Michaels is putting a crafty spin on spooky season with “Hobbyween,” a new Halloween push built around hands-on projects, fiber arts, and personalized décor.
The retailer says its 2026 Halloween crafting assortment is its largest yet, with hundreds of projects spanning crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, paint-by-number kits, group crafts, and DIY home décor. The program builds on the growing “Summerween” trend while giving consumers another reason to start celebrating Halloween early.
The numbers suggest they already are. Searches for “Summerween” on Michaels.com jumped 530% in May compared with last year, while searches for Halloween crochet kits climbed 583%. Halloween embroidery and cross-stitch searches each rose nearly 400%.
“Summerween is about celebrating Halloween early, but Hobbyween is about celebrating it more creatively,” said Stacey Shively, Chief Merchandising Officer at Michaels. “Consumers are embracing the longer Halloween season as an opportunity to discover new crafts and build hands-on traditions together. That’s what makes Hobbyween so exciting, it gives everyone a new way to make Halloween their own.”
Fiber arts play a major role in the assortment, with Michaels expanding kits for crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, and punch needle. Needlepoint searches rose 251% year over year.
The retailer is also tapping into familiar toy and collectibles trends. New Halloween mystery craft kits borrow the surprise element of blind boxes, with projects spanning diamond art, paint-by-number designs, and other formats.
Group crafting is getting a boost, too. Searches for group craft kits increased 52%, prompting Michaels to add paint-party multipacks and shareable projects aimed at Halloween get-togethers and “Boo Basket” gatherings.
The Hobbyween assortment is available now at Michaels stores and online in the U.S. and Canada.
