Sewing tools and their uses

Scissors: There are two main kinds of scissors; one kind with rounded tips and another with pointed tips. Both work well but the pointed tip of sewing scissors are more useful than the other. Just use them to mark the area before stitching. Stitch Remover: When you finish stitching, you might find that you accidentally left stitches behind. To remove those unwanted stitches, simply pull off the bobbin case and then gently tug at the thread until all the loose ends fall away.

Straightedge Knife: Straightedges knives are similar to rotary cutters except that instead of having a rotating blade, they have a fixed blade. Use them to cut through thick materials or even cardboard. Sewing Machine Feet: Sewing machine feet are used to attach the foot plate onto the base of your sewing machine. Different models require different sized of extra sewing feet depending on the model itself. Handheld Iron: An iron is an essential tool for any seamstress.

Not only does it press seam allowances flat, it also removes wrinkles and creases. You may be wondering why some people would spend hundreds of dollars on such little things. These tools are extremely versatile and come in handy every time you pick up your sewing kit. Hand sewing is an art form that requires patience, skill and practice.

Sewing is a great way to create beautiful items such as clothing, bags, pillows, blankets, etc. Threads: You should always start out by using good quality cotton thread. Cotton Tension Foot: A tension foot allows you to adjust the amount of stretch in your choice of thread while you sew. By adjusting this setting, you can control the length of your finished product. Tape Measure: Tape measures are helpful for measuring various parts as beginner sewing project.

Pins: Pins are necessary for holding fabric pieces together during construction. The most common types include safety pins, clothespins and binder clips sewing gauge. Iron: An iron is important for pressing fabrics after joy of sewing.

Without proper heat settings, your projects could look wrinkled. Scissors: Scissors allow you to trim excess threads from your edges. There are many sizes available including regular needles, embroidery thread needles and quilting needles. Basting Stitches: Basting stitches help keep your delicate fabric layers aligned while you sew.

These stitches are usually done with white metallic thread but other fabric colors work well as well. Seam Ripper: Seam rippers are useful for removing unwanted stitching before finishing your piece.

You can always add more spools of thread as you add more projects to your schedule, and you can do this without making a mess of your budget. Tracing wheels are used when transferring pattern markings to the fabric.

It does this by leaving a fine imprint on certain smooth fabrics that you will iron afterward. If you want the markings to be a little more noticeable, simply use these wheels along with chalk paper or some wax.

We're an affiliate We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Thank you if you use our links, we really appreciate it! Table of Contents. Add a header to begin generating the table of contents. Sewing Tools and Their Uses. Tailors Chalk. Sewing Gauge. Shears are made differently to scissors, are much heavier which I find helps me when cutting out fabric.

Rotary cutters are tools for cutting fabric or paper, and have a blade that is a circle. If you opt to use a rotary cutter you will of course need a cutting mat to prevent any damage to your work table. The cutting mat that you go for will depend on the projects you anticipate needing it for! A pair of scissors just for cutting paper is really an essential sewing tool to prevent blunting your fabric scissors!

You can buy regular paper scissors which will do the job perfectly adequately, but if you become interested in making your own patterns, definitely look at scissors created specifically for this purpose. My paper scissors are specifically for pattern making and have much shorter blades than normally seen, which helps me to cut more accurately around curves!

When sewing, you need to practice the art of pressing your stitches and your seams. Therefore, a steam iron is an essential tool! I personally use a small travel iron , which takes up less space and means I can pull it out and use it in a quick flash — especially paired with my pressing mat see further down! You can of course buy a pressing cloth , but if you have any muslin at home, that will also work perfectly fine.

Here are some quick glance mini lists of sewing tools, so that you can screenshot before you head out the door! This measuring tools guide is more in-depth. Again, you have a fair few options. Try out the different ones in store if possible to see what feels more comfortable for you:.

There you have it! An extensive guide to not only the essential sewing tools, but the different options available to you as your sewing skill level improves. Eve Tokens aka The Creative Curator is a fashion designer, creative pattern cutter and sewing pattern designer. As well as running her own small sustainable fashion brand, Eve has more than 25 years experience sewing and making clothes for herself and family members.

Though I am just getting into sewing, all these pieces has really helped me In familarizing myself with all the sewing tools from the scratch to being a pro. I've been sewing for years but still find products new to me in lists like this that help make tasks easier. I'm very late to this listing but I'm sure it continues to get views.

I know this is intended as a starting list of basic essentials but there are a couple of alternatives that I'd recommend from personal use.

Not absolute essential basics but they can make a big difference. If you need to measure yourself, I'd recommend getting a tape measure with a gauge as it's easier to use without having to use a fingernail to mark a measurement or get distracted and move your finger or forget the measurement before writing it down.

Check out the posts on threading a sewing machine and threading a hand sewing needle. Bias binding tape maker. This tool makes creating a bias binding very easy.

You just need to guide the bias binding tape you have bought from the store precut or made it yourself, through this tool and the perfectly folded bias tape will come out of it. Checkout the post on making bias tape and the different ways of using the bias tape for binding. Scientific seamstress blog has a wonderful tutorial to make a diy printable bias binding maker. Point Turner. This is useful in fixing the corners. Especially useful in straightening out the pointy shirt collars.

You can use a knitting needle as I do. This is used by professionals in making holes for eyelets etc , and guiding eased or gathered fabric evenly when sewing.

This is helpful in temporarily sticking fabric pieces together, zipper tapes to fabric, etc. These clips are used when you cannot use pins — delicate fabric layers that may be damaged by pins, thick fabric layers that cannot be pinned can be held together with these clips. Hem gauge. A very convenient tool when you make skirts. It will have a slider which will help you mark the hem accurately. The skirt marker hem gauge can help you mark the hem accurately from the floor.

Button Hole cutter. This is used in cutting the buttonholes easily and perfectly. Checkout the post on different types of buttonholes and the easy way to make a handsewn buttonhole.

Use a thimble when hand sewing to prevent stab injury to finger when you sew for a long time. You get metal as well as plastic thimble. Metal ones are better. Select one that will fit your middle finger holding the needle.

Though this is not an essential tool in sewing, a dress form or a dummy can be very helpful when sewing your own clothes. A dress form serves many purposes. It ensures a well fitted garment, simplifies your sewing, eliminates waste and errors, saves your time, helps in making necessary alterations. You can even make a sloper with your dress form. The best one to have is one which is made to your measurement. Or which can be adjusted in the bust, waist shoulder and hip measurements.

Some extra-tools you maynot need; but wish to have sometime. A serger finishes edges neatly and can be used to sew the seams of knit fabrics. You can check out this post on sergers to learn whether you really need to buy a serger. Tailors ham.

This is a pressing tool which is shaped like an egg. It is great for pressing fabric to manipulate it to the shape you want. Needle Board. Another pressing tool used for pressing piled fabrics like velvet. Bias Guage. This is an attachment with an indicator for your scissors to cut bias tape without any mistake. Embroidery plate. A special needle plate attached for machine embroidery. Eyelet making tools.

Check out this post on the tools used to attach metal grommets. These are not the regular eyebrow tweezers — these are sharp pin point tweezers that are helpful to pick small fabric pieces and place them accurately.

Very useful in applique and beading. If you sew small things like beads, fine embroidery you may wish to have vampire vision. The next best thing is a magnifying glass. No more squinting the eyes because you have trouble seeing things clearly. Check out this post on the tools you need for hand sewing with leather.

If you want to make bags, you need a different set of things than what you need for sewing clothes. Here is a list of 20 things you need to sew a bag. Hand embroidery is sewing of course, but it requires a whole set of new tools. You can start to stitch with some embroidery thread and a hand sewing needle but as you progress you may need more. If you are interested in jewelry making you need a separate set of tools.