Gift-giving stresses out everybody, and for makers, it can be especially tricky to navigate the holidays. We're here to help you simplify the season. And—added bonus—these ideas might also brighten your life as a fiber artist!
If you like to create gifts, but feel overwhelmed or unprepared, start with a plan.
#1: Make a recipient list for handmade gifts.
If you give gifts to a wide circle of folks, you probably make a list. Now take a few minutes to make a separate one, just for the lucky people who will get something handmade. Jot down color or style preferences, fibers they like, and other notes.
#2: Plan gifts as a project series.
Borrow a tip from production spinners and weavers, who make a living at their craft. They plan for large batches of things, changing colors within the series. A weaver might plan a lot of towels on a single warp, using different weft yarn or treadlings within the series. A spinner might make lots and lots of bouclé yarn, working with a variety of colors or making different yarn weights on different bobbins.
If you haven't tried working in a series, you'll be surprised at how efficient it can be. The items within a series do not have to be identical so you can do something fun in each one.
You'll also get lots of practice at your chosen craft. When you finish, compare your first item to the last one—repetition can make a big difference in your mastery.
#3: Explore your stash.
This one will really be a treat for yourself, and that's okay! Be good to yourself! If you need to rationalize, it's budget-friendly. You can also save time if you don't have to shop for more yarn.
Pull out your stash and see what you've got on hand. You can throw everything on the (vacuumed) floor and just dive in like Scrooge McDuck. Or if you've already got Marie Greene's fabulous book, The Joy of Yarn, you might have things sorted and recorded in a spreadsheet. Try combining colors, yarn weights, handspun and commercial yarns, just to see what catches your fancy and works for your series.
#4: Try one new thing, big or small.
This tip focuses on how you approach your creative practice. Gifts might not seem like the place to try something new, or they might be the PERFECT place to expand your skills.
- You can absolutely stick to tried-and-true projects, especially if you're pressed for time. But think about some new element you can try, just to keep things interesting. Even one little change will broaden your skills.
- Feeling adventurous? Combine a bigger challenge with something familiar. Let's say you're already comfortable with rigid heddle weaving, using cotton yarns. Try using handspun in either warp or weft (depending on how much risk you like to take).
A project series can provide a great opportunity for big or small experiments. That group of handwoven towels can let you explore color interactions. Or you can play with different ways of handling color in your spinning. Push yourself, even a little bit.
#5: Don't demand perfection.
All gifts express love, or thanks, or some other wonderful emotion. But handmade gifts say it with character, which is another way of saying they might have some less-than-perfect spots. You're a different weaver or spinner every time you use your equipment. If your beat changes, or you hold the fiber more tightly, these variations show up in your handmade gifts. Instead of stressing out, celebrate the unique beauty of your OOAK creations.
Also thoughtfully match your handmade gifts to the recipient. Some people will cherish the artisanal quality of what you make and appreciate the skill you put into its making. They'll also understand that caring for the item may involve extra effort. (It's always helpful to explain exactly how to launder a handmade gift.) Not everybody fits this description, and that's okay. A busy mom may not have time for laundering something special. Kids get bigger no matter how hard we try to stop them, and they will outgrow garments—a scarf will fit them for years, where a sweater won't.