For those who love to knit, sew, draw or make art, here are some places to shop and also groups to join or classes to learn new techinques.
Shopping
Art Supplies
Kaspar Harnisch (Glockenspielpl. 1) is a nice art store in the center of Graz and has a big selection of art supplies and frames. Also offer art classes. They have a second store nearby full of crafts materials.
Boesner ( Alte Poststraße 171) is the biggest art store and has free parking (although the street is under construction until end of 2019). It’s a warehouse style store full of art supplies. They offer art classes too.
Sewing / Crafts
The following shops have nice fabrics, patterns & books, sewing supplies and offer classes.
Nicoles Nähkästchen ( Tummelpl. 5) Boutique sewing & fabric store
elna brother Nähcenter (Annenstraße 6) This store has been around for almost 30 years and can repair / service sewing machines.
Stoffgeschichten (Leonhardstrasse 36) Boutique sewing & fabric store, also offers organic fabrics.
Stoffwerkstatt (Feuerbachgasse 10) sewing & fabric store. You can also rent sewing machines and sew on the spot here.
Juanitas Nähbox (Talweg 1 ) offers sewing classes for adults and kids at her studio and also in places around Graz.
Hirt – Knöpfe, Näh. u. Handarbeitszubehör (Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Kai 34) Aso a great selection of buttons, sewing, cloth making tools, fabric and accessories.
Discount Fabrics
These two stores have a big selection of cheap fabrics and other sewing / craft supplies.
Happy Home (Kärntner Str. 506)
Stoffland Graz (Liebenauer Hauptstraße 119)
Wool / Yarn
Glücksfaden Graz (Färbergasse 4)
Maschenwerkstatt (Mariahilferstraße 5)
Venier ( Lilienpark 1)
Cheap supplies
TEDi ( Jakominipl. 14 and several other places in Graz) has lots of cheap crafting materials. Useful for kids too.
Flying Tiger (Fischer-von-Erlach-Gasse 1) has fun cheap crafting materials & projects especially for kids.
Sewa (Annenstrasse 17 & Reitschulgasse 22) cheap wool and decorative items.
Action (Karlauerstrabe 71) very cheap art supplies, crafting materials and wool.
Classes & Groups
Seddwell Center ( Dreihackengasse 32 ) offers regular crafting afternoons on Thursday (English & German spoken) where you can bring your own project to work on while chatting to other crafty people over tea & cake. (Highly recommened as I’ll be there too 🙂 ) Seddwell also offers workshops such as drawing, jewelery making, sewing etc. You can follow their facebook for updates.
Textile Collective Graz are the two of the most wonderful ladies who teach great stitching classes such as Visible Mending (in English).
Urban Sketchers Graz meet once a month to sketch in different areas of Graz (English & German spoken). All levels warmly welcomed, including complete beginners. This is hosted by the lovely American artist Sarah Löcker. She also offers workshops on botantical drawing, printing and more. You can follow her on her blog.
DruckZeug offer fun linoleum cuts & stamping classes at their printing workshop. They can also speak English.
Oma’s Teekane ( Nikolaipl. 1) offers occasional kniting afternoons and other crafting events. They can usually speak some English.
The VHS / adult education school (Köflacher Gasse 7) offer affordable art classes in German. (Especially cheap if you receive the €60 Bildungsscheck). New classes start in October and registration begins September 2nd. They can fill up fast so register early!
My Graz 
Below are some excellent notes from my crafty friend Nora (who organises the Thursday crafts afternoon at Seddwell).
Kaspar Harnisch: there are two stores one at each end of Glockenspielplatz. One focused on art the other on crafts. Great selection and option to order things that are not in stock from Gerstaecker at no extra costs.
It might take a little longer than your usual amazon order or if you yourself order directly from Gerstaecker, cause they try to collection orders and then order once a week or so. I think thats great from an environmentally aspect. Very skilled and friendly staff. They offer art classes, some hosted by local artists.
Boesner, I know they have great deals especially when you go more bulk style.
Nicoles Nähstübchen: Super nice person with some of the prettiest print fabrics in town. More on the pricey side so I never purchased fabric myself. But if you want special printed fabrics for kids clothes or also some more „Hipster“ like, it is totally worth a visit. It might actually be cheaper than ordering fancy fabrics like this online cause you don’t have to worry about shipping costs (or extra taxes) and also get the consultation of a seamstress. She was offering sewing classes a while ago – not sure she is still doing so.
elna brother Nähcenter I think cause this shop has been around for so long the owner knows most of her customers so when you go there you might find a spontaneous sewing lesson for someones granddaughter or a friendly chat going on. The lady who runs it is very nice and skilled and will give you good input if you are in need of the perfect wool for a new project. So its totally fine to bring a pattern and chat with her, she will not push you to get fancy expensive yarns but ones that fit the need for the piece you want to make. She also considers availability and “dye lot numbers” to make sure you get a good result and enough yarn is in store or can get reorderd.
Stoffgeschichten: not my budget though they have the cutest kids fabrics. I think they also have a collaboration with the “nachhaltig in Graz” store nearby. So you can get things you found at the “free store” altered or repaired there.
Juanitas Nähbox: I think she has collaborations with Nachhaltig in Graz and also “das Dekagram” and does upcyling workshops.
Happy Home: My sister (big into sewing) goes there but since sewing projects often take a lot of time, she s picky about the quality. You can be lucky at happy home but as always, cheaper products might not be as durable. Also get enough fabric for your project, cause you never know if it will still be available next time. They do not have a fixed selection and you can not reorder fabrics.
Glücksfaden: I got some really nice organic wool there and the owner is super lovely. They also have/had a craft night once a month or so.
Maschenwerkstatt: Same as Glücksfaden they have a really good selection. It’s more for people who are familiar with wool crafts than beginners. You will find extremely good quality, pro knit/crochet tools (like knit pro or the addi series) and splendid counselling. So if you look for something beside the “ordinary” cotton yarn, this and Glücksfaden are places to go. I think Maschenwerkstatt also a knitting night here and there.
Hirt: I’m in love with buttons and so I’m biased. Their button selection is amazing. They also have this little cups of mixed buttons for nearly no money. Since my little projects often required just one or two buttons I often chose those mixed cups cause I would not need 20 same buttons, but could go super individually here. The cups are see through plastic – so you get a bit what is in there – but it’s still a nice surprise thing. Hirt has also super skilled staff and can help you out especially if you want to go for more traditional or trachten projects. Their products are of really good quality, from the zippers to the fabric, it really makes fun to work with their products.
Perlenreich: (I think Gleisdorfer Straße) nice owner and great selection of beads and tools for jewellery making.
Tedi: depends on the season if you find trash or treasures there. They always have nice colourful needles and other little craft thingies. I never got wool there cause I always happened to just find one that was mostly acrylic.
I like their selection of paper craft materials (love their washi tapes) and it is a good place to get art tools for kids or when you are on a budget.
Flying Tiger: feels a little worthier than TEDI or Action but this is mostly due to the design of the shop and skandi style. If you want to try something new and are on a budget – a good place to go. It’s worth to compare prices cause sometimes you get better quality for cheaper in different places. It’s a shop with miscellaneous items from umbrellas, kitchen ware, craft tools, kids toys or bath room or outdoor things. So it’s a small part of the store but I always like to go there.
Sewa: Their old store at Annenstraße was a paradise for sewing, the whole first floor was full of fabrics and fiber. Now they have a smaller assortment. You get the basic yarns. I got some really nice “Schachenmayr” (I think) cotton wool there for a baby blanket. They have nice color selections. Usually single colors and less yarns with color flows. But especially if you want to make projects for kiddos with cotton yarn this is a place to go. o Sewa is my place to go if I need basic but lasting yarns that are machine washable.
Action: It’s a bucket shop and you get stuff incredibly cheap. So obviously its not premium quality. If you want to try something new and don’t want to spend a fortune on new craft tools or materials, this is a great place to shop.
Wollkrumpus: Nicole is the sweetest and you might meet also her husky puppy when you go to her store. Its a little outside of Graz, so best visited by car – especially if you go to the craft nights. She has the nice sheepjes (dutch yarn) which is hella awesome. Sheepjes does CAL or KALs every year and offer wool kids for these projects. But you can also mix and match yarn yourself and this is why I like the selection at Nicis store. She also has spinning tools.
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