Guide
The First Sewing Kit: What to Buy and What to Skip
A beginner kit sold in a box usually contains thirty items, of which six get used. This is the opposite list: a small number of things, most of them cheap, with a note on which two are worth spending real money on.
Buy these first
| Item | Rough cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric shears, 8 inch | $25 to $60 | The one tool to buy properly. Fabric only, never paper. |
| Small snips or thread nippers | $8 to $15 | Cutting thread with big shears ruins big shears. |
| Glass head pins | $6 to $12 | Glass heads survive an iron. Plastic heads melt onto fabric. |
| Machine needles, mixed pack | $6 to $12 | Universal 80/12 and 90/14 cover most work. |
| Hand sewing needles, sharps | $5 | For finishing, and for the hem you refuse to do by machine. |
| Tape measure, 60 inch | $4 | Replace it every few years; they stretch. |
| Clear ruler, 6 by 24 inch | $15 to $25 | Marking, measuring hems, cutting straight lines. |
| Seam ripper | $4 | You will use it more than you expect. Buy two. |
| Tailor's chalk or a marking pen | $6 | Test the marker on a scrap before you trust it. |
| Polyester thread, neutral colours | $3 to $5 each | Grey, ecru, black and navy cover most projects. |
| Iron with steam | $30 to $80 | The second thing worth spending on. Pressing is half of sewing. |
That comes to roughly 120 to 220 dollars including the iron, and it will carry you through a year of projects.
Add these once you know you are staying
- Rotary cutter, mat and quilting ruler (roughly 60 to 90 dollars together). Transformative for quilting and for cutting long straight pieces. Not needed for a first garment.
- Tailor's ham and a sleeve roll. Curved seams cannot be pressed flat on a flat board, which is why home sewn garments often look home sewn.
- Point turner. A cheap piece of plastic that makes collars and corners look professional. A chopstick works.
- Walking foot. The single most useful accessory foot for quilting, vinyl, plaids and anything slippery.
- Quarter inch foot. If you quilt, this pays for itself in the first project.
- Good pressing cloth. A square of muslin will do.
What you can skip
- Pinking shears. A zigzag stitch finishes an edge better, and you already own the machine.
- A pattern weight set. Large washers, tinned food or your phone all work.
- Thirty colours of thread. Buy thread per project, matched to the fabric.
- A dress form, until you know your own fitting problems. An adjustable form that does not match your measurements is furniture.
- Novelty presser feet bought as a 32 piece set. Most will not fit your shank type, and the ones that do are the ones you would have bought individually.
Setting the machine up
Start with a new needle, decent thread, and two layers of quilting cotton. Sew a straight line and look at the back of the stitch. The interlock should sit inside the fabric, invisible from both sides. Loops underneath mean the top thread is not seated in the tension discs, which is nearly always caused by threading with the presser foot down. Our needle and thread picker gives you a starting needle, thread and stitch length for whatever fabric is in front of you.
Your first three projects
- A pillowcase. Straight seams, a hem, and a finished result in an hour.
- A lined tote bag. Introduces corners, turning through, and topstitching.
- An elastic waist skirt. Your first garment, with no zipper, no buttonhole and no fitting to speak of.
After those three, you will know whether you want a pattern with a zipper in it. Browse the journal for technique articles, and use the shop directory to find a fabric store or a class near you.
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Machines, sergers and parts from Sewing Machines Plus
A local shop is the right call for a service or a class. For a new machine, a walking foot, or a spare bobbin case at 11pm, an online specialist usually has the wider bench and the better price.