Just the name Hobby Lobby is polarizing: Some avoid the craft retailer at all costs in light of past and present controversies, while others love Hobby Lobby for seasonal decor, arts and crafts supplies, and other must-have finds. But if you're gearing up for your next shopping trip—whether you're a crafter or just love to decorate for the holidays—you'll want to be aware of the merchandise that's best left on the shelf. Read on to discover the seven worst things to buy at Hobby Lobby.
RELATED: 8 Best Things to Buy at Hobby Lobby.
1 | Yarn
Cherisha Kay Norman / ShutterstockWhile Hobby Lobby is, first and foremost, an arts and crafts destination, Samantha Landau, consumer expert at TopCashback, says you can get a better deal on yarn elsewhere.
“Knitters, beware of Hobby Lobby as your first stop. Shop instead for yarn from Walmart or Amazon to save the most money," she shares. "For example, Hobby Lobby sells Yarn Bee Eternal Bliss Super Bulky Yarn for $7.99. However, on Amazon, you can score the same item for $7.49. And at Walmart, you can get even more bang for your buck with their Mainstays brand option, which comes with a few more yards and goes for $7.44."
2 | Jewelry-making supplies
Charm bracelets and necklaces are all the rage right now, so shoppers are turning to Hobby Lobby to make their own. But according to Amanda Harper, founder of the jewelry company Ear Kit, you can get more bang for your buck elsewhere.
Harper, who uses the handle @harper__amanda on TikTok, warns not to buy jewelry supplies from the craft retailer.
"Someone has to say something. [I'm] seeing all the girlies going to Hobby Lobby and getting stuff and making charm necklaces, which I love—and no offense to Hobby Lobby, but their jewelry making stuff stinks," she says in a Jan. 15 video. "It's [bad] quality, and you're gonna overpay for it."
Harper notes that the jewelry chain from Hobby Lobby is particularly poor, suggesting several independent sellers on Etsy as alternatives for chains, charms, jump rings, and other jewelry-making necessities.
3 | Certain Master's Touch paints, pencils, and markers
In several TikTok videos, shoppers say that some Master's Touch (a Hobby Lobby store brand) art supplies leave a bit to be desired.
"Do not buy the Master's Touch alcohol-based markers—they bleed onto the front and back sketchbook pages," Priscilla Schacht Skinner, an artist who posts on TikTok under the handle @dramaticparrot, says in a Sept. 2021 video.
Skinner also advises against Master's Touch acrylic paint, which is "too shiny and dries way too fast," and the brand's colored pencils. Like the Fine Touch colored pencils also sold at Hobby Lobby, the products are "basically Crayola or Rose Art colored pencils."
In a separate TikTok video, Paws and Claws Art (@pawsandclawsart) warns that artists should also skip Master's Touch gouache paint.
"I'm just warning everybody out there, do not buy this Master's Touch set from Hobby Lobby, it's a freaking waste of money," they note in the July 2023 video. "They are the [worst] gouache I've ever seen in my life, I've ever used in my life, and they're going into the trash can right now and I will have to buy something else."
4 | Furniture
Also on Landau's list of passes at Hobby Lobby? The furniture.
"Even though it’s always ‘on sale,’ Hobby Lobby’s furniture is not the best deal," she says. "You can score similar items from Amazon for way less that still provide the same look and feel of Hobby Lobby’s decor."
She cites a wood side table at Hobby Lobby that's on sale for $34.99 at the time of writing (regularly $49.99). Even with the discount, this is more expensive than a comparable option on Amazon. Amazon also has "some ‘upgraded’ versions with outlets, extra shelves, and more for around the same price," Landau adds, meaning you'll get better value for your money.
Quality might be an issue with Hobby Lobby furniture as well, @theahmadhall points out in a Jan. 4 TikTok. In the video, the TikToker shakes a $169 rocking chair, which rattles as he does.
"Hobby Lobby out here trying to take people's money and their lives," @theahmadhall joked in the caption.
5 | Master's Touch sketchbooks
Master's Touch makes another appearance on this list, as shoppers have also had issues with the brand's sketchbooks.
One TikToker, @lokiiai, posted a video showing a Master's Touch 72-page mixed media sketchbook from Hobby Lobby. But while they scored it on sale, the book didn't meet their expectations.
"I was excited for this one because I thought it was cute, it's square," @lokiiai shares in the June 2023 video. "[But] this is like the worst sketchbook I've ever used ... I didn't realize until I got home and started using it that it was bad."
The TikToker says the paper, specifically, was poor quality and "cheap," and complains that the book contained just half of the advertised 72 pages.
6 | Candles
Candles are an easy impulse buy no matter where you shop, but resist the urge at Hobby Lobby if you're trying to get the best deal.
"Candles are more of a convenience pickup at Hobby Lobby, so they’re marked up quite a bit," Landau says. "They sell Darsee & David candles in a variety of scents for $19.99 each. These candles come with about 18 ounces, which isn’t a great deal considering you can get 22-ounce Yankee Candles for around $16 on Amazon."
The Darsee & David candles might not be the best quality either. In a Feb. 2023 TikTok, Nicole Bethurum, owner of the small business Sassy Flamingo Candles (@sassyflamingocandles), reviews the Coconut Milk & Patchouli scented candle. She insists that she isn't "throwing shade at another candle maker or company," but the wooden-wick candle didn't meet expectations.
"I had high hopes because I love the smell and the packaging," she says. "[But] within a couple minutes of lighting it, I could tell the wick was too large by the way the flame is dancing around. My daughter said the house smelled a little smoky."
When she lit it for a second time, the same thing happened.
"Within minutes, I can see a whole bunch of smoke and soot come off the candle ... and within 10 minutes, I blew it out on the second burn because I'm not trying to inhale this and have all these crazy chemicals," Bethurum says.
RELATED: Fact Check: Does Hobby Lobby Charge Different Prices for the Same Products?
7 | Certain kinds of wall art
In a March 2023 video, Iowa-based realtor Katie Douglas (@katiedouglas_realtor) also shares some Hobby Lobby dos and don'ts, focusing primarily on wall art. In the TikTok, she shakes her finger at large decorative clocks, certain prints, and different kitchen pieces with sayings like "Gather at Our Table" and "Yum."
"I ain't trying to hate, I love everything here just as much as the next person," she says in the video. However, she cautions that these prints can disrupt a room's design and feel.
"Not everything needs to be a canvas wall print, you don't need the chintzy little items—no chintzy little items—you definitely need to spend your money on the quality things that look like you got them from a really nice home store, but you definitely got them from Hobby Lobby half-off," Douglas jokes.
