If you run a handmade products business, one of the best ways to grow your business is to offer customers new and innovative products.
By taking online craft classes, you can not only create more products for your business, but learn new skills that can help you come up with craft ideas to sell. In this article, we’ll look at some of best craft classes for entrepreneurs to help you grow your business and use your new skills towards your craft business.
What are Online Craft Classes?
Online craft classes are usually dedicated to teaching you a new skill. This could include watching pre-recorded sessions where a teacher takes you through a specific skill, or watching a live demonstration via Zoom or other channels.
There are many different types of craft lessons available depending on what you’re looking to learn, and you can find all kinds of classes that you can take from the comfort of your home.
Why You Should Take Online Craft Courses
Online craft courses can be incredibly beneficial for you as a maker. It helps you hone your skills, and build on your knowledge. Plus, classes give you an opportunity to learn new techniques and get inspired with new ideas.
You’ll be able to learn from experts and the best of the industry, and strengthen your fundamentals to help your small craft business ideas flourish.
There are many types of craft lessons available that can help you enhance your skills as a handmade entrepreneur, including:
- Photography classes
- Painting
- Jewelry making
- Paper crafts
- Food craft
- Drawing
- Knitting
- Embroidery
10 Best Places to Find Online Craft Classes
Luckily, there are many places to find the best online lessons for crafts, and we’ve rounded up some of the best options available for craft tutorials and demonstrations. We’ll look at some of the key factors that go into online craft classes and why they can benefit small business owners.
1. Skillshare
Types of Classes Offered: Skillshare offers a vast variety of classes across different art disciplines and skills. You can find classes such as painting, crochet, drawing, knitting, photography and much more.
Whether you have a hobby that you are trying to grow into a business, or an established business that needs innovation, Skillshare can help. The platform offers both pre-recorded and live classes, with some being one-off classes and others with more of a community feel.
Skillshare Pricing: Skillshare offers two membership plans, Annual and Monthly. The annual plan is $30 annually, or $2.49 a month. Monthly pricing is $8 a month. Each option comes with a 7-day free trial.
2. Creativebug
Types of Classes Offered: Creativebug offers classes in areas such as art and design, sewing, quilting, paper crafts, food and home, and much more.
Most classes are one-off rather than a structured curriculum, and are pre-recorded videos. The videos can vary in length, so you can choose to invest as much time as you want to take classes.
Creativebug Pricing: There are three membership tiers available. The Unlimited plan is $7.95, the Unlimited Plus plan $9.95 and the Annual Unlimited Plus plan is $71.40, or $5.95 a month. All plans come with a 7-day free trial, and include access to videos. The higher-tier plans include value adds such as storing videos and exclusive discounts.
3. Creative Live
Types of Classes Offered: Creative Live offers live lessons for free across subjects such as photography, art, music and video, craft classes as well as business classes.
You can pay per class, and each one has a varied price and time, making it easier to choose what works with your schedule. Teachers include familiar faces such as famous entrepreneurs and creatives, as well as experienced individuals.
Creative Live Pricing: Some classes are offered free, however, Creative Live works on a pay-as-you-go model. Teachers set their own price for lessons, and you don’t need to pay subscription fees. Simply pay for the class you are interested in, whenever you would like.
4. Craftsy
Types of Classes Offered: Built for creatives, Craftsy is all about the crafts. Classes are based around a hobby, such as quilting, knitting, sewing, food crafts, gardening, photography, painting, and cooking among others.
The online learning is divided into structured classes with several sessions, allowing you to learn skills in a more in-depth way and start a project of your own. Live sessions are also offered.
Craftsy Pricing: You can pay for classes individually, or subscribe to gain access to all sessions. There are two subscription tiers available at $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
5. Michaels
Types of Classes Offered: Michaels is known for their crafting supplies, but it also offers online classes for adults.
Their community classroom online sessions are run by instructors via Zoom so you can learn new skills and ask questions as needed. The classes range from food crafts to traditional paper and arts, allowing you to explore a wide range.
Michaels Pricing: Classes are currently being offered for free in different categories. All you’ll need to do is book ahead of time using the scheduling page on the Michaels crafting class website.
6. Domestika
Types of Classes Offered: Domestika is designed for creatives, with courses ranging from illustration, photography and video, crafts, as well as business-oriented courses such as marketing.
Craft classes available on Domestika include crocheting, furniture design, cake design, jewelry design, ceramics, and much more.
There is a wide variety available in instructors and experience, allowing you to explore a full range of options. The courses are structured into multiple sessions, allowing you to start and finish projects and learn from experts.
Domestika Pricing: Prices are set by instructors, so they could range from $10 to more. However, you can also choose to buy a Domestika Pro subscription that gives you an additional 20% discount on courses for $59.99 a year.
7. Udemy
Types of Classes Offered: Udemy offers classes in crafting and other subject areas on demand, making it a convenient and easy option.
You can find classes that will help improve your crafting, while also finding courses to help grow your business in different areas.
Udemy courses tend to be structured into multiple sessions, allowing you to go deeper into subject areas and there is a wide variety to choose from.
Udemy Pricing: Course prices are set by instructors, so the costs can vary from $10 and up depending on the level of depth of the course and instructor experience. All courses come with a 30-day money back guarantee.
8. We Are Knitters
Types of Classes Offered: As the name might suggest, We Are Knitters offers pre-recorded video classes in fiber art.
This includes knitting, macrame, crochet, embroidery, hand dying, weaving, and other types of crafting. Classes include basic and beginner level courses as well as advanced techniques.
We Are Knitters Pricing: No subscription is needed for We Are Knitters, all classes are available for free. The videos also include written instructions for those that prefer to learn by reading rather than watching.
9. Purl
Types of Classes Offered: Purl offers classes in knitting, sewing, crochet, embroidery, weaving, and other crafts such as woodworking.
Lessons are held in Purl’s physical location in Soho, New York. While some classes are single events, other classes may have 3-5 sessions.
Purl Pricing: There is no subscription fees with Purl, pricing is for individual classes. Pricing can vary from $100-250 depending on the time required and supplies needed, but prices generally include materials.
10. Bluprint
Types of Classes Offered: Bluprint, as it was formerly known is another craft learning website. However, Bluprint and Craftsy have since merged. If you had a Bluprint account in the past, you will be able to access previous classes from Craftsy.
Bluprint Pricing: Bluprint no longer offers classes as it operates under Craftsy now. Craftsy offers two plans, available at $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
Free Online Craft Classes
There are some great options available if you are looking for free online craft classes in different subjects areas, including:
- We Are Knitters: Great free classes for fiber arts such as knitting, crochet, and embroidery to help you learn both advanced and basic techniques.
- Michaels: Best free option for live classes via Zoom in different subjects from experts that you can book in adcance.
- Creative Live: Free and pay-as-you-go live classes in crafts as well as business areas so that you can develop different skills in crafting as well as operations such as marketing and finance.
- Creativebug: While they do not offer free classes as such, Creativebug does include a week long trial so that you can watch videos in different art and crafting areas for free before committing
- Craftsy: Similar to Creativebug, Craftsy does not include free classes. However, they do provide a free trial prior to membership so you can explore different subject areas for free
- Skillshare: One of the benefits of Skillshare is that it has a low entry price point and also offers a 7-day free trial so that you can get a sense of the classes and videos before paying rather than offering free videos only.
How do I start an online crafting class?
You can create your own online crafting class by using some of the platforms mentioned above.
Depending on the option you choose, you can create either a one-off class to help people start new projects, or do structured sessions to provide more in-depth learning.
Does Michaels have online classes?
Michaels does offer online classes.
Currently, they are offering free live classes via Zoom with instructors across different crafts including baking and sewing among others.
Is Creativebug free?
Creativebug offers a 7-day free trial, but it is not free. Creativebug offers three different membership tiers, ranging from $7.95 a month to $5.95 with an annual plan that all grant access to videos.
Is Bluprint worth the membership?
Bluprint has now closed as of 2020 and acquired by Craftsy. Craftsy memberships can definitely be worth it if you want to learn from experts through videos, and take a craft class to develop your business further.
What crafts are most profitable?
There are many crafts you can build into a successful business, and a craft class can help you with this goal.
The crafts that are most profitable in 2021 include jewelry design, art such as paintings, photography, candle-making and fiber-based crafts such as knitted goods and embroidery.
Image: Depositphotos
This article, “Online Craft Classes for Handmade Entrepreneurs” was first published on Small Business Trends
