Handmade Gifts by Time: What You Can Actually Finish

Honest timings, so you don't promise a jumper by Friday

Every crafter has cheerfully agreed to make something and then watched the deadline approach with three sleeves still to go. Here's roughly how long things take, so you can promise what you can deliver.

An evening or two

• Dishcloths and face scrubbies — an hour each in cotton. Genuinely useful, and people are always pleased.
• A simple beaded bracelet — under an hour once you have the beads.
• A candle — half an hour of work, then a fortnight of curing. Plan backwards from the date.
• A crochet bookmark or coaster set — an evening.

A weekend

• A hat — three to five hours in DK, less in chunky. The most reliable last-minute gift there is.
• A pair of mittens — four to six hours.
• A small amigurumi toy — four to eight hours depending on the number of pieces.
• A wreath bow and simple wreath — an afternoon.

A week or two of evenings

• A scarf — eight to fifteen hours. Longer than people expect, because scarves are all length.
• A pair of socks — ten to twenty hours, and the second sock always feels longer than the first.
• A baby blanket — fifteen to twenty-five hours.
• A cross stitch of moderate size — twenty hours and up, easily.

A month or more

• An adult jumper — thirty to forty hours. Not a gift to begin in December.
• A throw blanket — thirty to fifty hours.
• A granny square blanket — twenty hours of squares plus joining and border. Our blanket planner estimates it for your specific square size.
• A quilt — many weekends, and longer if you're quilting it yourself.

Make it a gift they'll use

Match the item to the person rather than to your enthusiasm. Somebody who never wears scarves will not start. Consider instead: something for the home, something consumable like a candle, or something small and personal like a beaded bracelet. And include care instructions — a handmade item washed on the wrong cycle is a sad end to twenty hours.

Questions we're often asked