Personalized boy gifts to make on an embroidery machine

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Got little boys in your life, and need some fun gift ideas? I got you.  There are so many fun boy gifts to make on an embroidery machine. Buckle up. You know how I know? Many years of making boy gifts on my embroidery machine.

Personalized duffel bags

Sleepovers aren’t just for little girls. My little boy is always gung-ho for a night out. And when he goes, he of course needs a cute bag to carry clothes, toiletries and even a few toys to a friend’s house.

I found these awesome bags on Amazon for $9.99 right before Christmas and bought a bunch so that I would be prepared to crank out a gift for a last minute birthday party invite. Now I think that every one of my son’s friends has one of these bags.

In addition to being great overnight companions, these little bags are also great for longer vacations. Because they fold back into themselves and zip up in a compact pouch, they can be easily thrown into a suitcase and be used as an extra bag if more luggage is needed on the trip home.

Personalized surf-inspired towels and swimsuits

Having grown up on Virginia Beach, my husband was always a fan of  Birdwell Beach Britches.  He and his brothers practically lived in them as kids. So, when I noticed that Birdwell was running a sale on their youth Birdies, I jumped at the opportunity to snatch up pairs for all 5 of my nephews.

But, to pull the whole package together, I needed to personalize it. So, I ordered some towels from Lands End and embroidered all their names on the towels.  To make the embroidery on the towel coordinate with the surf shorts, I digitized all their names in a “surfy” font.

Personalized beach towels are one of the quickest and easiest personalized boy gifts to make on an embroidery machine. If you feel like you need to add something to the gift, you can always pop the beach towel into a bag and BAM – a complete beach set.  If the price is right, you might even use personalized beach towels a party favor.

Custom hoodies

I’ve made A LOT of silly hoodies for birthday presents with embroidery the guidance of my kids.  In fact, it’s one of my favorite personalized boy gifts to make on an embroidery machine. I like to personalize the hoodies with an embroidery design that speaks to the kid’s passion. A friend likes chess? Not a problem – I make a personalized chess hoodie.  Into legos or drama – I got you.

I have bought my hoodies from Walmart and Amazon, and off the clearance rack at Old Navy.  Sometimes it’s hard to find a solid colored plain hoodie, so when I find them for a great price, I scoop them up!

“Fancy” monogrammed crewneck sweatshirt

Hoodies are great for everyday wear, but if you want to make a cute, comfortable, personalized gift that can also pass for dress up, consider monogramming a classic crewneck sweatshirt or sweater. For little boys, I adore a stacked, serif monogram font.

Again, you can find solid colored sweatshirts in the usual big box stores. Or just cut to the chase and order them on Amazon.

Personalized t-shirt

There are a million ways you can personalize a t-shirt for a little boy. I love a raw edge appliqué design on a t-shirt because it’s quick to stitch out and has the right type of causal feel that looks appropriate on a t-shirt.

A few summers ago, I digitized a fish skeleton appliqué design. It just seemed sort of cute and a little bit edgy.  I then stitched it out on a navy blue t-shirt using a piece of one of my husband’s old t-shirts as the appliqué fabric using a bright green thread.  My sister REALLY embraced this design and personalized it for two of her favorite boys by adding a name underneath the fish skeleton appliqué design.

One of my favorite personalized t-shirts was the skateboard t-shirt I made for another nephew. At the time, he was just mastering his skateboard so I stitched out a skateboard appliqué on a t-shirt with their town’s abbreviated nickname on it (CHX for Chick’s Beach). It turned out ever better that I expected.

You might opt to go with a more classic look for the perfect boy gift. A few years back I found super cute plaid shorts on clearance, and I quickly snapped them up for all my nephews. Then I bought plain long sleeved Fruit-of-the-Loom t-shirts from Walmart (yes, Walmart) and appliquéd the initial of each kid on the T to match the shorts.

For most of the appliqué letters, I used my husband’s old white undershirts. Then, one by one, I appliquéd the first initial of each of the boys’ names onto the front center of the shirt using a contrasting thread color that tied the whole look together.

Personalized baseball

Is the gift recipient a baseball fan? Well – you can use your embroidery machine to personalize one of his favorite objects with his name, number and the year.  Embroidering on a baseball is not a super swift process. You have to take out all the stitching to get the leather off the ball.  Then, you embroider the leather pieces with names, dates or whatever you prefer. And, finally, you stitch the baseball all back together with wax thread.  Yes, it’s pretty labor intensive but it looks pretty impressive when it’s all put back together.

Personalized Reading Pillow

Are you gifting a little boy? There is not much cuter than a reading pillow.  Never heard of one? It’s a decorative throw pillow with a pocket in front to hold the tike’s current reading material. And the pocket is typically embroidered reading related message.

There are several reading pillow sewing tutorials online. And there are digitizers who create embroidery designs specifically for reading pillows, for example this stylized Dr. Seuss quote by Bella Bleu Embroidery.

Personalized baseball hat

You may think that because you only have a single needle embroidery machine, embroidering on baseball caps is out of the question. But guess what? it’s totally doable, as long as the hat isn’t too stiff.

There are a million different design possibilities that you could stitch on a hat to make it boy-appropriate, and you can always add a name, initial or a monogram. You can purchase simple baseball caps suitable for machine embroidery and appliqué on Amazon for about $8.

Personalized beanbag chair

Now who doesn’t like a comfy chair? No one.  My kids all have beanbag chairs in their room and they are the favorite spots for just about everything.

Pottery Barn Teen usually carries adorable versions of teen-centric beanbag chairs, however they come with a hefty price tag – usually between $150 – $250. And, embroidered personalization bumps the price up a bit higher.

Fortunately, you can achieve a similar look by either making the bean bag chair yourself.  Or you can buy the stuffing, a liner and a cover (on which you can stitch a name, monogram, design, etc…) for a lot less than the Pottery Barn version.

Personalized camping chair

Sporting events, concerts, camping are all events where a kid needs his own outdoor chair.  Embroider the kid’s name on the chair so that he has his own designated spot.  Also – most of these chairs have their own carrying bag, so perhaps the kids might carry the chair himself.

I have stitched a name on an outdoor chair in the past without removing it from the frame and I just about sweat through my clothing.  It was not easy.  If I were to do it again, I would look for a version where the cover can be removed. Or, I would remove the stitches to take the cover off the frame and then add the personalization.

Personalized windbreaker

A windbreaker is a super useful piece of outerwear, and they are surprisingly easy to embroider on.  Check out how I embroidered on a windbreaker. Find a nice solid, colored one and stitch out a classic stacked monogram.  It will look like a million bucks and will be sure to get tons of use.

So – are you feeling inspired?

Making boys gifts using your embroidery machine can be tricky! I’d love to hear what you have done.  Please comment below!

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