12 Essential Sewing Equipment You Need For A Complete Starter Toolkit

When you first start learning to sew, the variety of sewing tools available to you can be intimidating. There are many choices, but you can survive with only the necessities.

This article is the ideal manual to help you bring together the 12 essential sewing equipment for your start-up. So go ahead to read through:

01. Tape Measures

A tape measure is a necessary sewing tool. You might even need more than one, perhaps even a portable retractable measuring tape.

Inches are typically marked on one side of sewing tape measures, and centimeters or millimeters on the other.

A tape measure can be used for any measuring purpose, although it is most frequently used to obtain body measures. It may stand on its edge and measure the distance around an object, such as a circle, because it is hard but flexible.

02. Measuring Gauges

There are many different types of gauges. A 6-inch aluminum ruler with a slider is the most popular. To check seam allowances, hems, or other minor dimensions, small, weirdly shaped gauges are available. These gauges are marked for the most popular sewing measurements.

While gauges are not a required tool, they are inexpensive and useful for all hand stitching, marking modifications, hemming, determining the width of your seam allowances, and other tasks.

03. Pins and Pincushion

While you are working, a pincushion contains straight pins and needles. There are numerous choices in addition to the traditional tomato pincushion.

Additionally, there are numerous designs of pins, each with a distinct function. A set of pins with big, obvious heads will work for the majority of your sewing needs, though you might wish to purchase different kinds as you require them.

Sawdust and wool roving are frequently used as fillers in good pincushions. The lanolin in the wool roving keeps the pins from rusting. When making your own, crushed walnut shells work well in place of sawdust.

Fine sand or emery is placed within the strawberry, which is typically attached to pincushions but is also sold independently. These fillers’ abrasive action eliminates dirt and corrosion, keeping the pins smooth and sharp.

04. Needles for Sewing Tools

Sharps are the type of hand sewing needles that are most frequently used. Sharps are ideal for practically any cloth, have a medium length (in comparison to all other needles), and a rounded thread eye.

Use the best needle for the project when selecting one to avoid frustration. On thick or difficult-to-sew fabrics, use hefty needles.

On fine or delicate textiles, use finer needles. Embroidery needles, upholstery needles, quilting needles, doll needles, and more are examples of specialty hand sewing needles.

For the majority of needles, the smaller the needle, the greater the size number.

05. Needle Threader

Threading a sewing needle can be challenging if your eyesight is failing or you’re simply exhausted. It’s not necessary to be. The solution is to use a needle threader.

A needle threader’s wire slides smoothly into a needle’s eye before opening up to make a big space for the thread to enter. The wire and thread can then be reinserted via the needle’s eye.

To avoid forcing the thread and needle threader through the needle’s eye, use your needle threader with a needle that has a large enough eye for the thread you are using. The wire may break if it is forced.

06. Seam Ripper

A seam ripper’s small tip allows you to remove individual threads, while its rounded tip enables you to remove all of the stitches along a seam without ripping the fabric.

Learn how to use your seam ripper so you’ll be prepared to correct a sewing mistake when the time comes.

07. Scissors

Sewing shears that are sharp assist you maintain precision cutting while reducing hand fatigue. In general, it pays off to start out by investing a little bit extra money in a good pair of scissors.

Fabric scissors will become dull if they are used for anything other than cutting fabric, which will result in uneven cutting, torn fabric, and hand fatigue.

It’s a good idea to store them with sewing supplies and to instruct family members not to use your expensive scissors.

Make sure you frequently clean and periodically oil the blades of your scissors to keep them in good shape. Avoid trying to cut through too many layers at once to prevent damaging the blades.

08. Pinking Shears

Many tightly woven or non-fraying textiles can be finished with a pinked edge without further stitching. When working with light-weight materials, this is especially useful because a sewn seam finish will add too much thread or weight to the seam.

On non-fraying fabrics like fleece, using pinking shears gives the fabric a polished appearance and prevents a blunt edge from showing through when pressing a seam.

09. Sewing Equipment

It’s crucial to press your work with necessary pressing tools while you stitch. You should at the very least have an iron and ironing board.

With a press cloth, you may use higher heat than you would if you were only ironing away creases without worrying about your fabric scorching.

They come in various weights, including transparent press cloths. Muslin will do if you don’t have one, but it’s something you should get for your sewing supplies.

For pressing curves and seams in tube areas without creasing other parts of the garment, hams and sleeve rolls are fantastic.

They are useful if you frequently make clothing, but a towel firmly rolled will yield results that are comparable.

10. Bodkin

Bodkins are useful tools to have, but they are not necessities. Drawstrings, elastic, and other components that are contained in a casing can be threaded or replaced using this tool.

Bodkins are available in a variety of designs and textures to make the process simpler. The most basic form resembles an enlarged needle.

This type threads and doubles the object you are drawing through a casing, much like a needle. In tight enclosures, a tweezer-style bodkin can grasp the object without having to be doubled.

If you don’t have a bodkin, you can draw the object through a casing with a safety pin, although it’s frequently a little trickier to hold and guide.

11. Sewing Machine Manuals and Tools

The most significant add-on you can have for your sewing machine is a manual. It is a crucial tool for maximizing the performance of your machine.

Your sewing machine’s instruction manual walks you through every aspect of using your model. It offers information on built-in stitches and features and aids in resolving issues when the machine malfunctions.

Although many sewing machines may be similar, you will need the manual for your specific sewing machine make and model to learn what yours is capable of.

You can get in touch with the firm that made your equipment if you no longer have the manual for it; many are available online at no cost.

12. Seam Guide for Sewing Tools

You may create regular, accurate seams by using seam guides on your sewing machine.

The sewing machine’s throat plate contains the seam guide that is most frequently utilized. Narrow seam allowance guidelines are also frequently made with sewing machine feet.

Attachable, movable guides provide a raised surface to stop veering off course. Long, straight seams are ideally suited for this kind of guidance. Curved seams do not work well with them.

As a guide, painter’s masking tape is also useful. The sewing machine bed is securely attached, and no sticky residue is left behind.

Conclusion

There are more tools you may include in your sewing kit, but are they necessary to get going? Without a doubt!

This isn’t a race to see who has the largest sewing kit, but rather an opportunity to realize that you can sew many things with only the essentials.