Show Notes

• Quilted Slippers Pattern by Sew DIY


• 
  Mitered Corners Tutorial: Use this to make napins, placemats, and tea towels.


• Our Magic Scrunchie Tutorial


• Sew a Reversible Tote Bag With Sarai


• Rope Bowl Tutorial


• 
  Podcast listeners get half off an unlimited Seamwork membership when you use this link, plus you get to keep that price as long as you’re a member!


• Tell us your idea for the next icebreakers for makers!

Podcast Transcript

Sarai
You. I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio. Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy.

Today we're talking about 50 ideas for gifts you can sew this holiday season. So we asked our Seamwork community for their favorite ideas for handmade gifts, and you guys really came through. We had a mega thread going on with over 100 responses in the Seamwork community.

So today we're going to recap and share 50 different ideas from the community for making your own holiday gifts.

Haley, what are some of your favorite handmade gifts that you've ever received?

Haley
Oh, gosh, you know what? Honestly, I don't know. I don't really receive tons of handmade gifts. Definitely not hand sewn gifts. I think people just assume if Haley wants it, she'll sew it herself. I think some of my favorites, though, are handmade ornaments that I've received. I really like them because I remember each person who's made me one, and then when I decorate my tree, it just is more sentimental, more meaningful to remember that person and the fond memories I have with them as I decorate my tree. So I'm fond of those. What about you?

Sarai
Well, I really enjoy receiving food gifts that people have made. I think that's really nice. Last year, my friend made me some vanilla extract, and I'm still using it, so I like that because it's very practical.

But I think the best handmade gift I received was from my grandmother. She knitted me an afghan.

Haley
Oh, wow.

Sarai
It was all these really bright colors, and it was sort of like a chevron pattern and all these really bright colors. Very brightly colored afghan. Not my style necessarily, now as an adult, but it was just so sweet and thoughtful, and obviously they take a really long time to make, so she put a lot of heart and energy into it, and I just still really appreciate the work that went into that. It was really sweet. I think that's my favorite.

Haley
Yeah, I think that if anyone ever knit or crocheted something for me, I would cry because it's so labor intensive.

Sarai
It really is. I love making socks for people. I think that's one of my favorite gifts to actually make because they're so practical, and you can make them. Like, handmade socks are just the best. They're just so warm and cozy, and I love making them. They're portable when it comes to actually knitting them, so I love that.

Well, if you have an icebreaker for us for a future episode, you can leave it. If you're a Seamwork member at seamwork.com/go/icebreakers. And that'll take you to a thread in our community where you can leave a question for us that we'll use to start a future episode.

All right, so if you're like us, you've probably dabbled in making handmade gifts for the holidays. I think giving something that's made with love is just so rewarding. But at the same time, it can be hard to balance your generosity with just the demands of everyday life. And all while trying to dream up projects that your friends and family are going to love and they're going to use. It's a big challenge. I think.

Haley, do you usually take the time to make handmade gifts?

Haley
It's really like especially for the holidays, it's really 50-50. I feel like when inspiration strikes, when I think of an idea that I'm going to be able to execute in time and also I know the person will appreciate. I think there was a time where I just made everybody gifts kind of regardless, and then it would sometimes lead to me being disappointed because they'd be like, oh, cool, thanks. No, that is an inappropriate response.

Sarai
You are not sufficiently enthused.

Haley
You need to be way more enthusiastic than that, which is also not the spirit in which I want to give gifts.

So now it's only when I have a really special idea that I know that they're really going to love and cherish, then I will make a gift. I mean, other than for my daughter, I'll just make her things. I don't care. She loves it.

Sarai
Oh, it's so fun to make things for kids.

Haley
So fun.

Sarai
Yeah. I think in the past I tried to make a lot of things. I remember one year I made scarves for everybody in my family and knitted scarves for everybody in my family. It took a long time and they appreciated them, they liked them. But I think personally, I have these tendencies to really overdo things and to be a perfectionist who always wants to do more and more and more. So I try to curb that tendency because with the holidays, there's just so much going on. So sort of like you, I try to approach it with what am I actually inspired to make or feel really excited about making, instead of just feeling like I have to make gifts for everybody.

Haley
Yeah. I feel like that takes away from the specialness of it when it comes from a place of obligation instead of a place of inspiration and appreciation of the person.

Sarai
Yeah. And it allows you to focus your energy more on the things that you are making instead of just trying to crank out as many gifts as you possibly can. That's the part that kind of sucks the joy out of it for me, is feeling like I have to do it.

Haley
Yeah, I agree. So what types of projects do you tend to gravitate towards when you're sewing gifts for people?

Sarai
One thing I really like, anything that's a container because you can fit a gift inside of it.

Haley
Okay.

Sarai
So it can act as the wrapping at the same time, like a tote bag or something like that.

Or if you're making a case of some kind that you can put something in. I like that. Or if you're making a food item, maybe some kind of wrapping for that. That's reusable. I really like making gifts like that.

And then, like I said, socks. I love knitting socks through people. That's always really fun. Anything that is practical in the cold weather I think is a really nice thing to receive. What about you?

Haley
It really varies, because like I said, I tend to do things that are very specific to the person now, so there isn't really one type of thing, but once in a while, inspiration will strike me and I'll want to get really hyper fixated on one particular project.

Last year it was scrunchies, and I was like, everybody with hair long enough to put in a scrunchie is getting scrunchies because I was obsessed with making them. I think I made like 40 scrunchies last year. It was just so much fun. And it was like I would give them as little gift toppers, like put them on the bottle, like the neck of a wine bottle. It was so fun.

So things like that that I can kind of make a whole bunch of and just kind of like hyper fixate on, I think are really fun.

Sarai
That is fun.

Haley
I've done that with zipper pouches in the past. I think that when you're coming at a project like that from a place of pure enjoyment and you're just really enjoying zoning out on the same ten steps over and over again, then I can get into it. Instead of it coming from this place of like, oh, my God, I got to make a tote bag for Susie and pair of pajamas for Joe and all of that.

Sarai
Yeah, I agree. I almost think it works better if the things you're making are sort of add-ons like that, like a scrunchie as opposed to the main gift so you don't feel as much pressure around it.

Haley
Yeah, that's what it ended up being in most cases, and it was just kind of like fun.

So do you have any do's and don'ts for handmade gift giving or like gift giving in general?

Sarai
Well, I really love to give consumable gifts, so food items, because people will always use things like that. I think that's one reason why I really like making things that act as wrappings for those kinds of things, because not everybody wants more stuff in their life and you really have to know the person. Some people, they love collecting stuff, but other people might not want more stuff in their life depending on the phase of life they're in or their personality. So I try to be mindful of that.

And that's why I love giving consumable gifts like chocolate or wine, if they drink wine or olive oil, good olive oil or something like that, that I know that they're going to love and appreciate. So that's one thing I do tend to gravitate towards when it comes to giving gifts.

I think the other thing that is important to me when it comes to, especially with handmade gifts, is to not give myself unreasonable deadlines or time frames for making things. I think that's really what destroys the fun of it for me is feeling like we were just talking about that pressure and feeling like I have to do it and I have to finish it by this date, and if I don't, I'm not going to have a gift for this person, and blah, blah, blah.

It's easy for me to get into that headspace. So I try to make it as easy on myself as possible. What about you?

Haley
Mine has some overlap with yours, which is I also love consumable gifts. I like receiving them, I love giving them. And that's what you're going to get. Unless I have a really good idea for you, as a rule, unless I have something that's really specific that I know you're going to love, I know you're going to use, or something that's like, I don't know, sentimental to my relationship with you, then you're going to get just some really delicious cookies.

I like making mulled wine at the holidays, and I give that to people, things like that. Or I like doing like little, like if they're a coffee drinker, coffee or tea subscriptions or things like that, I think are kind of fun.

But yeah, when in doubt, consumable all the way.

Sarai
Yes, absolutely. All right, well, let's get into our tips.

So if you are interested in making some gifts this holiday season, we have a plethora of ideas for you from the community today. Many, many ideas.

So we've got these divided into categories, and we're going to start with gifts for the kitchen, which is my favorite category, I think, including food items, but also things you can just use in the kitchen. I love to cook, I love to bake. So these are always gifts that I enjoy making and I enjoy receiving.

So the first one comes from Victoria, which is to make aprons in cute fabrics.

Or Kimberly suggested upcycling an old button-up to create an apron. I love that idea. I think that's a really fun one.

Haley
Yeah, she posted a picture in the community, and it was so cute.

Sarai
I think aprons can really be customized so much to the person, too. You can make more workwear type aprons, really sturdy aprons. You can make really frilly aprons. You can make cool prints. There's just so much you can do. A classy linen apron, really. You can match it to the person's personality, which I love.

The second idea comes from Kimberly, also, and that's potholders, that color coordinate with friends homes or kitchens. That's a fun one too. Potholders are really easy to make, and they can really liven up a kitchen.

Haley
And I think it's thoughtful because you're like showing that you notice their taste, their style, their colors.

Sarai
Yeah, definitely. You can also make them oversized for baking dishes. And that one came from Judy. So like a trivet type thing. So you can make sort of a big something that looks like a potholder, that has the quilting, like a pot holder that you can put on the table, and you can put hot dishes on top of if you're not familiar with a trivet is, I think that's a really great idea, too. And you can make a coordinating set with the potholders would be really, really fun, especially for the holidays. People are entertaining a lot.

Heather suggested paperless towels. That's a great idea. Really, really easy to make.

Lorian suggested bowl koozies, and then that gave me an idea of bowl covers. So those are those fabric covers that you can put over a bowl instead of something like plastic wrap, Saran wrap, and they have elastic around the edge, so it kind of looks like a big shower cap. And you can make them in different sizes to fit different size bowls. Those are really, really practical. And you can make some really cute ones. Like, you can imagine them in stripes or gingham or something like that. Or you could do a crazy pattern or a bunch of different colors would be really fun.

Nicole suggested a water bottle holder. That's a good one, too. That's really a very practical one. I'm imagining, like, a sling type water bottle holder. That's really, really helpful for me. I go on a lot of walks with my dogs, so that would be really helpful.

The next one comes from Jessica, and I'm just going to quote Jessica here. She said, “a couple years ago, I had family recipes printed on Spoonflower fabric and sewed those up into tea towels. I really love making giving those practical, but also sentimental.” I love that idea. That's a really fun one that's very personal to your family.

Haley
Yeah, I might have to borrow that.

Sarai
Yeah, that's a really cool one. And I just like the idea of getting things that are sentimental to you printed on Spoonflower fabric and then making something out of them, like tea towels. I think that idea generally is really cool. You could even do, like, photos on them or something, and then you could embroider over them if you wanted. Like, there's a lot of cool stuff you could do.

The next one comes from Nancy, who suggested tea towels with machine embroidery. That's a fun one. Or you could do hand embroidery. That's always really special to receive.

Lisa suggested fabric napkins and coasters. I just made a whole bunch of fabric napkins, and I used the mitered corner tutorial from our blog that Devon wrote many years ago, and it was super easy to follow and super helpful. So if you want to make some fabric napkins or coasters, that's one. And I think we have a video about making those things as well.

And then the last one in the kitchen section, beeswax wraps and reusable bread bags for the baker in your life. I would love to get some bread bags. I make bread almost every weekend. I think that would be really nice. And that one's from Andrea.

So there's a whole bunch of ideas for the kitchen things you can make. I hope you guys have a pencil and paper nearby. We're just going to be throwing out the ideas at you, and hopefully you'll come up with some really great new ones for yourself.

Haley
All right, so the next category that we have is things that are specifically Christmas or holiday themed.

Number one is felt ornaments. I've seen a lot of really cute tutorials on Pinterest for these. I love the ones that include some, like, hand embroidery or beads and sequins. I think that they're so fun. Most of the time, I see them stuffed with some sort of, like, polyfill or something and a blanket stitch used around the exterior.

Sarai
They are just so pretty, and they look really fancy. They look really expensive and fancy and beautiful.

Haley
I want to make some, but I feel like if I made them, I would just want to keep them for myself. So maybe you can just make some for yourself or host a little holiday crafting evening with your friends.

Sarai
It's a great way to experiment with embroidery and with beading, too. If that's something that's new to you, that would be a really great small project.

Haley
Like, sit, watch your favorite show, and just kind of, like, zone out with it. I love that.

Next one is Christmas stockings. That is a suggestion from Carolyn. I love this. I did this a couple years ago, and it was one of those things that was on my to do list ever since I had Charley, I was like, I want to make handmade stockings. And I finally got around to it, and I've had them for two years now, and every time I pull them out, it just brings me so much joy. And you could bring that same level of joy to someone else when they see the handmade stocking that you give to them year after year.

Sarai
Some really pretty quilted ones, or ones that are patchwork, I should say, that are just so pretty.

Haley
Yeah, that's really fun. I just chose quilting cotton that was coordinating. They weren't necessarily from the same collection, but not matchy matchy, but just kind of like, coordinating but fit the vibe of the person who I was making it for, and I thought it was really fun. They're really easy to sew.

The next idea is no-sew Christmas ball ornaments. So if you haven't seen these before, I definitely suggest looking them up. Basically, it creates this kind of, like you use pins and fabric on, like, a foam ball ornament to create this kind of, like, quilted look. Or, I guess, rather patchwork look. And they're so gorgeous. That's definitely a craft that I am interested in making. I guess it's not technically something you sew, but it uses fabric, so it counts.

Sarai
Yeah, I've seen some really cool paper—this is not sewing at all—but I've seen some really cool paper mache, painted paper mache ornaments.

Haley
Oh, yeah.

Sarai
Those are really cool. I imagine you could do something similar with fabric, too.

Haley
Yeah, totally. And that no-sew Christmas ornament came from Brandy.

And the last one in our Christmas themed section is over the top Christmas sweaters. And that's a suggestion from Jos. You could do this for any holiday that you celebrate. Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Yule, whatever you fancy for your holiday season. I think it would be really fun to just make something. It doesn't have to be over the top, but it would be really fun to make something really campy and tacky.

Sarai
Yeah, I'm imagining something bejeweled to the high heaven.

Haley
If it's not bejeweled, I don't know if you're really like hitting the theme of over the top.

Sarai
The great thing about sewing your own crazy Christmas sweater is you can make it whatever color you want. You really customize it and make it something that fits you well, even if it's ugly.

Haley
It's ugly, but it fits really well. That sleeve hangs perfectly.

Sarai
All right, let's talk about accessories. So, this is a big category. There's a lot of accessories you can make for gifts, so here are a bunch of ideas for you.

The first one is slippers. This is a fun one. Sew DIY has a pattern for them. Sewonsister recommended this one, and I think it's such a great idea. I think slippers are so fun and practical.

Scrunchies. This one came from Betty. And obviously, Haley also enjoys making the scrunchies for gifts. I do, too. I think it's really fun. We have a great video on making scrunchies on our YouTube channel if you haven't checked it out. Haley has an awesome method for making scrunchies really fast, so if that's something you want to make, definitely check out that video.

The next one is fabric covered belts. Michelle's making fabric covered elastic belts with decorative buckles for people. What a cool idea.

Haley
It is a really cool idea.

Sarai
Really neat idea. Or you could get those. I don't know if they sell new ones anymore, but the vintage belt buckle kits that you can cover with fabrics you can make a matching buckle to your belt I think is really cool. I used to make those when I wore a lot more vintagey stuff.

Eye masks. That one's from Casey I had a friend give me. It wasn't handmade, but a silk eye mask for Christmas one year. It is so luxurious. I love it.

Haley
That would be fun. Little combo gift is to do a silk scrunchie and a silk eye mask.

Sarai
Yeah, I wear a scrunchie to bed every night so that would be great.

Haley
Yeah. Same.

Sarai
An easy jersey scarf. So you can make an infinity scarf using the same method as our scrunchie method. And Barbara's using her serger to make a lettuce hem on her scarves. That's a really easy gift, is a Jersey scarf. I mean, you can make a scarf out of any fabric, really, any lightweight fabric. But the idea of making a Jersey scarf would just be super easy. You could do a merino wool, too, and make it just super cozy and warm. Or you could find a wool coating that's very fuzzy and soft. That would be really nice.

Haley
That’d be fun.

Sarai
Yeah. The next one comes from Megan, and she suggested scrub hats. So if you have somebody in your life who wears scrubs for their job, somebody who works in healthcare, maybe, then scrub hats is another one that you can make. I like that idea. It's very specific to the person, which is a little bit more personal.

Nadia suggested scrunchies and headbands. So kind of a combo set. Again, that would be good as a bedtime set for somebody who wears those things at night. I use a headband at night just to wash my face, just to keep my hair out of my face when I'm washing my face. So those things go together, too.

Embroidered beanies. This one comes from Tracy. That's a fun one. I hadn't really thought about embroidering a beanie, but that's a really cool idea.

Haley
Yeah. She included pictures on the community, and it looked like she had some store bought beanies, and then she used a machine to embroider them. And they were such beautiful embroideries. You could also totally embroider them by hand. But I also just love the idea of taking, like, a store bought beanie or something and just, like, jazzing it up.

Sarai
Yeah. You know what could also be cool is to embroider a square fabric and make a patch out of it that you could put on a beanie. I think that would be really cool, too. That's a really neat idea.

The next one, this is my idea, which is to make mittens. I've been seeing a lot of really cute mittens in a fuzzy sherpa on Pinterest, and I love that idea. It'll be super easy to make. You basically just trace your hand. You could add some elastic at the cuff, or you could add some rib knit at the cuff if you want to make it even more secure. I think they're just so, so cute. Or you could use a quilted knit, which I think would also be really warm and cozy. You can find pre quilted knits that I think would make really, really cool mittens.

You could also make a tie. So we have a pattern for a tie. It's called the Graham neck tie. So you could check that out. Make that for somebody who likes to wear ties.

Or the last one in our accessories category, an eyeglasses case. We have the James Eyeglass case on the Seamwork website if you want a pattern for that.

So I just made an eyeglass case for myself over the summer with some scrap fabric I have, and I love it. I use it every day. I made it quilted, so it protects my glasses really well. I put snap on it, used a whole bunch of really cute fabrics, made my own bias tape in a different fabric. They're just really, really cute. I think anybody would appreciate that.

Haley
The next category of gifts that was, like, really popular on the post was bags. I'm calling this category bags, bags, bags. Because I know I love gifting tote bags. I also love receiving them. But this list definitely goes beyond the basic tote bag.

First item on the list, though, is a classic tote bag. Seamiest recommended this one. I like this because you could give people ones that are more fashion tote bags. You can also give people ones that are more intended to bring to the market with you. I mean, like, who doesn't need.

Sarai
You always need more tote bags.

Haley
Every time I think I have enough, I run out, like, wow, I really need to sew some more. I really wish someone would sew some for me.

Sarai
I have three in this room. Right now.

Haley
The next idea is kind of a riff off of that from Sarai, and that is to create a tote that's specific for toting beverages or wine. So those little wine tote bags, you see them a lot at Trader Joe's or other grocery stores. They have little dividers in them, and you could fill that up with wine or even things like olive oil and fancy vinegars for a friend who maybe doesn't drink but needs a fancy bag with dividers in it, I think that that's a great idea.

Sarai
Yeah, I just love, like I said, giving reusable gifts that you can use to wrap your consumables. I think that's always really appreciated and something that people can actually use.

Haley
Yeah, totally. I agree. I've used them all the time for, like, picnics. I want to bring some sparkling lemonade or something. They really help prevent glass from clinking against other glass and breaking.

The next idea is to make custom zipper pouches. This one comes from our Seamwork ambassador, Ariane. I think this is really fun. I've definitely done this before, and I like this because it's something you can batch sew. You can customize per person by using different fabrics or including maybe little details that might be special to them. I think that this is know, like a classic gift idea.

Riffing off of that. We have Marie, and she says that she likes to add embroidery to her zipper pouches. You can do monogram. You can do a sweet little message. I think that's a fun way to customize this gift.

The next suggestion comes from Dawn. She likes using her scraps to make patchwork bags. She calls them scrappy bags. This is great because you could do this for a tote bag. You can do this for a zipper pouch. I mean, really, it's applicable to any holiday project if you want to use up a lot of those scraps that you have.

Sarai
Yeah, we have some great videos on doing this, too. We have a video on making your own patchwork fabric, so you could use that to make bags. We also have a video on making reversible tote bags, too, if you want to check that out on our YouTube channel.

Haley
Such a good point. Yeah. We just did a series on this, and I thought it was really great.

Next up, we have a laptop case. This comes from Mary Beth. You can use some really fun fabric and some batting to make something that's really practical. I know I use my laptop case, like, practically every single day. So if you are friends with someone who works from home or hybrid, that can be really helpful for them.

From Carol, we have the suggestion of making a passport case. So if you have someone you love that travels often, this can be really fun. She had also suggested making coordinating things to go with it. I think she had suggested, like, an earbuds case in a coordinating fabric. I know that she made hers out of cork, and it just looks so cute.

Next up, we have a belt bag. I'm really fond of this because I love belt bags. I wear them quite frequently. We have the Rey pattern, which is really great. It's an adjustable belt bag. I know that Sarai just made one recently. I've made one. I love it. This is really great for people on the go who need to be hands free.

People with dogs, people with children, people who don't want to be encumbered by a bag.

Sarai
Yeah, it's great for hiking, too.

Haley
Yeah, totally.

Sarai
Or winter sports, any kind of winter sport. It's nice to have your hands free for.

All right, our next category are things for the home. So you can make custom pillows using special fabrics like faux fur. That idea comes from Adelina, and Joyce makes patchwork pillows. I love both of these ideas so much.

I have a fuzzy pillow on my sofa right now, and I absolutely love it. It's so comfy and cozy. The next idea comes from Donna, and that's to make sachets. I gave Kenn some a Douglas Fir sachet one year, and I think he still has it. But it's great for keeping your sweaters safe from bugs, from moths. You could use lavender is one thing people use. Or you could use cedar chips. You can buy cedar chips and make little sachets from that.

So especially if you're giving somebody a wool gift, that's a nice little add-on for it.

Haley
Oh, I love that.

Sarai
And you could embroider it. You can make it out of a fancy fabric. There's so much you could do with that.

You could make a pin cushion. That idea also comes from Donna. I've seen some really cute pincushions on Etsy lately, and I've been thinking about buying a handmade pin cushion. I think you can make them really cute and special. I've seen some really pretty velvet ones that look really nice. It just kind of dresses up your sewing room a little bit.
You could make a decorative embroidery for somebody in a hoop. So kind of wall art for them. Some handmade wall art. That idea comes from Stephanie. I love that as well.

And then the last one comes from Kay, which is fabric baskets, which I love this idea that is so useful. I've been meaning to make myself fabric baskets for quite some time, and I would love to get something like this, especially in, like, a nice linen, something really classy like that, or a pretty stripe. I think that would be really cool.

Haley
You could also make rope bowls, which we have a great tutorial for and are also very addictive to sew. I went down a rope bowl rabbit hole a couple of years ago.

Sarai
Yeah, that's a good one.

Haley
Our next category is clothing, and I think this one can tend to be, like, a little controversial. It can be hard to sew clothes for people, especially because you might be guessing at their size or maybe stealthily measuring their clothes while they're out of the house.

So the consensus here is really to make things where the fit is adjustable or loose, where you just need to be in the ballpark of their size for it to work really well.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
Judy suggests pajamas. Pajama pants are such a classic gift. I've made them for my family before. I come from a very big Red Sox family. I'm not, like, a sports person, but they really like sports. They like the Red Sox. And I bought some of that licensed fleece from JOANN and made a bunch of Red Sox pajamas, and I was, like, the star.

Sarai
I'm sure you were.

Haley
Sometimes they send me pictures in their Red Sox pajamas.

Sarai
Awesome. That is awesome. I think knit pajamas, if you're not quite sure on sizing, knit pajamas are a good way to go. For that reason. They have a little bit more comfiness and stretch to them.

Haley
Yeah, I've made them for my husband before out of really soft bamboo French terry. That was really nice. So it was like, a little bit of extra warmth for the winter. But sometimes I feel like those more specialty fabric pajamas can be, like, super spendy, but then making them yourself only takes a couple of hours and is relatively inexpensive, so I think that's a great one.

The next idea is to make a fleece pullover. I really like this idea. Maybe it's because we live in the Pacific Northwest, where a fleece pullover is like mandatory. It’s a staple.

Sarai
Your mid layer.

Haley
Yeah, you need a mid layer. I think this is really fun. Oftentimes when I go shopping for these, I find them, the colors and the fabrics to be rather boring and really fun. Colored like fleeces are very readily available in fabric stores. So I think this is great.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
And then lastly, we have robes. This is one of my favorite things to sew for myself. I’ve yet to sew one for someone else, but I like them because the construction of a robe is relatively simple, and it gives you opportunities to do special things. Like if you're making something lightweight, you can use French seams, you can utilize trims, but also you can just really experiment with practically any type of fabric.

You could make, like, a really cozy fleece one or a sherpa one. You can make a double gauze one. It's just like really the possibilities are endless. You can make one in practically anything.

Sarai
It feels really luxurious, too.

Haley
Yeah. And maybe it's because I'm such a robe wearer. I wear robes every single day. So it's like the ultimate utility item for me.

Sarai
Yeah. The next section is for the kiddos, which is one of my favorites. I just love making stuff for kids. It is my favorite thing.

So the first idea is stuffed animals. So Kimberly made stuffed dinosaurs last year, and I just love the idea of making dolls and stuffies. I have so many patterns for these bookmarked on Etsy, people selling these patterns, there are some great ideas there. So if you're looking for a pattern for cute stuffies, definitely head over to Etsy. Because there are some amazing designers over there.

But you can make all kinds of little animals depending on what the kid is drawn to, what they like. I kind of want to make my niece, like, a little menagerie of different animals.

Haley
Oh, my gosh.

Sarai
Is then you can make little outfits for them and keep giving them outfits for their animals every year, which that's just, like, I love that so much.

The next idea is from Bridget, and she said quilts with matching plushies. Oh, my God, that is so cute. What a great idea to have the quilt that matches the plushie. Or you can make even matching clothes for the stuffy that match the quilt. That would be just the best gift from a grandma, I think. Or a mom or an aunt or anybody.

Haley
Yeah. Charley would love it. She’s obsessed with things being twins.

So our next category is a really wonderful close to my heart category, which is charitable sewing. First item on this list is making stockings for your local hospital. Caroline wrote that at her local hospital, they have a program for donating or making stockings for patients that are going to be there over the holiday season. So she's making a bunch and is experimenting with different techniques for construction. And I think that's kind of fun, too, when you get to the chance to make something repetitively and you get to find the best possible way to sew it. So, added bonus to that really thoughtful, kind gesture.

And the next idea comes from Susan. And Susan makes fabric feral cat covers, or feral cat trap covers. It's a little bit of a tongue twister there. And she writes, “I make Frankenstein covers, where you just randomly sew scraps together and then true up the edges and run through on a serger. The spay and neuter program in our county has been such a success with spaying and neutering feral cats and then releasing them back to where they were trapped.”

I think this is like such a sweet idea. Also keeps them hopefully a little warmer and cozier when they're freaked out in their traps.

Sarai
Poor babies.

Haley
But it's good we want to spay and neuter those babies.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
And this reminded me of another program that I know some of the shelters near us run, which is to make beds or little blankets for pets that are awaiting adoption this holiday season. And then when they find their forever home, they get to take those items home with them. Oftentimes the shelters will utilize them in their little photo shoots. So cute.

Also, just this is not anything to do with sewing, but just to remind people that this is a great time of year to go sign up to volunteer somewhere where they need a little extra hand at a shelter, at a food pantry, things like that.

Sarai
Yeah. And in addition to shelters, you could check out local rescues, too. So if there's a rescue that's close to your heart, you could work with them and see what they need. Because I think rescues are often looking for donations of items to help the pets, and again, they can take it home with them when they find their home. So, a very, very sweet gift. Very thoughtful.

We have a few bonus ideas before we wrap up today.

One idea for you is that presentation makes a big difference. So Betty packaged her scrunchies in a plastic sleeve with a yardstick backing, and she added a handwritten label. And she also gifted a pair in a bright blue cardboard sleeve with a custom label. So I love those ideas from Betty of kind of dressing up your gifts and finding ways to dress up your gifts. It's really kind of adds an extra layer of thoughtfulness to the things you're making.

Haley
I love that idea. I do have to apologize because I transcribed her suggestion and it should be a plastic sleeve with a cardboard or a cardstock.

Sarai
Cardstock, not yardstick. I was wondering why I thought it meant like a ruler to keep it steady.

Haley
You could, it would just be a big package. But Betty suggested like a nice cardstock backing. She included a picture on the community. It was really, really cute. I would be happy to receive any gift like that from Betty or otherwise.

Sarai
Thank you, Betty. Sorry.

We're going to blame Autocorrect on that one.

Haley
Yeah, blame Autocorrect, not me. Thanks. Good save Sarai.

Sarai
The next one, this idea comes from Laughing Lamb. And this person suggests books and watercolor bookmarks, which I love that idea, actually. Bookmarks generally, I think would be a great idea. You could do watercolor or you could sew bookmarks. I've seen really pretty crocheted and knitted bookmarks, too. I saw a beautiful one on Pinterest.

If you do crochet, the great thing about crochet is that it's 3D. So I saw these bookmarks that are basically like a crocheted flower and then it had a long chain on it and the tassel on the end for a bookmark and they were absolutely gorgeous and that would be pretty simple and quick to make, too.

And then finally, this one is from Sarah and I think we can all appreciate this one. Sarah is in a busy season of her life and she is reserving handmade gifts for birthdays only. I love that.

Haley
That's so relatable.

Sarai
I'm glad you threw that in there, Sarah, because you don't have to make handmade gifts for the holidays. It is a stressful time for a lot of us. It is a difficult time for many people. You do not have to do any of this. This is all optional.

So I'm glad Sarah reminded us of that, because it can be really easy to put that pressure on yourself that we were talking about at the top of the episode and make this into something that you have to do instead of something that you get to do. So I'm glad that Sarah threw that in there. And you can still make gifts for people's birthdays when you're only focusing on one person at a time and that might feel even more special to you. I love that little reminder.

All right, so that was a lot of things.

Haley
So many things.

Sarai
50 different ideas for your handmade gifts this year. I hope you found something in here that is going to excite you and you're maybe changing up your plans a little bit or getting some new ideas or breathing some fresh life into your gifts this year. What's your favorite thing to make for gifts out of all these ideas?

Haley
The idea right now that's jumping out to me is the bookmark idea. That's because a lot of people on my list this year are getting some kind of book. And so I'm like that's the greatest little topper that I could spend an afternoon making a half dozen bookmarks and it would just make it feel a little extra special. So I appreciate the suggestion. Laughing Lamb.

Sarai
Yeah, I think the one that jumped out to me were the felt ornaments because I think they're really beautiful. But when you said you can just sit in front of a movie and do your embroidery.

I think things like that are a great opportunity to just remember to slow down at this time of year. I'm go go all the time in November and December, and I feel like any gift that can get me to just relax and enjoy the process is just gonna I feel like it's gonna have more love in it.

All right, well, if you know somebody who loves sewing and you're looking for a non-handmade gift for that handmade lover in your life, you can give a Seamwork gift membership and keep them sewing all year round. Our annual gift memberships are 50% off for a limited time, and gift memberships have two options. So, number one, you can have a gift code emailed to you, and then you could forward it, you can print it out, you can add it to a card of your choice, or you can email them the code directly. So it's super easy, and it definitely takes less time than sewing a whole gift.

So you can check it out at seamwork.com/catalog/giftmembership, or we'll put that in the show notes. Or if you just go to Seamwork.com and you'll be able to find the gift memberships right there.

All right, if you like this episode, please consider leaving us a review. We really appreciate all of your wonderful reviews. It is so awesome to see them every week. We have one today from oh, boy, Alita1234567. I wonder if that's your real name. Oh, it's Aldia. Aldia. Excuse me. Who says, “So supportive. I cannot say enough about the support that the sewists at Seamwork provide. My sewing would not have progressed to the place I'm at this year as a beginner sewist. The Seamwork community, their YouTube videos, and their podcast has provided me with everything I need. I finished my first unlined wool jacket with Hong Kong Seams, and I am so proud of the accomplishment.”

Wow. That is so cool.

Haley
I'm proud of you, too.

Sarai
Yeah, I'm super proud of you. That's amazing. Thank you for making our day and sharing that review with us. We really, really appreciate that.

So if you have a review that you'd like to leave or if you just want to give us five stars and let us know that you're enjoying the podcast, we'd really appreciate it, and it helps other people to find the podcast, too.

And that does it for us this week. I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio.