Making the Most of Long Evenings

By mid-afternoon in January the light has already gone soft and grey, and there is little point pretending we are going to be productive. This is the season for drawing the curtains early, filling the kettle and settling somewhere close to a warm hearth. Craft is a natural companion for those hours — something to occupy the hands while the mind drifts. The projects below are deliberately small. They need a tray's worth of materials, no specialist tools, and they can be picked up and put down between chapters of a book or rounds of tea. Nothing here takes longer than a single afternoon, and all of it can be done from an armchair.

Gather Everything Onto One Tray

Before you begin, collect your materials onto a sturdy tray so you are not constantly up and down rummaging through cupboards. A cushion on the floor, a throw over your knees and a lamp angled over your shoulder will do more for your enjoyment than any expensive equipment.

• Small, sharp scissors, plus pinking shears if you have them
• A glue stick and a small bottle of clear drying craft glue
• A darning needle and embroidery thread in two or three colours
• A mug for drawing circles, and a soft pencil
• A few sheets of old paper, a square of wool felt or a handful of smooth pebbles
• A clean jam jar for water and a cloth for your fingers

A word on safety: keep paper, felt and fabric well back from an open fire. A metre of clearance is sensible, and nothing at all should be left drying on the hearth overnight. If you have a wood burner, treat the area in front of it as a working zone only, not a storage shelf.

Paper Garlands from Old Books and Maps

Paper chains were once a fixture of every winter household, and the grown-up version is just as satisfying. Tear pages from an old paperback you will never reread, or use out-of-date road maps, sheet music or plain brown wrapping paper. For a linked chain, cut strips roughly 3cm by 15cm, loop the first strip and glue the ends, then thread the next strip through the loop before closing it. Keep the joins slightly off-centre and the chain will sit nicely when hung.

For something quieter, make a circle chain instead. Draw round the base of a mug to give yourself circles about 8cm across, cut them out and lay them in pairs. Run a length of cotton or fine twine along the tray and, working from one end, sandwich the thread between two matching circles with a smear of glue, spacing each pair about 5cm apart. Leave the whole garland flat to dry under a heavy book for an hour. Thread it along a mantelpiece, a curtain pole or a kitchen shelf, and the thread will be all but invisible.

Felt Bookmarks with a Simple Stitch

Wool felt is a pleasure to work with because it does not fray, and a bookmark is the ideal first project. Cut a rectangle about 5cm by 18cm, using pinking shears along one short edge if you like a zigzag finish. Choose a thread colour that contrasts gently — cream on charcoal, rust on oatmeal.

• Work a line of running stitch 5mm in from the long edges, keeping the stitches even by counting them aloud
• For a blanket stitch border, bring the needle up 5mm from the edge, loop the thread under the point and pull gently, spacing each stitch about 6mm apart
• Sew a single flat button near the top, then knot two 20cm lengths of thread through the felt above it and plait them into a tassel

Slide one into whatever book is currently on the go, and make a second for the cookery shelf. They are excellent small gifts and use up leftover felt beautifully.

Painted Pebbles for Paperweights and Place Markers

Smooth pebbles gathered from a beach or a gravel path are ideal. Wash them in warm soapy water, rinse and leave to dry thoroughly, because paint will not grip a dusty surface. Acrylic paint works best, applied in two thin coats with a moment's drying in between. Keep the design simple: a single oak leaf, a sprig of holly, a small moon, or a row of stars.

Once the paint is dry, seal each pebble with a coat of matte acrylic varnish. Clear nail varnish works just as well if you have some in a drawer. Use them to weight down a tablecloth, hold open the pages of a recipe book or sit at each place setting as a name marker. A short row along a windowsill catches the low winter light rather nicely.

Tucking Your Makes Around the House

These projects are at their best when they are actually used. Drape the garland across a mirror, hook a felt bookmark over the corner of a picture frame, and leave a bowl of painted pebbles by the door for guests to choose from. Setting aside one evening a week to keep making — the same evening, the same chair, the same tray — turns the darkest part of the year into something you look forward to rather than simply endure.