by Catalogs.com Info Guru Kitty Price

It’s always fun to give a gift. You have the fun of shopping for it and your recipient has the pleasure of receiving it.

If you have a friend or family member whose passion is sewing, there are many gifts for sewers that she’s sure to appreciate. Often the most thoughtful gift is a new sewing project kit that she can enjoy making herself and might even give to you when it’s completed!

Here are the top 10 additional ideas for giving collectible gifts for sewers.

10. Christmas Ornament Kits

For Christmas giving, what could be more appropriate – and unique – than a tree ornament that celebrates her sewing creativity? Special Christmas tree ornaments are always cherished and often are passed down from mother to daughter to keep the family traditions going. You can give an ornament kit every year, and the entire collection will be loved for a long time.

9. Sewing Calendar

Calendars make great gifts and any sewer would love to have a sewing-themed calendar that helps her stay organized while catering to her stitching passion. A flip-top one is perfect for keeping on her sewing table and a wall calendar lets her enjoy the graphic at the top all year long while letting her see the year at a glance.

8. Vintage Sewing Patterns Catalog

There’s nothing like a vintage sewing patterns catalog to remind her of how much fashions have changed over the years. What fun she’ll have browsing through all the styles! They might even give her some ideas for adaptations she could make to today’s fashions that would give them a more vintage flare.

7. Vintage Sewing Pattern

If a vintage sewing catalog is good, an actual vintage pattern is even better! Some fashions are so classic that they never go out of style. All that needs adjusting is the length. There really are vintage pattern envelopes out there that have never been opened and are in pristine condition.

6. Sewing Poster

Who doesn’t enjoy a colorful poster hanging on the wall? It’s a great way to brighten up any room, and a sewing-themed poster is perfect for her sewing room. If you choose one with a picture of an old sewing machine or a sewing scene of days gone by, that’s even more fun.

5. Vintage Sad Iron

If you’ve never heard of a sad iron, it’s a heavy antique iron, usually made of cast iron, that weighs between 5-9 pounds. “Sad” is an Old English word meaning “solid,” and these irons are nothing if not that. Most sad irons are rather triangular in shape and come to a point that made it easier to iron around buttons. Pity the poor women who had to use them to iron clothes, sheets, and pillow cases back in the days before electric irons! Today people love to collect sad irons for door stops or to display as vintage objects d’arts.

4. Vintage Dress Form

A dress form is the perfect thing to stand in the corner of any sewer’s sewing room. Admittedly, a vintage one won’t be of much practical use since wasp waists haven’t been in vogue since Scarlett O’Hara. Nevertheless, it’s a hoot to look at and, if nothing else, will make your favorite sewer so appreciative of the fact that she’s living in a modern world where women aren’t expected to have such perfect hourglass figures.

3. Vintage Sewing Basket

Every sewer needs a sewing basket to hold her tape measures, scissors, pin cushions, spools of thread, and all the other things she needs. Wicker sewing baskets have always been popular, and a vintage one is a true collectible. Believe it or not, vintage sewing baskets do exist that are in great condition and perfectly usable. Some even still contain a few sewing notions left over from bygone days.

2. Vintage Sewing Cabinet

You may need to do some serious shopping to find a vintage sewing cabinet, but it will be so worth it if and when you do find one. While antique stores aren’t a bad place to start, you’ll no doubt find better prices at flea markets, swap shops, garage sales, and online. Many vintage sewing cabinets are utilitarian in style, but some are beautiful pieces of furniture that any sewer would be proud to have in her home.

1. Vintage Portable Sewing Machine

Yes! There are vintage portable sewing machines out there that still run perfectly! Many women bought them back in the 50s and 60s when the home sewing craze was at its height, but quite a few of those revolutionary (at the time) machines wound up sitting in their cases in the back of closets after only a few uses. Their cords aren’t frayed, their parts and attachments are all there, their lights still work, and many still have their original instruction booklets. What more could any sewer want?