You saw the cutest project on Pinterest and you are ready to take the plunge into sewing clothes. You have a sewing machine and nothing else. The fabric store has tons of notions available, but you’re a beginner and don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, you don’t need to buy everything. These basic beginner’s notions will put you on the path to success right now.
- Good quality dressmaker shears
- Silk pins
- Tape measure
- Seam ripper
- Needles- both machine and hand
Bonus: Tailor’s chalk
Obviously, the notions wall has far more available than this. But that’s for future you to worry about. Today you are concerned with being able to cut fabric into pieces. Then you want to assemble those pieces into a wearable garment. The above list will get you to that desired end.
Sewing Scissors
The first rule of sewing scissors is never let anyone else touch your shears. These should only cut fabric and thread. Not paper, not your kids school projects, not your sister’s hair, not opening Amazon packages- just fabric. Everyone in my house knows better and I still hide them because better safe than sorry. Note, when I said no paper, I mean even the tissue paper of patterns. Use any old scissors for cutting out pattern pieces.
Ideally, these are 8” scissors that go through fabric like butter. I like the Fiskars ones as a cheap but capable pair. I personally have a ton of dressmaker shears, including vintage Wiss. And I still reach for the impulse buy Fiskars routinely. I have never had to take any of my shears in for sharpening, but if you notice any degradation in cutting quality, get them sharpened.
Satin Pins
Satin pins have an extra fine tip, designed to not snag delicate fabrics. Use them on every fabric. The number of times I have snagged threads using dressmaker pins or ball head pins or whatever other garbage is out there is insane. At this point, I only use satin pins even on bulky fabrics. Yes, I bend them when doing that, and then I have to throw away the bent pins. But not ruining fabric is an acceptable trade off for me. The manufacturing quality seems to be better too as I never find burrs on the points of the pins, unlike the dressmaker ones. Silk pins if you can find them are a good alternative. They are smaller in diameter as well
Tape Measure
Between fitting yourself or others and laying out pattern pieces on your fabric, your tape measure is your best friend. In a pinch, it also substitutes for a seam gauge. It does not need to be fancy, just a flexible one with metal clips on the end.
Seam Ripper
You will make mistakes when sewing. Everyone does. The seam ripper is your fast track to removing bad sewing. After pins, it’s my most used notion. Some sewing machines come with one, but the ones with the ball on the short side of the seam ripper are better with less risk of slicing your fabric instead of your thread.
Needles
You always need spare sewing machine needles as you should always use a fresh needle on each project. When you don’t, the old needle will find a way to break in the middle of your project. Also, older needles are a major cause of thread nests, where your bobbin thread isn’t properly locking around the top thread, and it looks like a bird’s nest on the underside of your fabric. Good sizes to start are 90/14 and 80/12. The 90s are larger and easier to thread and suitable for bottom-weight fabrics. The 80s are for lighter fabric. Do not buy the Microtex or ballpoint needles at this point. You want the universal ones, trust me.
Hand needles are handy for repairs as well as sewing so keep some around. You only need some basic sharps so the cheap Dritz multipack will last forever. Don’t store your hand needles with your pins as they are easily mixed up.
Tailor’s Chalk
This notion is what I consider a bonus. You can transfer dart points and other pattern markings using thread and tailor’s tacks so it’s not strictly necessary. That said, it’s nice to be able to mark up your fabric. The basic Dritz chalk works fine and remember to only use on the wrong side of your fabric.
With just these beginner notions, fabric, thread, and a pattern, you are ready to start!