PROJECT manager Ciara O’Halloran has been interested in crafts for several years. But after a hard day’s slogging at a computer she only ever found time for small projects and even then it was difficult to find the motivation and support she needed.

“Evening classes cost money and can be a bit formal. You don’t know people. Often you don’t know if you’re going to enjoy something until you’ve started and if you don’t, well it’s money down the plug,” she say.

She began to swap tips and ideas for craft projects with a friend at work. Then the two of them had a brainwave – why not hold a ‘craft evening’ with other interested pals to work on and share ideas about crafts.

“I’d been given a sewing machine by a friend who emigrated,” says Miss O’Halloran.

“I’d never used one before and I learnt how to work it from scratch using the manual and a bit of a helping hand from the girls that first evening. Learning the basics in an evening sewing class would have cost me a couple of hundred euro, so it was great,” she says.

“It was also so much fun, we made it a mid-week regular. We mostly have tea and biscuits ‘cos people are driving and working the next day.

“We’re all tightening our belts so we can’t really afford to go out to restaurants, cinemas and pubs so much anymore. Plus, it’s creative which is really therapeutic what with all the stress that’s floating around these days.”

Miss O’Halloran (30) is now making a patchwork blanket using swatches left over from an interiors project at work. “It’s really helped me be much more creative about what I do and where I source materials. It’s just great fun.”

Traditional crafts such as knitting and sewing were making a comeback even before the recession began to bite.

Knitting, for example, has become very trendy in the US, with ‘stitch and bitch’ groups attracting young 20 somethings keen to learn skills their grandmothers practised out of need.

In Ireland too, generations of women click-clacked their way through long evenings producing new jumpers and cardigans for children and grandchildren.

The economic boom changed all that. Where every major department store throughout the country had a well-stocked wool department, now there are only a handful of wool shops left.

Law graduate Lisa Sisk discovered the joy of knitting while travelling in New Zealand. When she returned to Ireland she opened ‘This is Knit’ in Blackrock and later, a shop in the Powerscourt Centre in Dublin.

As Miss Sisk points out, necessity took some of the joy out of knitting in the past. These days, it’s not the cheaper option as knitwear sourced in China is available in shops at knockdown prices. A ball of high quality wool cost about €6 – and often more. A sweater or cardigan will require about eight balls minimum, giving an overall cost of at least €48.

“You really have to think of knitting as a way of creating something really unique, something high quality with a lovely natural yarn, something you won’t see walking around on everyone else,” says Miss Sisk.

All craft experts advise starting with a small project that doesn’t cost a lot of money. If your knitting skills are rusty or non-existent, buy a cheap ball of acrylic wool for a few euro and practise on that before shelling out for expensive cashmere mix yarn.

At Craft Supplies, a Sandyford- based shop and online store (www.craftsupplies.ie), owner Aisling Mackey reckons an investment of just €30 will get you started on paper crafts.

“You need some sort of paper cutter which can be as cheap at €10 and for another €10 or €20 you will get a good supply of card, paper, ribbon and embellishments,” she says.

The online forum on the Dublin site has about 6,000 members and there are some 250,000 posts. A beginner can learn an enormous amount about paper crafts.

“You’ll also find details of local groups. About 99.9 per cent of people in the groups are female, mostly stay-at-home mums. They range in age from late 30s to mid-50s, with plenty of exceptions either side,” says Ms Mackey.

Again, paper crafts such as scrap-booking and card-making are huge in the US, but fairly new to Ireland. It’s one of the easiest crafts to take-up since it requires such a small initial outlay. Almost immediately it yields results.

“About 20pc of our customers sell their cards. Some make a small profit and use it for pin money,” says Ms Mackey.

“I think the recession is causing a rise in home-based activities. There’s the creativity and productivity involved in craft work. It has a very calming effect. In fact, it can be quite addictive.”