Affiliate links may be included for your convenience. View our privacy and affiliates policy for details.
After sharing some of my knit gifts to make recently I thought I would share some sewing gifts to make as well. It just feels like a year when it would be great to make more gifts, and there are plenty of things you can sew that are easy to make (even in batches if you want to!) that are also useful for the recipient.
Looking for gifts for someone who sews? Check out my list of great gifts for sewists!
Stocking Stuffers to Sew
One of the great genres of sewing gifts to make is stocking stuffers — little projects that don’t take much time or materials but bring a little smile.
Like these scrunchies from Apple Green Cottage. There are measurements for seven different sizes, from skinny to jumbo, as well as tips for scrunchies for thick hair. The best part: you can use pretty much any fabric you have on hand and it’s a perfect project to use up scraps.
Sewn coasters are another great gift sewing project that can use leftovers from other projects. This pattern from Beginner Sewing Projects helps you make simple square coasters. They’re super useful and don’t take much time to stitch.
You can make these microwavable hand warmers in just a few minutes with a few scraps of fabric and some rice. They’re perfect for keeping your hands warm on cold days!
If you’re making something for someone who travels a lot, try this fabric luggage tag from Positively Splendid. This does involve sewing clear vinyl, which can be a little tricky, but it’s such a tiny project you’ll be done with the tricky bit in no time.
Have a reader in your life? Sew up some corner bookmarks with this easy pattern from Quilters Candy. Another great use for leftovers from other projects!
Sewing Gifts to Make: Cozies and Mats
I love a good cozy. They just make everything cuter and are useful, too.
I don’t often drink from Mason jars, but if you have a friend who does, these Mason jar cozies from Pin Cut Sew Studio are a perfect gift. You can use a bunch of different scraps to make them, and they are so cute! Even if they don’t use jars to drink from, you can give them a jar with a cozy filled with flowers.
Bowl cozies are great this time of year because they help keep your soup warm (and project your hands from a hot bowl if you warm your soup in the microwave. This pattern from Sew Can She is a good one, and it comes in three sizes for different bowls.
A mug rug isn’t exactly a cozy, but it does make snack time at your desk a little nicer. Mug rugs are like supersized coasters where you have room for your drink and a little snack to sit. My super simple pattern for these used fat quarters, but you can use any scraps you have on hand.
And I guess a card holder isn’t really a cozy, either, but it keeps your cards cute, cozy and visible while you play card games. These are great for kids who want to play games but can’t hold all their cards yet, but adults will love them, too. Get the pattern from Sew Can She.
More Sewing Gifts to Give
Bags and baskets are great sewing gifts to give and are useful for just about anyone. I love the bubble pods pattern from Love From Beth so much I just might need to make some for myself! These call for two contrasting fabrics, but you could also stitch scraps into a larger piece to make these if you wanted. (Note: several reviews use words like “fiddly” and “tricky,” so this might not be the best choice for a beginner sewist.)
Loreli Jayne’s quick pouch pattern is so cute and would be useful to hold all sorts of things, and comes in three sizes to house everything from coins to cosmetics. They use fat quarters so you can easily grab some fabric from your stash to stitch them up. You also need to be comfortable sewing a zipper.
Another gift I love to make and give is sewn infinity scarves. I actually have a couple of them. The basic infinity scarf sewing pattern uses lightweight fabric (you can do it with quilting cotton, light flannel, really anything) and in that post you’ll find more sewn cowls and scarves.
I also made one with flannel and sherpa fabric, which is partly sewn and partly closed with permanent fabric glue because I couldn’t manage the thickness with my sewing machine. It is gigantic, warm and cozy and I’m sure anyone on Team Always Cold (like me!) would love it. Or you could make it half as wide for a person who isn’t always freezing. Whatever you like.
