Homemade Gifts for Sewists & Sewing Enthusiasts to Sew

There's nothing more special than both giving, and receiving, handmade gifts. And with a month to go until Christmas, there's still plenty of time to sew your friends and family a beautiful gift.

Here we've brought together some gift ideas for you to sew which are suitable for both beginner sewists, as well as those of you with more experience too.

The Danish art of "Hygge" is really on-trend this Winter, so what better gift than this beautiful Panelled Cushion Cover! Not only is it easy to make, but it's a great project for using up those fabric scraps. Or, if you're feeling a little more adventurous, why not try our new Patching Cushion Cover Kit, with its metallic prints this makes a great gift, either as is or sewn!

If you fancy making something which is a little more complex, then how about The Lakeside Pajama Set, by Grainline Studio? These cute sleep shorts and cami top make a great gift for a girfriend or female relative. The techniques that you'll need for these include, sewing straight seams, darts, inserting elastic and bias binding.

The nani IRO double gauze fabrics would be perfect for these pajamas, how about Gift Metallic, Birdseye Shinsei, or one of Komorebi designs, such as Shady? For a more understated look, how about Woven Spot by Robert Kaufman, or any one of the Double Gauze Chambray Dobby fabrics.

A really easy sewing project is our tutorial to make a Neckerchief. One of the "must have" items for 2016, this is so easy to make and it's the perfect accessory for any wardrobe. This make is suitable for any lightweight fabrics, such as the double gauzes by nani IRO and Robert Kaufman, examples of which are shown below, and also our Handwoven Indian Printed Cotton.

The Stowe Bag Sewing Pattern, by Grainline Studio, comes in two sizes, and although designed as a project bag, it makes an ideal every day bag as well!

This particular make is best suited to medium weight fabrics such as denim, linen, twill and canvas. Above, this pattern is pictured with one of the Handwoven Ikats, Black Zig Zag which we think would look fantastic, as would any of the fabrics below, choose from Handwoven Stripe in Indigo, or any of Robert Kaufman's yarn Dyed Essex Linens, pictured bottom left is the Metallic Midnight or finally nani IRO's Komorebi Old Film, printed on a mid weight cotton/linen.

For a simpler bag shape, how about a Tote Bag, pictured below. Take a look at our tutorial by clicking here to see just how easy this is to make. As with The Stowe Bag, this would look fabulous made up in any one of the fabrics above.

Alternatively, why not buy one of our fun Knicker Making Kits, you can then make numerous knickers as gifts for your girlfriends by tracing off the pattern for individual sizes. Shown below, are a pair that we need using a fat quarter of some Liberty fabric, with their lovely lace trim they make a lovely handmade gift! Any of the nani IRO double gauze fabrics would work equally well and look really pretty.

If you wanted to make an item of clothing, The Scout Tee, by Grainline Studio is a great choice, designed for woven fabrics, it's a really quick an easy style to make. Why not make it in one of the nani IRO prints that has a touch of metallic within the print or, one of the Metallic Yarn Dyed Essex Linens, we're making it in the Metallic Oyster pictured below.

We really hope we've helped to inspire you to make some of your Christmas gifts for friends and family this year. And don't forget, we always love to see what you've been making, so please do send us photos of your makes via our contact page.