And we’re back with part 2 of our Colonial Needle Company Gift Guide! Whether you’re a maker, your friend is a maker, or your favorite person is a maker, this will get you started on solid ground. There was too much good stuff to cram into one post so we broke it up for you (in no particular order). Be sure to go back and check out Part 1 here and do NOT miss out on the talent we recruited to help us with our YouTube videos. He’s kind of a big deal. [YouTube Part 1 video link here] [YouTube Part 2 video link here]
And now, onward with Part 2!
Mat Smoother
A miracle product as far as we’re concerned. Colonial Needle Company sent this to us and we’ll be honest, we were skeptical. Really skeptical. We called it “one of those products we thought was going to be useless until we tried it. Now we don’t know how we lived without it!” This simple tool extended the life of our regular rotary cutting mats and, surprisingly, worked on our industrial-strength cutting table. We were about to chuck our small rotary mat entirely, and our big cutting table was in such bad shape we were facing the miserable task of sanding it down and flipping the entire top. <shudder> Not a fun prospect in our little workspace. The Mat Smoother smoothed out burrs and grooves that were causing skips in our cutting and that looked terrible on camera. If your maker friend uses cutting mats of any sort, this is the gift that will make them think you’re a genius.
Roxanne Glue – Glue Stick & Temporary Adhesive Spray
We love and use all of the Roxanne glue products but our favorites are the glue stick and the temporary adhesive spray. The glue stick is lightweight glue that doesn’t gum up our machine or hand sewing needles, and it washes out completely. We’ve used it for everything from boro patchwork, mending, and appliqué and it works beautifully every time. No residue, no fabric discoloration, no problems.
But let’s talk about that Temporary Adhesive Spray because this was a game-changer for us. It’s safe to use indoors and any overspray comes right off with a damp washcloth. No more toxic fumes that make us woozy or give us headaches. We still open a window, but we don’t have to move the car out of the garage to baste our big quilts anymore. This has revolutionized everything from our large quilts to smaller boro and appliqué projects where we want to position patches and still be able to move them around without worrying about gassing ourselves in the process. If you or your maker friend does any kind of quilting, appliqué, or layered fabric work, this spray will change their life.
Presencia Sampler Packs
We fell down a rabbit hole with these and we’re not even a little sorry about it. CNC handed us some samplers at a trade show, including sizes and colors we never thought we’d use, and now we keep reaching for them for all those little extra touches. Yes, they used the “try it you’ll like it” line on us… and it worked! The No. 3 sampler packs are our favorites because they come in pretty color sets and are incredibly versatile for thread crochet projects, embroidery, couching, and edge stitching. We even did a thread crochet project using the No. 3 size that turned out gorgeous.
That said, having a selection of the metallic threads is a dream when we want to add a little extra something to a project. Then of course there’s the size 8 and… well… you get the idea. We love a sampler pack to play with. Here’s the truth: if we have a product on hand, we will find a way to use it. Having these sampler packs keeps our options open and our creativity flowing. We raid all of them on a regular basis. Especially for embellishing and small mending projects. No particular color set is a favorite. We love them all. Any maker would love to have these to experiment and work with.
Colonial Needle Company Gift Card
And, finally, if all else fails and you waited WAY too long, or you want something you can pop into a fabric card (see our DIY Fabric Card post from 2024 https://blog.colonialneedle.com/diy-fabric-cards/), you can’t go wrong with a Colonial Needle Company Gift Card. Money to spend on our favorite products? Yes please! Sometimes the best gift is letting your maker friend choose exactly what they need for their next project. No guesswork, no returns, just some much deserved retail therapy after a busy holiday making season.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re a maker shopping for yourself (no judgment… we do it all the time!), a maker shopping for another maker, or a brave non-maker venturing into the unknown void of craft gift territory, these products are exactly what you are looking for. They’re the tools we actually use on a daily basis, the ones that live in our kits, the ones that make us better at what we do.
The beauty of these gifts is that they work for any skill level and almost any fiber and textile craft. They’re practical, they solve real problems, and they show you actually put thought into the gift. Bundle a few several together for a basket, tuck one a couple into a stocking, or go all out and create the ultimate maker’s starter kit.
Happy gift giving, folx! May your holidays be filled with Creative Chaos, plenty of needles, and perfectly sharp rotary blades.
STITCH ON!
Shannon & Jason