8 Sewing Holiday Gift Ideas

The holiday season is just around the corner, and what better way to show your love than with handmade gifts? I’ve rounded up 8 fun and easy sewing projects that are perfect for gifting your friends and family. These ideas are simple enough to get you into the holiday spirit without the stress - most of them don’t even need a sewing pattern and can be finished in just one evening! Whether you’re a sewing beginner or a seasoned pro, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy.

This post is created in partnership with Brother.

Click below to watch video version or scroll down to read the list:

8 Sewing Holiday Gift Ideas

GIFT IDEA No.1: Embroidered greeting cards

Embroidering greeting cards is a simple, quick and very creative project that can be stitched on your sewing machine! To do this, simply lower feed dogs (so that they don't move the fabric), switch to free motion embroidery presser foot (it will allow to move stitch in any direction), take piece of thicker paper and start drawing with your sewing machine!

Want to try this technique? Click to watch How to embroider greeting card on sewing machine.

GIFT IDEA No.2: Christmas tree ornament

Have fabric scraps? Try creating one-of-a-kind Christmas tree ornament! I'm a big fan of classic design, so I sewn a round Christmas tree ornament from these beautiful red and gold velvet fabric scraps.

Best part? You don't need a pattern to create this design! I self-drafted a simple template (using sizes listed in picture below), cut 6 details and I was ready to sew:

Want to create a bigger or smaller Christmas ornament? Not a problem, this template is fully customizable, just keep width to height ratio as in picture below to create a perfect round shape ornament:

Sewing this round Christmas tree ornament couldn't be any easier: pin and sew 3 panels together, repeat with remaining 3 pieces; put both stitched details together, put a cord at the top and sew around, leaving about 2-3cm opening. Turn the ball inside out, stuff it with batting or fabric scraps, close the opening with ladder hand stitch and your ornament is done!

Want to see a more detailed tutorial? Click here to watch How to sew a round Christmas tree ornament (Coming on December 5th).

I also wanted to make a special Christmas tree ornament for my son, so I made him this cute bear ornament filled with his favourite candy. My plan is to put this on Christmas tree and give a 'task' to my son to find a special ornament (p.s. he already found a test version (without candy yet) of this ornament and absolutely loved the bear design!).

No pattern is needed to create this ornament and you can let your creativity flow! All you need is a piece of felt (or other type of non-fraying fabric), baking paper and - of course - candy! To see how I sewed this ornament, watch tutorial How to sew a Peek-a-boo Christmas tree ornament.

GIFT IDEA No.3: Christmas sock

Another timeless Christmas classic: let's gift a hand-made Christmas sock that will be used and cherished for years to come!

What I love about this project is that it needs no pattern (just draw the sock shape you want to make, as simple as that!) and you only need to sew just 3 seams to sew this Christmas sock! Very easy and beginner-friendly project. Click here to watch full tutorial How to sew a Christmas sock (Coming December 4th).

To add extra touch, I padded the sock with batting and quilted it to give it more texture. Want to see more ideas how to sew decorative looks? Check out this video about 4 Creative Ways to Use Your Sewing Machine

GIFT IDEA No.4: Gift bag

If you already have a gift selected, you may want to add a special touch by putting it in a handmade giftbag. This is a very simple and quick project that will definitely add a 'wow' effect to your gift!

With this version of giftbag, I tried to recreate the look of a store-bought giftbag, using a very simple template - I used these measurements to create a size 20cm x 20cm x 8cm bag, but you can create any size bag, as long as lines marked in same color match length:

To add an extra touch, I added a holiday wreath embroidery on my giftbag, using one of the embroidery designs, available on Brother Stellaire 2 sewing and embroidery machine. After embroidery design was completed, this bag took less than 20 minutes to sew, so this can be a project you can complete in one evening! Here's a detailed tutorial How to sew holiday giftbag.

GIFT IDEA No.5: Personalized clothes

Moving to a bit more complicated - though just as fun! - gift ideas: personalized clothes.

I have a tradition to make my son a custom sweatshirt for his birthday: I add his name, age and a few characters that he loves (last year it was cars, this year - dinosaurs, so I added a dinosaur embroidery and 'spikes' on the sleeves). He wears this sweatshirt for entire day on his birthday and it puts him in such a festive mood!

Creating personalized sweatshirt takes just a couple hours and everyone loves wearing them, so I highly recommend giving them a try! Want to create your own custom sweatshirt, but don't know where to start? Join my KNITWEAR Sewing and Patternmaking course, where I show how to make patterns for T-shirt, sweatshirt and fitted dresses and sew knitwear using classic sewing techniques.

GIFT IDEA No.6: Coupon for DIY

Creating a garment can take quite a bit of time, which is may be tight around the holiday season. Plus, to create a fitting garment, you'll to have body measurements, which you may not have available. But here is a simple and elegant solution: gift a coupon for a DIY garment!

Last year I made my friend a dress, inspired by this fitted green-sparkle turtleneck dress I wore to the event. We had so much fun selecting fabrics together, going over all the details and seeing my friend loving a dress I made her was so worth the effort! Like this dress? Here's a pattern I used: Audrey dress sewing pattern by SewingJulie.

GIFT IDEA No.7: Host a crafting party

If you have friends who also enjoy sewing and crafting, you may want to organize a crafting party. I've seen these parties on social media, where each member comes carrying their onw sewing machine and a project they are working on - what a great idea for a get-together, especially with a holiday season coming soon!

GIFT IDEA No.8: Make something for yourself

The final gift is my favourite one: make something for yourself! Last year, I gifted my self some time off during holiday breat to make something I truly enjoy making, though rarely find time for: sewing a coat. I had this beautiful green wool fabric and used an old Burda Style pattern from 2007/01 magazine (the very first pattern magazine that I bought when I first started sewing!). I've enjoyed every minute of sewing this coat and now I have a garment that I'm going to love wearing for years to come - definitely a great gift to gift yourself!

I hope this list sparkled a few ideas of what you can sew and gift to your loved ones this holiday season!

Best wishes,

Julie

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