There’s something wonderfully comforting about sitting a room full of people quietly chatting, while rhythmically stabbing wool with tiny barbed needles. At least, that’s the atmosphere at this year’s Salford Museum & Art Gallery Christmas Craft Social, affectionately introduced by session facilitator, Caroline, as a “stabby, stabby, cute” session. Tonight’s mission: create robins and penguins, lovingly poked into existence.
Needle felting, Caroline cheerfully reminds everyone, is excellent for getting your frustrations out. Judging by the hum of agreement that ripples around the room, everyone already knows this. The session starts with a warm, clear introduction, perfect for newcomers and seasoned crafters alike, and the vibe throughout is relaxed, funny, and unexpectedly cathartic.
You know your penguin is getting cute when you feel bad for stabbing it in the face.
Are Caroline’s final words of advice before participants select their materials and the session gets underway.
Although the prescribed session is to create either penguins or robins, right from the off, it is clear that there is no pressure to fit a certain mould. You can create whatever you want, however you want to; from turquoise penguins, to needle felted bees; these sessions are all about self-expression and getting whatever you need from a safe and welcoming creative space.
Among tonight’s crafters are Helen, Jess, and Steve. All three are familiar faces who often attend Craft Social at SMAG. Helen has been coming for several years now, having already been a regular attendee even before Caroline took over as facilitator here, and she rarely missing a session. She attends with her colleague Jess, from the university. Steve previously worked there too.
For them, the craft sessions are more than just an hour and a half of making something pretty to take home.
You get to meet people and talk to people. an escape. If I’m having a stressful time at work or just need to get away from the things that are playing on my mind, it’s great because while you’re crafting, you have to focus on what you’re doing so, I find, you can’t think about other things.
Jess agrees:
It’s a very relaxed and inclusive environment. There’s no pressure for your craft to look a certain way. Nothing has to be perfect. Some crafts you take to easily, others less so.
Helen laughs, remembering the October session : “My pumpkins were awful, but it was still a lot of fun.”
For Helen, needle felting has become something deeper than a hobby.
“This session is an emotional release for me. It’s literally the stabby, stabby, pretty thing; taking all the negativity and bad feelings you’re carrying and getting them out. Then, at the end of it you get to take something beautiful away.”
You get something positive out of the negativity, which is great.
She now crafts at home as well as at the museum sessions, and feels like she has finally found “her thing.” Her phone is full of beautiful photos of her various creations both from in sessions and those she has simply completed ‘for fun’. Embroidery remains her main craft, but needle felting is a close second.
For Jess, crafting is also all amount the mental release. Needle-felting has been Jess’s favourite craft ever since her first session, which was also the first Craft Social she came to. A self-confessed perfectionist, Jess seldom finishes her crafts within the 2 hours allotted to the session.
The beauty of Craft Social, she says, is that “the craft doesn’t have to end when you leave the museum. You can take it home and keep going until you’re happy with it.”
Sometimes a craft feels intimidating at the start. You might think that you’ll find a particular craft difficult or be ‘bad’ at it, but you end up surprising yourself. Equally you may find that not all crafts are for everyone, and that’s fine too.
As you keep coming, you find ‘your crafts’ and you also find the ones that you’re maybe not so keen on. But, it’s totally fine to pick and choose which sessions you come to and no one is going to judge you if you skip the odd month. The first Craft Social I came to was paper flowers, I couldn’t imagine, before we started, how they’d look at the end, but they were so beautiful, and actually really easy to make.
Much of what makes Craft Social special, according to the regulars, is Caroline’s leadership.
“Caroline is just the perfect person to be leading these sessions,” says Helen. “She’s really encouraging and always keen for us to put our own spin on things.”
It’s an atmosphere where creativity feels safe, accessible, and shared. It is this environment that makes Craft Social a place where people feel comfortable to discover their artistic side for the first time.
I never thought of myself as a creative person before coming here
Helen admits.
I was always more analytical, I suppose. I preferred all the sciencey subjects at school. I can’t draw or paint, or anything like that. But since finding ‘my crafts,’ I feel like I’ve really found that creative, artistic part of myself.
For Jess, one of the best things about Craft Social is celebrating the achievements of others.
It’s nice to be part of something that’s all about creativity and positivity!
she says.
And this session is full of both. From perfectly round penguins to slightly wobbly but charming robins and even a delightfully festive needle-felted hedgehog, by the time the session finishes, the café at Salford Museum & Art Gallery is full of positive vibes, laughter and beautiful Christmas keepsakes.
The perfect way to bring 2025 to a close.
Craft Social sessions at SMAG explore a wide range of creative techniques, from mosaics and bookbinding to marbling, jewellery-making, Jesmonite casting, and even LEGO printing.
The next Craft Social will be a card-crafting session on February 11.
To find out more about upcoming events at SMAG, visit HERE
Find out more about the full SCL Christmas programme An SCL Christmas – SCL
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