20 Creative and Useful Gift Ideas For A Seamstress (or Sewist!)

Shopping for your favorite seamstress for Christmas or birthdays can be frustrating. What can you get them that will be both useful and appreciated? Fear not visitors, because we’ve come up with 20 creative and useful gifts for the gifts for seamstresses – just for you!

Great Gift Ideas For A Seamstress (or Sewist!)

Sewing Caddy

Sewing requires a lot of stuff! Pretty soon you’ve got scissors, rulers, pencils, and all kinds of tools everywhere. If the seamstress in your life seems a bit disorganized, a nice sewing caddy could be a great gift!! You could toss a few more accessories or a gift card to the craft store in the bag too.

Nice Dress Making/Fabric Scissors

If your favorite seamstress is relatively new to the hobby they may not have a nice pair of scissors. Good dress making scissors are worth their weight in gold! Find them a nice pair that will last and cut nicely. They’ll quickly thank you if they’re still using plain old office scissors for their sewing projects!

Sewing Patterns

Sewing patterns are the kind of thing that will always be appreciated! Everyone wants to learn to make new things regardless of where they’re at in their sewing journey. If you know their personal style then picking out a few nice patterns for them could be a very thoughtful and useful gift.

Fabric Kits/Fat Quarters

Photo: Yellow Creek Quilts

Fabric, fabric, fabric!! Every sewist needs fabric and they love getting it. Even unusual fabrics can lead to inspiration for new projects. Your favorite seamstress would likely love to receive a mystery fabric box, or a set of fat quarters for their crafting treasure trove.

Custom Printed Fabric

Looking for a unique gift for your favorite crafter? How about ordering them some custom printed fabric? There are a bunch of places online now where you can print your own photos or artwork on to fabric. Something like this would be really special for a seamstress, particularly if you know they’ve been trying to get a hold of a certain style or pattern.

PS. Etsy is a great place to look for these kinds of custom gifts! Check out this link for some options.

Fancy Thread Assortments

You know what else seamstresses go through quickly? Thread. If you want to get them something that they will definitely use, this is a good pick. A fancy thread assortment might inspire some projects, but if you’re unsure, good quality black or white thread will always get used.

Adjustable Dress Form

Looking for something a little more substantial? If you’re willing to spend a bit more, every seamstress would love to get a dress form! It’s just so much easier to plan out and adjust a garment when it’s on a bust. You can pick up an adjustable one for around $100, allowing them to adjust it to their size for more accurate fittings.

Serger Machine

A serger is a great accessory for a seamstress to have. These little machines perform an overcast stitch, which basically allows you to expand the functionality of your sewing machine to include more modern garments, or make nice finishing stitches. If your seamstress has a rather bare bones machine, this gift will be greatly appreciated and help them expand their projects. Pricing for these is around $200 and up.

Gift Card For Machine Upgrade

Speaking of machine upgrades.. if you REALLY want to light up the event, consider a gift card toward a new machine! If they’ve been hinting about wanting an upgrade, even if you can’t afford a new machine for them, a gift card will be much appreciated and help them on their way. You could get them one to a local sewing store, or even an Amazon gift card, as they have lots of great machines now online to buy.

Online Sewing Courses

If your favorite seamstress is still learning, an online course could be greatly appreciated! There are plenty hands-on courses which show you more advanced sewing techniques that could be difficult or frustrating to learn on your own. Try Udemy or Creative Fabrica to find some online sewing courses they may like!

Sew Your Own Activewear Book

Learning to sew stretch fabrics is trickier than it looks! However, it’s required if you want to work with modern fabrics. Gifting a book like this one can help a novice sewist on their way to becoming a pro when it comes to leggings, exercise wear, etc.

Pattern Drafting Ruler

If the person your shopping for is advancing in their craft then they may be ready to start learning to make their own patterns! If so, a pattern drafting ruler could be a welcome and useful gift which can help them get started in learning how to do it. It’s a great pick for a stocking stuffer or a less expensive gift if you’re on a tight budget but still want to gift them something.

Cat Lady Embroidery Book

If your favorite seamstress seems to be set on their sewing stuff, why not gift them another hobby? Many people like to do multiple crafts, and embroidery can be a great companion to sewing! This cute book teaches you some great hand embroidery techniques that are fun and easy to learn.

Fabric Cutting Table

Cutting fabric takes up a lot of space! You can’t have things scrunched up together when you’re piecing, measuring, and cutting things to size. That’s why a cutting table could be a great gift for their sewing room. It doesn’t have to be “specifically for sewing” either.

There are plenty of great rolling tables that would work here, just think of something like a kitchen island in design that can be moved to where they need it. It’s a thoughtful and appreciated gift – as long as they have the space!

The Dressmaker’s Handbook

This fantastic book offers instructions on luxury design and construction methods of couture clothing. It offers interesting insight into the world of fashion and provides the reader with techniques which even an accomplished seamstress will be interested to learn more about. Unfortunately, this book seems hard to come by now, (as evident by the inflated Amazon prices!) so you may need to look around to find it.

Custom Sewing Labels

Want something special that’s a little easier on the pocket book? How about some custom labels! There are plenty of people on Etsy who will make these for you, and any seamstress will be pleased with the gesture. Check out this link to see some options.

Thread Rack

I already mentioned how much thread a seamstress goes through, but have you thought about where they put it all?? If you’ve noticed their thread is all thrown into a box somewhere – a thread holder could be a great gift. These cute little organizers allow you to have quick access to your thread selection and keep everything tidy.

Custom Pattern Weights

Another inexpensive but very useful gift, custom pattern weights! Pattern weights keep your pattern pieces in place during cutting. If things start moving around, everything will be off – so any seamstress will be pleased with this gift, even if they’ve already got some. Custom pattern weights are an unusual sewing gift that not everybody will have gotten them. Check them out here.

Cricut Machine For Fabric

Did you that Cricut machines aren’t just for vinyl? NOPE! They can also cut fabric. This can be very useful for small precision cutting pieces like applique and things like that. A machine likes this starts at $200+, but any crafter will likely be glad to get one as a gift.

Sewing Workshop

If the person you’re shopping for isn’t into online classes, consider a local workshop. There are plenty of retreats, classes, clubs, and other sewing events which they might like to attend. Pricing will, of course, depend on availability and your area, but if you look around a bit I bet you find something cool. This is not only a great chance to learn new things, but also a great way to make new friends in their community!