I love giving handmade gifts. There’s just something so special and thoughtful about giving a gift you made with love to someone you love and appreciate. Even when I can’t make something myself (like I how I wanted to give my mom pressed framed flowers for Mother’s Day), I’ll try to find a Maker from whom I can purchase it so I can support a small business and still give something handmade.
I’ve collected some ideas for awesome handmade gifts that can all be made ALD fabrics. The internet is chock full of amazing handmade gifts. It was so hard to choose only a few! Choosing makes with knits was actually a little difficult, it’s funny how I sew most of my wardrobe with knit fabrics but when I go to make little handmade sewing gifts I somehow find myself drawn to woven fabrics. I hope you find some inspiration here!
First up, you know I had to do it, The ALD Dream Tee! I love that it can be a tee or a dress, it includes pockets and longer sleeve pieces, and it’s such a quick and easy sew. It’s the perfect pattern for beginners, and the loose, flowy nature of the dress makes it more forgiving if you are sewing for a friend and you aren’t totally sure of their size. There are also a ton of ways you can snazz it up as well, like making the sleeves bishop sleeves, adding cuffs, a contrasting neckband, adding a pocket, the possibilities to customize this are endless. I chose this really soft pointelle and made mine a short sleeve version. I live in FL so I don’t often have use for long sleeves. I get compliments every time I wear it. It’s basically secret pajamas. If you really love someone, secret pajamas are the perfect way to go!
Next up, I have these gorgeous bows. I made one to match my dress and one in black varginated rib, because you can’t go wrong with black. I love these as a gift because they are so quick and easy to make and are the perfect scrap buster. This pattern is FREE! For the one I made to match my dress I added a few inches to the fold so the bow would be a little longer. You can totally get creative with these too. If you add more length to the fold it could be so cute as a necktie or a tie to hang on a bag!
I also made this pretty textured scart using some incredibly versatile leopard fabric and the coziest thermal you ever have seen. This was an incredibly quick make and doesn’t even require a pattern. All you need is the tutorial. It is listed as a pattern on the P4P website, but really all you need is the tutorial from their blog. I love how it can combine two fabrics, how quickly it comes together, and how it’s different from your regular scarf. I don’t own anything else like it.
Another hair gift! Yes, here are some scrunchies. These are a great scrap buster as well. This scrunchie is pretty standard, but you can alter it to get different looks. You can make an oversized scrunchie and cutting a wider width. You can go the opposite direction as well and do a skinny scrunchie. My 12 year old is a fan of these. You can also take the bow from above and tie them on the scrunchie instead of a hair tie and make a custom look. If you do make a bow with the intention of tying it on a scrunchie, I highly recommend adding at least one inch to the fold so it has a little extra space to go over the extra bulk.
Last up, I made this beanie! I have to admit, I’m not a huge hat person, but I think this slouchy beanie is just so cute. The thermal that ALD has (seriously, I don’t have words for how amazing this thermal is, I think I ordered it in four colors!) is SO perfect for this. I can’t recommend this enough! And even for people who aren’t huge hat wearers like me, it’s still nice to have one for once in a while. And this is the absolute quickest sew. Did I mention the pattern comes with a headband as well? Perfect for all genders!
I used this post to highlight some of my favorite sewing company’s freebie patterns. Most pattern companies have freebies for the holidays that they come out with around this time of year. These are usually pretty easy things to make and make fantastic gifts. I highly encourage you to check them out and don’t forget that there are so many more than I posted here. If you know of a company that has some good freebies, leave them in the comments, I would love to see what else there is out there! Also let me know what your favorite DIY gift is. Is there one I should try?
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