Cute Handcrafted Gifts Especially for Little Boys

I was thinking that it might be fun to make boys bandanas that they could wear to play cowboys. You could even put beads on them. If they have cowboy hats, you could make a matching band to go around the hat.

Any baby loves tags. We like the little fleece blankets; here is an example: http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/fabulous-fleece.asp#blanket

Also, you can make little bean bags filled with beans, or jingle bells. I've also seen people sew together two pieces of fabric and fill it with plastic grocery bags. Babies love to make noise with it.

My son is three and a half and LOVES to wear COOL jewelry.

Something simple like a cord necklace/bracelet or braided hemp with a pendant. "Surfer" styled jewelry.

Obviously, this depends on the boy!!!!

But if my son loves it - I'm sure that there are other boys out there, too!

D. in milwaukee

M.,
I crochet. I have made little stuffed animals from a set of patterns I bought at JoAnns. Monkey, giraffe, elephant, duck. I have seen patterns for spiders online, but haven't tried them.
They can be a lot of work, especially the first couple of times you make them, but they are adorable and are well rec'd gifts. Make great shower gifts too.
Deb.

I agree- stuffed animals are good. You could even make shirts, baseball caps, shoes for their stuffed animals they already have. These can be customized to their personalities and favorite colors!

Some things that my Mom has found for my kids that have also been very useful. Hooded towels, made from a large washcloth or a small hand towel (cut in half) sewn into a hood and attached to the top of a large bath towel. There are also patterns for making animal hooded towels. Also beach towels that make into a pouch to hold their swim suits.

She also found them quillows, blankets that fold into a pillow, and are great for travel or when we stay late into the evening at a friends' house and they watch a movie or want to go to sleep.

She just made a rag quilt for my daughter, out of flannel squares. You put the seam allowance up and then rag the edges. It is so warm and so pretty.

A friend sewed us little travel bags one year, they are great for book bags or when they want to take a few things along in the car. I borrow them often, too.

Hope this helps.

Decorate a set of 2 or 3 white onesies, or a set of 3 plain colored bibs that Target or Walmart sells! Plain or white ones come in packages. Or decorate the edge of a bath blanket with a little red wagon, yellow ducky or puppy or alligator and then give it with a matching plastic bath toy! For older boys, decorate a t-shirt with their name and favorite animal or sport at the time.

To get an image onto fabric for the above ideas, there are several ways that don't require drawing or out and out embroidery skill:
1. You can find books of iron-on transfer designs from a craft store in various themes, iron on the image and then embellish and reinforce the image with your own needle work,
2. You can just embroider the image you want on a piece of fabric and stitch that to the plain bib to personalize it). 3. Are you computer savvy or do you know anyone who is? You can buy a package of transfer printer paper at any office supply store, and using a computer, download a little design or graphic in any size you want, then print it out onto the transfer paper and iron it onto a piece of fabric, a t-shirt or onesie or bib or blanket. To increase washability of the item, stitch around the design.

Ideas for words would be "all boy" or "got milk?" or "Grandmama's boy" or "little brother" or "Henry" (the baby's name) in blue thread - the simpler the better.

What about crocheted ponchos for the girls that are dressed up with beads, and if possible a iron on patch of their fav cartoon/singer. For the boys mittnes, hats, Make them shirts, PJ's with their fav movie/cartoon character on them. Spidermans popular for alot Ive seen lately. So are WWE wresteling superstars. Make them a memory quilt of baby cloths if their parents still have them and mark the date of the memory in question on the bit of cloth. Just a few ideas, I know Ivilliage has alot more but I cant get the website to popup for me or I would share the link with you. Good luck though and have a good day.

PS I crochet too, I make revicing blankets, and cuddle blankets for kids.

I have a friend who's very crafty and here are some of the things that she has made (keeping in mind these are for under 2 years old): pajamas and robes out of fleece with their favorite sport's teams, she uses kitchen towels to make bibs that you just pull over their head (cut a circle in the middle and then sew ribbing on), cloth books- I think you get the patterns at hobby lobby, security blanket, she put together this wallet that had old gift cards and fake cloth "money" and pieces of texturized flat things and each one was tethered to the wallet so he could take everything in and out but it all stayed attached to the wallet and didn't get lost.

my boys love their handmade knitted slippers. They also love their bath towels (a washcloth sewn on as a hood). They can be made into animals too by sewing on eyes, a beak, etc. on the hood. Something homemade for their room like a blanket or comforter for their bed or how about those bulletin boards with cloth over and rows of ribbon for an older child. Hats and scarfs are always needed.

Lion Brand yarn has lots of free patterns that are nice. I just don't remember what the web site address is off hand, though.

M., If you are looking for something for "dress-up" occasions (like the fancy socks), why not crochet him a little necktie. I think it would look very cute, and he could wear it to church, family events, or even to get pictures taken.
Mama D

Actually, I am running into the same problem. I have made things for my nieces but never really anything for my nephews. And last christmas, they got so excited and told their mom "Auntie is making something for all us kids for christmas!" but my husband had already bought them things so I didn't make anything. However, I was thinking of little play sets. Like a Policeman badge and cap, or a fireman badge and a smaller version of the cap. My nephew is turning 6, so hopefully it would be good. Maybe that will be good for your little boys?

Stuffed animals are always good for little boys. I have made my son crocheted stuffed animals and he loves them. I've also made some for my daughter. You can choose any color you want. Go to: http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/index.php
They have tons of free crochet patterns you can pick from. Most of them have pictures so you can see what the finished product will look like.

Hi I am a grandma also and I am always looking for bibs. Both for babys and toddlers I like the ones that go right over the head like a t-shirt then you don,t have to tie them.
Since you sew that might be good and burp cloths for babys. My most favorite bib is the ones made on finger tip towels,with the ribbing for the neck. Those towels you can get already
decorated. or you can decorate them your self.

I was just at a baby shower and the Mom-to-be received little onesies with animals "stamped" on there. They were very cute and received lots of "oohs" & "aahs" by all the guests! =)

Another idea is to make a "taggies" blanket. My 9 month old twin daughters really like theirs!

What GREAT ideas from people!!

I work with a local group of crafters and this is a hard one for us too. Boys are often forgotten when it comes to cute handmade things.

I like the towel idea. My son likes to pretend he's a Prince after he's out of the bath and I have to put the towel on him like a royal robe. I think one with a hood that had a crown sewn on it and a button so I didn't have to use my hair clip (!!) would be loved by him. (and me)

Crocheted stuffed toys are cute. I've seen spiders, aliens, and dragons on-line. I'm sure I could google it and find the dragon patterns again. People are online are very willing to share patterns for non-money making ventures. I've also seen cute hats out of polar fleece that looked easy to sew.

Yarn companies often have free patterns on their websites, like Lion Brand, http://www.lionbrandyarn.com/
Patons, http://www.patonsyarns.com/pattern.php?PG=baby
Bernat, http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php

I have these places bookmarked because I just love the clever ideas, and they're FREE!

It would have been my mother's birthday yesterday and she was a grandma to 13 and a great grandma to three before she died 5 years ago. She was always making stuff for us and the grandkids and we just loved it and it's very treasured now. Whatever you make them, I'm sure it will be well loved and treasured.

I made "I SPY" mini quilts for my daughters and my mom made one for my nephew. They are great in the car as you can ask them to "find" something on it or have them tell you what they can find. I used about 30 different pieces of fabric with different things on it, just machine stitched it together and tied it instead of hand quilting.
I also made my girls capes with their initials on it - you could get very creative-so they could be superheros!
For girls, a cute idea is to use an old pair of jeans (I checked garage sales and Goodwill) and cut them off to make a little purse. Beading, iron ons or painting designs on it to match the lining fabric really makes a cute gift. My girls love theirs. Easy and I'm not a big sewing fanatic.
My head is very full of crafting ideas - just wish I had more time! (and sometimes more sewing talent)!

YOu could try making cloth books incorporating your sewing and beading. Have you seen those books that teach children how to do up zippers, buttons, etc. You can also make a counting book, an alphabet book, etc all with fabric and different notions. Obviously with toys you have to be careful with the beading you do so they aren't a chocking hazard. I was actually looking online recently for some ideas and came across some great plans for sewn activity books. If you google "cloth activity book" you should get some good results.
Slippers are always a welcome gift during the winter months in MN. You can sew fabric on to the slippers to make them look like different animals...dinosaurs, puppies, pigs, bunnies, etc. Also wall hanging growth charts are nice, draw measurements to the side then you can put pretty much any type of design, beading, sewing etc to decorate it up.
K. H.