If you’re looking for ideas for easy gifts to make for friends, or simple DIY crafts that you can do with friends for a craft night, these are some good options. These all link to crafts that are easy to do at home, and I’ve tried to only include the ones that beginners to each craft could do with only a little practice. DIY gifts are nice because they’re truly one-of-a-kind, and the thought that goes into making them gives them a personal touch.
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A pencil pouch for confident beginners.
For this project I used a pencil case pattern from Evie Sews Pattern Shop on Etsy. It was pretty easy to make, and it can be made with a total of about one fat quarter of fabric or fabric scraps.
It was rated as a “confident beginner” difficulty, and I think that’s pretty accurate, but there were a couple of places that could be tricky. I would suggest that you don’t backstitch anything in case you need to undo something that you sewed wrong so that you can fix your mistake!
Ceramic tile coasters or shelf decor.
Tiles can be decorated with paper, fabric, or other items that can be decoupaged to make coasters or small decorative tiles that can be used as shelf-sitters or to hang on walls. This is a craft that kids can do, but adults can do more complicated versions and give them as gifts to friends in sets of matching designs.
DIY journals and notebooks.
Making your own book is a fun way to make a really personalized book that you can sue as a notebook or scrapbook. If you want to make one for a friend you can decorate it with photos or personalize it for the person you’re designing it for, and it will be a really thoughtful gift.
A knit scarf.
Knitting a scarf is really, really easy. If you know how to cast stitches onto knitting needles, and you can do one stitch (the knit stitch is fine), you can make a scarf. Knitting every row is called a garter stitch, and you can do this and make a knitted panel that’s as long as you want it to be, but about 4 feet long will give you a good length that can be wrapped around someone’s neck and tucked into a jacket. Make it about 10-12 inches wide and as long as you want it to be, testing it out to see how easy it is to wear, as it gets to be that length.
This video shows how to make a scarf with only one stitch (just the knit stitch, no purling required!)
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A braided rag rug.
I’m not going to lie, this is a time-consuming craft, but it’s going to make an impressive gift. The one thing I would say about this is that you might want to give the colors and style of this some thought and ask yourself whether the person you’re going to make it for would appreciate it. Because as I said, it takes a lot of time to make a rag rug, so make sure that it will be appreciated. It’s the same thing as making someone a quilt, you’ll want to think about whether it’s something that the person you’re giving it to would really want.
Paper bead jewelry.
Making paper beads can get really complicated. There are fittings and processes that you can sue to make very fancy beads, and if you want to get into it because it’s a fun craft (it is) you can make some really nice-looking jewelry for friends.
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Felt coasters.
If you make a set of matching coasters in coordinating colors, it could be a useful gift for friends. Gifts that people will actually use are the best ones because they won’t be thrown into a drawer somewhere. You can personalize the colors for each person, and this is a nice thing to make that won’t cost too much in materials.
Scrap fabric coasters.
This is another one that’s a useful gift that you can make with scrap fabrics and materials that won’t cost too much, btu that people will actually like and use. Customize colors for each person and make a set of four or six so that they can coordinate the look.
Tissue paper:
Click to see our tissue paper for decoupage and crafts on Zazzle, and check out what the sales and discounts that are being offered this week are:
A crazy quilt.
This is a fun craft that you can make using an old sheet and scrap fabrics, and it’s a useful present for anyone. They can put it on a bed or use it as a lap quilt while they’re sitting watching tv at night. You need a sewing machine for this, but no specific quilting experience, so it’s fine for quilting beginners.
An easy tote bag.
Next is this easy tote bag pattern. It’s simple to make using the free template and photo tutorial that Carrie, owner of More Love Mama, gave us to use.
A crocheted fabric basket.
Want to crochet a simple basket with fabric instead of yarn? Pam Lyon, owner of Lyon Handwovens, tried it and wrote up this simple DIY tutorial that’s do-able even for a crochet beginner.
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