One of the reasons that I craft is that I love to be really intentional about the things I bring into my life. Partially it’s for environmental and ethical issues, but also I’m frequently just picky. And I know many other crafters feel the same way. So, whether I’m giving or receiving gifts, it really is the thought that counts. By which I mean, the gift needs to be something the recipient will use and love. If you’re looking for gifts for crafters this holiday season (or anytime!) this guide can help you find the perfect present!
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Basic Crafter Gifting Guidelines
Most people I know who do some sort of craft (knitting, sewing, weaving, etc.) get into making partially because we have very strong opinions. Crafters also tend to be sensitive to things that escape the notice of non-makers. So, the very first thing you should do before shopping is reflect on how well you know the person. Ask yourself things like:
- Why do they craft? (relaxation, self sufficiency, a love of color, etc)
- What colors do they like?
- What sort of projects do they like? (quick or long, easy or hard?)
- Do they keep a big stash of craft materials, or work project to project?
If you spend a little time thinking about the person and their preferences, your gift should easily clear the basic “thoughtful” bar.
If You Don’t Know What You’re Doing (Small Budget): Craft Themed Merch
If you notice that the crafter in your life loves to have stickers, t-shirts, or other craft themed merch around, then you’re in luck! Good craft themed merch is fairly easy for a non-crafter to pick out and makes great gifts for crafters Generally, I recommend looking for merch sold by businesses that sell other craft related things or are made by independent artists. Not only is this a good way to find higher quality goods, but shopping from small businesses very much fits with many crafters overall life philosophies. I find the best place to find merch like this is on Etsy. It does take a little digging though, as there are a lot of low-effort print on demand sellers. But the sellers below should get you started on the right foot!
Stickers are a great option if you have a very small budget (think, under 10$) or like to include a few small extras with your gift. There are lots of sellers making cute option, but PinkSheepDesigns is one of my favorites. I love their tarot card theme stickers (especially “The Seamstress”) and the tattoo inspired stickers (“Feeling Froggy” is my fave!).
T-shirts also are good choice for merch. A lot of the sticker designs from PinkSheepDesigns are also available as tees, which I love. For quilters, I love the quilt block tees from Fancy That Designs. The periodic table themed crafting shirts from StacyStitchesStuff are delightful. I’m not a glue gun type of crafter, but for some reason I adore this tarot themed tee from EskaandtheAlpenglow.
Last, a nice mug is usually appreciated by people who love cozy hobbies. The best are mugs made by real ceramicists with craft themes. This knitting themed mug from emilybicht is a perfect example of this. I also love WellspringDesignsCo quilt themed mugs. These were made as part of a collaboration between Wellspring and a small pottery studio. If you can’t find a hand crafted mug, look for one that’s sold by businesses that are focused on craft supplies or other related items. I love this Hank In There mug from Yarntuary and this Yarn Chicken Champion mug from MakersMood.
If You Don’t Know What You’re Doing (Large Budget): Gift Cards
Gift cards are usually a safe option if you’re totally lost while shopping for your favorite crafter. However, there are still a few important things to consider if you want the card to feel like a thoughtful gift and not like a burden or an afterthought.
The best gift cards are ones that will comfortably cover the supplies for a project or a piece of equipment (including shipping and tax) at a store where the recipient regularly shops or would like to shop. For example, if you have a knitter who loves to make socks and loves to use hand dyed yarn, then a 50$ gift card to their local yarn shop would be great. That would comfortably cover a hank of nice yarn, plus an extra or two (needles, a pattern, etc). Even if that LYS is normally out of their price range, they could walk in and buy everything they needed for their project without putting up any extra money.
If you know your crafter has been looking into buying a new piece of equipment, getting them a card that can cover part or all of that expense is generally great. Find out where they’re planning on buying it from, then any amount that you can put towards it will be appreciated. I mean, no one is going to be mad if you cover the cost of the whole thing either!
The worst gift cards are ones that are to places the recipient doesn’t shop or want to shop or that are to pricey retailers in amounts too small to be useable. That same 50$ gift card to a LYS wouldn’t be that useful for a sweater knitter who’s budget conscious and only makes larger projects, like sweaters. They would be much happier with a 50$ card to a big box craft store or a with a card loaded with the approximately 200$ needed to buy the supplies outright for a larger project.
Additionally, some crafters do have certain stores they will not shop in. For example, no one who knows me would ever give me a Hobby Lobby gift card, as it’s well established that I don’t shop there for ethical reasons (see Burwell v. Hobby Lobby or their antiquities smuggling scandal). Make sure you’re buying a gift card to a place the recipient actually wants to go and all will be fine!
For Your Close Crafting Friend or Mentee: A Well Made Tool
If you’re close enough to someone to know what tools they have, you have a real advantage when it comes to gift giving. Look for a tool that you can give them an upgraded version of or that will fill out a gap in their kit.
For sewists and embroidery artists try giving them high quality embroidery scissors. I love to give these Gingher Stork Embroidery Scissors to my students because they fit into the sweet spot of “fancy/luxury” and practical. I mean, who doesn’t need another pair of tiny scissors around! Plus, even when I’m tight on cash I can usually scrounge up the ~25$ needed to buy a pair.
If you’re buying for a knitter, you may want to splurge on a really swanky set of interchangeable needles. A nice set of hooks would be great for a crocheter. Or buy them something you know they’ve been wanting to invest in that will upgrade their finished objects. For example, I recently purchased a set of blocking mats. I didn’t exactly need them to knit, but they do improve my results enough that they were worth the expense. I would have been very happy to get them as a gift!
Painters might be overjoyed to get a few really nice brushes (I like these Neptune faux squirrel hair brushes for watercolor) or a really cool ceramic pallet.
The key here is to give the person the nicest possible version of the thing you’re getting them, so it feels like a luxury. You want the tool to be something they can use for years, even decades. And whenever they take it out, you want them to remember that someone thinks they deserve the best!
For the “I Don’t Want Things” Crafter: Experiences
Many crafter’s genuinely don’t want anyone to buy them any new things. It may be because they’re picky, or because they have an out of control stash. But whatever the reason, picking out gifts for crafters who don’t want stuff isn’t hard if you focus on getting them an experience.
Museum memberships or gift certificates can be a great gift, especially if you know the museum has an exhibit related to their craft coming up. For example, right now the Chicago History Museum has a great fashion exhibit on display through the July 2025. The seamstress in your life would undoubtably find it fascinating. And if you got them a dual membership (currently 80$), they could go to the exhibit for free with a guest, go back to the museum as many times as they wanted over the course of the year, and have access to all the museums online content for a year. If they’re local or come to the city often, you would be giving them a huge amount of “experience” that they could do on their own schedule, for a relatively reasonable price point.
Getting them a class is also a good move. If you’re close enough to the person to know their schedule, try booking a class to do together. Otherwise, a gift certificate (make sure it covers supplies too!) can be a great idea. Just make sure they have the time to use it before it expires.
If the person goes to an annual festival or conference, getting them a gift certificate to that or paying their registration fees can be a great way to show them you care. Lately, I’ve been trying to get to the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show every year, and a gift certificate that covered the admission fee and maybe a class or two would be a great gift. Just make sure you look at the details and communicate anything important to the recipient. For example, that gift card can only be used for online merch and registration, not anything on-site.
Last, if you really want to wow them (and know they can head out of town for a bit), look into tours and retreats. I’ve been looking longingly at Susan Khalje’s Paris Tour and London Tour for years. If someone gifted me one of those they would likely be my favorite person ever. Retreats, from non-profit guilds like The Knitting Guild Association or corporation like Crafter, can be a great way to get have some quality crafting time with your loved one if you both are makers (or send them alone if they want an escape!).
Gifts for Crafters Who Are Really Getting Into a New Craft: Craft Books
Like with gift cards, books are a gift that can either say “I see you and I want you to be happy” or “Idk, it was there, so I grabbed it.” To get this right, it requires a little knowledge of the person’s current library and some details about the crafts they’re into. If you’re feeling totally over whelmed, take a sneaky photo of their books and a few recent projects to the nearest shop that specializes in that craft and ask for help picking something out.
If they’re new to the craft, a good reference book is something that will come in handy for years to come. Some of my favorites are:
- Knitters: Vogue Knitting (Amazon/Bookshop), The Principles of Knitting (Amazon), The Knitters Book of Yarn (Amazon/Bookshop)
- Weavers: Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom (rigid heddle looms)(Amazon/Bookshop), The Art of Tapestry Weaving (frame or tapestry looms)(Amazon/Bookshop), or Learning to Weave (multi-shaft table or floor looms)(Amazon/Bookshop)
- Sewists: Guide to Fashion Sewing(Amazon/Bookshop), Couture Sewing Techniques (Amazon/Bookshop), How Patterns Work (Amazon), Fitting and Pattern Alteration (Amazon/Bookshop).
For the Craft Curious: Craft Kits for Adults
Craft kits are perfect if you know of someone who wants to start a new craft. They take all the guesswork out of matching the right project to the needed tools and supplies. They also can the recipient of your gift started on something new right away.
To give your person the best experience, read the description of the kit thoroughly, and make a note of any tools or materials that the user is supposed to supply. Some things may be common, like a towel or some water. Others may not be included due to shipping restrictions. This Traditional Kintsugi Repair Kit has a short list of things like ethanol that can’t be exported or are otherwise not shippable that are needed to complete the project. If you think that your person might not have any of those extras, add them to the gift yourself before giving it to make them feel really cared for.
Kits can range widely in price and cover all sorts of crafts. I’ve recently loved learning how to use air dry clay with Claymoo. And I played around with kits for both full size and micro punch needle. I’ve never had a bad time with Crafter.com kits, as they always include a full video tutorial. This wet felting kit was surprisingly fun, and the pillows I made with this fabric manipulation kit hang out on my bed every day.
If you’re looking for a kit for a new weaver or spinner, there are lots of great options sold by the Wollery. I like this Schacht Card/Inkle Loom kit because it comes everything you need for a project but the yarn, so you can custom pick a few colors that you know your recipient will like. I also just recommended this Ashford Starter Kit to someone looking into frame weaving. And this Ashford Spinning Kit is great because it includes a spindle, hand cards, and a bunch of fiber, so it’s perfect for someone who’s just starting out with a spindle.
For the Person Who Can’t Sop Learning: Virtual Class Subscriptions
If you happen to know someone who is always looking to learn something new or can’t shy away from a challenge, try getting them a year subscription to one of the online learning platforms that cater to crafters. I love these because I can follow my curiosity wherever it leads me, whenever I find myself falling down a new rabbit hole.
For general crafters, my favorite is Craftsy. The classes cover a wide range of topics and many are taught by extremely experienced crafters. While the company has had a few rocky years, they are making a comeback. And the subscription gives you access to their full back catalog of really high quality classes. The full price for a year is about 100$, which is not bad for what you get. Even better, there often are really good deals for a new subscription too! Like this coupon for 1-year for 2.49$.
If you know a person who is going deep into fiber arts like knitting, weaving, crochet, dying, and spinning, you can’t go wrong with a School of SweetGeorgia membership. This is one of the most engaged and welcoming spaces I’ve found on the internet. And the classes are in-depth and very specific. Like they don’t just have one course on rigid heddle loom weaving, there are at least nine classes, a bunch of patterns, and a ton of articles. The membership is really worth the price.
For the person who is interested in crafts and everything else you can think of, I like a Skillshare membership. They have classes from teachers all over the world in an uncountable number of subjects. They have a promotion going on from now until December 2nd 2024 for 50% a year subscription when you skip the trial period, which is a fantastic deal.
So, my fellow crafters, what’s on your wishlist this year? Or what’s the best gift you’ve ever been given? Let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram!