Handmade Gifts

Hi! How’s everyone’s week been? I’ve been really busy with work the last few days and out and about at a few meetings, but I have managed to finish knitting a sleeve for the jumper I’m working on and start the next one.

Just a quick post this week to show you a few of the gifts I’ve made recently – quick little makes but apparently gratefully received!

First a hanging fabric heart for my friend’s birthday – this was made from some of the leftovers from my first Delphine skirt. I just cut out two heart shapes with a paper template, sewed most of the way round attaching a length of ribbon at the top as I went, then turned through, filled with toy stuffing and closed the gap. A couple of little buttons from my stash neatened up where the ribbon joined in.

Next a mini cushion for my cousin, also for her birthday. This is from a pattern in the Half Yard Home book they bought me for Christmas and is made by cutting wedges of fabric then sewing them back together into a circle – I used a biggish dinner plate as the template. I used some bits of old jeans and a ripped up pink lace shirt to make the alternating panels – the lace is backed with more denim for sturdiness and to stop the stuffing coming out! Once turned out and stuffed (more toy filling) I used some embroidery floss to sew through pulling in the ‘pumpkin’ shape making each segment more individually puffed up. More buttons for finishing off the centre.

My sister also got a cushion for her birthday last week (a bit of a theme going on...). This is just a nine square patchwork cover with plain envelope back – the prints for the front were from the pack of Liberty scraps I got at the Knitting & Stitching Show, and the back pieces are from another pair of my old trousers. This is a straight copy (in terms of pattern) of the other Liberty patchwork cushion cover I made a while ago, and really quick to do – whizz up the rows for the front and then put them together, hem the open edges of the back pieces and then sew round the whole thing before turning out and putting the cushion pad in. The colour palette for my sister’s wedding later this year is ‘shades of blue’ so I thought this would be appropriate!

Finally a knitted gift. Some friends of mine are expecting their second baby in a few weeks so I knitted this little hooded cardi – they know it’s going to be a girl so safe with the pink! This is the same pattern as I knitted for my cousin’s baby for Christmas (that I forgot to take photos of), except a smaller size for a newborn, so a bit quicker too! I love this yarn, it’s a two-tone DK from Stylecraft and I love how it comes up in the double moss stitch, plus I’ve got loads left as it was a big ball! I spotted the little flower buttons in my local haberdashery, and love how the little pompom on the hood looks - so cute!

I’ve got a couple more gifts in the pipeline over the next couple of months, as well as this jumper for myself to finish – I’ll get there eventually! I’m also hoping to make a start on my Portia trousers this weekend and am steeling myself to attempt the zip fly – wish me luck! Have you been making gifts for your friends and family? I’d love to see what you’ve been getting up to!