• SHOP
  • About
    • About Sara
    • Contact me!
    • Design Collaborations
    • Sewing Collaborations
  • Sewing
    • Sewing Tutorials
    • Things I Made
  • Design Portfolio
  • Blog
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
Radiant Home Studio

Radiant Home Studio

November 22, 2016 ·

10 Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas

Sewing

…for Christmas or anytime…

One of my favorite parts of sewing is making gifts for the people I love. Nothing says “I love you” like a handmade gift in just the “perfect” fabric. I love seeing the smile on someone’s face when they receive a gift that is personalized to their taste.

If your house is full of little kids, like mine, you know we don’t always have a lot of time to make elaborate gifts. But even these small ones will make your friends and family feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes teenagers and men can be difficult to make gifts for, but several of these ideas will work well for your young, modern, and masculine friends and family members too.

Here are 10 quick and easy handmade gift ideas:

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

(Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks!)

Potholders:

This tutorial was designed to be quick & easy. Who wants to spend hours making something that is going to get dirty? These potholders are still beautiful and thoughtful, without taking too much time to make. Just make sure to read the safety instructions and use the recommended thermal batting layer! (If you want to make a set with a matching oven mitt, try the full Flower City Potholder Pattern.)

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Quilted Sketchbook Cover:

This one takes a little bit more time, but if you like quilting and have scraps to use up, this sketchbook cover makes a beautiful gift for artists and writers. If you don’t have time to piece together the triangles, you can skip ahead to the construction and make a solid fabric cover. It fits perfectly on a Moleskine notebook.

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Denim Pocket Tote Bag:

If you don’t have time to make a whole bag, updating a tote bag is a great way to personalize a gift quickly. This one uses denim scraps and some simple bag hardware to add style to a plain tote bag. I think this one would be great for a teenager!

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Waxed Canvas Gift Pouch:

These little gift pouches are easy to make in bulk and are also the perfect size for gift cards and cash. You can use wax on the whole pouch for a more masculine look.

How to Make A Waxed Canvas Gift Pouch | Radiant Home Studio

Mini House Pillow:

These little house pillows can be made in designer fabrics for decor in a cozy home or in sweet fabrics for a baby or toddler. For the little ones, you could even add flaps over the doors and windows with peek-a-boo surprises underneath.

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Stamped Tote Bag:

This is another fun idea for updating a plain tote bag. It might even be something your older kids can make for their friends! You just need some simple stamp carving tools to make a stamp. It is really fun and easy to personalize. Any pattern or design will work, so you can create something that’s perfect for anyone on your list.

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Embroidered Envelopes:

Here’s another cute idea for gift cards, cash, or other small gifts. It’s like a bonus gift when you use it to wrap other small items. The pattern linked in the post also allows you to make a bigger purse-sized bag.

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Custom Tea Towels:

These are great for hostess gifts. I usually make 8-12 each year for friends and for use in gift swaps. All you need to do is buy a yard of fabric, cut around the rectangles, and hem your tea towels. Each yard comes with 4 towels, making them very affordable. If the painted landscape isn’t your style, there are hundreds of other designs to choose from! (Here’s a link to several I have designed. Most are calendars that I update each year in the Fall, but you can use any fat quarter of fabric. How fun would it be to have shibori dyed towels?)

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Fold-Over Tote Bag:

And here’s another tote bag idea. Showcase a favorite designer print with the fold-over flap on the tote. The faux leather straps and hardware make it young and modern looking. This one is also great for teens.

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

Notebook Cover:

This is the only paid pattern I’m including. These notebook covers make great gifts for anyone. The larger size fits on a basic composition notebook, so they are great for kids! The smaller size fits on a Moleskine notebook. Either can be made in masculine fabrics for the guys. I’m planning a waxed canvas version next. (I can’t stop waxing all of the things…)

Quick & Easy Handmade Gift Ideas | Radiant Home Studio

I hope these gift ideas inspire you to give some handmade gifts to your friends and family this year. Happy gift making!

SaveSave

Previous Post: « How to Make a Waxed Canvas Gift Pouch
Next Post: Little Photographer Camera Pattern: Gifts for Preschoolers »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mother of 3 says

    November 23, 2016 at 7:57 am

    Such cute ideas! I love that fold- over tote bag.

    • Sara Curtis says

      November 23, 2016 at 8:44 am

      Thank you!

Primary Sidebar

Hello

Welcome! I’m Sara. I share modern home & accessory sewing patterns, and I create surface designs for licensing. I hope you are encouraged to see beauty in small things and are inspired to try new creative projects!

Shop Sewing Patterns


icon icon

icon icon

Newsletter

Sign up to get access to free sewing patterns & resource library!

Find My Work at:






© Copyright Notice

All images and text copyright ©2013-2020 Radiant Home Studio, unless otherwise noted. Please be kind enough to link back to my site and contact me if you would like to use my images.

Disclosure

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Footer

Sign up to get access to free sewing patterns & resource library!

Favorite Adobe Illustrator tool? I love recoloring Favorite Adobe Illustrator tool? I love recoloring patterns. I probably spend way too much time with the recolor tool and not enough time making new patterns. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Last day to join the Immersion Course! If you have ever dreamed of making beautiful designs, Bonnie can teach you how to get what’s in your head into the computer and then how to make money from licensing your designs to companies for use on products. 

As a member of Bonnie’s support team, I’ll be there to make sure you don’t feel lost. There’s room for you...as Bonnie often reminds us!

#surfacepatterndesign #surfacepatterndesigner #surfacepatterncommunity #printandpattern #radianthomestudiopatterns #floralpattern #alltheflowers #artlicensing #flowersfordays #mutedflorals
Look what just came in the mail! Notebooks! This w Look what just came in the mail! Notebooks! This was a test batch to check quality and I’m thoroughly impressed.

I’ll be listing extra in the shop soon, but first dibs go to anyone that signs up for the Immersion Course using my link. I’ll be sending a small gift package and scheduling a course success/ coaching call with you!

Just a reminder that the last day to enroll in Immersion is tomorrow! If you are like me and overthink things until the last day, you are not alone. 

I know it’s a huge decision. I have an Immersion stories highlight if you want to know more or go to my profile to find a link to the info page. Message me all your questions! 

#immersioncourse #immersioncourse2021 #designernotebooks #learntodesign #learnillustrator #surfacepatterndesigner
Just got an order of stickers in! I’m debating a Just got an order of stickers in! I’m debating about putting them in the shop as a separate product or adding them to orders. I think I need a few more to make a pretty coordinating set! 🌹

Reminder: there’s still a couple more days to enroll in the Surface Pattern Design Immersion Course or the free mini-course from Bonnie! Links in my profile...as always. Keep messaging with questions! ☺️
It’s been a minute since I showed my face here! It’s been a minute since I showed my face here! ☺️

I wanted to get a little personal today. If you’re here for sewing & crafty stuff...stay tuned. I’m not abandoning you. 🙂 If you saw my stories last week, you may have learned that I’m deep in design mode for a few weeks, working with @bonniechristine on the Surface Pattern Design Immersion Course.

When I discovered Spoonflower (about 8 years ago!) and realized I could create my own fabric, I had this far off “maybe someday” dream to create a collection of designs for a fabric company.

I spent many years learning bits and pieces of design and business skills. But a couple of years ago I got more serious about making my dream a reality. 

Last year, I made an investment in myself and I joined the Immersion Course with Bonnie Christine. It was truly the community support and confidence that I gained that propelled me forward this year. Just a few weeks after Immersion ended I signed a licensing deal for children’s wall art with Oopsy Daisy and a few months after that...I signed a contract with a fabric company!

You guys...Bonnie is SO genuine and generous in everything she does. ❤️ It spills over into this beautiful and inspiring community that cheers each other on every step of the way. 

This year, Bonnie invited me to join her support team to help encourage new students through the course and provide technical support for all those tricky Illustrator issues. 🙌🏻

This course is for anyone that wants to invest in their creative career. My “wildest dream” came true this year. I’m actually feeling a bit lost right now because I need a bigger dream!

Whether you have a few years of experience like I did when I joined or you have never used design software...Bonnie will walk you through the ENTIRE process. This is like a college-level course on design and creative business. We have many older students starting a second career, people that just graduated design school but don’t know how to practically start an art-based business, and people from dozens of countries around the world. It’s a beautiful, diverse community filled with people taking steps toward their creative business goals.

More below...
We had our first day of fake spring yesterday. It We had our first day of fake spring yesterday. It was warm for one day and it’s back to being cold. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I always draw flowers anyway. I’m hoping some of the local botanical gardens open back up this year. We have some really great inspiration nearby and flowers will start blooming soon!

It’s the little bits of beauty that inspire me the most. What are you looking forward to this Spring?
Just a reminder that I have this heart garland tut Just a reminder that I have this heart garland tutorial linked in my profile if you want to make some happy Valentine’s decor this week.

My girls are origami experts, so we worked together on these video tutorials last year. It’s a good family project for older kids! 💕

#heartcrafts #valentinesdecor #valentinecrafts #mycolorfulhome #cozymodernvibe #diyvalentinesdecor
This another favorite pattern of mine. As my style This another favorite pattern of mine. As my style has developed, I’ve embraced the imperfect lines and tend to work with graphic, but organic shapes. I like unexpected little pops of color or shapes that emerge from layering.

My iPad is at the fix-it shop, so of course, I’m feeling inspired today. ☺️ Maybe I should try some actual sketching and planning on paper with a pencil...😜

#radianthomestudiodesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesign #surfacepatterncommunity #surfacepatternlife #licensingartist #artlicensing
Remember last year, the girls and I made this cute Remember last year, the girls and I made this cute origami heart garland tutorial? ❤️💙💛🧡

I don’t usually decorate with themed stuff, but these are fun to make and add some joyful, non-tacky hearts around the house for Valentine’s Day. 💕 I popped the link in my profile buttons. There are videos in the blog posts too. 

Also, I shared some personal stuff in my stories today!

#origamigarland #origamiproject #valentinesdecor #valentinesgarland #valentinescrafts #origamiheart #origamihearts #papercrafts #heartcraft #happyhearts #joyfulhome #mycolorfulhome
Follow on Instagram
  • Disclosures & Copyright
  • About
  • Contact me!
  • Digital Pattern FAQ’s

Copyright © 2021 · Sara Curtis // beloved theme