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We’re all about creative reuse and usephoria here at Our Daily Craft, so of course we want to share gifts to make with fabric scraps. Because sometimes it only takes a little bit of something (or a bunch of little things) to make something great. This is a genre of crafting I’m totally obsessed with this genre of making so I’m sure there will be more of this to come.
Scrap Fabric Projects for Pets
If you like to make gifts for your pets or have a pet lover on your list, you’ll be glad to know there are gifts to make with fabric scraps for the cats and dogs (and their people) in your life!
How about a catnip toy for the kitty in your life? This takes just a few minutes to make and two 3.5 inch/8.9 cm squares of fabric, or you can make them in different shapes to make them a bit more fun. Get the tutorial from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom.
Your favorite doggo will look super cute sporting a bow tie made from this pattern by Sustain My Sewing Habit. The pattern includes three different styles (just one size but you can probably make a little bigger or smaller if you need to) and none of them look to use that much fabric.
Or if they aren’t a bowtie kind of pet, maybe they’d like a bandana instead. This pattern from Spoonflower calls for a fat quarter of fabric, but you could also do it with smaller scraps sewn together if you like. I like this one because it slides onto the dog’s collar rather than being tied around their neck.
When I first saw this little pooch pouch from Handmadiya I thought it was to hold poop bags, but it’s actually to hold treats for dog training (or any other time, I suppose). But there’s no reason you couldn’t tuck a plastic bag inside this bag so you always have one handy on your walks. As shown it uses three kids of fabric so you can definitely use leftovers to make it.
And while we’re going on a walk, why not make a scrappy leash, too? This tutorial from Sew Can She uses all your little bits to make a super cute leash that will make your furry friend the talk of the trail.
Gifts to Make with Fabric Scraps for the Home
All I want to do when it’s cold out is stay home, so gifts that I can use without leaving the house are always appreciated. Here are a few you can make with fabric you already have on hand.
These “conversation coasters” from DuckaDilly are so cute, and the reason they’re conversation starters is that they’re made from scraps so they all look different. Each one is made from two 5 inch/12.7 cm squares of fabric, which can be pieced in different ways to use scraps. (They also need interfacing and fusible fleece.)
Winter is a great time for getting organized (see: not leaving the house, above) so why not help your friends store their stuff in an extra cute way? The Pixie Cup from Fabric Mutt is a cute patchwork mini basket with short and tall options. You can make them with whole pieces of fabric or patchwork depending on your scrap stash situation.
A mobile phone pillow stand is a great gift for anyone who watches videos on their phone (or just uses their phone a lot for different purposes). This one from Everything’s Famtastic uses a piece of fabric that’s 25 by 32 cm, or 9.8 by 12.6 inches. If you don’t have a single piece leftover that’s this size, you could also make this one a patchwork project.
If your friends are more the analog sort, stitch up some bookmarks to go with a gift card to the local bookstore or a copy of your favorite read from the past year. You can make corner bookmarks like these from Quilter’s Candy, or make a long version that’s quilted like this one from Sewn Handmade.
Make it an even cozier gift with a mug, some snacks and a stitched up mug rug, which is a perfect scrap busting project (or you can make several with a fat quarter or two).
Toys to Sew from Fabric Scraps
If you’ve got little ones in your life, these are great gifts to make with fabric scraps. Some of them need a lot of scraps compared to others but they are all really cute and lots of fun for kids.
I couldn’t resist sharing these reusable water balloons made from fleece by Heather Handmade. It’s maybe something that doesn’t make total sense without the water, but you could put them in a package that’s labeled and gift them along with other fun summer toys.
These adorable chicken beanbags from Gluesticks are fun to use for games or just to play with on their own. They could also be rice packs or ice bags for ouchies, and each one only takes a small amount of fabric.
If you have a bunch of little bits of fabric left over from other projects, you can make a gorgeous memory game for a little one. This one comes from Purl Soho and just uses pretty fabric prints, but you could also use novelty fabrics with images that match (like cars, birds, butterflies, etc.)
Make It Love It has a sweet pattern for a DIY fishing game you can make out of fabric scraps for the different fish. The fish bodies can be made with any fabric you have left over, and they have a little fleece (as well as a magnet) inside to give them some weight.
This darling mushroom house bag from A Spoonful of Sugar is sure to inspire some creative play for any little one in your life. Fill the bag with fairy garden supplies or little toys and watch them create their own little worlds. You can use all sorts of scraps to make the details on this project.
Of course you can make all sorts of toys and dolls with scrappy fabrics, but I couldn’t resist sharing this lovely little cat sewing pattern from Funky Friends Factory. The cat shown repeats fabric in different places on the body but you could make each piece with different fabric if you like.
Accessories and More
These gifts to make with fabric scraps are great for tweens and teens as well as anyone you want to make a little gift for that will be appreciated.
For a true scrap project you can’t do much better than these cute braided bracelets made with torn fabric form Paper, Scissors and Superheroes. There’s not a lot of sewing happening here but they have such a cute boho look I’m sure you’ll want to make a whole stack.
When it’s cold out I think anyone would love a couple of my hand warmers, which are super simple to make with a tiny bit of scrap fabric (each piece is about 2 inches/5 cm square).
Scrunchies are a great project to sew for anyone who has enough hair for a ponytail. See Kate Sew has a good tutorial that includes a video, and you can use any fabric you have on hand for these.
If your giftee uses earbuds or AirPods, they might like to have a case for them. This one from Erin Erickson is meant to fit earbuds, but you could make it a little bigger if needed to fit a case for AirPods to make them easier to find in your bag.
Kids and fashionable adults alike would love a pair of fabric shoelaces. You can make them with a single piece of fabric left over from another project, or use a patchwork to make stripey shoelaces. Learn how to make these cuties from Crafty Staci.
A pretty key fob keychain makes carrying your keys around a little more fun, and this project from Ps377 is a good one that you can loop around your wrist. There are two versions included: one that’s a solid color and one using color blocking to make even more use of your scraps.
Embellish Your Gift with Fabric Scraps
These gifts made with fabric scraps don’t have to be for Christmas exclusively, but they would make great stocking stuffers or presents for a lot of people on your list. If you want to use even more fabric scraps you can add some embellishments like these.
Fabric twine is a great way to decorate a box any time of year. I’ve seen lots of tutorials for this but the first one I remember is from My Poppet, so that’s the one I’m sharing. There’s also a video in the post if you need more details. The great thing about this is that you can keep some fabric twine on the go all year and use it for all sorts of projects, including embellishing gifts.
A handmade gift like these deserves a special presentation, but if you don’t have enough scraps (or time) to make twine right now, you can make a cute gift tag with fabric scraps instead. Mine is a Christmas tree but you can make it any simple shape you like for different times of year.
These sweet tartan trees from Pillar Box Blue would be cute to use as a decoration for a gift bag or box, too, and you can make them in any shape for any other occasion if you like. Just leave off the base and make a little fabric trunk instead of using a stick.
And if you want to just give a gift card, or give a card in addition to a handmade gift, you can still make the gift card holder handmade. Check out these cuties from Heather Handmade. They use glitter fabric, which you might not have on hand, but you can use your fabric scraps and put a bit of cardstock inside the envelope to make it more stable.
