Handmade gifts

We still have about 2 months before Christmas and it is enough time for those of us that are able, to prepare some handmade and/or homemade gifts for our loved ones. It is always nicer to receive a gift that has been made for us, carefully worked on, instead of a hastily bought and wrapped thing.

For those of you that need to get a gift for a little girl, be it your daughter, granddaughter, niece or just the little girl next door, I have got some ideas. What about a skirt for which you don't even need to buy any materials but use whatever you have at home? Look at the skirt above that I had prepared for my (then) little girl about 3 years ago. This little skirt is entirely Designed & Made by Yasemin. It is an ecological/recycling product. The main material was left over from a dress that my mother had made. The flowers are cut from some material left from a skirt of mine. The beads used were from some toys of Iris. And the ribbon on the rim was on a gift package that we had received ;-) At the house of someone who loves sewing there is always some material that is left over from a former project. The material that I used for this skirt was quite rough/thick, so I had to introduce some folds at the waist to fit it better. If your material is soft, you can even go for an easier model and place an elastic at the waist instead. Then use your imagination and creativity to make the skirt prettier. I have cut out three flowers and placed them somewhere near the rim as you can see in the photo above. Take a closer look at the finishing of these flowers below.

The flowers are fixed on the skirt by hand. Notice that the thread used to stitch each flower to the skirt has the color of the beads that are put in the center of the flower. The colors of the butterflies also follow the colors of the threads used in stitching... :-) The beads that I used in this composition were from a bead set for girls that was given to my daughter at her birthday. Hey, if you don't know how to sew, you can always buy one of these bead sets for girls and make that little girl happy anyway ;-)

Here is another project for you: a summery dress. You need to find some lace, better if it is handmade, even better if it is old, or recovered from an old dress/night gown. You will use the lace for the upper body. Then you should buy/find at home some flowery material that needs to be fitted under the lace. To cover the stitch that you make to connect the two parts get some nice ribbon. Do not forget to buy more than you need, because whatever is left of the ribbon can be used next year when the little girl grows and you need to make the skirt of the dress longer by opening the rim. You can place the ribbon on the line the older rim would leave after it is opened.

What about knitting? Are you good at that? A hand-knit scarf, a hat, warm & soft mittens, a beautiful pullover... These all can be Christmas gifts. Even a new beginner can make a scarf. All you need is some colorful yarn and a knitting magazine/book full of interesting ideas, instructions and patterns. Check the knitting search results on Amazon. I am sure you will find something ;-) And do not forget the tranquilizing effect of knitting on you during these hectic months right before the holiday season.. It is a lovely pass-time.. (You might consider a subscription to a knitting magazine maybe?)

If you don't think that you will ever manage to learn how to knit, or simply you don't have the time for that, why not buying stuff that are hand-knit? You can find these items online as well. Check out etsy.com. On etsy you will not only find knit/sewn items and patterns to make your own, but also all kinds of accessories, quilts, bags, clothing and gift articles.