Gifts for someone who sews: what we actually use (and skip)

Hi, hello. It's the first week of November, which means the gift guides have started and most of them are written by people who don't sew. This one isn't of them.

Here's the problem with buying for a sewist: the internet will try to sell you a ton of gadgets, and most of them end up in a drawer. What we actually reach for is a short list, and about half of it comes from estate sales. So that's the list. It's sorted by the person you're shopping for, with the honest version of what to skip.

For the person who just started

If they've been sewing for under a year, they don't need anything fancy. They need the boring things, in multiples, because sewing comes with a free goblin that steals one of everything.

• Extra bobbins. Check which class their machine takes (it's in the manual, or on the bobbin they've already got). Then buy a pack. Nobody has ever been sad about more bobbins.
• A variety pack of machine needles. Beginners never change their needle. A fresh pack is a gentle hint and a real gift.
• Thread snips and a second seam ripper. The first seam ripper is lost. I promise you it's lost.
• Glass-head pins. The kind you can iron over without melting a plastic bead into their project. Cheap, useful, and they'll think of you every time they don't ruin a hem.
• A Sew Remind Me sticker. A friend of mine makes them. It sits on the machine and tells you what needle is loaded, which solves a fight I used to have with myself weekly.

Put a few of these in a thrifted tin and it beats any pre-made "sewing kit" box.

For the person who's been at it a while

They have the basics. What they want now is the stuff that makes pressing and finishing less annoying, because pressing and finishing is most of sewing.

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• A decent iron. It doesn't have to be fancy, it has to steam and hold a temperature. This is ours, and I love it as much as a normal person can love an iron.
• A tabletop ironing board. For anyone sewing at a kitchen table who's tired of walking to the laundry room between every seam. It packs flat.
• A fabric shaver. This is the one I'd buy for anyone who sews, thrifts, or owns a sweater. It takes the pills off and makes a tired piece look new.
• An overcast presser foot. It gives you serger-looking seams without a serger, and it costs about as much as lunch. I did a whole post on it if you want to see it work. Check their machine's shank type first (low shank is most home machines).

For the person who wants a machine

This is the big one, so here's the honest version. They don't need a new machine to learn. A thrifted machine that turns on and sews a straight line is plenty, and a lot of the best ones were made before 1980 and weigh as much as a toddler. If you find one at an estate sale, buy it, plug it in, and call it a gift.

If they want new, the one in almost every one of my videos is the Singer Heavy Duty. Singer sponsors me, so here's the disclaimer and the deal in the same sentence: use code YOUHAVETIMETOWASTE at Singer.com and it's cheaper. My full setup and the feet I actually use are on my Singer page.

One caveat: don't buy a serger for someone who hasn't asked for one. It's the most-returned sewing gift I know of. Same goes for a dress form. They'll use their own body, and it fits better.

Gifts that cost nothing but a thrift trip

This is my favorite category, because it's how I built most of my own kit.

• Estate sale scissors. The best fabric scissors I own came from an estate sale, and they're older than me. Look for heavy, all-metal shears with a maker's name on the blade. Tie a ribbon on them so nobody cuts paper with them. That's the whole gift.
• A vintage sewing box, full. Nana had the best stuff. Thread, bias tape, hooks and eyes, a pin cushion shaped like a tomato. If you find one at a thrift store for $8, you've out-gifted everyone.
• A vintage pattern. A 1960s or 1970s dress pattern in their size, or close to it, is a real gift to someone who sews. Check the envelope says all the pieces are there.
• Fabric. A 1970s sheet or a pair of curtains is more fabric than a yard at the store costs, and it's already here. I made a witch hat out of curtains. The material is not the hard part.

What to skip

Magnetic seam guides, pre-boxed "100-piece sewing kits," and the needle-threader-seam-ripper combo thing, which is junk. A fabric store gift card is fine, but something vintage under $50 or an afternoon at the estate sales together is better. The second one comes with the story.

If you'd rather give something already made, my handmade pieces are all one of one at timetowastevintage.com. 

What I used

Everything in my starter kit, with links, is on Beginning sewing: supply list, and the video version is below. The laundry and restoration stuff (the fabric shaver lives there too) is on How I clean and care for every piece of vintage I sell. All my free tutorials are in one place on the Patterns & Tutorials page.

Some links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, and I'm a Singer Content Creator, so I earn a commission through my Singer link and code. It costs you nothing extra.

Thanks for being here.

Sami