People often find it hard to know what to buy people who are interested in sewing so here we’ve collected together a few ideas… we’ve also got a board of ideas on Pinterest here.
Boxes & Tins
Pretty boxes and tins are always really useful for storage of buttons, ribbons, threads, pins etc. We’ve spotted a fabulous personalised sewing-themed tin as shown below on the Bags of Love website here.
Plush Addict stock a pretty beehive styled sewing box that is very attractive.
Always Knitting and Sewing have these tiny sewing tins – perfect for a small gift for a crafty friend!
Also take a look at Not on the High Street as they have some very attractive and vintage style examples too plus personalised sewing boxes like the one shown below from Bombus
Sewing Machine Accessories
Why not buy this 32 Piece Presser Foot Set from Madam Sew for a sewing buddy and and give their sewing skills and craftsmanship a complete new turn. With this easy-to-use set of handy ‘Snap-On’ presser feet, they can kick start their sewing skills.
Save time, money and hours of frustration with this handy set that features snap-on, top-quality parts and costs much less than buying the parts individually. The set ships from the US with free delivery!
Wearable Sewing Gifts
There are some lovely sewing-themed wearable items available the would make the perfect gift for a keen sewist. Beyond Measure have some beautiful sewing themed jewellery – stylish as well as practical.
Crafty Mastermind have some fab sewing themed enamel pins and sew on patches.
You could also get an apron printed to order with a sewing-themed design from Fashion Formula, plus other ready-made goodies too, including cushions. Or why not get your own sewing-themed t-shirt design printed? Bags of Love have lots of options on this idea here.
Subscription Clubs
What better present than a gift that keeps on giving. Sign yourself or a friend up to a subscription club and be sent new fabrics every month!
Fabric Godmother have a subscription service called Dream Wardrobe – you get a free consultation, pattern for a garment and fabric to suit your own style. It costs £59 per month (minimum 3 months) and this makes the perfect gift for a friend or family member who already sews their own clothes.
Make and Do run a monthly inspirations club, you receive a box of fabric, trims and haberdashery.
Purple Stitches do several block of the month options, each month you get the neccessary fabric and pattern to make a quilt block. You end the term with a full quilt.
The Crafty Nomad offer a VIP subscription service where you receive a new quilting/sewing pattern every couple of months plus other benefits – find out more as this is a lovely gift to send.
Owl and Sewing Cat offer a Club Membership for a complete sewing kit and discounts every month. Find out more here.
Take a look at our Stash Clubs article for more ideas.
If you’d prefer to just buy a single bundle of fabric there’s a list of great sites to buy fabric bundles from here.
Stitching Kits
Stitch kits make a great fit for a stitcher, something they can do on the go (or start whilst visiting family over Christmas). There are a great range of modern stitch kits available to buy now.
Tudor Rose have a fab range of embroidery, bag and cushion making kits. We especially love the Kathleen Laurel Sage goldwork kits shown above. Prices start from £12.99.
English paper piecing (EPP) is a very popular form of handstitching at the minute (see our guide to English Paper Piecing supplies here) we found several great EPP kits on the Sew and Quilt website.
You should also take a look at Craft Yourself Silly’s website for great kits. Build your own Button friends with a Buttoonies Kit – a great craft for kids to do as there are no needles, glue or scissors required.
They also have the Tessepatch kits. They are funky shapes like cats, dinosaurs, leaves and flowers which are English Paper Pieced and then sewn together in tesselating designs (as seen above).
Kits for Decorating the Home
There are some great kits out there for your chosen recipient to make their own lampshade or other home decor item Take a look at what’s on offer from Needcraft, who have kits for lampshades, table lamps, floor lamps, lanterns, bins, clocks and wall art – they simply use their own choice of fabric to create the item.
Pelenna Patchwork offer kits for making items like cushions, wall hangings, quilts and even oven gloves on their site.
Gift Vouchers
Not only do the majority of the online fabric stores on our site offer gift vouchers, but so do many of the course providers. So you can either give someone a voucher for supplies, or for classes. A lot of local stores offer vouchers too if you pop in and ask.
Complete Sewing Kits
We don’t mean your ‘run of the mill’ starter sewing kits that you can pick up in the supermakets for a few pounds, we’re talking beautiful quality sewing kits that sewers dream of – ones that look so good you almost don’t want to use them! For instance if you gave a sewer this gorgeous Merchant & Mills sewing kit (£42) from Raystitch they would be very, very grateful….!
A nice, less expensive version can be found at Plush Addict, who stock this useful professional sewing kit.
Foodie Gifts for Sewers
What more perfect gift can you offer than a sewing-themed edible treat? How about a chocolate sewing set from Not on the High Street?
Biscuiteers sell a sewing kit biscuit tin in which you’ll find an edible sewing kit complete with needle, thread, bobbins and pin cushions. Who can resist?
Books
First of all make sure you take a sneaky peek at the collection of the person you are buying for to try and avoid duplication. There are so many great craft books out there you should be able to easily find something suitable. A good place to start is the Amazon sewing book chart so you can see what the current bestsellers are.
Plus if you have a friend who dreams of starting their own craft business check out Fiona’s book Making & Marketing a Successful Art & Craft Business.
Or if you fancy something a little different Vivebooks do a great range of craft e-books with video techniques and deomonstrations incorporated into the books.
Other than Amazon, take a look at Search Press who also sell at good prices and offer a loyalty scheme.
Vintage fabric bundles
If you are unsure what fabrics your friend already has in their stash why not buy them a bundle of vintage fabrics? Each bundle is a unique combination of several fabrics from the 40’s through to the 80’s. At just £6 a bundle (plus postage) they make a great affordable gift.
View the bundles here on the Vintage Fabric Homestead website.
Sewing Journals
Why not help your friends keep track of their sewing projects, what they learned and what they would do differently next time with the beautiful journals from Samantha Claridge Studio.
Patterntrace also have the Maker’s Workbook – a beautiful sewing journal thoughtfully designed for keeping safe the essential details of your sewing projects. Use code: sewingdirectory for 10% off all orders on their site.
Sewbox also sell the Colette Sewing Planner – this stylish and practical sewing planner is spiral bound with a wrap-around hard cover. Measuring 7×9 inches, it’s easy to carry with you to use whenever inspiration strikes.
Craft on the go
Prym have a fabulous range of sewing machine travel cases and accessories for transporting your machine and tools on the go.
These lap trays from Hobbycraft are just £13 each and come with extra lighting allowing the recipient to craft on the sofa, when travelling, whereever they want with this portable workspace.
Corset Kit
If your friend is a more experienced stitcher why not help them expand their skills with a corset making kit from Sew Curvy? With kits to suit a range of budgets they contain everything you need to make a steel boned Victorian style corset.
