I’m thrilled to welcome Marie from the Underground Crafter. Marie’s a fellow crocheter & designer, & sells on etsy as well! Busy lady! So please welcome… Marie!!

I’m Marie from Underground Crafter and today I’m visiting Anastacia Knits to share some tips for gifting handmade.  You can find me online at my website, my blog, on Facebook, on Etsy, or on Ravelry as MarieInNYC, in the Underground Crafter group, or on my designer page.

Care instructions

You’ve spent hours making your handmade gift.  Don’t you want the recipient to be able to use it without destroying it?  Including care instructions with your handmade gift can make a real difference in the life of your finished project.

Care labels can be sewn or ironed into your finished objects.  You can buy them from Hobby Time, Mountain Street Arts, or ShuShu Style, among others.  You can also make them yourself, using one of these great tutorials.

(tags above made by Marie & shared on this post)

Don’t feel like sewing or ironing?  Care labels can also be attached to the gift with paper tags.  You can download and personalize my freebie care instructions gift tags, or use my technique for printing your own.

• Start with pre-scored business card paper for your printer.  You can also choose pre-scored postcard paper if you’d like the care tag to double as a holiday card.  (If you have a paper cutter, you can save some money by using plain cardstock, formatting your tags for printing to business card or postcard size using a free Avery template, and then cutting the tags after printing).
• Personalize the tags with pictures, holiday wishes, or other fun stuff using your favorite word processing, drawing, or desktop publishing software.
• Cut and paste the care instructions onto each tag, or use a check-off template like mine.
• After printing and dividing the tags, use a 1/8” hole punch to create a small hole in an upper corner.
• With a yarn needle, thread a small amount of yarn through the hole and into the handmade gift, and then tie off the yarn.

No printer?  No problem!  You can buy pre-strung shipping tags (or make your own using a hole punch, some yarn, and oak tag) and then write the care instructions by hand.  You can even use a website like VistaPrint to print out business cards with your care information on the back.

Gift wrap

If the recipient is a fellow crafter, consider incorporating some supplies in your gift wrap.

Fabric is a great eco-friendly wrap for a gift for a quilter or other fabric lover.  To add a little pizzazz, check out this video tutorial on Furoshiki gift wrapping. http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_today/furoshiki_japanese_w.html

If Furoshiki gift wrapping is a beyond your skill level, not to worry!  For gifts which can be folded into rectangular shapes (e.g., blankets, washcloths, accessories, sweaters, or store bought items in boxes), use the fabric like standard gift wrap, and seal with clear adhesive tape.  The tape can be gently removed when unwrapping, leaving the fabric as good as new.

For gifts that have unusual shapes, like amigurumi or a mug hug wrapped around a mug, try wrapping the gift like candy.  Use fabric in place of cellophane or tissue paper.  For tips on candy wrapping, check out this video.  http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-wrap-an-awkward-shaped-gift

A yarncrafted gift bow can be used in place of curling ribbon.  These headband tutorials from Maybe Matilda (crochet) and A As in Anna (knit) could easily be adapted into gift bows.

Perhaps the recipient isn’t a crafter, or you’re gifting something store bought.  In that case, use the wrap as the handmade part of the gift.  Try making gift bags using crochet, knitting, or sewing.

If you’re gifting soap this year, wrap in a soap sock or sachet.  These can be made with wool yarn and closed to felt while washing, or with cotton or bamboo yarn to double as reusable washcloths. Try the knit soap sock from Adventures of the Gingerbread Lady or the crocheted soap sachet from Chopped Tomatoes.

Decoration and holiday flair

Add some flair to your wrapped gifts with handmade and yarny goodness. 

Mini skeins of yarn are popular these days.  If the recipient is a knitter or crocheter, why not attach a mini skein to your wrapped gift instead of a bow?  You can buy mini skeins or make your own using this tutorial from Leigh’s Fiber Journal.

Little Christmas stockings, like Le Monde de Sucrette’s crocheted stocking and Little Cotton Rabbits’ knit version, are another great use for scrap yarn.  These can be added like a gift tag or can be used to hide a gift card or cash.

A dreidel can be another great embellishment.  Try Robyn Chachula’s crocheted Dreidel softie pattern or Loretta Dachman’s knit Dreidel pattern.

I hope this post has given you some fun ideas for adding some handmade touches to your gifts this holiday season.