Sew Thoughtful Handmade Gifts for Friends and Family
With the festive season just around the corner, it's the perfect time to start planning some handmade Christmas gifts for your loved ones. At Fabrics Galore we think there's something special about giving a me-made gift—it’s personal, unique, and crafted with love. Whether you're a seasoned sewist or just starting out, we’ve got a collection of fun, stylish, and practical sewing patterns perfect for everyone on your list. From accessories to clothing, here’s a round-up of Christmas gift ideas you can sew, including difficulty level and which fabrics work best for each idea - all recommended by the team at Fabrics Galore.
1. Merchant & Mills Barka Dog Coat
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
The Barka Dog Coat is a stylish, yet simple canine outerwear piece that works perfectly as a fun gift for the dog lover in your life. This dog coat can be made bagged out with lining or lined with bound edges. Even better, Merchant & Mills donate 10% of sales to Dogs Trust UK. The line drawings in the gallery also show you how to measure your dog (extra points if you can do this without the owner noticing!).
Recommended Fabric: mid to heavy weight cotton canvas or twill/drill, mid weight denim or corduroy, Oilskin. Barrier lining or a stable cotton.
2. Fibre Mood Nousha Bag
Skill Level: Beginner
The Nousha Bag is a fantastic project for beginners and makes for an incredibly useful gift. This trendy bum bag is ideal for everyday use, and the simple construction means you can whip up several in different fabrics to make each one unique for all the recipients.
Recommended fabrics: choose from any sturdy, slightly stiff fabric
Plain Navy brushed Panama and Black Imitation Leather
3. Lasenby Samphire Duffle Project Bag
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
This duffle project bag is perfect for your “crafty” friends and family. It has a compact, practical design with multiple internal pockets and plenty of room for storing knitting, crochet projects, or travel essentials.
Recommended fabrics: natural fabrics like canvas, linen, twill, quilting cotton, denim, tweed
Bag Fabric - A Quiver of Arrows and Natural Linen Webbing
4. Sew Liberated Studio Tunic
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
This relaxed, comfy pinafore style tunic is a versatile wardrobe staple, making it a wonderful gift for someone who loves practical yet stylish clothing. It can be layered over other tops and jumpers and the roomy pockets are perfect for artists, gardeners or even hiking.
Recommended Fabrics: mid-weight woven fabrics like linen, chambray and cotton twill depending on the look and drape you want. Heavier weight fabrics suit if you want the defined A line utilitarian look.
5. Veronica Tucker Frankie Bag
Skill Level: Beginner
The Frankie Bag is a perfect project for beginners and has the advantage of providing 2 bags in one pattern as it is a reversible tote bag with a pocket and knotted shoulder ties. It also comes in 3 versions: small with short shoulder straps, medium with medium length shoulder straps and a medium size with long cross body straps. The simple, stylish design makes it great for gifting. You can customise it by using unique prints or adding embellishments.
Recommended Fabrics: woven, stiffer fabrics like linen or cotton twill.
6. FREE Merchant & Mills Hot Water Bottle Cover
Skill Level: Intermediate
For a cosy, practical gift, this hot water bottle cover is ideal. It's a quick project that requires minimal fabric. You can choose whether to line it and whether it is bagged out or bound. It is one of those makes we love at Fabrics Galore because you can make a denim version for a student or a cosy wool one for a Granny gift.
And as you get more confident making them, how about making on in a fun velvet for your most glamorous friend or relative?
Recommended fabrics: linen , denim, wool, corduroy, quilted cotton for the outer and lightweight linen or cotton for the lining.
7. Sew DIY Unisex Quilted Slippers
Skill Level: Intermediate
These cosy quilted slippers make a perfect handmade gift for both men and women. You can choose whether to use pre-quilted fabric or practice quilting techniques, which may be challenging for beginners but a fun project for those with some sewing experience. They’re ideal for using up scraps of fabric and batting, making them as sustainable as they are thoughtful. They have a bootie style which can be worn with the top down to reveal the lining or with the top up to keep ankles warm.
Recommended Fabrics exterior fabric: medium weight cotton, linen, flannel or pre-quilted fabrics; optional leather or suede for the sole and a medium weight cotton, flannel, fleece or linen for the lining.
Mid denim chambray and Brushed Cotton Tartan Dumfries
8. Helen’s Closet Unisex Arbutus Robe
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
The Arbutus Robe is a luxurious gift for anyone who loves lounging in style. With its unisex design, it’s a versatile project, but requires some experience working with larger pieces of fabric and attaching belt loops, inner ties and facings for the shawl collar and pockets.
Recommended fabrics: Perfect for sewing in both lightweight fabrics like linen, cotton or satin and cosy fabrics like flannel, fleece or even terry cloth.
Cotton Double Gauze waffle texture and Brushed cotton tartan Clackmannanshire
9. Victory Patterns Atlas Mittens
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
Atlas Mittens are a winter essential and sewing them in fun fabrics or warm wool makes for a thoughtful Christmas gift. This pattern is designed for using upcycled materials such as old wool jumpers, recycled knits, wool or leather goods. They are fully lined for maximum warmth and can be finished with ribbing or faux fur at the cuff. We love that there are so many upcycling options, which is perfect for the eco minded recipient. As a bonus, the pattern includes 2 free embroidery patterns which would make them a very special gift.
Recommended fabrics: felted jumper or medium to heavy weight wool for the mitten, soft, recycled leather for the palm, faux fur or ribbing for the cuff and finally either a polar fleece or knit fleece for the lining.
10. Merchant & Mills Docker’s Beanie PDF
Skill Level: Intermediate
For a trendy, easy-to-make winter accessory, the Docker's Beanie is a fantastic gift idea for the men and teenagers in your life. This unisex pattern is simple to sew and makes a great gift for anyone who loves classic, functional headwear. It’s a fast project, perfect for using up fabric remnants. It has 6 panels, a turned-up band and elasticated back. It can be lined or unlined.
Recommended fabrics: mid weight cotton canvas or drill, corduroy, mid weight denim or oilskin.
11. Merchant & Mills Stocking
Skill Level: Beginner
A classic Christmas stocking is the ultimate holiday project. It is a great project for using up fabric scraps. This beginner-friendly project is a quick sew, perfect for those last-minute handmade touches to your home décor before Christmas and will be used time and time again. Merchant & Mills donates 100% of the sales for this pattern to UNICEF.
Recommended fabrics: cotton and natural linen for the toe and heel.
12. FREE Juliana Martejevs Silvie Scrunchie
Skill Level: Beginner
Scrunchies are super easy and a fast project that makes a cute stocking stuffer for friends or family. You can use up fabric scraps to create fun, colourful accessories that are both stylish and zero waste if you use up fabric scraps. Even better, this is a free pattern. At Fabrics Galore we love using any leftover Liberty scraps for elevated scrunchies.
Recommended fabrics: linen, cotton or silk for a luxe version
Fantastic DIY Christmas Gifts to Sew Yourself
These DIY Christmas projects offer a range of skill levels, from beginner to intermediate, making them accessible to sewists of most experience levels. Not only are they practical and stylish, but they also add a personal touch to your Christmas gifting.
Many of them don’t require huge quantities of fabrics or are suitable for using up fabric scraps making them superb gifts on a budget. Whether you’re sewing for family, friends, or even yourself, these handmade creations are sure to bring warmth and joy to the festive season. You can call the expert team at Fabrics Galore for advice on which fabrics will work best for the DIY Christmas gifts featured. Happy sewing!
