I had a personal mission this year to make the majority of my gifts I planned to give. I’m proud to say that I hit my goal and discovered some great new patterns that I’d love to share with all of you!

Leggy Bears

This is a pattern that I designed and I’ve already made three of these cute bears so far! The long arms and legs are great for tiny baby hands to grasp and these bears are so simple to sew that you can easily make one in under an hour with less than a yard of fabric. I made one for my daughter and two for friends’ babies.

Get the free pattern for the Leggy Bear.

Leather Watch Strap

Before I got really into sewing, I did a lot of leatherworking including making leather journals and wallets. So when I noticed that my husband’s watch strap was falling apart, I knew I had to make him a new one. I used this free pattern by Nomade Crafts and tailored it slightly to fit my husband’s specific watch. Fortunately, I already had all of the necessary tools and supplies on-hand so this was a pretty straight-forward project.

Dollhouse Bunnies

I recently posted a pattern review for these bunnies and if you’re looking for an adorable toy to make that sews up quickly, I highly recommend these dollhouse bunnies. For extra cuteness, I made a little pillow and mini quilt for them as well and my daughter is obsessed. She’s been playing with her new “friends” non-stop and toting them everywhere. 🥹

Carl the Collector Flap Book

My daughter is utterly obsessed with the show Carl the Collector and we even dressed up as characters from the show for Halloween this year. She’s also very into books with flaps for her to open so I had an idea of merging the two into a custom board book, despite having never made something like this before.

After many, many trips to my local print shop, lots of failed experiments, and dozens of hand-drawn illustrations, I was able to put something together that my daughter loves playing with. Whenever she plays with it, she says “Mama made this!” and it just melts my heart. 😭

I don’t have a tutorial for this since it was something I experimented with for over a month until I finally got it the way I envisioned in my head. If you’re interested in a tutorial, let me know and I’ll put something together! Check out the full project on my personal Instagram.

Patchwork Quilt

Earlier this month, I posted a three–part series that details every step for making your very own quilt. The quilt in that series is the one I made specially for my daughter who has outgrown her previous baby blanket. I definitely think this is a beginner-friendly project, even if it is a bit time-consuming. She loves snuggling it in her bed, but she also has been asking to use it as a play mat and to sit on it while she reads, which is too cute. I think this is is a gift she’ll get lots of use out of and that she’ll have for a long time.

Did you make any gifts for Christmas this year? Show me by tagging me on Instagram (@pocketofthread) or commenting below. Happy Holidays!