Your Gift Guide for Sewing Notions: plus, Secret Sewists Revealed!

SECRET SEWISTS REVEALED

Welcome to the Secret Sewist 2021 Reveal AND a little sewing gift guide to get you ready for the holidays. This year, Love Notions is so thankful for the support of our ambassador team. They help to perfect the patterns in testing, take incredible pictures, create helpful sewing content, and spread the news about Love Notions throughout the sewing community — and they are just all around super people.

SECRET SEWIST

So this year, Tami decided to say ‘thank you’ with a little gift: Sewing Notions! We decided to make this gifting more fun by doing a gift exchange or “Secret Santa” event out of it — we call it the “Secret Sewist” exchange. (You can read about our previous Secret Sewist events here and here.) The ambassadors’ names were secretly matched, and then they selected the sewing notions, doodads, and accoutrements for each other. Love Notions purchased and shipped these sewing gifts out and in fact, the ambassadors won’t know who selected their special gift for them until they read this post!

Sewing Gift Guide

What follows is the reveal of each of the ambassadors gift(s) as well as the note their gifter sent along with their sewing notion selection. All of these gifts were thoughtfully selected for each ambassador — but they might be the perfect thing to add to your studio, gifting list, or your own wish list. So, check out Tami’s Amazon store front as needed to get the links!

Sewing Notion Gifts

Gutterman Thread Gift Pack

To Kris Taylor Hilton from Chloe Hall

Hi Kris, It’s been so fun browsing through your amazing makes on Instagram! I love your exuberant and joyful style set against the stunning tropical scenes of the Caribbeans. It sure makes us on the Northern Hemisphere miss summer 😉 It is hard to believe all this creativity has to overcome the fact that you have no local craft stores due to your island location. Your passion for sewing really shines through the limiting circumstances! Now I know there’s nothing more frustrating than having the perfect project ready to go, but no matching thread. I chose a set of Gutermann Thread gift pack of assorted colors so you can have more choices on hand when the inspiration strikes =) Merry Christmas and Happy 2022!

Bag Making Hardware

To Marta Gloger from Tami Peterson

Marta is such an inspiration to me! She’s like that cool friend that’s always on top of the latest trends and pulls everything off with such a confidence and flair that I admire. She mentioned she’d like to get into bag making so I selected a few things that will hopefully get her started. I threw in the purse clasps because she mentioned zippers scare her (I still get nervous too!) and hopefully these will be a good alternative!

Embroidery Kit and Lace Trims

To Sequoia Bond from Katie Kennedy

Hi Sequoia! I love the idea of you wanting to challenge yourself with new sewing skills. Hand embroidery sounds like a wonderful way to make sewing portable and I hope this kit comes in handy when you’re on the move or just away from your machines. Since you choose a lot of florals prints for garment, I’m hoping this floral stitching design floats your boat, too. The second part of the gift is an assortment of lace trims to add a fun detail to clothing and level up in the garment realm with a new technique. I’m imagining this lace on fun sleeves or to make a pocket pop, and I’m curious to see how you’ll use them – I know it will be great! I’m always happy to check out your project posts and look forward to seeing your latest makes. Cheers to new sewing skills and have a wonderful holiday!

Chalk, Scissors, and Bodkin

To Alison Moroso from Ilse Lemmens

Dear Allison, Secret shopping is so fun! Trying to envision what notions you would enjoy getting. Fun and exciting at the same time! I selected some things that I personally would enjoy receiving myself. That’s always the best starting point, isn’t it? I hope you are pleasantly surprised and will enjoy using my selections a lot. Happy sewing! Love, Ilse

Pastel Thread and Colorful Snips

To Katie Kennedy from Keira Wood

Katie you are such an inspirational sewist, I was ecstatic to draw your name! Everything you make is so beautiful and super neat. I wasn’t surprised to learn that you are all about clean finishes and I wanted my gifts to contribute to that aspect of your sewing journey. I scanned your IG feed to pick a colour scheme and decided to go for pastels. You mentioned you love to thread match so I chose a Gutermann Thread Set in beautiful pastels and the cutest tiny scissors to snip all your loose threads. I hope you love your gifts and will be able to put them to good use for achieving those really clean insides! Wishing you an absolutely wonderful Holiday season filled with love, joy and lots of stitching!

Green Thang and Denim Top Stitching Thread

To Ilse Lemmens from MaryAnne MacLean

Ilse, I selected this collection of Gutermann Professional Top Stitching threads for you so you will always have some close by for your lovely denim projects! I needed to send you one of these “Thangs” because I’ve read so much about them and how useful they are to sewists in many different ways! One tool I can use for multiple purposes?? I might have even bought one for myself too! Wishing you the happiest of Holidays and looking forward to seeing all your new makes in 2022!

Fusible Stay Tapes

To Josie Magoola from Whitney Luckenbill

Josie, I hope you enjoy these fusible stay tapes as much as I do. The woven tape is fabulous for stabilizing shoulders of knit garments and the knit tape works great for necklines. I know you sew quite a bit for your kids as well (like myself) and I find the combination of these two tapes really helps the longevity of my knit garments. Enjoy!

Wooden Buttons and Small Scissors

To Nicole Kaczorek from Annick Campenaerts

Dear Nicole, of course I only know you through Facebook and through your instagram account, but you seem like a beautiful person inside and out. With great pleasure I selected these wooden buttons for you, so that you can use them in your knitting and sewing. When sewing on buttons, you also need fine scissors. I hope you are happy with your gift and that you have a lot of fun with it. X Annick

Stretch Thread

To Tami Peterson from Kris Taylor Hilton

Tami sews a lot of knit fabrics!!! I was reading through her blog posts and noticed her mentioning Eco-Thread quite a lot. I cannot count how many times I’ve played and lost at thread chicken so I know a sewist can NEVER have too much thread. Since this thread is specially made for sewing stretch fabrics, I thought it would be perfect! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family Tami. Happy Sewing for 2022. I hope your joy of sewing knits rubs off on me!

Ironing Mat Set

To Jessica Higginbotham from Allison Moroso

Hi Jessica! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you! I am so happy to have this opportunity to learn more about you! I have seen your beautiful makes in the group but didn’t know much more than the beautiful and talented sewist that you are. I can tell you are a beautiful soul, love your family, are a true believer in Christ and love to go camping!! You have inspired me to work outside of my comfort areas and get in my sewing room and make some stuff! I chose your gift because I first understand trying to keep your sewing area confined to a smaller space. I know in addition to sewing that you enjoy crafting and quilting. It’s not always feasible to have a full size ironing board and iron in your workspace. I have found this wool pressing mat a lifesaver in tight spots when I need to iron a seam or even iron vinyl onto a small area. I can throw it on my cutting table, press what I need and move it without a second thought. I hope you find it as helpful in your sewing space as I have! Thank you for always being an inspiration! I look forward to seeing what the new year brings for you! Allison

Alignment Ruler Set and Sewing Tee

To Katie Kimmell from Karina Trinidad

The sewing motif on the t shirt is so cute and has lovely colors. I also saw quite a lot on blue on your feed, I hope you like it. The t-shirt rulers could come in handy to center embellishments on your makes. This sounds like a super fun hobby to have and I hope this makes it a little easier for your HVT endeavors. Happy sewing. Karina XX

Bag Making Hardware and Bag Making Book

To Caroline Gaddy from Sequoia Bond

Hi Caroline, I hope this package finds you well and brings you a smile. Since you specifically wrote “gather the courage” in reference to learning to sew bags, I went with that option. I want you to be courageous and strong in all the things you do! You are an amazing and inspiring human in the sewing community so I can only assume you are just as fierce in your regular life. Keep creating beautiful things and enjoy the holiday season. 🙂 Sequoia

Lace Applique, Suede Patches, and Snacks!

To Koe from Marta

Koe! I was so excited when I got your name. I love your style and creativity so much. You are one of my favourite sewists to follow on IG and it’s been so fun shopping for you. I hope you like your gifts and I can’t wait to see how you use them. xoxo Marta

Insulated Cup, Tin, Bias Tape Set

To Jess Wilcox from Noreen Mays

JESSSSS! I was so excited to get you for our Secret Sewist exchange! Your makes are truly inspiring and your fun outlook and joy in life shows through in every sew and I love that. I just wanted to get you something fun (and hopefully practical as well) for you to play with but honestly, we both know the most important sewing notions are beverages and tins 🙂 So I hope you pour your favorite one, grab a biscuit from the tin (can you tell I’ve lived in the UK for awhile?LOL!) and have some fun. Here’s to you!

Special Pillowcases

To Anjori Halder from Amii Mannings

Many Blessings Anjori! Hoping this gift brings you joy. These colors of the pillowcases remind me of joy and also the joy of sewing that you bring with your makes! Have a beautiful day!

Hoops and Zippers

To Jen Baliff from Anjori Halder

Jen, after reading more about you and learning about your sewing school, I decided that I would get you more supplies to share with your students, since you provide everything for the classes. Sewing was a dying art and thanks to people like you, young people are picking it back up. As a self taught sewist myself that relied heavily on blogs and YouTube videos to learn, I truly believe in sharing the knowledge. So thank you – for being a lovely person and passing on the sewing knowledge you have gained. I hope you have great success and have a wonderful holiday season.

Most Used Notions: Ruler, Chalk pencils, Bodkin, Purple Thang

To Keira Wood from Nicole Kaczorek

Keira – I really admire all your amazing makes and the innovative solutions you devise for sewing friends in the Facebook group. I wanted to provide you with the most useful items for me when I sew. I looked in the organizer next to my machine and sent you the items that I most often reach for. Some are simple like the white chalk pencils for marking dark fabrics. Some are a little strange like the Purple Thang for which I find a million uses. I have two of these 6″ rulers and they are so useful for quick measurements or drawing in a seam allowance. I have many different kinds of bodkins and this is the one that really works. I hope these notions are useful to you and help you enjoy sewing even more.

Fabric

To Karina Trinidad from Rachel Ring

Hi Karina, I wanted to pick something for you that would be a familiar favorite type of fabric, but perhaps a slightly different print than your usual – partially in the hopes that you don’t already own this one! I know that you tend to wear a lot of black and navy with fun pops of color, but I couldn’t resist this gorgeous purple and think it will look stunning on you. I think it would be a lovely Rhapsody or Ballad blouse, or even a Tempo sundress, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. Your blog and videos have provided so much inspiration and sewing education for so many of us, myself included – I hope the coming year brings only good things for you!

Puzzle & Snips

To Noreen Mays from Jen Baliff

With your upcoming move and transition, I wanted to give you a gift of relaxation (a puzzle). I hope your move goes well and that the puzzle can bring you some inspiration. The little snips will be there for you once the inspiration has hit and the sewing space is ready to be used again 🙂

Vinyl, Tool Kit, Quilting Ruler

To Chloe Hall from Katie Grimm

Chloe! I was so excited to see that I got to shop for you! I love seeing all the things you make and your smile is so contagious! I too am fairly new to heat transfer vinyl so wanted to gift you a few things that I’ve found helpful. First off- some vinyl of course! I chose basic black and white since you mentioned you wanted to make labels. I also have found my little tools so helpful in weeding the vinyl and thought this kit would be helpful. Lastly, I included something a little unconventional, but it’s one of my favorite all purpose tools! This little quilting ruler is so helpful in making sure you get your vinyl lined up right. I got this size because labels are tiny! I also use it all the time in my garment sewing. It’s definitely not just for quilting. Thank you for always sharing such amazing makes and inspiring us all! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Love, Katie Grimm

Rainbow Snips + Hemostats

To Danielle Kramer from Alex Radu

Happy Holidays, Danielle! I hope you enjoy these rainbow pretties sets and that they help you into your journey back to bear making. I picked the hemostats because I know they will be useful and the snips because who doesn’t need pretty snips. I can’t wait to see your handcrafted bears. – Alex

Snips + Magnetic Pick Up Tool + Labels

To Alex Radu from Jess Wilcox

Happy Holidays, Alex!! So, in your notes, you said you like those fun, new sewing notions. Idk if I nailed the new, but I thought these were fun! The magnetic grabber thingie because most pins and clips that fall to the floor are DEAD TO ME! Buuuuut, they should probably be picked up so I figured if ya have something to make the job easier, you’re more likely to do it amiright?! The snips just looked super cool with the holographic metal. I wish I could have found something Disney themed like it, but “hard rock cafe” ish will have to do! Idk if you’ll use the labels, I bet you’ve got some fun fahncy ones of your own, but I would totally add them to bags and things I made and gave as gifts. Hopefully you’re as quirky as I pegged ya to be and think they’re fun too! May these small items bring you JOY when you encounter them in your sewing space, and throughout the year! ????????????

Sewing Planner + Sign

To MaryAnne MacLean from Kim Koluch

Mary Anne – It was so fun to read your blog and see your fabulous makes! You have such an eye for fabric & pattern combinations! I enjoyed shopping for you! I have always thought gifts should have elements of both usefulness and fun. In your note, you mentioned you’d like to be more organized, so I thought the sewing planner might be something you would enjoy to help you with that. I hope the sewing room sign will brighten your sewing space and make you smile! I wish you a blessed holiday season, and much success and happiness in the New Year! Kim Koluch

Vintage Sewing Prints + Sewing Journal

To Katie Grimm from Katie Kimmell

Happy Holidays Katie! I think you are like me and have quite a bit of sewing supplies so I thought you might enjoy some artwork for your space. These vintage style prints are sewing themed without being too much. I know you work on long term projects and thought that a sewing journal may be for you. Enjoy! Katie Kimmell

Straight Pins + Ribbon Bobbins

To Whitney Luckenbill from Danielle Kramer

I loved watching the tour of your sewing space on your YouTube channel! But what do you get a sewist who seems to have everything!? I decided to share some notions with you that I have found helpful for my own sewing that I thought you might enjoy. The straight pins are a bit of a splurgeworthy item that you might not treat yourself to. You have such a great storage in your space, but for inside drawers the ribbon bobbins are great for organizing trims like fold over elastic, lace, bias binding and more. Hope you enjoy and find them useful.

Scissors + Butterfly Buttons

To Annick Campenaerts from Koe Truschke

Hi Annick! When I learned you liked beautiful scissors, I knew I was going to get you a pair. I love getting new scissors, especially pretty ones. This little pink floral pair was just too cute to pass up. One if my favorite projects to date has been my “butterfly melody dolman shirt.” I made it in butterfly fabric and put butterfly buttons on it. I thought you should have some butterfly buttons too. Hope you don’t already have these. I love how they could be used on just about any project. You are such an amazing sewist and I look forward to seeing many more of your makes Many warm wishes my sew sister, Koe Truschke

Mug, Snail Tea Bag Holder, Socks

To Amii Mannings from Jessica Higginbotham

Amii, I always love to see your makes! I tried to pick some things that would be both fun and useful to you while you sew, that would make you smile and just help you enjoy yourself. You are beautiful and talented; keep it up!

Labels + Mug + Purple Thang

To Kim Koluch from Caroline Gaddy

Hi Kim! Since you clearly sew with your heart and enjoy sewing for your family, I thought the labels could be a fun accessory to use. I saw that you had a couple cups on your pegboard in your videos, but with all the crafting you do, I thought that surely some more would be useful! ???? I find I never have enough spots to put my pens, marking tools, and random bits and bobs that I seem to acquire. The purple thang is to support your love of bag sewing – plus it’s just handy in a variety sewing situations. I am so happy to sew alongside you in the ambassador group. You always have such helpful insights. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Hot Hemmer + Sewing Journal

To Rachel Ring from Josie Magoola

Hi Rachel, I understand you could need more physical organisation but I know with beautiful planning, it could easily translate into well-thought through sewing. I also thought of getting you this hot hem gauge because it is such a useful gadget that I would love to get some day. I hope you love and enjoy using your gifts. Happy Holidays, Josie

Wanna Scoop up some of these sewing items for your own studio or to gift to a sewing friend?

Check out this link to Love Notion’s Amazon Store Front!