The best handmade gifts to sew in a weekend are the ones that do not depend on an exact fit: scrunchies, zip pouches, tote bags, cushion covers and aprons, plus a few wearables where one or two measurements are enough, such as a bucket hat or pajama shorts. In a weekend you can make one larger gift, like a lined tote or a kimono robe, or a batch of small ones from the same fabric.
Which gifts can you sew in a weekend?
| Gift | Sewing time | Fabric | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrunchie | 15–20 minutes | A strip about 57 × 12 cm (22 1/2 × 4 3/4 in) | Nothing |
| Zip pouch | 1–1.5 hours | Two 30 × 21 cm (12 × 8 1/4 in) pieces each of outer and lining | Nothing |
| Cushion cover | 45 minutes–1 hour | 50–80 cm (5/8–7/8 yd) | The insert size |
| Tote bag | 3–4 hours | 80 cm (7/8 yd) canvas, 50 cm (5/8 yd) lining | Nothing |
| Apron | 2–3 hours | About 1 m (1 1/8 yd) | Roughly their size |
| Pajama shorts | 1–1.5 hours | About 1 m (1 1/8 yd) | Waist and hip |
| Bucket hat | 3–4 hours | 50 cm (5/8 yd) each of two fabrics | Head circumference |
| Child's gathered skirt | 1.5–2 hours | 0.6–1 m (2/3–1 1/8 yd) | Age, or waist and hip |
| Kimono robe | 4–6 hours | 2.6–3.3 m (2 7/8–3 5/8 yd) | Roughly their size |
The times are for someone who has sewn a few projects, and they start after cutting.
What are the quickest gifts to sew?
Scrunchies
A scrunchie is a strip of fabric sewn into a tube with 20 cm (8 in) of 6 mm (1/4 in) elastic inside. Fold the strip right sides together lengthwise and sew the long edge, turn it, thread the elastic with a safety pin and zigzag its ends together, then tuck one raw end of the tube into the other and edgestitch across. Satin, velvet, silk and cotton lawn all work, and leftovers from other projects are ideal. The scrunchie pattern comes in skinny, classic and oversized sizes; a set of all three makes a gift out of scraps.
Zip pouches
A pouch of 22 × 15 × 5 cm (8 3/4 × 6 × 2 in) holds make-up, pencils or cables. It is lined, with boxed corners for depth and small fabric tabs at the ends of the zip, which make the corners neat. The zip is about 2 cm longer than the panel: buy a 30 cm (12 in) zip and trim it. Fusible fleece makes a soft, padded pouch; laminated cotton makes a wipe-clean wash bag. The zip pouch pattern takes any size from 12 to 40 cm (4 3/4 to 15 3/4 in) wide.
Which gifts suit a whole afternoon?
Tote bags and cushion covers
A lined tote with boxed corners and an inside pocket is useful to almost anyone, and needs no size at all. Cushion covers need only the insert size, which is easy to find out discreetly. Both have their own step-by-step posts: the lined tote bag and envelope cushion covers.
Aprons
A bib apron with a big front pocket, a neck strap and two long waist ties of about 85 cm (33 1/2 in) each fits most adults, especially with a pair of D-rings that make the strap adjustable. Cotton canvas, linen, denim and drill all wear well in a kitchen or a garden. The apron pattern also has a half apron without a bib.
Which wearable gifts need a measurement?
Pajama shorts and a child's gathered skirt need a waist and hip, but elastic waists forgive a guess. A bucket hat needs a head circumference: measure inside the band of a hat the person already wears, or remember that most adult heads measure 54–60 cm (21 1/4–23 5/8 in). A kimono robe, the long version of a kimono jacket with a tie belt, is very forgiving: the body is about 34 cm (13 3/8 in) wider than the bust, so a size guess rarely goes wrong.
If you cannot measure, a standard size from their usual clothing size is the safest start. Sewly drafts patterns in standard women's sizes EU 32–54 (US 0–22, UK 4–26), men's XS–3XL and children's 2–14 years, as well as from measurements; the size charts show what each size corresponds to.
How do you plan a gift-sewing weekend?
- Friday evening: prewash and dry the fabrics, wind a few bobbins, check that you have every notion.
- Saturday morning: cut everything at once while the table is clear.
- Saturday afternoon and Sunday: sew, batching identical steps. Sew all the scrunchie tubes, then turn them all, then add all the elastic.
- Sunday evening: press, clip threads and wrap.
Tip: Wrap the gift in a square of leftover fabric tied at the corners. It uses up scraps and becomes part of the present.
How do you make a handmade gift look finished?
Press every seam as you go rather than only at the end. Use thread that matches the fabric, and keep topstitching at an even distance from the edge. Finish the inside seams, even on a bag lining nobody will see, and clip every loose thread. Add a small card with the washing temperature and the iron setting for the fabric, so the gift lasts as long as the effort you put into it.