17 Wedding Gifts to Sew [Infographic]

Weddings are a great time to put your sewing skills to use, whether making gifts for the newlyweds themselves, favors for the wedding party, or adding a handmade touch to the ceremony or reception decor. Need a little inspiration for your next hand-sewn wedding gift? Check out these ideas!

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• Wedding Date Sampler

Rustic hand-stitched embroidery is a sweet way to commemorate the big day. Stitch the names, dates, and embellishment to suit the couple's personalities. Frame the finished embroidery, or leave it in the hoop and stitch a circle of felt to the back for a clean finish.

• Padded Gown Hanger

A padded hanger makes for a beautiful statement as well as a special keepsake. Avoid highly textured or highly colored fabrics, as these could leave lint or dye stains. A soft, satiny fabric like charmeuse is perfect because it minimizes snags on lace or beadwork. Use a sturdy wooden hanger padded with quilt batting and stitch your covering in place by hand.

• Family Patchwork Quilt

This is a time-intensive gift, but it's one that can be passed down for generations. Use bits of fabric that are important to both sides of the new family—baby clothes from the bride and groom, a bit of fabric from the alterations of the gown, and other special momentos. This is a gift that truly brings two families together!

• Dining Linens

For a traditional gift, a set of handmade dining linens is the perfect choice. Mix and match napkins, tablecloths, placemats, and runners in whatever combination the bride and groom will like best. Opt for natural fibers like cotton or linen for soft, absorbent napkins, and a synthetic blend for placemats, which is better at resisting stains.

• Honeymoon Beach Bag

Are the newlyweds heading off for a honeymoon by the sea? Send them off in style with a monogrammed beach bag to keep towels and sunscreen close at hand. Opt for a sturdy fabric, like canvas, and add a water resistant lining to keep damp from creeping in.

• Ring Bearer Pillows

Not only is this a gift that has a place of honor in the ceremony, but it's also a sweet memento of their special day. Let the bride and groom know what you're planning so you can use the appropriate colors and material to suit their ceremony.

• Bunting

What Pinterest-worthy rustic wedding isn't sporting swags of gorgeous bunting? If you need to make yards of it, don't try to hem the edges of each pennant. Instead, use pinking shears to keep the edges from fraying. To join the pennants together, stitch them to lengths of grosgrain ribbon, or sandwich them inside double-fold bias tape.

• Toss Garter

If the bride and groom are planning a garter toss at their reception, stitch up a custom version that suits their style and wedding theme. Make two garters: one to use in the toss itself, and one for the couple to have as a keepsake.

• Memory Handkerchief

Make a special memento that's perfect for the bridal party and parents of the bride and groom as well as the newlyweds themselves. Much like the embroidered samplers, these can be stitched with whatever means the most to the bride and groom— verses of scripture, favorite poetry, or just the important names and dates. Whatever they choose, it's a gift to treasure!

• Bridesmaids' Robes

With a simple kimono sleeve, a dressing gown is surprisingly easy to make. Whip together a matching set for the bridesmaids, and a special version for the bride herself. The ladies can wear them while they're getting their hair and makeup done, before it's time to don their formal finery.

• Bow Ties and Pocket Squares

While wedding preparations tend to skew towards the needs of the bride, don't forget the groom and the other gentlemen of the wedding party. Matching bowties and pocket squares make a classy but quirky wedding day statement, and they're a quick project to make by hand!

• Bridal Veil

Start with a swatch of fabric left over from the bride's gown alterations, and choose a matching tulle or other sheer fabric. Keep in mind that some sheer fabrics fray, so apply a stabilizer and use a satin stitch or other dense embroidery stitch, or hand stitch a tiny rolled hem to prevent fraying. From there, the design is up to you and the bride! Mount the veil securely to a comb, then add beads and gemstones, lace appliques, ribbon edging, or other embellishments

• Clutch Purses

You know what the biggest pain is about bridal gowns and bridesmaids' dresses? No pockets. A clutch is a gift that's both pretty and practical. Make sure it's large enough to hold a cell phone and the basic essentials for dancing the night away.

• Monogrammed Throw Blanket

For couples you may not know as well, this is a great option for a gift that's thoughtful and handmade without requiring insider information about the wedding colors and theme! You can even choose a store bought throw blanket and apply monogrammed initials using applique or embroidery.

• Keepsake Pouch

A wedding day is filled with keepsakes and mementos. Give the bride and groom somewhere to keep them close at hand with a special keepsake bag. Opt for something with a bit of structure (as opposed to a simple drawstring bag, for example) so that fragile items, such as flowers, aren't easily crushed.

• Travel Toiletries Kit

A zippered pouch with room for all the essentials is a thoughtful gift for a couple heading out on their honeymoon. If you want to get extra fancy, include a roll-up insert, which can be used for makeup brushes or razor, toothbrush, and other toiletries.

• Emergency Sewing Kit

While not strictly a hand-sewn gift, who better to put together an emergency stitch-it kit than an experienced sewist like yourself? Include plenty of safety pins and patches of felt in both light and dark colors. With the fragile fabrics used in bridalwear, it's best to pin through a supporting layer of felt to keep from tearing the material. Thread in white, black, and a few shades of grey will blend in with most colors of fabric well enough to make minor repairs unnoticeable. Scissors or thread snips are a must, as are a couple needles in various sizes. Add in any other handy sewing tools you can think of, and stash the whole kit in a zip pouch—hand-sewn, of course—for easy access.