Some of you might have noticed I didn’t write a blog post last Friday (my mom and my mother-in-law both joked that they worried I was ill and dying…fortunately, this was not the case!). You guys must have some big Christmas sewing plans because, last week in particular, I spent every day madly packing up your menswear sewing supplies so I could cart them to the post office as quickly as possible. I simply didn’t have time to prepare a blog post!
While in line at the post office I was wearing a red wool coat, a big white scarf and had a whole shopping cart of Christmas parcels. The man in front of me said I looked just like Mrs. Claus! I certainly felt like a Christmas elf at least!
With Christmas gift giving on my mind, I’ve gathered together a selection of sewing inspiration to give you an extra boost as you fill all the items on your Christmas gift list.
Let’s start with this year’s gift ideas! Usually I do a blog post about my ideas (see last year’s and one from a couple of years ago) but this year I was invited to chat with Rachel on the Canadian podcast MakerStyle. We talked about my top five gifts to sew for men. Be sure to check it out – there are a couple of ideas that wouldn’t take too long to assemble so you still have time to get into the DIY gift giving spirit!
And here is some more gift inspiration for you from the Thread Theory community! Do you see anything your husband, boyfriend, brother, son, or friend would love for Christmas?
These two gorgeous wintery blue Fairfield Button-ups would look great worn to Christmas dinner! On the left is a Fairfield sewn by the proprietress of the German fabric shop, Brinarina. You can find more photos of her Fairfield on Instagram. The close up shot of the Fairfield on the right is from Anna who just shared this beautiful photo on her Instagram account (@grosgary).
Comox Trunks make such a fun stocking stuffer…plus they are very quick to sew and are a great way to recycle t-shirts or use up fabric scraps! I love the whimsical fabric that @adlesim used for the pair on the left. If you don’t end up having time to sew the trunks, no need to worry! You could take a leaf out of Jenny’s book and wrap them up as an appealing kit…maybe along with the offer to teach your recipient to sew? Jenny sells these bright kits and finished trunks in her glorious sewing shop, the Makehouse (in Victoria, B.C.).
The Finlayson Sweater is always the first pattern that I recommend for gift giving. It is pretty safe to just guess a size with this boxy design! I absolutely adore the lengthened version that Jessica made at Handcraft Workshop. On the right is an incredibly cozy looking quilted Finlayson made by @mllechouchou.
The photo on the right was emailed to me by Matthew recently – he turned the Newcastle Cardigan into a classy jacket featuring herringbone cotton, bemberg lining and a lapped zipper!
And, to wrap up our show and tell, on the above left is a photo by @kristieinbc featuring her Thread Theory purchase beside a pretty basket of wintery pinecones. This is how I like to wrap up your orders – they are sent as brown paper packages tied up in string!
The last thing I want to share today isn’t a menswear gift idea but, is instead, a heartwarming tale about a man learning to sew! Every time I hear such a story, I feel inspired to continue with Thread Theory’s emphasis of sewing menswear.
Christopher recently emailed me to share a link to a blog post detailing his new passion for sewing. I HIGHLY recommend giving it a read…especially if you would like to find out how he wound up with such a gorgeous vintage Elna!
I really enjoy rounding up my favourites from the Thread Theory sewing community but I’m sure there are many other inspiring projects and stories out there that I’ve missed! I have received a few requests lately to create a Facebook group for Thread Theory patterns. I am relatively clueless when it comes to using Facebook but it seems as though this is a pretty easy and also common way to create a sewing themed discussion group or forum. The purpose of the group would be to share your finished projects and to discuss ideas for our patterns amongst yourselves (topics could include fabric selection, modifications and questions about tricky sewing steps for instance). Does this sound like something that would be useful to you? From your experience, do you think Facebook is the best platform for this kind of community? Or would you suggest a different sort of forum or community board? I would love your input!
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