Etsy rolled out its new Gift Mode earlier this year. It offers a way to shop for the folks on your gift list that aids in searching for just the right thing.
Someone you love is into fishing? Search “fishing gifts.” Have a home chef in your crowd? Search “cooking gift” in Etsy’s Gift Mode.
So does this search innovation on Etsy help with makers? With potters, jewelers, sewers, and more?
Sorta.
How To Use Gift Mode on Etsy
Starting here, in Gift Mode search on Etsy, you can choose categories like “The Mom,” “The Artist,” “The Crafter,” “The Vintage Hunter,” or “The Quilter,” among many other “personas” to drill down into what a crafty maker might just LOVE as a gift from Etsy seller shops.
Sadly — and stupidly given the extent of fabric obsession out there — Etsy’s Gift Mode doesn’t have a “The Seamstress,” “The Textile Artist,” or “The Fabric Lover” category, making it a less-than-ideal format for connecting fabric shoppers to the many amazing offerings from fabric sellers like Lady Virginia Vintage.
That said it’s still worth a shot to use Gift Mode whether for gift shopping in general across its many niche persona categories, or to try to find the fabric of your — or your giftee’s — dreams.
Other Ways To Save Fabric On Etsy
People who sew are typically fabric obsessed, boasting what they call their “stash,” often jokingly comparing it to an addiction. Off color a bit, true, but that’s the meme that’s out there.
If you’re the fabric-loving mom in question (or tailor, seamstress, sewer, or maker) then there is another way to steer those who wish to buy you gifts toward what you love. On your Etsy profile you can use Etsy’s favorite function (“hearting” or “liking” something) to save items you’re interested in. You can also categorize these into distinctly named lists of your faves.
For example, at the top of my personal profile I have a bunch of favorite categories including a favorite list titled “What Mama Wants” as a way to save my “wish list” of sorts. Some of these are public and others I set to private. People who follow my personal profile can see those public favorites.
Now Etsy does also have a “registry” function, but it is limited to three categories — Wedding, Baby, and Gift. It would be better if they changed their Gift Registry to a general Wish List as it is both more mannerly and low key — it’s a wish, not an expectation.
Meantime you just have to use your own profile to save faves and craft a personal wish list BUT folks need to know they need to follow your profile to see those lists.
I hope those little “How To’s” of sorts help you to make wish lists for fabric and sewing supplies that you, as a fabric lover and maker might want to share with your friends and family members who ask about what you’d love.
How to Buy Fabric as a Gift
As for those who have a sewing maven, tailor, slow sewer, or fiber artist in your life, trust me, there’s nothing they love more than fabric. So find out:
- Do they quilt? (Then get lightweight fabrics; scraps can also be a hit.)
- Do they make clothing? (Then get enough yardage for a full project, 2+ yards generally.)
- Do they do home decor projects like pillows, curtains, or reupholstery? (Then get upholstery weight or “decorator” fabrics.)
- Do they do abstract fiber arts projects? (Almost anything goes here.)
- Do they like florals, abstract geometric pieces, kitschy period pieces, plaids, stripes, plain pieces, or quirky weird pieces? (Check out their other projects to suss out faves.)
- Do they like natural fibers or synthetics? (Again, observation is your friend here.)
See this slideshow for some common fabric style categories:
With a little insight into what your giftee loves to make or sew you can finally light onto giving the sewing supply gift that every fabric lover LOVES. You can also ask, “Do you have an Etsy wish list in your profile favorites? Can I have the link?”
In some ways you almost can’t go wrong because fabric lovers truly are an obsessed lot with fickle taste in everything fabric. They love to add new little treasures to their “stash.”
One cautionary note to keep in mind is that most fabric that is “cut to order” (by the yard, etc.) is final sale. When fabric is cut from a bolt or length it no longer has the capacity to do larger projects, so almost all fabric stores do not accept returns for cut fabric. That said most fabric lovers SO love their fabrics that returns are rarely requested anyway, so don’t worry.
Our 2024 Mother’s Day Vintage Fabric Sale
If you’re reading this in the spring of 2024 you can also enjoy our Mother’s Day Sale with 15-30% off vintage fabrics across our Etsy shop.
Here’s hoping you have a Happy Mother’s Day as a mom or the family member of a mom or mother figure. May it be gloriously fabric-filled and ripe with creative potential!
Warmly,
Lindsay Curren, Lady Virginia Vintage Fabrics
