Every Christmas I promise myself not to wait until the last minute to make Christmas gifts, yet every year, I still find myself in a panic as the days countdown and my time fades away. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve though, and thought I’d share them with you, in case you find yourself in the same predicament.
General Quick Tips
In addition to having quick projects, I’ve learned a few ways to help speed up my process.
- Sort projects by thread colour: I find doing small batches with the same thread colour helps, and gray usually blends in pretty nicely with everything.
- Cut interfacing first and fuse to fabric, then cut the fabric out; this eliminates tracing the pattern onto the fabric.
- Log out of social media! This is hard for a lot of us, but it sure increases productivity.
- If you have a second sewing machine, pull it out and put on a zipper foot or use a second thread colour; whichever might make it easier if you find yourself having to switch back and forth.
Quick Projects
Sew Sweetness Kismet Trinket Boxes
Photo from Sew Sweetness
This latest pattern set from Sew Sweetness is also a great value, at only $5 and offers 6 different boxes, plus it’s great for fat quarters. These are quick and would make a great gift, especially filled with goodies.
Happy Okapi Cup Cozy
I may be a little biased here, but my free cup cozy pattern is ideal for quick gifts, and it works for men too! Pair it with a reusable cup, tuck in a gift card to your favourite coffee shop, and voila!
Key Fobs
These are perfect scrap busters and work really well when you want to give a small gift to everyone in a big group. I wrote a free tutorial if you need some help putting them together.
1-hour Dopp Kit
I whipped up these fat-quarter friendly bags last year and they are true to their name. Check out the free tutorial here.
Pillow Case
Kids love having a special pillowcase and they’re so quick and easy. I wrote a tutorial to follow if you need some tips to get started.
Noodlehead Divided Basket
There aren’t too many patterns I make many of (there are just so many out there and I want to try them all!) but the Noodlehead Divided Basket is an exception. I’ve made so many of these baskets, I’ve lost count. It’s such a versatile pattern and makes a useful gift for so many people. It comes together so quickly too, and if you use webbing for the handles, then it’s even quicker.
Swoon Dakota Tablet Clutch
Here’s another quick free pattern that works for a variety of people. This Swoon Dakota Tablet Clutch sews up in a jiffy!
I hope this gives you a few ideas and helps you get those last gifts done before the turkey comes out of the oven. Cheers!
Great post Reece. My issue is I’m always too ambitious about what I’ll actually finish by Christmas… These are some fabulous, last-minute ideas.
I do the same thing!
thanks Reece, great suggestions
Your trinket cases look awesome! 😀 Yay it’s almost 2017…
These ones were made by Sara from Sew Sweetness, they really are awesome!