Self Assembly Required

DIY dressmaking + crafts with Emily

Handmade birthday presents! 

This isn’t about my own presents – my birthday was yesterday – but ones I’ve made for others! (If you followed my Instagram story yesterday, you could see I spent my birthday with my sisters having brunch and shopping!)

It reminded me though, that I hadn’t yet blogged about my most recent lot of handmade gifts! I think handmade presents can be so much better than shop bought if they’re done right, that’s why I planned to make my sister a whole bunch of stuff for her birthday last month.

Of course that pesky thing called time got in the way and I knew my original plans weren’t gonna work out how I wanted…

I managed to make her a Phaedra Drape dress as planned though! I can whip them up pretty fast now – this is my third one already!


I love the print on this fabric. That blue is so striking!

To make up for my lack of sewing speed, I decided to gift her some sewing vouchers – i.e. a voucher to be exchanged for an item of clothing made by moi! Genius, right? This way she gets to request exactly what she wants, I’ll have plenty of time to make it and have opportunity to fit it properly! Everyone wins!

(Check out the fine print…)

I made the card too! Paper craft makes a nice change from sewing all the time!

Are you in the habit of sewing gifts for friends and family? I’ve found it fun to do despite the time pressures – selfless sewing is definitely a good thing!

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  1. I’m pretty selfish when it comes to sewing. If it’s going to be a quick small project I’m a little more willing to make something for someone else. I have one friend that one gift for her bday or Xmas is always handmade. But again is usually something small. I say usually because I did make her a pixel quilt once. The main reason I don’t do clothes is because I usually fit things as I sew. I’d hate to give her an ill-fitting gift.

    1. The fit thing is definitely an issue. I have my sisters measurements but it’s not the same as actually trying things on! I don’t think I’d have made an item of clothing as a gift for someone I didn’t know as well as her!

  2. Sewing voucher is a genius idea ! I give sewn gifts often , but end up frantically trying to finish them , especially at Christmas , I never start early enough !

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