120+ Gift Ideas To Sew This Christmas

Patterns

Posted on 25th November 2022

If you're looking for ideas for gifts you can sew for your loved ones this Christmas, Make Modern has over 120 patterns for small projects that would make great gifts - stockings, pillows, bags and pouches, toy bags, doll quilts and lots more!

By Lara Motta

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It’s exactly one month until Christmas, something that makes me feel both excited and panicked at the same time. If you’re on this blog, there’s a pretty high chance that you sew … and so I’m also thinking your loved ones might be expecting some handmade gifts this year? I know mine are … but If you’re anything like me, you still haven’t finished making your Christmas gifts for this year … I feel you! If you’re still looking for ideas of what to make, there’s more than 120 patterns for small projects that would make great gifts – stockings, pillows, bags and pouches, toy bags, doll quilts and lots more in our Small Project Pattern Database.

If you sign up to our All-Access Subscription, you get them all … plus another 400 patterns (give or take) to keep you busy all next year. After the first year, the price drops to the same as our standard annual subscription, but you keep your access to all of the back issues and patterns within. With our bumper 50th issue coming in January, now is the perfect time to subscribe for you or a friend. Subscriptions make great Christmas presents, even for yourself, and your support will mean we can keep publishing the magazine now and into the future!

If you’re one of those super-organised people who already have your Christmas gifts wrapped and ready under the tree, you can start sewing for next year. Or come and help me with mine 😅

When the Stars Go Blue

A Modern Mini Quilt

Inspired by the early evening light, when stars are just beginning to appear in the darkness, this modern mini quilt combines embroidery and English Paper Piecing. Once you try adding embroidery to your EPP, you’ll be ready to add hand stitching to all the things! Make it in green, red and golds for the perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones.

Designer: Julie Zaichuk-Ryan

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Christmas Tree Stockings

An Heirloom Gift Idea

Nothing says Christmas quite like handmade stockings. These are an heirloom gift perfect for precious children or grandchildren, and Capi’s design, which cleverly uses prairie points for extra interest is both modern and timeless.

Designer: Capi Cloud Cohen

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Christmas Holly Hot Pads

to brighten up your Christmas table

Setting the Christmas table beautifully is one of the joys of Christmas, until you have to bring hot dishes to the table and ruin the look with your ordinary hot pads – so Katy cleverly designed a set of five hot pads that can be moved around the table as needed, but make a cute holly motif as well. These would make the sweetest gift idea for your Christmas lunch hosts!

Designer: Katy Devlin

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Rainbow Ring Pincushion

A Modern Rainbow Pincushion

Pincushions are one of our favourite fast finish scrap busting projects – and you can never have too many in your sewing room. This little gem will bring a bit of rainbow goodness to your sewing space, or wrap it up with a few threads, a pair of snips and a few pins and it would make the perfect gift for your favourite quilty friend.

Designer: Ange Wilson

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Little Bird Pouch

The Cutest Little Pouch

Handmade gifts are the nicest, and this one is perfect for any little (or grown up!) who loves birds. Stash some treats inside, or a few sewing notions and it would make the sweetest stocking filler.

Designer: Marushka Volkova

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Humblebee Cushion

A Funky Applique Cushion

This bee and flower applique cushion is such a fun project to make. You’ll be buzzing when you create this beautiful, appliqued circle cushion, it’s fit for a queen!

Designer: Mandy Murray

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Walk My Dog

A Modern FPP Bag

Also from Issue 38 is this foundation paper pieced puppy! This little beagle block makes the perfect front to a tote bag, for your dog loving friend to wear when they’re out walking the dog!

Designer: Ingrid Alteneder

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Stella Cushion

A Modern EPP Project

Using vibrant scraps of the brightest solids, this cushion will cheer up any room. The English paper pieced (EPP) design is hand stitched and quilted, making it the perfect project for scrap busting. With no zips and an envelope opening on the back, it’s easier than it looks to finish and gift to a loved one this Christmas.

Designer: Lauren Wright

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Sew and Sew Zip Pouch

A Quick FPP Project

Another project from Issue 18 is this cute FPP pouch. A sewist can never have too many pouches, they’re a great way to get a fast finish fix, and they’re always useful for stashing your stuff. Kristy has paired some sweet text and flying geese (foundation paper pieced for speed and accuracy) in her favourite colour scheme – rainbow – to create this sweet pouch.

Designer: Kristy Lea

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Serious Sewist’s Pincushion

Our Favourite Pincushion

And I saved my favourite for last … because sewing, Liberty florals, linen and bees? Who could want more! This seriously sized pin cushion is perfect for holding all your different needles and pins and features an English paper pieced (EPP) top to showcase favourite fabrics. If anyone wants a gift idea for yours truly, here you go. Ha ha!

Designer: Lauren Wright

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That was just a few of the fabulous range of 120+ little projects we’ve published patterns for in Make Modern magazine. Click here to see the rest of the collection of small projects. To get the pattern, you can purchase the issue of Make Modern containing the pattern you love, or if you would like to get ALL of the patterns, you can sign up to an All-Access Subscription. You’ll get all 120+ small project patterns plus another 400 patterns (give or take) to keep you busy all next year. After the first year, the price drops to the same as our standard annual subscription, but you keep your access to all of the back issues and patterns within. With our bumper 50th issue coming in January, now is the perfect time to subscribe for you or a friend. Subscriptions make great Christmas presents, even for yourself, and your support will mean we can keep publishing the magazine now and into the future!

About the Author

Lara Motta

120+ Gift Ideas To Sew This Christmas

Patterns