Fiber artists have no need to panic about Christmas gifts. Recipients are always glad to receive a useful item that was hand-made. Large gifts are not necessary to impress. Small gifts fit tighter budgets, as well as work up quickly using scrap yarn or the odd leftover skein.
These ideas are just a starting point; each knitter or crocheter will have a favorite pattern in mind. If not, there are numerous free patterns online. They are easily searchable.
Popular Knit & Crochet Items for Baby
Baby items are extraordinarily popular to give and receive, and with good reason. Baby items are small and quick to make, and babies rarely complain about their clothing style.
- Baby Booties – Since babies don’t walk, there’s no need to fuss over exact fit. They won’t wear out the bottoms of booties, nor will they slip out of them while they are upright. Cotton, angora, and all kinds of “baby” yarns are out there to try.
- Baby hat – Baby hats are among the easiest items to make. They take very little yarn and are very cute when paired with booties.
- Baby sweater – Adult sweaters take a lot of time to make and they really use up a good amount of yarn. In contrast, baby sweaters take much less yarn and no fitting is needed.
Popular Knit & Crochet Items for Women and Girls
- Flower Pin – Any favorite floral patterns can be selected. Simply attach a pin.
- Necklace – Knitted and crocheted jewelry is a hot trend. Use metallic yarn. A quick but lovely Pattern is available in the December, 2008 issue of Crochet World Magazine on page 44.
- Wrist / Leg Warmers – Wrist warmers are well-liked because they allow the fingers to operate. Leg warmers are coming back in a big way.
- “Little Bag” Purse – This particular example (See photo # 1) came from a pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson and Anna Williams. Dress it up with a silk ribbon and it becomes an evening bag.
- Gauntlet / Mitten – Always popular are mittens, gloves, and gauntlets. Berroco has come up with an ingenious pattern that converts from mitten to glove (photo #2, link in photo credit.)
Scarves
- Neck scarves / Cowls – Adults love these because they are not as bulky as long scarves.
- Lacy scarves – Scarves made with angora, cashmere, or softly painted yarn not only look gorgeous, but take less time to make because larger needles are paired with thinner yarn to create the holes in the lace.
- Metallic scarves – A scarf made out of a sparkly, festive yarn (photo #3, link in photo credit) will double duty as an elegant touch to the little black dress on New Year’s Eve.
Keep the recipient in mind when making scarves. Some will like the neck scarf for its non-bulky style. Other will like a long but spider-web thin lacy scarf.
No matter what style is chosen, soft yarn choices are best. Remember scarves are worn close to the face and on the neck. No one likes scratchy scarves.
Other Knit & Crochet Ideas
- Car scraper mitt – Fabulously creative and useful for anyone with a car in a snowy area is the car scraper mitt (photo #4, link in photo credit). This clever pattern is absolutely free at Berroco.
- Water bottle cover – Less known but still a terrific gift is the water bottle cover. There is a free pattern at the Berroco website that updates this old-time darling (photo #5.)
Tips
Use those single skeins lying around that were luxuriously expensive or impulse purchases. Look in existing stashes before purchasing more yarn.
For items where gauge isn’t that big an issue, thicker yarn or two strands of yarn coupled with larger-sized needles will allow for faster knitting. Eyeballing the gauge of a scarf, for instance, isn’t difficult even for beginners.
Use continental style when knitting. It’s faster. Consider this when choosing patterns.
Even if almost no time is left (perhaps it’s drastic like on Christmas Eve), yarn-measures are in order. Happy Holidays.