Sewing supplies you don't need 💀

/// SUPPORT ///

Being in the club means you get: a free weekly podcast, access to a secret facebook group, a free poetry collection and play written by me, access to livestreams AND you get to access to all my videos before anyone else sees them!

Nab yourself a POSITIVE PANIC PATCH:

// COME AND HANG WITH ME IN BETWEEN UPLOADS //

I use Octopus Energy which are a clean green sustainable energy company - if you're in the UK and are curious, here are the two videos I talk about them in:

[TheClosetHistorian]

My number one "sewing thing" you don't need: a dress form...if only I had a coin for every time I have been asked about dress forms! Ultimate non-essential.

[sandihj]

Insights gained from 60+ years of sewing, that you can take or leave.
Re: rotary cutter and mat - if you are piecing patchwork or making quilts, the rotary cutter is worlds more accurate, giving you better matching. For garment sewing, not so much, only borderline necessary.
Tailor’s ham - really useful for doing smoothly shaped sleeve caps, nice darts, and collars that lie flat (or stand up, if that’s what they are supposed to do).Nice to have, but if you’re making easy-fitting garments, not absolutely necessary.
Thread - second-hand thread can be a problem, particularly if it’s old/vintage. It deteriorates over time, becoming much more fragile and prone to breaking. I’ll use for thread-marking or maybe basting, but I don’t put it in my machine where it’s subjected to quite a bit of tension and friction.
Machine needles - for most garments, general purpose needles, sharp for wovens and ball point for knits/jerseys will suffice. If you want to sew denim or corduroy, you’ll want a heavy duty needle, and if you will be sewing fine, thin, slippery fabrics, like fancy silks and rayons, a finer needle will give better results without marking the fabric so much.
It makes me so happy to see people just dive in and start making clothing. Go for it!

[Falhaes]

Re: pin cushion—yeah, you don't need that, BUT you urgently need and will fall in love with a magnetic garage bowl. It's a little metal bowl with a magnet underneath that car mechanics stick on the car while they are working on one and keep all those little nuts and bolts in. I use one of those for my pins, sewing needles, all sewing machine accouterments like feet and such. Get one, these are dirt cheap and allow you to just *literally* throw your pins in the general direction of the bowl, eyes stuck on the sewing machine foot with your project under, and THE MAGNET CATCHES THEM.

[maddie]

Video Idea: Quarterly updates on your year of makedo. Like what have you made, repairded and what items have you decided after realising you had to make it that you no longer needed.

[sarabyrne]

Here to stand up for the pinking shears! They are the lazy way to finish your seams so your fabric doesn't fray, a straight cut won't work, especially for more delicate fabrics and sometimes I'm not arsed doing a zig-zag stitch the whole way down. Save yourself all that thread and just finish your seams with pinking shears 😄

[kamilestasyte]

My mum has always been using little bits of dried soap to trace patterns on fabric. 🙂 Works a treat and a good use of that little leftover soap bit at the end of its life. 😄

[elisabethpluquet]

You absolutely need a seam ripper. I used to undo clothes to get the zip and the buttons before throwing the clothes in the bin. I did it a lot using a surgical scissor and everything that was a bit sharp. I win a thumb tendonitis and wasn't able to craft during half a year and now I often have pain in my thumb, and I need breaks. You need a seam ripper. For your life ! xD

[trilliand]

Most important tip for sewing: only buy stuff for a specific project. Know the project and buy the exact stuff you need. Furthermore, invest in good quality machine needles, good quality thread and have dedicated fabric scissors.

[MimsieSky]

a magnetic bowl for your pins will change your life. Pin cushions are fiddly. To be fair, you don't NEED a sewing machine. You can hand sew things! I learned how to hand sew first when I was a kid because my mom hand sews quilts! Bernadette Banner has some really excellent videos explaining hand sewing. It certainly takes longer, but you can do anything (some might argue you can do more) with hand sewing as you could do with a machine.

[elizabethd]

Honestly for as affordable as flexible measuring tape is, they are a necessity for me. I find them for $1 US or less in second hand shops and I like to keep one in my purse to measure clothes especially with second hand stores having closed changing rooms. I do appreciate the point of using yarn or string and a measuring tape though.

[donkelly]

The pressing ham, and by extension the sleeve role ABSOLUTELY will elevate your sewing. Pressing, particularly in process pressing, makes home sewn garments look much "cleaner" and more professional. The point of pressing hams and sleeve roles is to actually SHAPE the seam and the garment while ppressing.

[Julia-htvb]

Hi, I'm a ladys tailor and I mostly agree with this list for the absolute beginners! It's really interesting to me to see it broken down like this. I can barely remember how I started but had all the supplies from my mum. AND that is a tip I want to add: Ask people if they have sewing supplies they don't need. I have gotten tools, notions, fabrics and interfacing, lining fabrics and even an ironing board from several little old ladys who weren't able to sew anymore and wanted their things to someone who can and want to use them.

the only thing I disagree with is the rotary cutter! That thing is a tool for weak wrists that cannot do a lot of cutting at once. My fabric scissors (very fancy and very good) are heavy and the motion can cause severe pain if you have to cut a lot of fabric. I find it a lot easier with the rotary cutter!

A lot of the tools you unhauled have specific uses that are indeed not meant for beginners or for casual sewists. That bothered me for years!

Thank you so much <3

[ibfishing]

My mum always used an old dried out bar of soap to mark lines on fabrics before she sewn it. She always said soap with wash out instantly instead of a fancy marker pen 😂

[sarahwatts]

The Stitchery did a great video recently going through every possible sewing foot; she ranked them by usefulness

[bexbergh]

Pinking shears allow for the fabric to not unravel. It can be helpful with fiddly fabric—leading to: less repairs being needed, less work in finishing your seams, AKA time saved. But, as you said—not a necessity.

[klnsradieschen]

magnet on a stick is an essential when it comes to pins. saves your feet.

[roneliadelgrange]

Hint from my mom who had several kids and would remake patterns in different sizes; instead of cutting your pattern to size, cut the largest size and then fold and pin to the size you currently want.

[kcjd]

Sewing hampers, or baskets as we call them in the US, I see as for basic, quick, hand-mending. I have an entire sewing room, but I keep a sewing basket in my bedroom because that’s where I need basic supplies and a few basic colors of thread to replace a button, quickly fix a seam, stitch up a hole in a pocket, etc.

[carolinedelisle]

Before sergers (or at least before I ever knew of them), I used pinking shears to finish seams in cotton garments, but yeah I never use them anymore.
Rotary cutters are really useful when working for really slippery fabric.

[laurenfarquhar]

A note about machine needles for specific fabrics: I sewed for *many* years before I learned that tension problems (when the thread knots up under the fabric and jams everything) can be caused by the wrong type of needle or a dull needle!

So I fully agree with buying as you go, you can save a lot of frustration (and money on unnecessary machine repairs) by paying attention to your needles!