10 Hobbies You Can do With Your Hands

I always love hobbies I can do with my hands, that’s probably because I like to build things. If you are the same you have come to the right place, in this post I have gathered a lot of different hobby ideas that involve working with your hands.

What are the benefits of working with your hands? Why is it good to have a hobby that you can do with your hands? When you have a hobby that you can do with your hands you will feel productive.

Exploration and engagement in doing something with your hands can elevate your mood and move your mind. As you move, shape, sift, and address your project your inner being moves too.

Before we jump to a list of hobby suggestions let’s take a look at my three favorites:

Editor’s choice:

RC Cars drivingBrushless RC Car
MagicMasterMagic Magic Kit
CookingKitchen Utensils Set

Best Hobbies to do With Your Hands

I encourage everyone to pick up a tool, maybe take a class in woodworking or pottery, and experience what it feels like to work with your hands.

So, the following are a few suggestions for those who want a new hobby where they can use their hands. You may find satisfaction, serenity, focus, and happiness in doing so!

Origami

Origami is a perfect activity if you are looking for an inexpensive hobby that you can do with your hands. You only need a single piece of paper and you are ready to do origami, find origami paper on Amazon.

This hobby will boost your creativity and help you relax, search online, and find tutorials that will help you create all sorts of things like cups, vehicles, animals, and many more.

Origami will improve your sequencing skills, attention to detail, focus, and hand-eye coordination.

Model Building

If you are interested in hobbies that involve building start with model building. From ships in bottles to RC cars, model building can work with any other hobby you may have.

You can build whether you want, there is a numerous array of models, and you can make your own RC boat, or construct a train set.

Whittling

Whittling only requires a knife and a stick, it is a good hobby if you want to learn useful skills. The best way to start is by searching online, watching tutorials, and reading Instructables.

Sculpting

Sculpting is another hobby you can do with your hands. Even if you don’t have any knowledge related to art you can try this hobby.

It is visual art that many take up as a hobby. Sculpting takes a lot of time to learn, just like painting and drawing.

You can use many different materials, from wood, clay to sand. If you often spend your time on the beach you should start with the sand but if you would rather sculpt indoors I suggest that you buy clay and start learning the basics.

Pottery

Do you remember Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze and the scene from Ghost movie? You can do the same, buy yourself a wheel, clay and invite someone special to help you with recreating the scene.

But if you want to start with pottery more seriously find some information about different technics and make your first bowl.

Kite building

If you are reading this on a windy day, the kite building seems like an obvious choice. Use some websites and tutorials to help you with building procedures.

All you need to get started is some flying line, plastic bags, duct tape, hardwood dowel, and some other tools like scissors.

Pickling

Pickling is a great hobby that will keep your hands busy. I am sure you know that you can pickle any fruit or vegetable, pickling makes an endless snack option. It is easy, all you need is fruits or veggies, proper jars, salt, spices, vinegar, and sugar.

If you haven’t pickle before I suggest that you find a fermentation kit that includes everything you need to get you started. Before you make your hands busy, search Google for information, or look on YouTube for instructions and tutorials.

Photography

Maybe you have a DSLR camera or a nice smartphone but still don’t know how to take great pictures. You don’t need to know everything about photography but you do have to know some basics.

Take a course in your local community and learn about different compositions, techniques, and Photoshop basics. If you don’t have the time to visit courses every week you can still take online classes.

Play an Instrument

Playing an instrument is a hobby that you need to do with your fingers. So, if you always wanted to learn to play instruments, now is the right time, all you need is something to play on and some patience.

If you don’t want to invest in an instrument you can always borrow it first, and after you master your playing buy your very first piano, guitar, or some other instrument.

Leave this hobby if you learned the violin in your childhood and have bad experiences. It is not fair but it is what it is…

Sewing

How many times you are shopping for specific clothing and can’t get it anywhere, if that happens often you may consider sewing.

This is a creative hobby that will allow you to create clothes for yourself or for your loved ones.

If I inspired you, buy yourself a sewing machine and start with your new exciting hobby!

Beer Brewing

Are you looking to find a hobby that involves chemistry? Have you ever think about brewing your own beer? Well, many young adults brew their own beer at home these days.

In case you are tired of drinking always the same beer and if you have the courage to taste your creations I suggest you try beer brewing.

Don’t expect to come up with the perfect beer overnight, so it takes a lot of patience as well.

Puzzling

There are numerous puzzles that range in design, size, and shape. Puzzles will give you satisfaction after you finish with that final piece.

After this good feeling, you can assemble it over and over again, or you can frame it and hang it in your living room or in the kitchen.

Gardening

There are endless ways to get into gardening, all you need is some windowsill that gets enough light. But if you have a full-on garden you could grow lots of healthy food while relaxing in nature.

In case you have no experience in gardening I suggest that you start out with easy to grow plants, if you stick to it you will develop knowledge and skills down the road.

Leatherworking

While learning to work with leather you will be able to make a wallet or passport holder.

If you choose leatherworking to be your hobby you could be one of a few guys that know how to work with leather.

In case you already have the skills you might want to try shoemaking, which is similar to leatherworking.

Horology / Watchmaking

Watchmaking is probably the most precise hobby on the planet, but after you learn the skill, it shouldn’t be too complex to repair a simple antique watch.

This hobby can give you many skills that will be beneficial in your future life. Who knows, maybe minuscule mechanisms and gears fascinate you.

One thing is for sure, horology will teach you concentration and motor skills.

Woodworking

Woodworking will keep your hands busy. If you love carpentry you might want to consider woodworking. Start with personalized tables, chairs, drawers, or small furniture.

After you reach a certain level of skill you will be able to make kitchen cabinets, stairs, bedroom closets, and dividers. Woodworking is a hobby for those who like to build things and have fun while the process.

Engine Repair

Have you ever been scammed by a corrupt mechanic, this can happen all the time if you don’t know anything about engines and cars. It is always wise to have engine repair knowledge under your belt.

You will be able to check mechanics work and fix the engine, these skills are still vital for keeping your car running. Engine repair is one of the best hobbies to keep hands busy as well.

Carpentry

If you don’t want to pay for a carpenter anymore think about learning carpentry. You will learn how to install woodworks like closets and cabinets in your apartment.

It may seem like an easy hobby but be prepared to study and practice the craft, otherwise, it is a better idea to call a carpenter. Carpentry is a useful hobby that you can do with your hands, especially if you have kids.

Think about it, you could make them a treehouse or other toys to play with during their free time.

RC Cars/Planes Piloting

Drive cars, fly planes, or pilot boats without being inside a vehicle. RC vehicles are a great hobby, especially if you have kids, they will love to join you when you go for the ride.

Owning multiple cars and planes can be expensive so if you don’t want to spend a lot of money just stick to one or two.

You can buy ready-to-go CR  cars or planes or you can build them from scratch.

Drawing/Painting

Drawing is one of the hobbies that you can do while sitting. It’s the right hobby in case you want to keep your hands busy and express yourself in an artful way.

You will find that painting or drawing is more than just a relaxing and fulfilling hobby, but it is also turning a white canvas into an emotionally charged image.

Not only this, drawing or painting will improve your creativity and memory and give you a peaceful mind.

Metalworking

If you are not interested in carpentry or leatherworking but love to build things, metalworking might be the right hobby for you. Metalworking includes many different practices like welding or blacksmithing.

There are numerous things you can build out of metal, including chairs, tables, sculptures, and many others. In order to start with this hobby, you will need some tools and materials.

Lockpicking

I am not suggesting you learn this hobby so you can pick locks and steal something,

I am sure I don’t have to tell you one more time that stealing is not acceptable. This fun pastime will improve your problem-solving skills and teach you persistence, lock picking can be very useful as well, especially in emergencies or in case you lose your only key.

If you are interested, get yourself a set of lockpicking tools and watch some instruction videos.

Knife Throwing

Do you like pocket knives? In case you like darts or archery you might like knife throwing as well.

It is quite similar to mechanics, all you have to do is to throw a knife at a target. It is simple to say but you will need to practice before you master this skill.

Just like darts and archery, knife throwing is considered a competitive sport, so you will be able to find some competition out there.

Magic

The next hobby is great if you don’t know how to entertain your family and friends during parties. Performing magic will not only entertain everyone in the room, but it will also improve your motor skills, creativity, and presentation skills.

Magic is a great social hobby, it will help you to make new friends and will break the silence at gatherings.

You don’t need any equipment to perform basic magic, but if you want to do more advanced tricks consider a magic kit.

Robot Building

This is the most engineering-related hobby on this list. In case you love to build things and enjoy being challenged, robot building is the right hobby for you.

To start this pastime you will need different parts to build a machine. After you are done with building you will need to program it to do things you want it to do.

This hobby is not only for engineers, as long as you are prepared to learn about programming and electronics you can pick up this hobby.

Cooking

In case you want to get creative in the kitchen but don’t want to bake, cooking can be a good alternative. Try to cook something entirely unique or improve old recipes, cooking is giving you total freedom to experiment.

To become better at cooking, you’ll need to master the basics and learn about nutrition (learn about superfoods), opportunities for learning are endless.

Did I overlook something?

These are just a few hobbies where you work with your hands. I am sure there are more hobbies you can do with your hands. In case you miss your favorite hobby comment your suggestions below.