You already own the basics, right? A sewing machine, pins, needles, threads, tape measure, yards of fabric. Even if your sewing projects aren’t complex or frequent, the investment in a few additional tools like the pros use can help you make better use of what little time you may have for creating. After surveying the new sewing studio, I’ve decided to select only six heavy hitters, but believe me, there are others that some would consider equally as important. This is just an opinion, and I didn’t learn about some of them until attending conferences or classes so I figured maybe some newbies out there could save some time and money by my suggestions. Before fondling any more fabric samples, pinky-swear you’ll look into them soon!
Not appearing in any order of priority, I now present six sewing tools that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE….can you tell I got an A in drama? ![:-)]()
1. A real pair of sewing scissors/shears. Nothing made with an orange handle was ever meant to cut fabric. Sorry, Fiskars. You make some fine rotary blades, but for real scissors you must go to Kai or Wolff. All I can say is, once you’ve used a pair, you’ll seriously consider sending expensive chocolates to the owner of the company and picking up a part-time cutting job.
2. A 4-thread serger. This is a pricier proposition, but really, it’s so worth the investment to have professionally finished seams. I’m not necessarily brand-loyal, but shop around and make sure the store lets you play with their machines as long as you want. Buy local if at all possible and make use of the salespeople. They’re there to help you feel comfortable with your purchase. Then once you buy, if they’re offered, take the lessons. Mine were free and they even allow me to retake the class 10 years down the road if I want. Sergers have a slight learning curve and they can be intimidating, but stick with it and you’ll have the ins and outs down in no time. A serger stitches, trims and overcasts, all in one operation. This is how the seam looks after serging.
3. A 60″ aluminum ruler. Stop fiddling around with yardsticks and go big! A heavy duty metal ruler will have you whipping out precise projects immediately. You’ll be amazed at what a big difference such a little tool can make! And they’re under $10 at the big box store. Get two!
4. This is probably my favorite and the one that so many try to live without. A large padded work surface for cutting and pressing. Back before I had a real worktable, I bought one of those portable tables from the sewing machine store. It wasn’t very sturdy and it was a pain to find a spot for, but it worked. Once I was able to devote an entire room to sewing, I just screwed on a padded plywood top and that worked for a while. My current table rests on base kitchen cabinets. Not anchoring them has allowed me to move them to three different homes. Definitely one of the best investments I’ve made. Your back will thank you many times over. Here’s mine with her new, beautiful gridded canvas cover. I like to call her Stella…don’t judge!
5. Fringe adhesive/iron-on bonding tapes. Adhesives are used in nearly every industry these days, they’re a huge time saver! I nearly always glue baste with fringe adhesive instead of pinning. The product I buy is available to the trade but I’m sure there are comparables out there that work similarly. Permanent bonding tapes work for so many applications, from seaming to hemming, and I promise you won’t be arrested by the sewing police. Sealah Tape is a great no-sew option.
6. 6″ ruler. I think I have at least a dozen of these floating around. They are perfect for quick measurements and since they’re small and cheap (usually under fifty-cents each) buy them by the handful.
So there you have it. Let me know what you think and if you workroom pros reading agree. Have I overlooked something that you can’t live without? We’d love to hear about it.
