Gift Guide: for the Sewers and Makers

I’m going to be sharing two gift guides this holiday season, for two areas that I think I know a good amount about - sewing and tiny humans! haha. Today is all about those sewists and makers. Whether you know a maker in your life that you need a fun gift for, or you yourself are a maker and need some ideas of what to ask for - here are some of my favorite ideas!

MadamSew Sew Happy Box

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me sharing an unboxing of Madam Sew’s new subscription box. I mentioned during the unboxing that I think a subscription for a box or two (or more) would make a great Christmas gift! Who doesnt love a surprise box full of goodies? Each box comes with a sewing pattern, a scrap busting project/pattern, fabric, matching thread, a fat quarter of a featured fabric designer, And a handful of fun tools. In November’s box, those tools included heat erasable marking pens, a few presser feet, and a pin cushion ring. Super cute!

*** I was provided this subscription box for review and blog feature. Though, all thoughts are my own.

MadamSew Ultimate Presser Foot Kit

Another fun item from Madam Sew to gift is their Ultimate Presser Foot kit. It comes with 32 different presser feet, for any kind of application you can imagine, and it also comes with an adapter so that they can be used with almost any brand sewing machine. It comes with an instruction booklet, as well as tutorial videos for each foot.

*** I had previously received this item in the past in exchange for a review, but I actually still use these presser feet all the time! Check out my highlights on Instagram for some example videos I shared in the past. I’ll also be sharing some more video examples next week.

Megan Nielsen Mommy & Me sewing pattern bundles

Have a sewist in your life that also has a little one? Megan is offering mommy & me bundles on some of her sewing patterns that have matching mini versions, at a discounted price! Theres the Cottesloe swimsuits like I have above, the Tania culottes, Eucalypt tank/dress, and Virginia leggings.

Kylie and the Machine sewing labels

Sooooooo I really just want a stocking full of these sewing labels! Check out her website for all the different ones she offers (there are so many good ones!), and you can also find them offered at some of your favorite fabric stores - just search for Kylie and the Machine labels. The perfect stocking stuffer!

‘Maker’ necklace

I love this simple necklace! And not just for sewists - it could be the perfect gift for any kid of maker in your life. Comes in silver, too!

Scissors!!!!!

I don’t know a sewist or maker that doesn’t love collecting scissors. Both useful scissors, and pretty decorative scissors. This photo above is just a small selection of my own. But here are a few of my favorites, and some that I am coveting:

Review // Madam Sew ultimate presser foot kit

Recently, Madam Sew sent me one of their Ultimate Presser foot sets to try out. I was pretty excited because I only have and use two feet - my regular foot and my zipper foot. So this was pretty cool for me!

The presser foot set comes with 32 presser feet, a snap on adapter, an instruction manual, and a DVD with instructional videos. there is also an app you can download to see all the video tutorials and instructions, as well.  Both the written instructions and video tutorials were very helpful, especially with some of the feet/techniques I’ve never used before!

Most of the feet are snap-on, but work with both snap-on and screw-on sewing machines, because it comes with the bonus snap-on adapter for screw-on machines! *One thing to note, though - if you work on a Bernina, you will need an additional adapter (sold separately) because Bernina uses their own presser foot system. But its worth it, and totally simple, because once its on, you can use both screw-on feet and then also uses the snap-on adaper, too!

There are some feet that I’m personally excited to play around with. Including an adjustable bias binding foot, rolled hem/narrow hem foot, invisible zipper foot (no longer need to use my regular zipper foot!), piping foot, and a lot more! I’ve also been using the zig zag foot a lot recently. It has a big, clear open area in the center so you can see where you are stitching better! And if you work with sticky fabrics like leather, suede, plastic, etc - there are also a few different feet (roller foot and non-stick foot) to make sewing those fabrics easier.

In today’s post, I’m going to show a small sampling of 4 of the presser feet I played around with. And you can also head to my Instagram (@hollydollydarling), where I’m sharing videos of all of these samples in my stories! The story videos will be up for 24 hours, but I will save them in my highlights in my profile afterwards.

GATHERING FOOT

This foot is fun! I create gathers a lot for peplums, dresses, ruffles, etc. So this is the first one i jumped to try. Using this foot, it automatically creates gathers as you sew, no need to pull on threads and finger-gather. They are fixed-gathers though, so you can not adjust them after the fact. So you should play around on scraps before a project to find the settings for your perfect gather. By adjusting the stitch length and tension on your machine, you can create loose/farther spaced gathers, really full gather,s or anything in between. The dvd included with the presser foot kit (or the instructions in the app) is very helpful in explaining how to get the gathers you need.

The foot also has a little slot on it which allows you to gather one fabric AND attach it to another fabric at the same time!

see below for my results.

EDGE JOINING/STITCH IN THE DITCH FOOT

The main purpose of this foot is for joining the edges of two pieces of fabric together. I didn’t test that out. I was more excited about using this for stitching in the ditch - something I do a lot! The foot has a thin guide bar right in the center, which is lined up perfectly with the needle. As you sew, the bar glides right along in the ditch/seam, with the needle following behind - keeping your stitch-in-the-ditch stitching perfectly straight with barely any effort.

See below for my results.

STITCH GUIDE FOOT

This is a pretty simple foot, but a very useful one that I know I’ll find myself using quite often. Especially on jeans and pants that have a lot of topstitching! Topstitching is my nemesis. I’m not the most patient person, and my topstitching often ends up uneven and wavy. This foot has a small perpendicular bar that extends out, with markings ever 2mm. You can use these guides to sew parallel topstitching lines and keep them even and straight. And because there are so many lines, you can do it at any width you need, up to an inch.

Look how straight my 4 lines of topstitching lines are below.

OVERCAST FOOT

This foot requires a machine that has an overcast stitch setting (there are different kinds of overcast stitching, so your machine may have a few options). An overcast stitchh is done along the edge of fabric, to finish the raw edge , in a manner that looks similar to a serger/overlock finish. And this foot helps aid your machine when using that stitch! It has a guide bar to help keep the edge of your fabric lined up, as well as a center piece that helps create overlock stitching without rolling.

I’ve actually never used this stitch before, since I have a serger. But I thought it would e fun to show for those of you that don’t!

That’s all I am showing you for now! Don’t forget to check out videos of these samples in action on my Instagram stories and highlights (@hollydollydalring), and check out the full kit at Madam Sew here.

Penny's handmade wardrobe // yo mama made this

I recently set aside some time to do some sewing just for Penny. I mean, I did use fabrics that were left over from my projects (that turban fabric is from my Rowan bodysuit from my last post), so she’ll still match me, but the time and the projects were just for her.

The top and jumper are actually from the same pattern - Simplicity 8706. Which is technically a baby size pattern, the largest being about size 18-24. Penny is between a 2T and 3T. So I just cut all pieces roughly a little larger than the largest size, and it worked perfectly! I’ll even be able to extend those straps a little longer for more length as she grows into it, giving it a longer life.

Turban is my own pattern that I use for Nelly Lou, and boots are from Target.

Handmade Wardrobe // Mommy and Me in Pink

I'm so soon in love with how these came out! I know I say that with almost everything that comes off my sewing table, but I really mean it with these ones. They make me so happy. And fit so well. I originally bought this fabric with this dress in mind, but when I had just enough yardage left to squeeze something out of it for P, I couldn't resist. I think from now on I'll purposely be buying extra yardage so I always have enough to make her something too. 

My dress is a modified McCall 7595 (view D)

Penny's dress is the Macy Pinafore by Jilly Atlanta

fabric is from Cali Fabrics (I don't see it available anymore)

Penny's Handmade Wardrobe // Checkmate

I've been sewing a lot for Penny late too, and thought this one deserved its own post. I mean, just look at that little model!

It's Simplicity 1470 (I can't find it on the website), but I left off the waistband and back bow because of lack of fabric. But still oh so cute. This might be my favorite thing I've made her. I might as well stop making things now, because she's just going to live in this all summer. My work here is done. 

Her sunglasses are from Roshambo Baby, purse and shoes are Old Navy (find them under 'Penny's Closet' at the top of the page!)