We all know that handmade Christmas gifts are more meaningful and always appreciated by the recipient, but sometimes it's difficult to think of the right gift to make for friends and family. From a tricky teen to a house-proud friend, at Fabrics Galore we think we have the ideal handmade Christmas gifts for friends and family, which are not too tricky to make and won't break the bank.
1. Oven Gloves for The Cook in the Family
Every family has someone who takes the lead in the kitchen especially at Christmas, and the perfect gift for them is a beautiful pair of oven gloves. The Bombazine Mitt pattern is free and is a great oven glove pattern for using up scraps if you fancy making a stylish patchwork pair; but equally you can also make them in old fabric from your stash.
The Bombazine Oven Mitt Pattern
And a quick tip from Team FG - if you are making an oven mitt for someone with big strong hands, it’s a good idea to print the pattern a fraction larger. We would hate you to spend ages making a pair which are too small, which is what happened to one member of our team. Here are the ones they made….
Find these fabrics in our home furnishing collection
The best fabrics we found for the oven gloves were the furnishing weight cottons because they added an extra layer of strength and these need to be hard-wearing. The key thing you will need is the heat protective lining, which luckily we stock at Fabrics Galore. You will need two layers of this to make sure the oven gloves protect from all those super hot pans.
2. A Dressing Gown Kimono for Mum
We mentioned these super easy kimonos as a great Mother’s Day gift, so if you didn’t get a chance to make one previously, maybe now is the time. This free pattern from Style Me Pretty is super easy and will make a beautiful gift for anyone, but we thought it would be perfect for a Mum, Aunty or maybe even Granny.
Style me Pretty Kimono Pattern
Although the pattern suggests viscose, we have also made them in cotton lawn fabric, as they are both light and floaty. Cotton lawns may even be better if you are a beginner sewer. We have a beautiful range, so you will definitely be able to find one to suit any member of your family.
Browse our Cotton Lawn Collection
3. Pyjama Bottoms for Brothers and Dads
We don’t know if it’s just us, but finding something for the boys in our families is always the tricky part of Christmas gift planning. But you can never go wrong with a pair of pyjama bottoms; in our experience they are always greatly received. So Sew Easy has a fantastic pattern for pyjama bottoms.
So Sew Easy Pyjama Bottom Pattern
And the best fabric for pyjamas is brushed cotton, which is perfect as we have a huge range of brushed cottons to choose from. Brushed cotton is great for cosy pyjamas as they are super soft and the texture makes them warm. Our tartan brushed cotton range is named after members of the Weasley family and areas of Scotland, in case you were wondering.
Browse our Latest Brushed Cotton Collection
If you were thinking brushed cotton checks are a bit too casual for the men in your life, what about making a chic pair in our 100% cotton shirtings? These are slightly more crisp than the brushed cottons but they would give a smart and classic vibe, a bit like a pair worn by Gene Kelly in An American in Paris or maybe even Roger Moore.
4. Eye Masks & Bags for Sisters and Best Friends
After sorting out handmade gifts for the more difficult people in your life, now things might prove slightly easier when deciding on gifts for all your closest besties. We have two options here, an eye mask and a bag, both of which would work well to to use up a few scraps from your stash or from a bargain remnant, so you can fully customise the fabric to suit to your friends.
We start with a free pattern for an eye mask from Tilly and the Buttons, which is a great gift for your pals who travel a lot or who struggle sleeping. These are best made with 100% cotton, which means the print possibilities are endless so you can really personalise them to your friend. As you don’t need a huge amount of fabric to make these eye masks, you could afford to splash out on a piece of Liberty or maybe even Alexander Henry to really treat your pal. If we were to choose, we thought La Paloma would work well because of the horizontal direction of the pattern which you can place across the eyes.
Browse 100% cotton Alexander Henry fabric for eye masks
Next up is this great free pattern for a bag by Polka Dot Palace herself, Alice Irvine. This is a stash buster and it would be great to turn a stash fabric you have been saving into a gift for your nearest and dearest. As it has a patchwork vibe, you can use 8 of your smallest pieces to make something really unique for your best friend. Alice provides both a free pattern and detailed instructions on how to make this bag. If you were missing a small piece of fabric to make this bag, how about searching through our remnants to find the perfect missing piece? We top them up every week so you can always find a bargain.
5. A Bucket Hat for a Tricky Teenager
It can be hard work to get the presents right for the teenagers in your family but after much research, apparently bucket hats are now bang on trend. So we have found this free pattern from MoodSewciety and the fabrics they suggest are slightly heavier weight non-stretch materials. This bucket hat pattern is therefore perfect for denims or maybe a bright plain brushed cotton Panama; both of these fabrics are hardwearing so they can be washed over and over again. The only thing we recommend to keep it simple is to avoid pattern or stripes so that it’s a nice easy make. Do let us know if this helps you appear cool to the tricky teenagers.
Bucket Hat Pattern from MoodSewciety
If you think a Bucket Hat isn’t quite the right gift for the teenager in your life, we are also reliably informed that Fanny Packs or Bum Bags are also trendy right now, which makes this free pattern from Madam Sew a great gift. Again, we would suggest using a stronger fabric to make it more hardwearing with a fun lighter weight cotton lining. For the heavier weight fabric, have a look at our soft furnishing collections, there is something for everyone - novelty, plains, a simple stripe. So you should be able to find the perfect print for even the trickiest teenager. But we were thinking this could be a great vehicle for one of our canvas weight Alexander Henrys especially as everyone loves Frida Kahlo.
The Fanny Pack Free Pattern by Madam Sew
Browse our Frida Kahlo Fabric Collection
6. A Door Stop for The House Proud Friend
Our final handmade Christmas gift idea is a door stop, which could be a great gift for someone who is quite house proud, a friend who has just moved house, or for that person you just don’t have a clue what to buy for. This DIY Doorstep pattern from Here in the Midst is simple and stylish.
Door Stop Pattern from Here in the Midst
You probably know the décor of their home so picking the fabric will be fun. Fabrics Galore has a great selection of designer soft furnishing fabrics and as you don’t need a huge amount for these projects, you could really treat someone without breaking the bank. These door stops would look great in one of our Laura Ashley or Orla Kiely prints because they are a simple shape for adding a touch of pattern in any home. We don’t just stock UK designer fabric prints - for a more bohemian or brightly coloured home, look at our Maison Thevenon prints or the New Buckingham paisley like prints.
La Palmerai by Maison Thevenon
Feeling Inspired to Sew Handmade Gifts?
We hope you love these handmade Christmas gift ideas as much as we do. If you're not sure how much fabric you need, then don't hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team of experts at Fabrics Galore London.
