If you’re anything like me, you’ve got hands that just hate to sit idle. With the chilly indoor season hastening its approach, why not get those digits busy with a communal craft night? Austin’s got a great deal of those, with myriad themes and mediums to delight you as much – if not more so – as whatever’s on your phone screen. Is this list of craft nights exhaustive? No, of course it isn’t. But think of this as a jumping-off point for your artistic journey to crafter supreme.
Craft
Niche: A well-lit and accessible workshop in the Canopy arts complex with both open crafting hours and weekly workshops
Price Range: Their “buffet-style” open crafting hours are sliding scale starting at $10, with individual workshops ranging from $45 for reverse tie-dye to $101 for soapmaking 101.
Find ’em at: madeatcraft.com
ATX Art Nights
Niche: Adult-oriented artmaking in the sense that their make-and-takes are often hosted at breweries and bars, with an emphasis on ceramics and paper arts.
Price Range: Most of their workshops – which sell out ultra fast – run the interested Austinite around $28-39, such as this Sunday’s Coraline doll head class, but they offer one or two free “community” events per month like October’s fall bingo card journal prompt meetup.
Find ’em at: www.atxartnights.com
The Crafty Adult
Niche: Run by your trusty local Austin Public Library at various branch locations, each week’s workshops rotate materials and themes to run the full artistic gamut.
Price Range: All free and all materials provided whether you’re making felt sugar skulls, resin coasters, or stitch journals; this does mean seats are limited, so make sure to arrive early.
Find ’em at: library.austintexas.gov/events/crafty-adult
Austin Creative Reuse
Niche: Recycled material central also offers various little make-and-take classes as well as craft-related volunteer opportunities.
Price Range: Most classes are freesies, like their weekly Friday origami workshops, and there’s also a twice-a-month volunteer session where you can make dog toys with Austin Pets Alive!
Find ’em at: austincreativereuse.org
Monkeywrench Books
Niche: Other than offering pay-what-you-can zine prints of important theory texts, this North Loop hub puts on a semi-weekly art night as well as frequent guest workshops.
Price Range: Frequently free, as the low-barrier “Art Nite” event is for fun not profit, but guest workshops like Dead Frog Dreams’ bone jewelry classes are sliding scale starting at $10.
Find ’em at: www.monkeywrenchbooks.org, but check their Instagram (@monkeywrenchatx) for quicker updates.
Queer Craft Night
Niche: Chill queer-centric gathering where you can bring a project or just see where the night’s energy takes you, usually held at caffeine and vino spot Violet Crown Wine + Coffee.
Price Range: No cost, unless one counts the price of chatting and mingling with other local artsy LGBTQs – which, TBH, is worth it anyway.
Find ’em at: @queercraftnight on Instagram.
This article appears in September 26 • 2025.