Holiday Gifts To Sew Yourself

November

9 November 2010 - Unknown Author

Holiday Gifts to Sew Yourself

With the Holiday season quickly approaching, now is the time to plan your gift-making. Why not start on those lovingly thoughtful handmade gifts for loved ones and friends? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Sewing on Paper

If you haven’t tried sewing on paper, it’s quite fun. You can make gift cards by sewing around a transfer, or sewing specialty stitches around a border, or even free-sewing with different colored threads. Recycle old cards by cutting them up and sewing them like quilt pieces. Embellish with trimmings, buttons and beads, just as you would cloth items. The possibilities are as wide as your imagination. You don’t even have to sew the entire project, you can use adhesives and paints for a mixed-media look. Ideas:

• Recipe Cards
• Memory books
• Photo albums
• “25 Things I Love About You”
• Luggage Tags
• Framed Art

Using different types of needles like twin needles or leather needles will add flare to your design. Use various lace and trims to add to the design. Remember that paper will dull the sewing needles so you’ll need to change them when you’re done. Set aside the sewing needles that you use for paper in a separate tin for future use.

For the Children

A dress-up box is a great idea to recycle old formal-wear or costumes. Add some sparkly jewelry, a tiara, feather boas and a wand with some purchased angel wings and your little princess will have hours of fun.
Sew a cloth baby book for little ones. You can buy iron on designs, or you can appliqué pictures or do a combination of both. This is a great opportunity to try out those specialty stitches on your sewing machine that you seldom use. Specialty Threads work well to highlight an object. This is a good craft for recycling old clothes.

For the Sewer

The End of Summer Sale is your chance to stock up for yourself so you can launch your Holiday projects, or to purchase some goodies for that special sewer in your life. Every seamstress loves to get a gift basket of sewing supplies. Who knows, you might just end up with a special gift made just for you.