17 Great Gift Ideas For The Sewing Enthusiast
Christmas 2020 is almost upon us, and that means it’s time to start thinking about presents! You probably have a sewist, or quilter as a close friend, partner or colleague, and you’re wondering what gifts ideas the sewing enthusiast in your life would love. Or maybe you’ve already bought gifts but you’re doubting your choices.
Either way, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are some great gift ideas for the sewing enthusiast in your life.
Cutters, Scissors, and Shears
Most sewists can never have enough cutting implements.
But, it matters what type you get. Quality is important when it comes to scissors, and you have to make sure you get the right pair for the task at hand.
Here are a few select pieces that will be at home in any sewing basket.
Westcott 8” Titanium Bonded Scissors.
As any sewist will tell you, a good pair of fabric scissors are a necessity.
If the sewist in your life is just starting out, get them the gift of Westcott fabric scissors this holiday season.
They’ll thank you for it.
With two pairs included in this particular set, your favorite sewist can have a spare pair as a backup, or perhaps keep them in a travel kit for sewing retreats and classes.
CampTek all-in-one Scissor and Shear Kit
Every sewing buff will tell you seam rippers and thread snips are invaluable tools for even an advanced stitcher. Full sized fabric scissors just don’t cut it when it comes to small threads and wonky seams. For total thread control and seam correction, this set is perfect.
It contains four seam-rippers in two different sizes, one pair of scissors, and a pair of thread snips with replaceable blades.
As a bonus, the entire set is color-coordinated, so it’s sure to stand out in any sewist’s supply kit.
Rotary Cutter
The rotary cutter is the perfect cutting tool for both quilters and garment sewists alike.
Offering precision cutting for point-perfect quilt blocks and accurate curves, rotary cutters are the gadget of choice for experienced and beginner stitchers.
This particular cutter has a retractable cutting disc and comes with replacement blades.
If you do go for the gift of a rotary cutter this Christmas, make sure your sewist also has a cutting mat.
On that note, keep reading for this season’s must have accessory! A revolutionary cutting mat designed to fit any sewing space.
Pins, Clips, & Cushions
Two of the most essential items in any sewing box are pins to keep your fabric pieces together, and a handy pincushion.
A staple requirement for beginners and experienced stitchers, pins and pincushions are often overlooked when it comes to useful Christmas gifts. The discerning stitcher will be forever updating and replacing pins to keep their supply fresh and, more importantly, sharp.
Pins come in a multitude of sizes and a pack can be found to suit any project. From basic sewing to quilter’s pins, there’s a set perfect for your loved one’s sewing basket.
You could also spice up the sewing room with the latest tools for holding fabric steady, bright and cheerful sewing clips or pattern weights.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Simple Sewing Pins
Keep your sewist’s pin collection up to date, with these bright and colorful glass head pins. Ideal for use in projects requiring regular pressing since they don’t melt if they come in contact with the iron.
Flat Head Pins
These colorful pins are designed to be seen! Standing out in both projects and the sewing basket, finding them will be a piece of cake. No more accidentally sewing over a pin because it was hiding in the fabric.
The flat surface of the pin sits smoothly against the fabric making cutting out easier. As every sewist knows, the less the material leaves the cutting surface, the more accurate the design can be followed.
Flat headed pins are also easier to grab between thumb and forefingers, making for speedy removal at the sewing machine.
Sewing Clips
The newest breakthrough for the sewing room are sewing clips. With no sharp points, clips are a safe alternative to pins. Although they can’t replace pins entirely, clips do help reduce the likelihood of small, sharp objects falling into the wrong hands.
An important safety feature for any sewing enthusiast sharing a household with pets or children.
Clips are rapidly growing in popularity due to their usefulness.
With a cute little storage case included, the sewist in your life will surely be grateful for this gift.
Pins and clips are a sewing staple, but what if your sewing buddy works with fabric that is easily marked?
In that case, consider pattern weights.
As the name suggests, these nifty little objects weigh down fabric pieces to make sure they lie flat and still for cutting.
Pattern weights can be used when cutting with scissors or a rotary cutter. Once again, their usefulness lies in the ability to keep the fabric as flat to the cutting surface as possible.
Bags and Kits
For those with pets or children who could hurt themselves, a safe place for sewing tools is essential.
Even a well-organized sewing room needs some kind of container to store those little, easy to misplace, sewing necessities like pins and scissors.
That’s why bags and storage containers are a sewist’s best friend.
Sewing Machine Carry Case
Sewing machine cases supplied with machines are normally functional and protective. Great for keeping the machine safe, but not so great at storing sewing supplies.
This sewing machine case on the other hand, is stylish and roomy, with more than enough space for machine and notions.
With its comfortable weight-distributing handles and adjustable shoulder strap, transporting sewing machines to retreats and classes becomes a treat rather than a burden.
Two side pockets allow for quick and easy storage of loads of things, pincushions, bags of clips, glue. You name it.
The zipped front pocket can protect an array of those important but easy to lose sewing tools and gadgets, like thimbles, tape measures or fabric markers.
Sewing Accessories Organizer
The travel bag with organization! This little carry bag is perfect for those sewists in your life who like to keep their supplies neatly divided.
Removable dividers split the main compartment into four useful sections. In addition, there are seven open pockets on the back and sides for the smaller sewing knick knacks.
There’s also a further zipped pocket on the front!
Unzip it, and discover two more pockets! One with a transparent facing, perfect for storing current-project supplies.
Storage Tote
If your sewist is interested in other crafts as well as sewing, this is the tote for them.
There’s room in the main section for scissors, threads, and all manner of other sewing supplies! With 10 additional exterior pockets, the bag can store glue guns, fabric glue, decorative sequins and other crafting tools and accessories.
This tote is pretty hardy, with durable carrying handles for when the sewist in your life wants to move their supplies around.
Did I mention the 10 exterior pockets? It really is a sewing carry-all!
Travel Repair Kit
If your friend has been into sewing for a while, chances are they already own everything in this travel kit.
But!
The items they have probably stay in their sewing areas.
Having a specially designed sewing travel kit contained in an extremely portable bag, allows sewing on the go. In style.
With everything a sewist needs to make speedy repairs, this kit can also double up as a handy carrycase of essentials for sewing classes or quilting retreats. Offering a lightweight selection of threads, scissors, pins, needles, and a measuring tape, this kit removes the need to drag heavy, bulky sewing baskets around.
There are even some nail clippers for quick upkeep of fingernails, to help prevent painful catches on fabric!
Small enough to fit into luggage, this kit is jam packed with sewing tools covering any eventuality. It also features a handy side pocket to keep other sewing related goodies, like patterns, or even a phone!
Books and Instructables
Every enthusiastic sewist knows you can never have enough pattern books. Or books on general sewing tips and techniques.
Quilting and sewing how-to books are a sure bet as a gift for any sewing fan. Filled with projects, ideas and tips, sewing books will keep the avid stitcher in your life entertained and inspired.
Singer: Photo Guide
If you didn’t already know, Singer is one of the oldest and best loved sewing machine brands on the market. With over a century of experience designing sewing machines, Singer has been instrumental in revolutionizing the sewing world.
Figures they’d have informative high quality hints and advice on sewing.
If sewists need any reference books, this is definitely going to be front and center. While it doesn’t contain any projects, it breaks down sewing techniques and offers tips on creating patterns, or making alterations.
It also doubles as a manual for how to use a sewing machine or serger. Although the book focuses on Singer models, many of today’s sewing machines are based on the Singer blueprint, making the knowledge transferrable to nearly every machine.
Sew Me! Sewing Basics
Sewing can be daunting when you first start out. Eliminate the guesswork all together and give your budding sewist a crash course in their new hobby with this nifty book.
This book is aimed at the sewing newbie, and contains simple sewing techniques and projects so they can practice their new skills. The book boosts confidence in sewing and inspires sewers will make a great Christmas present for anyone considering sewing as a new hobby.
Sewing Machine Embroider’s Bible
Make no mistake: it’s not always easy using modern sewing machines, especially when they are designed for embroidery.
All those buttons! What do they do?
This book tells you, so if you know a sewist getting an embroidery machine this Christmas, this book will make a useful addition to their sewing library.
The Modern Maker
It’s a common misconception that all sewists use a sewing machine. There are still some who hand stitch everything. Particularly if they are into historical costume or historically accurate stitching techniques.
If you know your sewist is one of these people, or they’ve mentioned trying their hand at it, this could be the perfect gift for them.
With a detailed tutorial on basic stitches and how to use them in garment making, this book is a treasure trove of hints and tips for hand stitched construction.
Miscellaneous
Sometimes, things can’t be put in tidy categories, but are still useful. Here are some gift options that will still be greatly appreciated by any sewist this holiday season.
LED lighting strip
It’s a common complaint in sewing circles that lights on sewing machines don’t work well.
So why not give your favorite sewing machine user a helping hand? Give them the ability to see what they’re sewing with this LED strip.
On the off chance this person already has one of these lighting strips, having another is still a perfect gift! The strips can be installed anywhere, not just on the sewing machine.
(And in the case of having multiple sewing machines: even better! One strip per machine right?)
Cutting Mat
Every sewist with a rotary cutter needs a cutting mat. That’s a fact.
But not every mat is appropriate for every sewist.
Some are so large they are difficult to fold away and can be cumbersome. A real problem for the avid stitcher who is limited on space. Others are too small, making cutting larger projects almost impossible.
The Puzzlemat cutting board could be the solution they are looking for.
Made up of individual 12” x 12” sections that can be slotted together to create a larger cutting space, this mat is adaptable to the space available.
With a handy storage bag this versatile gift will light up the life of every space-challenged sewist.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these gift ideas for sewing enthusiasts will help inspire and guide you towards finding the perfect gift for your loved one this Christmas.
And in case you decide to go even further and wow them with a new sewing machine, you can check out what we think are the best sewing machines of 2021 currently.