Today let’s talk about some simple sewing tools that will make your life easier. I remember early on in my sewing career not having a lot of tools and sometimes being frustrated at not getting corners that turned out well, or having safety pins pop open in the midst of pulling elastic through a skirt. And the good news is….there are simple tools for helping with those projects! Most of them are not costly, but really will help you to get a better finished sewing garment.
So, let’s start at the very beginning with a great pair of fabric scissors.
They don’t have to be expensive….but they do have to be sharp! You will have a much better time cutting out patterns if your scissors are sharp. I really love my dressmaker shears that have a closure on them. I like that I can keep them closed and away from little hands.
A tape measure is another essential. I really long these long, yellow ones that have both metric and imperial measurements. And did I mention it is long? Like super long…..fantastic for measuring quilt tops.
Another thing I never had when I first started sewing was extra bobbins. So I would either use whatever color was on the bobbin (not-so-great looking), or unwind the whole thing and re-wind it (such a time waster). So, grab some extra bobbins. I think I am up to 20-30 bobbins and I love it….I can just grab the same color as my thread and I am ready to sew any color I need.
You are also going to need lots of pins. I really like ones with big heads on them, mostly because I have carpeting in the room that I sew in…and it’s way easier for me to find a pin that falls on the floor. My philosophy is pin, pin, pin! I know some don’t agree with me, but I find that the more I pin, the better my project turns out.
I also can’t live without a sewing gauge. I use it to make sure that my hems are straight and it is amazing. One sewing tools that I use on just about every project I make. (My three year old seems to love them too….so I have 2 or 3 because they sometimes go missing 😉 )
Another must have is a seam ripper. I had the tendency when I first started sewing to not unpick anything and kept telling myself “it’s good enough.” Until one day I could hear my grandmother’s voice in my head saying, “a job worth doing is doing right.” And she is, of course, correct. Any project that is worth doing is worth doing right. I also somehow thought that expert sewists never used their seams rippers…..and now my belief is that expert sewists use them the most! There still isn’t a big project that I do that I don’t have to rip out something and do it again…..I have learned to LOVE my seam ripper!
This is another tool I love—my point turner! It helps so much with getting great looking corners. Don’t forget to clip them as well.
Something to mark your fabric is also an essential sewing tool. I love tailor’s chalk (mostly because it is super cheap and never runs out of ink!) but there are lots of tools out there to mark fabric: fabric markers, chalk markers and probably many more that I don’t even know about.
This next tool is one that I didn’t even have until last year (liZ gave it to me for my birthday) but I am regretting the fact that I didn’t have one for years. It’s called a bodkin and it is amazing for pulling elastic through casings. For years I have been using fat safety pins that tend to open in the middle of pulling them through….and making me frustrated.
This tool is a time saver for sure! The elastic pulls through the small hole and then the ball-point end is easily pushed through the casings…..it’s fantastic!
And my last set of tools is probably the most expensive (coupons can help) but they really are essential for sewing! A cutting mat, a clear quilting ruler, and a rotary cutter.
And today our piece of sewing advice comes from Delia of Delia Creates. Here is what she said she wished she’d known when she first started sewing.
“I wish I knew that sewing doesn’t have to be hard, that it’s fun, and even empowering. I spent so much time asking my mom to sew things for me in high school or “helping me” (wink, wink) sew things, that I missed out on falling in love with this craft earlier on. In fact, I didn’t really learn to properly sew until I had children. Sewing gives you an amazing…”Huzzah! I just made something awesome from nothing!” feeling, which is hard to beat. Start small, start by refashioning some old clothes…you can do it! ” ~Delia
PS–Did I miss any of your essential sewing tools? Please share….we all would love another addition to our sewing baskets.
~Elizabeth
I agree! I also wish I knew that sewing doesn’t have to be hard and that you don’t have to be perfect! Find a tutorial, use some old clothes for fabric so you’re not mad if you mess up nice fabric you paid for, and just go for it! It’s so fun to turn something from nothing and the more you do it, the better you get! I really want a side winder bobbin thing, what I hate most is unthreading my machine to wind a bobbin, I’d love one of those little guys to be able to do them and pop it back in the machine and keep on going!
Although rethreading the machine wouldn’t be quite so bad if I hadn’t broken my self threader a few months ago, I need to take it in and get it fixed but I can’t bear to part with my machine!
I have a side winder, and it’s FANTASTIC, especially because my machine can’t thread a bobbin properly to save it’s life. Another tool that’s crucial is a good iron. I know this because my iron is not great, and I’d really love a new one!
How did an iron not make it on the list? I didn’t get my own until last year (my mum got sick of me stealing hers) and I can’t understand how I went so long with out ever using one. Now every seam is pressed, every project ironed a million times, and stitch witchery is my best friend (only in emergencies, of course :p).
Savannah….seriously how did I forget my iron? Probably my most used sewing tool! Thanks for adding that—-it is a must!!
Laura,
I keep looking at those thinking about how great it would be….I am glad to know you love it!
I need to go buy a point turner immediately! I didn’t know such a thing existed. I’ve been using the handle of a long wooden spoon…which obviously doesn’t have a nice pointy end! I used the tip of my scissors once, and after punching though the corner I know why that isn’t recommended 🙂
As for other sewing essentials, I have a small pair of scissors that I use all the time for the random thread here and there.
tube turners. When I think of all the time I wasted turning tubes before I got these little marvels… They’re invaluable for turning any kind of long tube. Thread it on the tube, put the stick in, push it through, and viola! It’s done. Three seconds. Much, much better than the sometimes hours manually turning them used to take before!
Seriously! I just got my mom one of them and she loves it!
-liZ
I never have enough bobbins. A point turner would be awesome!
I have a thread stand for the big spools of thread, and I love it and I don’t have to worry about running out of thread and it is easy to use to thread those bobbins(that I use with my side winder as well and love that also)
Lots of filled bobbins makes for lots of finished projects… and a lot less headaches when you are in the middle of a project and run out of bobbin and have to refill it.
Okay, so they are not must haves (mostly b/c I DON”T have them) but I really want a ham and it’s cousin the seem pressing thing, the sleeve iron table thing, and a clapper thing. Yes, I used the most technically correct name for everything . Anyone have these thing and think they really are must haves?