Gifts for People Who Love to Sew

If you know someone who loves to sew and are stumped for a suitable holiday present, this list might help ...

Books: Sewing books are always a good idea, and you really can't have too many. There's always more than one way to accomplish any given task or technique, and the more sewing instruction you read, the better the odds of you finding the way that 'clicks' with you.

First on the list this year is a lovely new book from Ruth Singer (whose blog you may know):

It's called, in full, The Sewing Bible: A Modern Manual of Practical and Decorative Sewing Techniques and it's really a lovely book. Clear, well-illustrated, and helpful, with a range of projects from the very simple (envelope-back pillow) to the more elaborate (handbag with pockets, circle skirt).


A book that is probably on a lot of internet-enabled sewists' list this year is Diana Eng's Fashion Geek: Clothes Accessories Tech. I know that there are projects in this book that I've been eyeballing for some time ...

And it's not quite in the "books" category, but either a subscription to Threads Magazine, or, if you're feeling really Santa-like, the new giant all-the-issues Threads DVD.

Fabric: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sewist in possession of some fabric is always in want of MORE fabric. However, if you don't sew, buying fabric for someone else can be a bit tricky. What do you buy? How much do you buy? I think you can never go wrong with high-quality natural fibers (or, of course, Liberty). My advice? Either buy four yards of something gorgeous, or try a gift certificate to one of the posher online fabric shops.

Notions: Go. Nuts. Seriously. Wander into a chain sewing store and hit the notions aisle with a basket and an open mind. Don't know what a bodkin is? Dump it in the basket. Throw in whatever little tools or gadgets or thingamagigs take your fancy, put them all in a nice covered basket, and call it a day. If your recipient already has one of whatever it is you picked up, she could probably use another, newer, sharper one, and if she doesn't, she'll have fun figuring out how to use it. Wandering in a store is more fun, but if you don't know where to go (or, cough, have ridiculous problems with going to a "girly store"), try Clotilde's or Nancy's online or even Amazon.

Patterns: This, surprisingly, is less fraught than buying fabric, IF you already feel confident when buying clothes for the same person. You just choose a pattern that looks like something your recipient would wear, IN THE RIGHT SIZE. Remember, pattern sizing is different from "normal" sizing, so go by measurements and not the size number. A better strategy is to get a fancy vintage pattern in an approximate size (or even a couple of patterns) so that you have some redundancy in the system. Bonus points for saying "These were so beautiful, they reminded me of you," when you give them.

And if your budget is tight this year (and whose isn't?) one of the best gifts you can give to someone who loves to sew is time. Offer to run a weekend's worth of errands, make dinner, answer the phone, watch the baby, walk the dog, or anything else that would allow for a four- or five-hour uninterrupted block of time. (And make the sewing time real time -- no interruptions, if you please, unless someone is bleeding or on fire.)

Do you sew and have a gift wishlist of your own? Leave a comment!

Knits: the next frontier

I was lucky enough to get an eBay gift card for Christmas ... well, actually, it was intended for both me and my husband, but I appropriated it immediately and he didn't squeak -- he's not what you would call a big eBay shopper. And I figured I would spend it on -- what else? -- fabric. Namely, Liberty.

I fell in love with this pattern, and realized too late that it's jersey knit. I don't really sew with knits. I mean, I have done, but I've never really ENJOYED it. I even got rid of my serger last year, since I do so little knit-sewing. But for this fabric, I will make an exception. What kind of exception, I don't know (well, I know it's not going to be an elastic-waist skirt, I have it narrowed down that much). I'm thinking I'll be doing a lot of browsing over on BurdaStyle; they have great patterns for knits. I want a dress (duh) and I want pockets (double duh) which are hard to manage in knits, I think. (Maybe I'll line them with organza?) But I'll make it work. Fuchsia-style. Just watch me ... on a significant time delay, since there are about 677 projects in front of this one. But still! Knits!

And the winners are ...

So, it's taken me FOREVER to decide just whose present was the WORST (or best, although "OMG, WTF, what the hell were they thinking" outweighed "OMG! You didn't!" by about 493 to 1).

A lot of the presents were what I call "bowling ball presents" -- stuff people get you because they want it for themselves (qv: pepperdove getting a VCR ... at age 15 ... when there was only one TV in the house ... after the family VCR broke. Elizabeth getting an air conditioner -- then being told they couldn't afford to install it!). And then some were "I love you, you're perfect, now change" presents. (qv: Riva getting offered laser hair removal! Mickey being given a can of Slim-Fast!)

Then there were a lot of "I don't know what the word "present" means, so I'm going to give you this random item" (like Ann's boyfriend giving her a RED LACE TEDDY FROM A PREVIOUS GIRLFRIEND -- seriously, wtf? -- and Colleen getting a PLASTIC TRAVEL URINAL, Beth B getting PAPERCLIPS, Denise getting USED MAKEUP).

Some presents seem to have been thinly-veiled assassination attempts: MsManners got two bottles of Fen-Phen (from an ex, natch) and Angel getting a basket of hair clips and dollar-store scented soap from her sister-in-law when she A) had no hair after undergoing chemo and B) was highly allergic to everything, which the chemo exacerbated. (I would have pressed charges on that one!)

"I think you must have meant this for someone else" seems to have been another theme -- Neighbourhood.Gal got (at age 11) a Teddy Ruxpin (remember those?) and a remote controlled monster truck and a skateboard (and she lived on a street with no sidewalks). Cookie got what sounded like the Worst Coat in the History of Coats: "VIOLENTLY acid-washed denim, knee-length, lumberjack style jacket with BRIGHT white, puffy fleece lining." Mere got a BOX of DICKIES. In 1987.

I was heartened by all the folks who got ironing boards, dress forms, sewing machines, and sergers ... except for poor RavenzTarot, whose daughter got a new sewing machine (after trashing RavenzTarot's old machine). That machine REALLY should have been Ravenz!

Is it any wonder it was hard to decide? I chose two bads and a good. The good-present-winner is anthrokeight, whose parents had her kindergarten art project of an angel professionally framed ... (altogether now: AWWWWW). The bad-present winners are La BellaDonna, who got a necklace and earrings SUPPOSEDLY from her husband, but since he conveniently didn't have any cash on him when it was time to pay for them, ended up being bought on her own dime ... ... and Sewducky ... well, I can't give you details of what Sewducky got that was so awful, but let's just say this: If you are going to give someone WWII memorabilia as a Christmas present, you might want to pick some FROM THE WINNING SIDE. Just a tip, there. [So, guys, email me your mailing addresses and I'll forward them to Rita so she can send you a copy of that pattern!]

It was SO hard to decide, though, that I am going to give out more prizes. If you left a comment about a bad (or good!) present, email me and I'll send you a free Dress A Day measuring tape! (Let me know what comment was yours, and don't forget to include your mailing address!)

Here's what they look like, iffen you don't remember:

Happy New Year!

Stuff I Forgot

Holly at LuciteBox Vintage asked me to point out that even though she'll be away from the 22nd-28th, she'll be shipping again on the 29th, AND the discount (15% off anything on the site) and the donation (10% to Books Through Bars in honor of the purchaser) still applies until the 27th!

And I missed a whole slew of stuff from Pamela (of GlamourStitch, GlamourSavvy, and GlamourSurf ... and Glamoursurf, by the way, is offering 20% off through Dec 31, enter the keyword "Santa")

So you could get a discount on something like this:



Or this:



Or you could just head over to Glamourstitch for this:



Or to Glamoursavvy for these boudoir shoes, which if they were my size, would have never seen the light of blog (despite the fact that my nightwear now consists solely of exercise clothes, so as to obviate one more excuse to avoid the treadmill, and these would look ridiculous with Target flare-leg yoga pants):



Whew! Okay, now I think that's it. But if not, email me!

This might be the last of it ... did I forget anybody?

Janet at Lanetz Living couldn't choose just three patterns (and I can't blame her) ... instead, she created a special 25% off coupon for you! Use the code "xmas" when they check out and it will automatically be deducted. Plus, Janet offers free Shipping in the USA and Canada when 3 or more items are purchased. (International shipping is discounted with three or more items.) The coupon will be good from now until New Year's Day.

Janet has over 200 Vogue Designer patterns to choose from ... has newly listed McCalls Needlework Magazines from the 1930's to 1950's ... and (my favorite) dozens of shirtwaist dresses that span the era from the 1940's to today!

Holly at Freudian Slips Vintage says that Dress A Day readers will receive a 10% discount off anything from her website if you type in coupon code RUDOLF. Check out with the shopping cart as usual, then click "recalculate" to receive the discount from your order. The discount will run from now until the 20th of December only, and will finish at midnight UK time.

If you're looking for something to spend that discount on, you might want to peep at these:










Whew! I think that's it; see you after Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Almost done ...

Sheila at Out of the Ashes has created a coupon JUST for Dress A Day readers good until December 26 for 15% off instead of the usual 10% - yay! Put in PRESENT at checkout it's not too late to get a pattern for a New Year's Eve dress ...

Tina, at What-I-Found offers these for your holiday listmaking:










These are from Lisa at Miss Helene's:










And these are from the Vintage Fashion Library:

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

I'm going to post all the fabulous Christmas and Holiday links I got today if it kills me.

Luckily, Jen at MOMSPatterns is making it easy; look at this:




If there is someone on your list that wouldn't like this pattern then perhaps next year you should just send them a card.

She's got this great men's shirt up, too, on eBay:




Jen is also offering 20% off any Dress A Day order through the end of the year, with the coupon code 'alliwant20'. It's good from now until 12/31/2008 midnight, EST. Good on any MOMSPatterns order, excluding gift certificates (although gift certificates are a REALLY good idea)! Oh, and the 20% is even good on that shirt above -- mention it when you win the auction and Jen will adjust the invoice!

Anna at BootyVintage has these in stock right now (but probably not for long):

Men's boxers:



A pattern of gifts "children can make for the whole family!"



And some great aprons:

But Wait! There's More!

Julie at Damn Good Vintage has these treasures:







Both of these dresses are larger sizes ...






Eileen at Daisy Fairbanks knows what good girls (and possibly, bad girls) want:









If that tie makes you happy, be sure to check out Burda's "David" tie pattern! (Make one for the Pink and Black Tie Ball! ... and don't forget their Holiday gifts blog ... I love these easy silk flowers!)

Oh, Oh, Oh ... Merry Christmas!

Birgit at Stitches and Loops sent me these, and only my sense of bloggish responsibility kept me from buying all of these myself and not posting them:










Christine at Alley Cats has these for some lucky Jazz Age babe:










Hotpatterns is doing a sale: buy any two of their three bestselling dresses and get the bag pattern of your choice free! (You have to email in your choice of bag pattern to sales@hotpatterns.com and they will add it to the order -- Offer ends Dec 31st! One of their three bestsellers is this one, which I love and plan to make Real Soon Now:

Are you ready for more?

Of course you are. Karen at Mystique Vintage is offering these three charmers:

A great sheath dress pattern:




Some really nice floral 1940s fabric:



And, for the girl who has (nearly) everything: a faux-fur and satin hanky-holder. You know, for the vanity table:




Karen has also added a gift certificate feature to her site through Paypal - good on all items for sale at Mystique Vintage (with no expiration date!) and in denominations of $5.

Amy at Viva Vintage has this heartbreakingly wonderful vintage coin charm bracelet:




And this mother-of-pearl bracelet:




And this wool cape and muff set, which is so vintage it looks like it's from the future!




Oh, and Deborah sent me this link to an Etsy necklace supposedly inspired by this blog! I am very, very flattered.

How to Give a Dress

Since the holidays are coming up, I thought this extract from Miss Leslie's Behavior Book would be helpful:

In presenting a dress to a friend whose circumstances are not so affluent as your own, and who you know will gladly receive it, select one of excellent quality, and of a colour that you think she will like. She will feel mortified if you give her one that is low-priced, flimsy, and of an unbecoming tint. Get an ample quantity, so as to allow a piece to be cut off and laid by for a new body and sleeves, when necessary. And to make the gift complete, buy linen for the body-lining; stiff, glazed muslin for the facings, buttons, sewing-silk, and whatever else may be wanted. This will save her the cost of these things.

If there are givers reading this blog solely to get ideas of what to give givees who are very interested in sewing, a length (four yards is safe) of a very nice fabric is always welcome. Choose a color you've seen your givee wear, and ask for in the store for advice about fabric if you're unsure -- natural fibers are best. Or you could visit some of the advertisers there on the right and choose a fantastic vintage pattern or vintage accessory -- always welcome!

Oh, more about the charity drive for this year: first, we're up to $860! Second, I was wrong about international donors -- it only works for Non-USians if you use Paypal. If you can't use Paypal and want to donate to an equivalent prisoners' or literacy charity in your home country, you're still eligible, just forward me your receipt! Remember, one lucky donor will have a character in my forthcoming novel named after them (or after a person important to them) -- go out and donate here. Thanks!