Probably Autumn looks different from country to country, but for me Autumn means chilly, shorter days. Basically it’s a transition time for Christmas and I feel like getting cosy and save up the energy I would usually use during summer time all day long.

With all the cosy atmosphere, I believe that autumn is the perfect time to take up a cosy habit.

All the hobbies I listed here don’t require to go outside (unless you really want to). They are just nice things you can take up, in order to get some creativity going and unwind from these crazy times.

Hobbies are well known to bring health benefits from a lot of different points of view. I like to say that hobbies nourish our minds and souls – practicing a hobby is quality time spend with yourself, which ultimately is the most important thing.

I also created a quick PDF with compact information about each hobby, so you get a better insight of what each means and needs. You can find the free PDF at the end of the article.

Let’s see some cosy habits, shall we?

Origami

I remember when I was in middle school, we learnt to make some origami items during our arts classes.

It was fascinating how, from a plain piece of paper, such beautiful things can come up!

For those of you who don’t know, origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into beautiful objects, without cutting or glueing it.

It does take some practice to get used to it, but it’s very calming activity, and it’s cheap. Each shape needs individual time for practice. You only need some pieces of paper, cut into squares and some practice.

Quilling

Quilling, a distant cousin of origami is another hobby that involves paper. Thin stripes of paper, to be more precise. Compared to origami, quilling is about rolling paper, instead of folding it.

It does require some extra equipment, compared to origami. You can create beautiful Christmas tree ornaments with this rolling paper technique or even 3D objects.

I previously wrote an in-depth guide about quilling here on the blog. There you’ll find more info about it, the tools you need to begin and some easy items to create.

Knitting

Oh, knitting… my latest obsession in terms of crafts and hobbies. I could spend hours talking about it!

My Mum is an amazing knitter. She’s so amazing, that I haven’t own a store-brought knitted item in years. Her passion was always intimidating for me, until I decided to attend a random knitting workshop and I was hooked.

Knitting and crocheting is something children learn at very young ages, at home, from grandmothers. At least in Eastern Europe. We also learn them at elementary school, at crafts and arts classes.

So chances are you did encounter these hobbies at a certain point in your life.

Knitting requires yarn and a pair of knitting needles. And, of course: time and practice.

There are various ways to knit and infinite patterns you can follow. Yes, it does require patience, but the results will be amazing.

In a little over a year since I’ve been addicted to knitting, I made myself 2 dresses, 2 sweaters, 4 pairs of socks, a hat and 2 scarfs. And I don’t plan to stop any time soon.

The best part about this hobby is that you can actually make things you can wear. Not to mention that a hand knitted scarf under the Christmas tree will melt anyone’s hart.

Crocheting

Similar to quilling, crocheting is the first degree cousin of knitting.

They are both very similar: both requiring yarn and needles. Crocheting requires only one needle, called a crochet hook.

Both have patterns (although different symbols and meaning) and both can create clothing items and decorations. Although, I would say crocheting is more suitable for decorations.

Although these two hobbies are very similar (people who knit can also easily crochet and vice versa) people usually prefer one or the other. For me, for example, I prefer knitting over crocheting. One of my dearest friends on the other hand, is all about crocheting. So it’s all about preferences.

It’s all up to each and everyone’s taste, but I recommend to experiment with both of them.

Macrame

Macrame became very popular lately.

I discovered it during the knitting workshops, and to be honest, the only reason I didn’t give it a go is because I feared I might get a new obsession.

Macrame requires only different knotting techniques – and of course some yarn.

Out of the three yarn-related hobbies listed here (knit, crochet and macrame), I would say this is the easiest.

You don’t need special equipment, only a few pieces of tape and some yarn.

Similarly, using the macrame technique, you can create those beautiful plant hangers and are so trendy for a while. Or wall piece decorations that would make a lovely gift to any new home owner.

Drawing or Painting

These are old hobbies, that luckily started to gain back some popularity thanks to adult colouring books and Bob Ross.

Painting and drawing is one of the oldest arts and the beauty of it will never stop to amaze us. Art is deeply rooted into our brains and we’ll always find comfort in it. So it’s worth giving it a try.

I know what you will say: but these hobbies require actual talent, not just time and patience! And I agree with you.

There are some people who are naturally born painters and some who can learn it.

I never seriously took up painting, but one of my former co-workers corrupted me into adult colouring books. It turned really into a marathon.

Whenever I would get off a stupid meeting, I would pull out my colouring book and start colouring. It’s incredible how fast this activity detaches you from the chaos surrounding you.

Now… with painting and drawing, I know that things can escalate fast. You can end up spending a lot of money on different colours, brushes, pens, art books and the list can go on.

My only piece of advice here is to set some limits in regards of how much you want to spend on supplies. Ultimately, you can do this digitally – if you have a device that allows that and if you enjoy it this way.

Photography

I left one of my favourite hobbies the last, simply because it’s one of the most expensive ones. I will admit that I added this here mostly because it’s my passion, not because it’s very affordable or easy to learn.

If you’re considering taking up photography just as a hobby, my honest suggestion is to not do it. Photography as a hobby is extremely expensive.

Photography equipment and cameras are expensive. So if you don’t have an old, functioning camera around the house, I suggest to no take up this hobby.

I inherited the passion for photography from my Dad. He used to have Leica film cameras when I was a kid and I always played with them.

Now that I grew up and I have my own money to splurge, I got a lot of different equipment, books and I actually graduated from a professional photography course this year. For me, photography is more than just a hobby and I intend to make it an actual job.

Going back to “if you have an old camera around” you can experiment with different lighting techniques, angles, portraits or photograph your pets. This hobby can definitely be taken outdoors too, but it works just as well indoors.

A slightly cheaper alternative would be to try film photography. It’s definitely more challenging to learn – compared to digital photography, but it might be cheaper.

Also, for me photos are very special. I try to print out a couple dozens every year with highlights throughout the year. Taking photos of my loved ones is special to me and I love to print them out. We should print more photos, instead of keeping them on our phones.

Download PDF

Don’t underestimate the power of hobbies for your mental health. They help us calm down and unwind. The weather usually keeps us inside longer during autumn and winter, and I think this is the perfect time to discover a new (or old) passion.

I hope you found some inspiration for new cosy hobbies to take up and relax.

Do you practice any of these cosy hobbies, which one?