If you are just beginning to follow your sewing passion but have realized that you don’t know where to start, don’t agonize. I know, I know, there’s so much to learn, not the least of which is what to put in your beginner’s sewing kit list. I had the same problem when I was starting out, so I asked for advice here and there.
So, for today’s sewing enthusiasts, I’ll lay out the basic components of a beginners’ sewing kit list. You can always start with a few tools that you find the most necessary, and get the rest when (if) the need arises over time.
Luckily, sewing equipment is typically affordable and of decent quality. There are some things (such as a sewing machine, a table, and a good iron) that might be more expensive, but for the rest of them – you can find them at your flea market on Sundays!
Let’s get started.
Sewing Table & Chair
While you can do a good enough job creating sewing on a standard desk, having a dedicated sewing table & chair really helps with ergonomics. Many sewing tables have special sections for the different equipment you’ll be using (e.g. an iron holder, measuring line inscription, chalk holder, etc.) which can contribute immensely towards your work.
Not to mention a concept psychologists call anchoring (though this can work with any desk). If you have a dedicated place where you pursue your sewing passion, your mind gets anchored to it, and puts you automatically in the mood when you go and sit at the same place again. This helps with motivation and inspiration.
A dedicated sewing chair will make work more comfortable. It will keep your back from aching, and will give you mobility in your work.
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Measuring Tools (Tape & Gauge)
The second thing you’ll need to obtain – and this one is really the most basic one you need – is a measuring tape. Look for a soft, durable, and flexible tape that’s long enough to measure parts of the human body. A 6.5’ (about 2 m.) long one should cover you. Having metal or plastic caps at the ends will also help in durability and usability.
Also called seam gauge, measuring gauge is an interesting tool that you’d think has no use when you already have tape, but you’d be wrong. A measuring gauge is a (typically plastic) ruler with a two-sided slider pointer that can be freezed in any position, to keep a particular measurement. It allows for consistent measurements that are needed for marking the material with chalk precisely, which is often quite useful.
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- CRAYOLA KIDS ART SET: This 140 piece coloring supplies set includes 1 Crayola Inspiration Art Case, 64 Crayons, 20 Short Colored Pencils, 40 Washable Markers, and 15 Large Pieces of Paper (measuring approximately 9 x13).
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- Measuring range: 0 to 60 inches and 0 to 150 centimeters. There is a centimeter scale on the back, which is accurately printed in inches and centimeters. Both sides can be measured according to your requirements. You can put one in your pocket or backpack without taking up too much space
- Great Material: Tailor Vinyl tape measure won't stretch or deform, provides superior measurement consistence; Soft tape measure, a flexible and portable tape measure, made from soft plastic material, white color
Marking Tools (Tailor’s Chalk & Fabric Marker)
No use of measuring if you don’t mark it, right? Well, there are specific tools for that also.
A tailor chalk is a special kind of chalk that lets you make markings without leaving blemishes. They are often made out of plain old chalk, wax, some crayon-type material, or a mixture. They are also very thin, so you can leave precise and straight markings that follow your ruler or tape.
A fabric marker works just like any regular marker. You draw, mark, and then work. The only exception is that it can be easily removed from the material, leaving no traces.
- Measuring range: 0 to 60 inches and 0 to 150 centimeters. There is a centimeter scale on the back, which is accurately printed in inches and centimeters. Both sides can be measured according to your requirements. You can put one in your pocket or backpack without taking up too much space
- Great Material: Tailor Vinyl tape measure won't stretch or deform, provides superior measurement consistence; Soft tape measure, a flexible and portable tape measure, made from soft plastic material, white color
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- SMOOTH WRITING Colorful Fine tip marker pen set with superfine, metal-clad fine tipped and outstanding performance in all areas of writing, drawing, coloring, easy and comfortable to write. You will also find them great for home, work, business, colleague, church, club, and organazition activities.
Pinking Shears
Now this is a tool that you’ll be thankful you obtained, and I’m not kidding. Even though regular scissors are fine for some tasks, they tend to cause the material to fray.
This is where pinking shears come into play. By having an intermittent (zig-zag) pattern they prevent fraying or unraveling at the edges. This will save you a ton of time and frustration. Once you get used to them, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them.
- Definitely household scissors -- Great for cutting burlap, paper, cardboard, light line, fabric, tape, photos. Perfect for sewing, tailoring, quilting, dressmaking, cutting patterns, alterations, hand craft. Exceptional scissors for multiple uses around the home, in the Handcraft Workshop, in the bathroom, on the dresser, in the study, in the laundry room, mail room, craft room, at the office, great for most regular household tasks
- 3 Pairs of Quality Straight Handled Scissors -- They are strongly Allow you to make precise cuts with great control as the blade have the perfect amount of friction, Very comfortable to use. 3 pairs of straight handled scissors for smooth, efficient cutting.
- Multipurpose office scissors for cutting paper, cardboard, fabric, photos, and more
- Includes 3 pairs of scissors, 1 gray pair, 1 green pair, and 1 violet pair
Fabric Scissors
These look like your standard paper scissors, but have a special edge that is great for cutting fabric in a straight line.
Just don’t think about cutting paper with them because you will dull them very quickly! It’s better, instead, to buy a separate pair of paper scissors for cutting the patterns and other papers.
- Definitely household scissors -- Great for cutting burlap, paper, cardboard, light line, fabric, tape, photos. Perfect for sewing, tailoring, quilting, dressmaking, cutting patterns, alterations, hand craft. Exceptional scissors for multiple uses around the home, in the Handcraft Workshop, in the bathroom, on the dresser, in the study, in the laundry room, mail room, craft room, at the office, great for most regular household tasks
- 3 Pairs of Quality Straight Handled Scissors -- They are strongly Allow you to make precise cuts with great control as the blade have the perfect amount of friction, Very comfortable to use. 3 pairs of straight handled scissors for smooth, efficient cutting.
- ARTS AND CRAFTS STAPLE: Fiskars SoftGrip Scissors All Purpose for cutting a wide variety of materials including wrapping paper, paper, cardboard, and more
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Pins & Pincushion
There’s no seamstress or seamster without pins, because there’s no good piece of clothing that can be designed without them. You use pins to attach and hold the different pieces so that you can measure and fit them proportionally to each other and to the model’s body.
But of course, you don’t want your pins getting lost around the house and becoming dangerous, especially if you have kids or pets. This is the purpose of a pincushion. You’ll use one to hold your pins within reach and ready to spring into action between your fingers. Choose one that is made out of a quality material so you don’t have to replace it every two weeks.
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Needles
Needles are another key component for sewing. Those seams won’t attach themselves, now, will they?
You’ll use your needle & a thread put through its head to stitch along edges and connect pieces of the design you are making, as the most basic type of task. But attaching buttons, fasteners, flaps, velcros and the rest are all tasks done with a needle in your hand.
Needles come in many varieties (thin, thick, long, short, colored heads, etc.), and they typically have an opening (the ‘head’) through where you can put the thread. They are also very sharp and piercing, so make sure you keep them somewhere safe – or even pinned to your pincushion!
Many, Many Varieties of Thread
Imagine you need to stitch two pieces together in order to make a black skirt. You wouldn’t do that with a bright-yellow thread, would you? Or maybe you will, depending on the design. But in any case, you’ll need different thread types to do great sewing.
Threads come in many varieties. Some are strong, some are soft. Some are flexible, some rigid. Some are thick, and some are thin. They also come in any color you can imagine. Stitching with the thread can be done by hand (by using a needle or other tools), or with a sewing machine.
Pressing Iron & Cloth
Some materials keep themselves wrinkle-free and don’t need ironing. We’re mostly talking about man-made materials here, like lycra, nylon, polyester, and the like. You can badger them with many washing cycles, and they still come off fine most of the time. A pass of the iron from time to time is all it takes. Be careful not to melt them, though!
However, most natural materials (cotton, wool, cashmere, etc.) do need ironing. This is where a pressing iron comes in hand (along with the pressing cloth & the ironing board; see below). In order for a piece to look like it’s just been out of a store, you’ll need to straighten those wrinkles.
And what better way to achieve a smooth and shiny ironed finish than using a pressing cloth. You put this cloth between your iron and the material, and it will make every single wrinkle a thing of the past in seconds.
Read our reviews of steam irons for sewing.
Ironing Board
You can iron on your sewing table, but it will probably be a real mess when you’re working, which is why it’s best to have a separate ironing board.
They are not too expensive, either. And even run-of-the-mill boards are covered in a special heat-resistant and heat-reflecting material that cannot be burned, which also helps iron both sides of your material in one pass.
Once you do iron those pants, you can just as easily put them back on the table – or on you!
- Easy operation---Just simple operation to fold, so you have more time to do other things.
- Wide application scope---Suitable for pants,shorts,nightgown,T-shirt,short and long-sleeve shirts.pajama,dress and more
- HEAT, SCORCH, AND STAIN RESISTANT: heavy duty ironing board cover with extra thick padding is heat, scorch, water and stain resistant for long lasting use
- REFLECTIVE SILICONE COATED: the silicone surface of the cover is reflective; while other materials absorb heat, silicone reflects the heat of the iron to help achieve wrinkle free clothes in a fraction of the time; plus, irons glide effortlessly for easy ironing every time
Seam Ripper
When I was growing up and secretly exploring my grandma’s sewing kit, I always wondered: just what the heck is this tool supposed to do, and why does it look so weird!? Soon, I found out that it was to fix mistakes in sewing and stitching.
Don’t believe me? Try to remove a seam you’ve just stitched by hand or with any other tool, and you’ll figure out pretty quickly just how useful a seam ripper is in such cases.
Seams rippers have a sharp tooth, a blunt tooth, and a cutting edge in between which you can use to cut thread. It’s best to keep at least three of these because they do have a tendency to get lots around the house. Also, keep their caps on!
- ELF FLEX UPGRADE KIT - This Elf Flex upgrade kit includes, a custom length 12 gauge Wire for legs and arms, 6 velcro tabs for hands and feet, needle & thread, seam ripper and 4 magnets.
- ELF FLEX FOR MAKING HOLIDAY ELVES FLEXIBLE & BENDABLE - This Elf Flex upgrade kit makes your holiday elf flexible and bendable. Will grip to almost anything.
- All You Need in Sewing - The kit contains all the necessary tools that are required for performing basic repairs, be it a needles, threads, scissors, buttons, threader tools, seam ripper and all sewing tools.
- Smart and Compact - The straps holding the spools and tools in their places, which makes you easily to find it out and mend anything you want without any worry to lose it in your bag, purse, drawer or anywhere!
Buttons and Fasteners
You need buttons and fasteners for shirts, pants, and the like.
Buttons and rivets, fasteners, stitched velcro – these all help attach pieces of the apparel to each other in order to better fit the body, and cover parts while revealing others.
Sewing Machine
The final – and incidentally, integral – piece of your beginners’ sewing kit list is your sewing machine. Depending on the quality, model, and manufacturer, this can potentially be a hefty purchase. But it is worth every penny.
Imagine having to stitch all those seams by hand! Besides wasting hours and getting nowhere, the stitching will be weak and might give in. But with a sewing machine, sewing is easy-peasy, it will take minutes, and the results will last you years, maybe even decades.
A good sewing machine is not hard to find, but you can also get one second-hand – after all, things were made with more metal and less plastic in the past, which makes them more durable..
Read our sewing machine reviews to find the best one for your needs.
Final Thoughts
Now you know that putting together a beginners’ sewing kit from scratch is no big deal! You just need to know what to look for. Starting out can be intimidating, but sewing is such a creative, inspiring, and relaxing activity that you’ll soon wonder why you didn’t get into it earlier. And in order to begin, you’ll need the equipment laid out right here.
Last update on 2023-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
