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Christmas Gift for someone that sews and quilts.
noir_blood
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey folks,
I'm participating in an Office exchange this year, and the person I got is really into sewing, quilting, and general crafty affairs. That's honestly the ONLY thing I know about her, so I'm trying to find a good gift. Something around the 20 dollar marks that isn't just a new pair of sewing needles.
So umm, help?
I'm participating in an Office exchange this year, and the person I got is really into sewing, quilting, and general crafty affairs. That's honestly the ONLY thing I know about her, so I'm trying to find a good gift. Something around the 20 dollar marks that isn't just a new pair of sewing needles.
So umm, help?
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Another vote for some good scissors too. Cutting through stacks of fabric can dull scissors like you would not believe.
This is kind of a cool thing for sewing and crafting, particularly handsewing.
Edit: And yeah, nice, new sharp scissors are good too.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
Third hands can be super useful, I don't know what I would use one for in quilting, but I bet there is a use.
I own what looks like that exact model, actually. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, I bought mine there for about $3.
These kinds of mats are always damn useful, if you go to buy anything at Joann's fabrics, make sure to grab a coupon first. They have a 50% off one item one on their website right now.
Giftcards to a store like Joann's (if you have one nearby) are always good because then she can go buy her own fabric, another pair of good scissors is always welcome and loved, a set of nice new pins in a magnetic case or with a wrist pin-cushion.
Silk pins
magnetic pin holder
You could get her this, and I'd say to get her a set of bobbins too, but I don't know what sewing machine she uses, and I think that might matter?
Rotary cutters are also a freaking godsend when you are quilting.
A 12"x12" square acrylic ruler is really useful for quilting too.
There are also things like quilting calendars.
Whatever you get her, make sure to include a gift receipt as well; she might well own whatever you get her already, or it might not work for her.
AGREE
However, this is sort of a personal preference thing as different sizes and shapes of shears have different purposes, and will fit their hand differently (and good shears are ~$40-50)
So...gift certificate? Or maybe a small pair for snipping threads?
If so, I'd also recommend http://www.purlsoho.com -- they have a shop in Soho and the ladies who work there are super helpful with regards to sewing stuff (they're a hybrid knitting/quilting shop, they should have some classy small-gift things)
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
I clicked this thread pretty much just to say Purl Soho, I'm glad someone beat me to it !
My other suggestions is Makoto Oozu cross stitch books, I think this is the only one in English. They're definitely A Certain Aesthetic, though, so if she isn't youngish/nerdyish/doesn't have kids/doesn't like dinosaurs and robots, she may or may not be into it.
The easiest to utilize fabrics are what they call Batik fabrics, which are textured fabrics without a specific pattern. They will look kind of tie dyed. The mix of colors make them easy to integrate into a quilt. You should be able to pick out between eight and a dozen Batik fat quarters for around $20, and most fabric stores will have bundles of quality fat quarters ready to sell.
Other alternatives are high quality quilting rulers (generally made from a thick, clear plastic) or quilting stencils (from the same plastic).
The scissors are a good idea, but if she's an avid quilter, she probably already has a high quality pair (or two).
Don't buy needles, because they are specific to the sewing machine and very few people do hand quilting as it's extremely time consuming. I also don't recommend buying quilting books for either art or patterns, because both depend on the style of quilting the person prefers.
But yeah, needles are not a great idea.