Your Guide to Gifts for Quilters

Has someone close to you taken up quilting recently? Are they excited to share their first quilt project with you? If you need a special gift for your favorite quilter, you have plenty of options. Pick a mix of quilting essentials and helpers. You can build a bundle of items to suit any budget.

What’s the difference between essentials and helpers?

Essential tools are the basic items required to perform the task. In quilting, the essential tools include a sewing needle (preferably attached to a sewing machine), scissors, and a ruler. (Don’t confuse tools with supplies. Supplies include fabric and thread.)

Helper tools are not strictly necessary, but they make a task much easier. They can also significantly improve the quality of the finished product. Many tools are available to help quilters achieve precision in measuring, cutting, and sewing. Precise cuts and seams will create a quilt your sewist will be proud to share.

For an ideal gift, pick a mix of essential and helper tools.

Upgrade Essential Tools

Build a Library of Quilting Rulers

Quilting rulers are made of sturdy, clear plastic and are printed with various measurements. It’s likely that your new quilter has one basic ruler already. The rulers vary in size, shape, and markings.

Image: Merete Veian

Sewists in the U.S. are accustomed to the imperial system, so select rulers that use inches. In Canada, Europe, and many other countries, the metric system is more common. Notably, the UK uses a mix of imperial and metric measures, so you may need to do some sleuthing to find out which your friend prefers.

Select a variety of sizes and shapes. Long rulers (18” and above) are perfect for large-scale cuts and patterns. Smaller rulers- you can find them as small as 2” and 3” squares- are easy to have on hand for small measurements and cuts. Pick at least one square or rectangle, as these are the most commonly used. Pick a few rulers designed to cut other shapes too. These are more specialized but highly effective for patterns that require angles other than 90 degrees. With one of these on hand, your quilter may have the courage to take on a more ambitious task for their next project.

Add Helper Tools to the Basket

Each quilter learns by doing, and each person learns their preferences through practice. You have to be hands-on in order to learn which tools suit your preferences. Budget-conscious beginners won’t buy all of the potentially helpful tools at once, though. This makes a great gifting opportunity. Buy several different tools that achieve similar purposes.

Measuring gauges

The term measuring gauge can refer to a few different styles of measuring devices. Both of the examples reviewed here can be used for similar purposes, but their size and features vary.

Image: Handicraft

A straight sewing gauge is usually 6” long and comes with an adjustable sliding marker. The marker can be set to measure a specific distance. Once the straight gauge is set, the user holds it up to the fabric and can very quickly tell if the size conforms to the desired length.

Image: Amazon

The other popular style of measuring gauge resembles an odd stack of squares. Each edge of the shape is marked with a unique length ranging from ¼” to 1 ⅜”. This small gauge is useful for many purposes, including identifying the length of seam allowances in existing projects.

Your quilter can explore both options thanks to your gift. What project is your favorite quilter working on now? Please let us know in the comments.