Shannan who teaches a variety of classes at Fabricate Studios from knitting and crochet to kids classes and more says “Dear Santa…I’ve Been Good” and has a fun list of items to share with everyone. Her wish list is short, but her favorite things and suggestions for your kids who love to sew are worth the read!

Dear Santa, I promise I’ve been good this year, my list is small…

  • Unique, fun fabrics
  • Thread
  • Rotary blades
  • Chiaogoo cords
  • Yarn

Dear Santa...I've Been Good

A lot of what goes into sewing is prep work. Some of my favorite things are the items that cut down the amount time spent prepping.

For quilting, I love a fresh new blade on my 60mm rotary cutter and a new mat to cut on. For clothing, I like using the 45mm with a fresh blade because the smaller blade makes it so much easier to go around the curves.

Diana introduced me to the frixion pens and I’ve recently become obsessed, lol. My kids even love using them to draw, color, and write secret messages – I had to buy them their own set so they’d leave my sewing ones alone.

As an avid knitter, I can’t imagine going anywhere without a project to work on. Well, I need a way to carry that project around. I have way more project bags than I could ever truly need, but I can’t help myself, I love them all and rotate frequently, or based on how I’m feeling.

As for needles, I only use Chiaogoo. I have the metal 4″ interchangeable set. They have amazing customer service, you can’t say that about many companies anymore. I’m always in need of more cords in various lengths, I never seem to have the one I want when I start a new project… Probably because I haven’t finished the previous project. ????

For crochet, I love a good ergonomic hook. My current go to are the new Susan Bates Silvalume Super Lightweight.

Now is the time to think about gifts for your little crafter. For knitting and crochet, I recommend acrylic. Metal needles and hooks can be too slippery for them. Susan Bates has the crystallite needles and hooks that are perfect for them, you can find them at JoAnn it on Amazon. Michael’s carries their own brand of acrylic needles and hooks. Not sure what size to get? Grab a yarn that you know they’ll love the color and the label will tell you what size hook/needle to use. For my girls this Christmas, they will be getting these Love2Knit knitting needle sets from Amazon.