Does gifting items in TF2 to another player give them Premium status?

Concurrently me and my friends are F2P players on TF2, and I'm planning to upgrade to Premium soon (by buying a key from the shop).

If I gift him an item from the shop, like a key, or a hat, or anything, does this grant him a premium status?

In other words, If I buy something for him, will he become Premium? Or will he stay F2P?

Also, if I gift something to him, do I myself become Premium? Then I could really save and let me simply send out a key or something.

Solution 1:

As of November 21st, 2012, the item Upgrade to Premium Gift was released:

The Upgrade to Premium Gift is a tool. When used, it will grant the user a premium account granting them perks such as a 300 slot backpack, access to all crafting recipes, and the ability to trade their items to other players. Gifting this item to another player will give the sender the Professor Speks item.

Essentially, if you gift this item to someone else, not only will they become Premium, but you will also receive the Professor Speks item as well.

Solution 2:

No, to obtain premium you must purchase atleast ONE item on the steam store, meaning that you have to charge your Steam wallet with a minimum of 5€.

Solution 3:

To become a Premium player, one must purchase something from the Mann Co. Store. However, in order to do this, one must also have money in their Steam Wallet. While the cheapest item in the store is 50 cents, the minimum amount of money to drop into your Steam account is five dollars. That being said, you can add five dollars to your Steam account, buy a Upgrade to Premium gift, gift it to your friend, and you would both have premium. However, this is not very efficient, as it would normally only cost a dollar (if you were both willing to add money to your Steam Wallet.