Image 1 shows some of my sewing gear. What you don’t see is books, DVD’s, material and the like.

As time goes by you collect more and more bits and pieces, mostly from what people may give you or from what you have needed. For instance you may have needed a certain button or needle but had to buy several in a packet so you now have many of that item.

Also you have a good iron, preferably a modern steam iron.
Clapper.
Tailors Ham.

 Also Tailors ham to iron material, on. Also a Tailor Clapper that you can use to soak up steam off your material and also to help hold material down after or before it was ironed.

Tailors Chalk.

You can use chalk, pens, pencils and other writing marking tools when sewing. I have pens that when the material is washed it disappears or when it is ironed it disappears.

Sewing pins.
One type of Sewing Pins.

Most people I know who sew collect the likes of buttons from clothing that they throw away.
They end up with a decent collection of all types of buttons, needles, bits and pieces that they can use when the time comes.

I have many pairs of scissors in my home because I often lose them here and there, so I just kept buying them when they were on special and these days there is always a pair of scissors somewhere. The professional sewing shears can be very expensive, as much as $130 in some places, but they do their job well. But for the home sewer you can get by with the cheaper brands.

It is wise to have many containers with all your sewing odds and ends so that they are nearby and easy to get at when you need them.

My Messy Set of random bobbins. And a small oil container for the sewing machine.

You can buy special clips to hold your sewing bobbins neatly, and as you can see here I don’t have any yet. I have the main colours that i use in a container for easy access.

 

Other items that are helpful are tweezers, pliers, screwdrivers and the like for making changes to the sewing machine. If you need something or you find something interesting and you can afford it, get it. It will hopefully make your sewing experience far more enjoyable and will give you hour of pleasure such as your sewing machine.

On the subject of sewing machines mine is basic but I have found it to be very useful for my needs as a single man living alone.  Sewing machines can be very expensive, computerised and rather amazing when you see all the things that they can do, but if you cannot afford such things don’t worry about it, be creative and enjoy the sewing machine that you had.

When I was Homeschooling my children with cheap second-hand well used sewing machines we made pillow cases, curtains, clothing, mended clothing, handkerchiefs and so on. From time to time the sewing machine would die from old age and I would get another cheap one as we were on welfare. The advantage to this approach is the many sewing machines that we tried and learned how to use, as each one had its usefulness and its weaknesses, the fun was trying each one out and doing something with that sewing machine that the others could not do.

All the best from
James M Sandbrook.

Scroll to Top