Looking forward to the holidays - the best gifts to give to seamstress

The end of year holidays are coming soon! Saint Nicholas is baking his speculoos, your mom is looking for recipes for Christmas dinner, and you, you are out of inspiration for end of year gifts?

No panic! I have what you need for you, your wife, your grandma, your sister, your cousin... Their common point, they sew or would like to learn to sew? So look no further, I had fun compiling the best gifts to give or to give yourself so as not to be disappointed at midnight under the tree, at the big unwrapping moment!

I have now been in the sewing and creative hobbies field for years and every year at holiday time I am asked: "but what would make you happy?"... I must tell you that even after all these years, I still find things to keep me busy 😂 and enrich my collection of equipment to simplify sewing. So let's go for the wise gift choices that please!

1. Quality haberdashery supplies

When you are a beginner or even more advanced, you hesitate to put "a certain" budget into equipment. You don't know if you will like it, if you will have a use for it... and sometimes you regret not having bought those so beautiful pairs of scissors that caught your eye!

So why not ask for quality haberdashery supplies for Christmas?

In this category, I think:

- a buttonhole ruler for intermediate and advanced sewers. It changes life when you want to sew plackets and calculate the spaces between buttons. I never part with it anymore!

- a buttonhole opener. It's the very useful tool after using your buttonhole ruler and making beautiful buttonholes, well you have to open them... With a buttonhole opener, goodbye to quick unpicking accidents; and that is priceless after finishing your shirt!

- perfect anti-fray glue to complete the buttonhole ruler and buttonhole opener set for top-notch buttonholes!

- a snap fastener plier for sewers of all levels. A tool one hesitates to buy but that makes life easier. I have a resin snap plier and a universal one that helps me a lot to set snaps, so goodbye hammer and its mishaps!

- a hole punch: the famous "trouteuse" yes, the very one used to make belt holes but oh so practical for pre-punching before placing eyelets, snaps, rivets... a good investment for intermediate to advanced sewers

- A pair of good scissors for sewers of all levels.

A pair of "good" cutting scissors is truly a must-have for every respectable seamstress. I am very demanding when it comes to cutting because it is essential for the success of your sewing projects. For me, a good pair of scissors must have good blades, a comfortable handle, and above all must be sharpenable.

At the shop, we found a brand with a very good quality-price ratio.

You can even find some for left-handed people and for clipping!

Beyond cutting scissors, I also recommend purchasing embroidery scissors whose designs are super nice but above all very useful for cutting details. I use them daily for trimming, clipping, cutting small threads... For me, it's the foundation of the sewing box!

Budget:

Buttonhole ruler: 29€, buttonhole opener: from 12.5€, glue: 6.4€
Snap pliers: from 19.5€, punch: 21€
Cutting scissors: from 25€ to 40€, embroidery scissors: from 4€

2. Storage tools

Well, it's nice to have lots of equipment but at some point you have to be able to store it, otherwise your workshop or your dining table will look like a real mess.

We immediately think of the sewing box! I really like this concept because you can easily carry your small equipment from the workshop to the couch (to do hems by hand or sew buttons sitting comfortably).

A really nice tool too is the bobbin holders. Indeed, when you start sewing a little, a lot, passionately... you have lots of threads... and you have lots of bobbins that get tangled... in short, the bobbin holder is not a very glamorous gift but it is very practical!

And to avoid losing your pins and risking hurting your little feet or your pets, I recommend the small magnetic pin ball or pin cushion, super practical! For my part, I always have two, one on the work table and one near the machine so I can always store my pins at the work spots.

Budget sewing box: from 24€

Budget bobbin holder and ball: from 5€

Attention sewing boxes are only available in physical stores.

3. One pattern or patterns

At C'est du Joly you know we love to introduce you to brands of sewing patterns and also to test them 😂!

Giving one or more patterns is also a great idea for sewers from beginners to experienced. However, be careful to know the person's clothing tastes and sewing level.

There is no point in buying an expert pattern for a beginner in sewing and especially if the pattern's cut does not please her. I took the liberty of making a small selection among the patterns that I find nice to offer at the end of the year (without taking too much risk):

In accessories:

- the bags from Atelier Jumadi including my favorite the Carlos bag! You will also find the Jackie backpack, the Bernie messenger bag, the fanny pack and the half-moon bag, the heart pouch, the Pablo bucket bag... in short, lots of patterns that bring joy!

- the travel bag and Eugène from Ikatee but also the accessories for the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen that came out this year and are really quite nice!

- the patterns from Coralie Bijasson, from Iam patterns, and from Cha Coud: passionate pattern makers who offer us stylish and well-explained patterns. These are brands we work with a lot in workshops and that we really like.

Also, their new patterns are great!

At Coralie Bijasson you will find Sanaz and Erell

At Iam patterns, for those who like working with denim the I am Iconic collection

At Cha Coud the autumn collection is great I have already made the Anaïs and Inès pattern and I'm eyeing the Jolène jacket 😂

We have plenty of other brands just as great as each other with amazing pattern makers (we're thinking of DP studio, Atelier Bernie, Named Clothing, Tosca Minni, Studio Schnittreif, Mimoï, Instinct Couture, Clématisse Pattern...) with more than 2700 patterns in stock so don't hesitate to ask us for advice 😊

Pattern budget: from €15 for the envelope and from €5 for the PDFs

Eudoxie from Coralie Bijasson

Carlos from Atelier Jumadi

Chagall patterns

4. Customize your creations

A little label here, a pom-pom there, a patch over here!

Repairing, customizing, giving a wink with a label sewn with love has never been easier than today!

We offer you plenty of labels from the brands Bohin, Ikatee, Atelier Brunette, and many more...

Soft pom-poms, patches to sew and/or iron on... to please both the big and the little ones!

A low-cost gift that really makes people happy!

Budget: from €1.5

5. Gift cards

The C'est du Joly gift card is a great gift if you hesitate... because it will allow the person who receives it to spend it as they wish!

The card can be used to purchase:
- fabrics and haberdashery,...
- wool, embroidery,...
- patterns envelopes or PDFs,
- a class in our premises.

The gift card is valid for 12 months and can be used in our two stores or online. It can be issued in store or online for the (very) latecomers or those who live far away. You receive it automatically by email, no need to wait for delivery to make someone happy!