Sewing Projects Christmas Gifts

I sewed a lot of Christmas gifts this past year, thanks to my wonderful sewing instructor. She suggested ideas, found patterns, and obviously helped me learn how to make pretty gifts. I want to share a few of the things that I made, not because I want to turn Posh Purpose into a DIY blog, but because these gift ideas are super easy for a beginner. 

pillows for J's mom

pillows for my mom

 I love making pillows! If you buy the piping, making pillows is super easy and fast. Of course, I had to make my own piping to get the exact look I had imagined. I purchased the pillow forms, the fabric for both the body and the piping, and piping cord. I used a thinner cord for the bird pillows and an extra fat cord for my mom's pillows.

 I made three table runners this year. One for each of my sisters-in-law on J's side and one for my sister. Table runners are another easy project, but they do require more fabric. You need a top fabric (shown above) and a lining fabric to go underneath. Some people use the same fabric, but I went with a plain brown for the floral and a subtle green print for the wintery runner. Table runners are one of those home good items that can be a lot cheaper to make than it is to purchase.

I made way too many aprons last year. Sorry for the horrible photo editing above - I have no desire to share my somewhat messy kitchen on the blog today. I did not intend for the picture to end up on the blog, but I just realized I didn't take any other pictures! Anyway, I made two like the one above plus two others. Aprons can be easy or complicated, depending on what look you want. The one above had a lot of circle hems, so take that into consideration. You can probably find a lot of online patterns for aprons, or just wing it if you are so inclined.

Another project I made is this giant laundry bag for my dad's sailboat. I bought the canvas fabrics at Habitat for about $2 and totally made it up from there. Somehow the bag ended up far larger than expected. This is a case of the aforementioned 'winging it.' I put a draw string in the top and reinforced the horizontal seams quite a bit.

Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph the rest of my projects before wrapping and giving them away. Maybe my sister will take a picture of herself in the apron she received (hint, hint). I really enjoyed sewing Christmas gifts and hope to do it again next year, but I may be otherwise occupied with sewing projects for my own home!