Great Gifts to Sew Roundup: Something For Everyone

There’s no better feeling than making a friend or family member’s day.  It's wonderful to see them smile and give you a great big hug of thanks. It’s such a delight being able to use my sewing craft to make gifts for my friends and make them feel special.  It's even better to give them something useful that they can always remember me by.

So Many Gifts to Sew

There are so many nifty little accessories and gifts to sew which require only an afternoon or even a couple of hours to make.  These are things you’d struggle to find for sale in a fabric of your choice or things that would simply be too expensive to buy ready made.

We’ve published a number of fun accessory projects on the site that make great gifts to sew –everything from Shopping Bags to Fabric Covered Buttons.  I thought it a good idea to put them all in one place so you can easily pick a project when you’ve got an extra few hours on your hands or when you’ve got a last minute birthday present you need to come up with for a loved one.  Plus I’ve thrown some extra cool ideas that I’ve spotted on the web in for the mix.

Besides giving accessories you’ve made as gifts, there are a few items you may not have thought of or seen in a store, but you simply cannot deny their usefulness…consider the Phone Charger Holder next time you have to walk past every power outlet in the house in order to locate your charger.  Beat the mess with a Serger Scrap Catcher to help you streamline your project time, our stunning Expanding Nautical Tote Bag for the summer months or our Stylish Zipper Tote with plenty pockets to help you stay organized?

How about using that spare 15 minutes to make yourself a Headband out of off-cut fabric that you would otherwise have thrown away? Change things up a bit by using your offcuts to make a Beaded Necklace…the options of gifts to sew are endless!

May the barbecue and baking force be strong with you when you wear our DIY Droid or Darth Vader Aprons or give yourself a break and keep things simple with our Minimalist Wallet pattern. The list of gifts to sew quite simply goes on and on!

Kraft Tex Wallet

Is your style more functional than fussy? Like to carry a small bag without being laden down with weight and unnecessary items? Or have a special guy and you’d like to make something just for him? Then I have the ideal pattern for you – the Minimalist Kraft Tex Wallet.

Zipper Tote

Did you ever see my review of the Craftsy Design your Own Handbag class? It’s a great class and I wrote 3 articles about it which you can review here (Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3). This bag today is inspired by one of the bags completed as part of the course, and uses some of the techniques and hardware I learned about in the class. You can get this class at 50% off if you want to learn about how to design your own bag patterns.

Expanding Nautical Tote

Want to keep everything ship-shape as you go to the beach or the pool?

This handy tote bag has lots of great features and optional extras to keep your organised. It also has a handy expanding feature to keep the bag trim when you don’t carry much, and expand it out when you have enough ‘stuff’ for the kids too.

Serger Scrap Catcher

An easy serger scrap catcher will put an end to this nightmare!

Droid Apron

So there are probably two scenarios. Either you have seen this and are squealing and jumping around with glee, or you just don’t get it and think I’ve lost my senses at last. Probably the latter. It’s not exactly my usual style.

Darth Apron

Come to the dark side! Did you see my R2D2 inspired apron earlier this month? If you didn’t see the appeal – then you probably won’t go for this one. But if you loved R2D2 – then fight the Rebel Alliance and join the dark side with Darth Vader. I hear the dark side has cookies.

Fabric Covered Buttons

Do you ever have one of those Ah Ha moments? After sewing around 2 1/2 years now, and forever lamenting at my local sewing shop about the terrible lack of nice colorful buttons, I was standing near the till waiting for pay when I spotted just what I needed!

Fabric Necklace

This is an exciting new and easy tutorial on how to make fabric covered beaded necklaces from the mountain of scraps from the Christmas sewing marathon.

Easy Headband

I made this project with my teenage daughter (who reluctantly volunteered the model the end product…) She is just starting out in sewing –so I’m always looking for simple and fun projects that will not only interest her in sewing, but also give her something fun and stylish to show off to her friends.

Phone Charger Holder

A phone charger holder seems to me a great way to keep the mess of cables and electronics contained. I don’t know about you, but the piles of cables on the kitchen counter, on the floor, or on the desks are enough to send me into a frowning mood.

Folded Shopping Bag

Here’s a fun Batik project– a folded shopping bag. The project is simple and should take you about 30 minutes to an hour while the end product is extremely versatile.

Small Fringed Bag

Hi Everyone, this is just to let you all know that we have added a full video tutorial for the Small Fringed Bag project from a couple weeks ago to our YouTube channel.

Anti Pickpocket Bag

This is my take on an anti pickpocket bag made of fabric with twisted handles. I’m calling it Helsinki and here’s the backstory to this design:

Big Diaper Bag

Plenty of room, lots of pockets, PUL lining, adjustable strap... this diaper bag has it all.

Hot Water Bottle Cover

Another quilted hot water bottle cozy using a slightly different method

Travel Makup Brush Holder

This handy case is not only great for travel, it's also dandy for everyday storage of your make up brushes.

Draughtsman Pouch

This idea was born of a need to keep drawing notebooks and colouring materials together when travelling.

Duffel Bag

The bag measures about 20″ x 10″ which makes it the perfect size for an overnight trip. Enjoy the updated pattern and tutorial.

Pom Pom Pillows

I dare you to say it out loud and only say it once. “Pom Pom Pillows, Pom Pom Pillows” Darn, I enjoyed wandering around the house chanting Pom Pom Pillows nearly as much as I enjoyed making them

Cathedral Window Cushion

This Cathedral Window cushion is perfect for a classy addition to any living area. I like quilting and piecing but sometimes patchwork seems a bit less formal, so this cushion fits the ticket.

Ship in the Sea Mug Rug

Mug rugs remain so popular! For the past couple years they are by far my biggest pattern sellers. This is probably for many reasons. They are super easy to make, they can be made using your favorite techniques (hand or machine), they make great gifts, and they can be decorative as well as functional. Most of all, they are so much fun! I hope you will follow us along here on our Mug Rug of the Month Tutorial.