Sewing It Up For The Holidays – Christmas Gift Ideas

The holiday season is possibly the busiest tie of year for most home sewers. After all, we’re busy making gifts for family and friends who appreciate the fact that we take the time to actually make something special for them with our own hands.

The personal gift, one that is made with love and comes straight from the heart is often the most appreciated, especially by those closest to us. When it comes to making holiday gift items, we can get as elaborate or as basic as our schedules permit and our hearts desire.

Before my mother passed away, I made a different ensemble, dress or suit for her every Christmas. One year, I made a set of matching bathrobes for my brother, his wife and son – all with fabric representing our favorite NFL team – the Washington Redskins.

If you have the time to make an elaborate gift like a couture ensemble or a match set of sleepwear for everyone in a household, then I encourage you to by all means, go for it.

If, however, time is of the essence and you want to make gifts for the people on your gift list this year, rest assured you can still make lots of high quality, much appreciated gifts for your friends and loved ones with just a small investment of your time.

Gifts for Baby

Crib blankets, lap pads, and wall hangings are quick and easy to sew, especially when you use a pattern and one of the many pre-cut panels available in fabric stores everywhere.

If you decide to make one of these easy to assemble gifts, all you have to do is select the pattern and/or panels you want to use, then purchase some quilt batting or better yet, a piece of pre-quilted fabric and some bias tape, or blanket binding.

Layette items like receiving blankets, onesies, gowns, robes, bath towels and bibs are so simple to sew, you just might be tempted to enlist the assistance of big sister or brother to help you make baby’s holiday gift.

You can assemble an entire layette in a single afternoon. All it takes is a pattern, some flannel, terrycloth or some other soft fabric that is gentle to baby’s tender skin – preferable with nursery patterns – notions and your choice of appliqué, ribbon, bias tape other decorative trim to complete baby’s holiday gift.

Gifts for Children

Stuffed animals – Children of all ages love cuddly, stuffed animals. It doesn’t matter if you are making a stuffed animal for an infant, a toddler, a pre-schooler or a child in elementary school, or even one in middle or high school, the gift of a stuffed animal is always appreciated.

You can create an entire menagerie of stuff animals simply by purchasing a few bags of hypo-allergenic fiberfill, and one of the many patterns available at your local fabric and crafts store.

Depending upon the age of the child you are sewing for, you can make stuffed animals with faux fur, terry cloth, felt or cotton.

Finger Puppets – While making dolls may be a bit time-consuming, when it comes to making a full set of finger puppets for the little one on your gift list is quite simple.

To make your finger puppets, you can either purchase a pattern at your local fabric store, download a finger puppet free of charge from a site like sugardoodle.net or if you are truly adventurous and want to explore your creative side, you can design your own finger puppet collection.

Gifts for Teens and Adults

Earbud pouches, iPad covers and other items to protect high tech gadgets are in high demand. When you consider how many people use i-Pods and other digital devices, it’s no wonder that a pouch to carry their earbuds, i-Phones and other electronic media would be an excellent gift idea.

Making a protective cover for an electronic device is as easy as it looks, and you can download instructions for the earbud pouch and lots of other gift ideas for the teens and young adults on your gift list like an i-Pad cover or i-Phone case at sites like sewmamasew.com.

Caps are great accessories for both males and females. You can make a cap for a special person on your gift list in just a little bit of time using denim, wool, knit, twill or heavy cotton. You don’t even need a yard of fabric to make a cap.

Just imagine how many people you can make happy with the gift of a great new stylish cap. Patterns for hats and caps are plentiful in local fabric stores and on the internet via sources like amazon.com.

The choice as to where to acquire the right hat or cap pattern is yours and yours alone. In fact, some people don’t really even need to invest in a pattern to make a cap or hat.

My suggestion is that you honestly assess your skills and then go with the style and design that best suits your skill level and the people on your gift list who will be receiving caps and hats this holiday season.

Gifts for Her

One of my favorite lines from the original film version of Steel Magnolias is “The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.”

A scarf, head wrap, belt or shawl is not only easy to make, either one of these items is so easy to make, it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

Any one of these items can be embellished, can be made as a matched set or can stand alone as single gift items.

Gifts for Him

Vests are a lot easier to make than a jacket and take much less time and fabric. A vest can be fancy, dressy or totally casual.

Depending upon the lifestyle and personality of the man on your gift list, you can whip up a vest in just about an hour.

You can also make him a necktie to go with that vest.

Neckties are staples when it comes to gifts, so why not make a few minor adjustments to your necktie and give him a…

Necktie case. Recycle those old neckties – or make brand new ties – to create a case for his eyeglasses, sunglasses, smartphone or i-Pod.

It’s a great way to tell that trendy setting man on your holiday gift list that he is appreciated and that you honor his unique sense of style.

Customized t-shirts or sweat shirts are the ideal casual gift for the man on your gift list. This gift is possibly the easiest, fastest gift you can make.

Simply purchase a plain t-shirt or sweat shirt and embellish it with appliqués spelling out his name and his favorite athletic team or add an embroidered design or appliqués depicting his favorite pastime, saying or slogan.

Whether it’s golf, tennis, playing cards or shooting hoops with his buddies, a customized shirt is always a winner.

Tool organizers are wonderful gifts for the handyman on your shopping list. Making a tool organizer is fast and easy, especially when you follow the instructions found online at craftsystylish.com.

Gifts for the Whole Family

Ponchos are much easier and quicker to make than sleepwear, and they make wonderful gifts, regardless of the climate.

With the right multi-sized pattern, you can make ponchos for everyone in the household using wool, felt, rubberized canvas, twill or denim.

Ponchos are great for staying warm and dry on camping trips, at football games and for just about casual fall or winter outing you can think of. Ponchos can be stowed in the trunk of the car, neatly tucked away in their own pouches until you need them.

They are portable, warm and practical. So, why not consider making a poncho for that special someone on your holiday gift list?

Bags – bags – bags. Tote bags; cosmetics bags; gadget bags; bags to hold shaving supplies; book bags; computer bags; coin purses; wallets.

No matter what type of bag you can think of, someone in the family needs one.

Men use them to carry their shaving and grooming supplies while traveling; women use them for just about everything and kids use them for toys, craft supplies, books, school supplies, and who knows what else.

The bottom line is, the bag made in right size and shape, made with the right fabric for the right person is always a welcome gift. Making a bag is as easy as pie.

The most challenging part of giving bags for the holidays is to figure out who you want to make the bag for and then pick the shape, size and fabric they would like best.

Gifts for the Entertainer of the House

If there is someone on your gift list who likes to entertain, consider giving a holiday gift that would make entertaining more fun.

Table linen is always a welcome gift for the person who entertains a lot. Table runners, table cloths, placemats and matching napkins are so easy to make, you don’t really even need a pattern.

Simply measure the table or use standard table cloth or runner measurements and go from there. Your tablecloths, placemats and napkins can be as fancy or as simple as you like.

Adorn them with monograms, appliqués and decorative trim as you see fit. Anyone who receives the gift of a handmade set of table linen will treasure it and you for many years to come.

You will truly be the toast of the party every time your gift is used… even if you are miles and miles away.

Aprons are always a good gift idea for the person who entertains a lot. An apron is easy to make and can be finished in less than an hour.

Decorate your gift aprons with trim, appliqués and embellishments that suit the personality of the person for whom the apron is made.

No doubt, it will be a big hit at any gathering. Click here for instructions on how to make the apron gift of your choice.

Gifts for Your Four Legged Friends

Pets are important members of the family as well. When it comes to celebrating the holidays and giving gifts from the heart, we cannot leave them out.

Regardless of the climate, a pet poncho is an ideal gift. In cold climates, a pet poncho made of heavy fleece, sherpra or wool is ideal for keeping Fido or Fifi warm on those cold, blustery winter days.

If you live in an area where the weather isn’t bone chilling, you and your pet will still encounter a few cool mornings or evenings… and there’s always the prospect of rain.

A doggie poncho made of water repellant fabric is an ideal raincoat for your pooch. It will keep her head and body dry while she gets some much needed exercise and fresh air on those damp days.

Conclusion

Whether you are one of those people who likes to create one of a kind clothes or accessories for the people on your gift list or if you opt to use one of the many available patterns to make some of these quick and easy holiday gift items, the people on your gift list will be pleased with the fact that you thought enough of them to make their gifts by hand.

In addition, you will be pleased with the appreciative smiles on their faces and the money you will save you will by making your holiday gifts… not to mention the reduced stress levels you will enjoy because you will be missing the mad rush in shopping malls.

You don’t even have to go to the mall for patterns, fabric or notions. A little time on the computer will reveal that you can probably get everything you need to sew up a beautiful holiday at sites like amazon.com, fashion fabrics club and Nancy’s Notions.

Happy Holidays!