Beginning Sewing Essentials

Have you ever wanted to learn to sew but you just didn't know where to start? Are you a parent of a child who would love to learn how to sew but you don't have a clue as what to buy for them to start out sewing? Well don't worry because I have a list of all the items that are a must for you to start sewing.

First of all, you will need something to put all of your sewing supplies in. There are so many cute sewing baskets out there to choose from. Like this cute little butterfly basket from JoAnns Fabrics.

Cute Butterfly Basket from JoAnn

But sometimes those cute little baskets are very pretty but not very practical.  I just use a simple plastic container that I got from Walmart. The plastic is see through and I can check at a glance if I have the item that I need.

My sewing box

Another very important item is a really good pair of scissors. These are very important to be able to cut fabric with and they need to be sharp! One thing that you don't want to do is to ever cut anything but fabric with them. If you cut paper or anything else, it will dull them or even damage them. And don't spare the expense on these. A really good pair of quality scissors will probably cost at least $30 or more. I also like a pair of small scissors to clip threads with. They can get to places on your project that the big scissors can't. My scissors are made by Gingher. Both Gingher and Fiskars are very good brands of scissors.

A pair of small scissors and my larger ones for cutting fabric.

Another item that is valuable to sewing is a seam ripper. This is used to rip out stitches whenever you make a mistake. And believe me, a good seamstress always has one or two of these handy because mistakes do happen. Nobody is perfect!

Seam ripper 

Another sewing notion that is invaluable is Fray Check. You can use this to keep fabrics from ravelling. I like to use it at the end of my seam to keep the thread from fraying. But it really comes in handy for those problem fabrics like satin or silk.

Fray Check to stop fraying

I will list other items that you will want to get to get you started sewing:

pins

pin cushions or magnetic pin holders

needles to use in hand sewing

marking pens or chalk to mark symbols from patterns onto your fabric

tape measure to measure whoever you are sewing for to make sure your garment fits

hem or seam guide

various widths of elastic

thread

thread case

bobbins

bobbin case

I like a magnetic pin holder for my straight pins and a stuffed one for my needles.

I think that I have just about covered most of the essential things that you need to have to get started sewing. Next time I will discuss sewing machines and how to take proper care of them. I hope that this helped you to learn what items you need when you start learning how to sew.