Gift-giving happens all year round – birthdays, Mother’s & Father’s Day, and little care packages when the occasion strikes, but this is the time of year I really brainstorm about gift ideas. As a sewer and someone who is a practical person (a recent realization I have had to accept. The tip-off was my preference for nylon crossover purses), my gift idea list is just that – practical gifts for the sewing enthusiast.
Disclosure: I have no advertising or sponsors. I have never received compensation or free products (or even discounts) for anything on this site. Therefore the items listed below are strictly items I personally want or use and think other sewers would also use and perhaps even wonder, “how did you know?”. I have included links so you can see what it is I’m talking about. You can buy from anyone but it’s always appreciated if you shop your friendly, local, independently owned fabric store first (they must be friendly).
My 2014 Gifts For Sewers:
Ideas & tips: Give inspiration, motivation, and knowledge.
- Give it all year long with a subscription to a sewing magazine. My mother gives me a subscription to Threads which is for more experienced sewers. I also subscribe to Burda (apparel sewing) and Stitch (apparel and craft). There is also SewStylish, Sew News and a bunch of quilting and general making-things magazines.
- Or give it in book format. There are so many good sewing books out there for every level. Some are more craft-oriented, some more apparel oriented, some are about pattern making and some come with patterns. I read the reviews on Amazon and I always check out my local used bookstore. Some of the books on my wishlist are; The WORN Archive, The Better Bag Maker (one day I will carry a more stylish bag), and I recently purchased Create the Perfect Fit
Music: If your special sewer enjoys listening to music while they work they got to have a subscription to Pandora. One year of ad-free, customizable, streaming music to play on their phone, tablet, computer, etc. while they sew. I have it and use it every day.
Headphones: Sometimes I prefer to listen to audiobooks from the library or my language cds but I can really only listen to these when hand sewing because my sewing machine is too loud. So I’m thinking headphones this year; the over the head, padded kind, with a long cord so I can travel to the ironing board.
Sewing Tools: The right tools really help a project go smoother. Some tools can be a little pricey and therefore not as easily justified in buying for oneself but I would welcome sewing tools as a gift any day. Think of it as the gift of frustration free less sewing. Here are some tools I want or use a lot:
- Point Presser with clapper. Do you know how tricky it is to press open the seams of a collar? This tool lets you press hard to reach places which is actually important for a good looking final project. The clapper on the bottom is great when pressing wool by trapping the steam to really “set” the pressing.
- Or the deluxe version of the point presser is the 2 in 1 Tailor Board. It is both the point presser and, flip it upside down, it becomes a second pressing surface for sleeve caps and other uses. This tool is for someone who loves sewing in wool and/or is interested in tailoring or sewing menswear.
- And then there is what I have and have used for 20 years in place of the wooden pressing tools mentioned above; a tailor’s ham, and a seam roll. These work well, and I use the seam roll as a clapper but I’m ready to move up to the more serious tools this year
- Buttonhole cutter. Using a seam ripper to open buttonholes is not the best idea but we all do this. Some of us have ripped through a buttonhole accidentally with the seam ripper which is why I have invested in a better tool. It is a thin sharp blade on a handle that, using a block underneath, you press into the fabric between the buttonhole stitches to slice it open. So cool and it makes me feel like an old world craftsman.
- Real pattern paper is a joy to use. Recently I have been using up a roll of tracing paper. Doing so reminds me how much I like real pattern paper. Even if your sewer is not drafting patterns they need pattern paper to make alterations to existing patterns, or perhaps they harbor a desire to try out pattern making.
- Rotary Cutter and/or large cutting mats. I use to believe rotary cutters were for quilters only. I had one but it wasn’t until I purchased large cutting mats (needed for using a rotary cutter) that I began using my rotary cutter for cutting out everything. Rotary cutters are great for fabrics that move around a lot and just easier on my wrist in general. And of course, they are great for cutting strips of fabric for quilting.
Sewing Supplies: Thread seems costly, and yet I use it every day and cannot reuse it. I would probably never buy a prepackaged thread collection since I have many of the colors already but if I was given a thread collection I would use it and think, “wow, I didn’t know I needed this, but I do”. Just be sure to buy quality thread. Cheap thread is a waste of money. Some brands to look for; Coats & Clark, Gutermann, and Mettler Metrosene.
Need more ideas? Check out a previous gifts for sewers idea list I made (I think only the tailor’s ham is repeated). Browse at a local, independently owned fabric store and ask what they suggest. And you can’t go wrong with good coffee or tea if your special sewer drinks them (it’s a little motivation in a cup).
And newer gift idea post:
Gifts for People Who Sew; 2015
Gifts for People Who Sew; the Little Things
What’s on your sewing wishlist?