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Like any hobby or business some of the tools and equipment can be costly. Christmas is a perfect time to gift your loved one some of the more expensive items that they might want to better their sewing skills and business.

These are some of my favoirte items that I have found to be a necessity over the 11 years I have been in business.

Christmas Gifts for the Seamstress

It is the season for gift giving. Christmas is a great time to purchase those bigger items that your seamstress loved one might want.

A good iron.

A professional iron makes sewing much easier because it reduces the time spent pressing garments. This would make a great christmas gift for a seamstress.

This rowenta iron, was my second one since starting business. I purchased in the February of 2016. There are a few things I love about this iron. The steam is amazing. It only takes a few seconds to press a seam, when you activate the steam (by pushing the steam button on the handle while you iron) the seam will lay flat immediately. Also it is very good on the more delicate fabrics because you can adjust the heat or turn the steam off if need be. When I first started my business I had a rowenta machine that was a step down from this model. It had trouble with mineral build up even though I used the recommended bottled water that the directions called for. That machine had no way to clean the mineral deposits out of the boiler tank. This machine has a special feature on the side to take care of that. Also the water pan is removeable, so you can fill the water tank while the iron is still hot, which I could not do on the other model. Currently these are on sale on amazon for around $250 though the regular price is around $350.

2. A Dress Form

If your loved one works on a lot of dress alterations or makes dresses from scratch this is a must. Especially for prom and bridal alterations I use the dress form to make sure that the hem is straight. Even if I pin the garment on the client beforehand I am not always able to pin the lining and the fashion fabric during the fitting because of the way the layers are attached. With the dress form I can hem one layer and then put the outfit on the dress form to pin up the other layers. There were a few instances when I first started business that I didn’t use the dress form and my lining came out crooked or longer than the outer layer so I had to re-do it.

This dress form comes in small, medium and large on amazon for just under $200

Owning a dress form is so important when sewing a lot of dress alterations or designing clothing. It would make a great Christmas gift for a start up tailor.

There are knobs on the dress form to adjust it as much as possible for the size of the garment. The medium dress form would be a good place to start for a tailoring business. If it is more for personal clothing design choose a dress form based on the size clothing that is being made. The small dress for is geared towards the smaller women’s sizes, medium for the more average build and the large one for those who have a full figure.

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3. A Cutting Table

My work involves a lot of home dec projects, pillow making, slipcovers and such. I need the space to lay out my fabric, but my work room is not big enough to have a permanent cutting table. These foldable tables are a perfect solution. When I need to lay out the fabric I open the table and when I am done I can just close it up, freeing up the space in my workroom so I can move around and so that clients can come in and out.

These would also be helpful for any one who lays out fabric for making clothing. The table comes in two styles, one with a storage shelf underneath (approximately $190) or one without a shelf (approximately $100)

4. Sewing Machines

I could go on forever about sewing machines! But I will try to keep it brief. As a professional seamstress speed and reliablitity is important to me because the faster I sew the more projects I can finish, the more money I make. Having an industrial machine is essential. I have been working on this industrial Juki for about 6 years and love it. The speed and accuracy is incredible. With the correct needle I can go through leather or thicker fabrics, and the motor is powerful enough to stitch through. It is the go to machine for slipcovers and home dec projects especially, but I do use it for alterations as well. When hemming layers of formal gowns this cuts down the time compared to a home machine. Be prepared to spend a bit as these run between $750 and $1000.

This industrial juki is a necessity for anyone who has a sewing business. The speed is incredible. It would make a great Christmas gift for a professional seamstress

Along with an industrial machine I have a serger (the model I have is no longer available) and a home machine that has a variety of stitches like a blind hem stitch, a zigzag stitch, stretch stitch and a variety of decorrative stitches. It is electronc but not computerized and is also ideal for teaching children or adults how to sew. The Necchi EX 30 (approximately $600) or the Necchi NE30 (approximately $400)