Olympic champion, and crafting icon Tom Daley has teamed up with Hobbycraft, UK’s largest arts and crafts retailer, to design and launch a brand new Made With Love by Tom Daley range, exclusively available online and in-store from Thursday 2nd October.
The 11-piece collection celebrates Tom’s love of yarn crafts with a fun, animal and fruit inspired twist; featuring crochet kits that make dogs, zebras and giraffes, to positive slogan embroidery designs and fun iron-on patches.
Perfect for beginners and experienced makers alike, each kit comes with everything needed to get started, from hooks and threads to easy-to-follow instructions, so even first-time crafters can dive in, making them an ideal way to relax, unwind and embrace learning a new hobby or refining a current one.
Tom has become a cultural force in the crafting world. He gained widespread attention for knitting in the stands at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and since then, has made yarn crafts “cool” again, making them accessible to a new audience, and titled by many as the “Tom Daley effect”, inspiring a surge in crafting across the UK, especially amongst the Gen Z community, with nearly one in five (19 per cent)* turning to this craft to lift their mood – the highest of any age group. While traditionally seen as a pastime of older generations, just 12 per cent of over 75s favour crochet compared to other crafts.
This phenomenon reflects Tom Daley’s national treasure status and the craft’s appeal as a meditative and stress-relieving activity. Hobbycraft’s recent Power of Making Report in partnership with mental health charity Mind, revealed over half of survey respondents (53 per cent) who take part in crafting say that it improves their mood and 59 per cent feel a real sense of achievement from crafting. Other reported benefits to crafting include improved general wellbeing (48per cent), reduced stress (48 per cent), less screen time (46 per cent), boosted confidence (21 per cent) and social connection (14 per cent).
Over the past year, searches for “crochet” on Hobbycraft’s website skyrocketed by 184 per cent and “crochet kit” increased by 32 per cent respectively, suggesting that customers are keen to expand their skills.
Paul Solly, Trading & Marketing Director Hobbycraft comments: “Tom’s passion and enthusiasm for yarn crafts is infectious. We’ve loved working collaboratively with him on this collection. At Hobbycraft we’re passionate about hobbies and crafting and helping our customers enjoy more of what they love every day, and this new Made With Love by Tom Daley range will do this.”
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