Again this year, most of my gifts given were handmade. This was due in part to budget constraints but mostly because handmade trumps store bought. The only thing I bought new were the sock yarns. The dish scrubbie yarns, the vinyl and zipper and faux-linens were all hand-me-downs from my stash. In regards to the clear cosmetic bag: My Mother used a sandwich bag to hold her make-up because she liked to be able to “see it.” I was glad to upgrade her, even if vinyl is horrible to work with! Eventually, I decided to let it be a exercise in the theory that the less you fight with something the better the outcome.

Quick tip: put some tape on the bottom of your presser foot to make vinyl (or other sticky material) glide easier through your sewing machine.

Made:
Two pairs of socks. (Only one was photoed, pattern can be found here.) Two dish scrubbies. (Pattern here.) A clear vinyl make-up bag. (Notes on my cloth version here. Original tutorial here.) Linen-look crochet lace trim hankies. (Tutorial here.)

Bought:
Two (secondhand) books on Icelandic Sagas. One bottle of Belgian beer.

(In the first photo, you can see the ‘mock baker’s twine’ I made to wrap my presents. You can find the how-to here.)

What gifts did you make this year?

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