Science has proven what we crafters have known all along … handmade gifts convey love for the recipient (Journal of Marketing, 2015). As you prepare your handmade gifts during the holiday season and throughout the year, take a few simple steps to safeguard your hard work and to help your recipient know how to properly care for the item for years to come. Here are some handy tips for gifting handmade items …
- If your project is made from a hand-dyed yarn, set aside some time before wrapping to rinse the piece to ensure that any residual dyes get washed away. That way you’ll eliminate the chance of any dye transfer inadvertently bleeding onto your recipients clothing.
- Include a small ball of leftover yarn from the project in your package so the recipient can mend minor pulls or unraveling in the future.
- Make sure to include any special care and laundering instructions with your gift. You can do this by including the label from your yarn or with these free printable gift tags with care instructions. For natural fibers, you might even consider including a small bottle of fiber wash.
- When wrapping your gift, use white tissue paper to eliminate risk of any color transfer onto your item.
- Not finished stitching your gift in time? No worries … we’ve all been there. Use these adorable free IOU gift tags.
Click here for additional information on caring for and storing your handmade knit and crocheted items.
Good luck to you and your work, good friend. It is really pleasing to see such posts these days when knowledge and sharing have lost their importance.
So thoughtful. Thank you.