha, explains how it all started with meeting Ray, a co-founders, through a mutual friend and strengthening their friendship through crocheting meetings. Krisha emphasized how, beginning in November 2023, “Ray and I did not start this with a vision to create something huge, rather, we just both loved crafting and communing with each other and so we thought maybe others would think the same”. Turns out, a newly found friendship sparked a chain of many more to come thanks to fuzzy yarns, crochet hooks and knitting needles, having organized 31 hangouts to this day.
The magic of crafting together
When I was new to Amsterdam, I was anxious about making friends. That is when I happened upon Charina’s Craft Club via social media and decided to attend one of their meetings with my backpack full of journaling materials. This club’s members highlight how meaningful it has been for them to make friendships during the hangouts. For 25-year-old Amal, the craft club was an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone, explaining, “I have been journaling for 10 years, but I was missing friends to share this with. Making friends in your 20s isn’t easy when it’s not in university or work.” Similarly, 27-year-old Marije points out how, thanks to craft club meetings, a calming and mindful hobby like scrapbooking can also foster a sense of community where participants can share their enthusiasm.
During craft clubs, participants comment on how there is also a lot of ‘yapping’ with drinks and snacks around the table. “I feel like craft club is maybe 70 percent talking and vibes and less crafting, (…) it’s more about getting together”, founder Charina suggests. Overall, members describe the club as an opportunity to enjoy their hobby outside of their homes and meet like-minded people on a monthly basis.
You’re invited!
As we have seen, craft clubs are a wholesome, fun way to share your hobbies with more people in a place near you, without the pressure or stress of one-on-one first encounters. By either organizing your own craft club in your known environments or joining an existing club, you can expand the scope of your individual hobby to a broader context of mutual enthusiasm, sharing methods and tricks, admiring each other’s skills, and chatting about your lives and your love for crafting.
Do you want to participate? Check their social media for instructions and updates on their meetings:
Charina’s Craft Club‘s Instagram;
Amsterdam Crochet & Knit Club‘s Linktree
Margalida Pujol is a university student in Amsterdam. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Amsterdammer.
