Sewing Must-Haves for Beginners - 21 Essential Supplies You Will Need

Sewing Must-Haves for Beginners

21 Essential Supplies You Will Need to Start Sewing Today!

Oh! I love those cute little sewing projects on Youtube and Pinterest. How fascinating it is to make something with your own hands! Especially for our children. We look through sewing supplies in the tutorials. The list is long and overwhelming, we become frustrated! We say Bye-bye to those sewing projects!

But does it have to end that way? I do not think so! If you have some basic tools and supplies at home, you can start any sewing project easily. You do not need a lot of stuff, trust me! I have all sorts of fancy equipment and materials for sewing. But I only reach for few when working on a project. And you must know I sew a variety of things. Those specialty tools are not used every day.

Most Useful Sewing Supplies to Get You Started With

I have compiled my most used and useful sewing essentials into a list. With these you can kickstart your Sewing Supremacy NOW! At the end of this post, you will find a Free Sewing Supplies Shopping List Printable. You can mark off the things that you have at home and buy only what is necessary. It will save you a lot of money and frustration at the shop ;)

Looking for Sewing supplies shops in Jeddah? Click here.

Let us Start with First Step!

Sewing is not just about cutting and stitching fabric together. A lot of prep work goes before and during it. To start off, you will need a pattern that you will follow to make something. It can be store-bought pattern, a printed pdf or your own drafted one.

Below are few things we all have at home. Chances are greater if we have kids ;) You can raid their stationary supplies.

1. Paper

For printing pdfs, you will need A4/printer paper. Click here to buy A4 paper online. For drafting your own patterns, I would recommend paper roll. This is the one I started with. It lasted quite a while.

2. Pencil

Any HB or 2B writing pencil will do. Just keep it sharp. Buy 2B pencil from here.

3. Ruler

A long 12-inch straight ruler is all you need. It is better if it is plastic one and has non-slip grip. A one with inches and centimeter is quite useful. Click here to buy one.

4. Paper Scissors

This set is the one I first bought. It is of good quality and have 3 sizes. I still use the longest one.

Secondly

Fabric needs to be pressed at every step. For that, you will need:

5. Iron

Your regular iron will do the job just fine.

6. Ironing Board (or any flat surface)

An even fabric-padded surface is great for pressing seams and hems.

15 Sewing Supplies that any Beginner Sewing Enthusiast will Need

7. Tailor's Chalk

To mark on your fabric, you will need tailor's chalk. It comes in tTriangular and rectangular shapes. I am sure you have seen it once in your home in your mother's sewing box. It is readily available in blue, red, yellow, and white colors. You do not need to buy all. For starters, one dark and one light color is enough.

8. Measuring Tape

A good-quality, long measuring tape is all you need. Usually, it comes in 60 inches size. But if you can find one that is 80 inches long, it is better. It is a struggle to measure a lot of fabric with short tape (speaking from my experience here. When I needed to replace my old, long tape, I bought short one. I did not check it at store)

9. Straight Pins

To hold paper pattern and fabric together, or to two hold two fabric pieces together, you will need sharp, straight pins. Buy the ones that are 1.5 inches long and have a pearl top to hold. A pack of 100 pins is good to begin with.

Looking to buy Sewing supplies in Jeddah? Click here.

10. Pincushion

Keeping the pins in a box is not a good idea. It is a hassle to grab one pin from a box of many. And if you knock the box, well, the floor will be covered with pins. The best practice to keep pins safe and easy-to-access, a pincushion is a great investment. You can buy the soft kind, for poking in the pins. Or the magnetic one (it is basically not a cushion but a pin holder).

I have both kinds, but I prefer magnetic one. When I take out the pin from fabric, I just drop it over holder, and it adheres to it. Also, if a pin or needle goes missing, you can use its magnetic power to find it from floor or table.

11. Tailor's Scissors

Scissors are best tool to cut fabrics. Even with the availability of rotary cutters and self-healing mats, the demand of scissors has not gone down. You will need good quality tailor's scissors that will serve you for years. They come in different lengths like 6" , 8", 10" and 12 inches. I would say, go for size that feels comfortable. Feel for the handle how it fits in your hand.

You won't be buying these every other day, so make a good investment and choose wisely. Cheap ones will make your hand ache, will dull quickly, and make you want to throw them away.

Note: did you notice that I mentioned paper scissors and tailor's scissors separately? Yes, you will need two scissors, for two different functions. One for cutting paper and one for fabrics only. If you cut paper with fabric scissors, it will dull them quickly. So, keep them separate.

12. Snipper

A snipper is a great tool for making notches in curved seams. It is also handy for trimming thread tails. When buying one, give it a go and see if it feels comfortable in your hand. Make sure, the points are sharp.

13. Hand-Stitching Needles

If you are not ready to invest in machine yet, you will need good-quality hand-stitching needles. They come in different sizes and for different materials. To start off, buy milliners. Check that thread hole is not too tiny. Even if you are opting for sewing machine, hand needles are required to sew buttons, hooks, and basting.

14. Sewing Machine

Buying your first sewing machine is exciting and daunting at the same time. There are lots of brands and models available. It will make your head spin - haha! My suggestion will be to consider your budget first and research in that price point. 

See what functions and stitches they have to offer. Buy a good brand like Brother, Juki, or Janome. It is better to buy from a dealer as they can elaborate on each model they have. Later, you can bring your machine to them for maintenance and repair too.

Below is a list of tools that will come with your machine. But if you have bought your machine second-handed, then you will need to buy these separately.

Looking for Sewing Machine shops in Jeddah? Click here.

15. Bobbins

Bobbins are used inside a machine to roll thread. There are metal bobbins and plastic ones. They are not same even though it seems. Do not use a steel one in place of plastic or vice versa. Buy the bobbins letting shopkeeper know your machine's model. 5 or 6 bobbins are enough in the beginning.

16. Machine Needles

Just like bobbins, machine needles come in different sizes and for different types of materials sewn. Some have round shaft, and some have a cut. They are designed specifically for different machines. You will get few with your sewing machine. But they will not be enough. Sewing machine needles need to be changed after a certain amount of time. For starters, buy a compatible needle pack in these sizes - 75/11, 90/14 and 100/16. With time, you will learn which size you need/use the most and buy accordingly.

17. Seam Ripper

A tiny seam ripper comes with new machines. It is handy-dandy tool to undo you sewing mistakes. You can use it to rip stitches. If you are buying it separately, get a one with good handle support and a cover. Make sure it has a tiny red ball on one of its tips. (the red ball makes ripping easier)

18. Machine Oil

Sewing Machines need to be oiled regularly for good functioning. DO NOT be tempted to use any other oil from your home like baby oil, mustard seed oil etc. Sewing Machine shops sell machine oil. Buy according to your machine.

19. Fabrics

Buying fabrics is the fun part! Fabrics are available in countless colors, prints, texture and fiber. You do not need to spend a lot on fabrics in the beginning. You can get away with low-cost fabrics for practicing. But when you get the hang of sewing, make good purchases. 

You can determine the quality of your project by the quality of fabrics used. (I get loads of compliments on one of my best-selling products, Boys Waistcoat. One of the reasons is that I use top quality fabrics)

It is a good idea to buy only what is necessary.  Do not buy in large quantities if you do not have a specific project in mind. It is immensely difficult to use up all your fabric stash (speaking from experience. I have some fabrics from years ago that I have not used still but plan to someday:( )

Looking for Fabric shops in Jeddah? Click here.

20. Threads

For sewing fabrics, you will need thread. The most readily available sewing thread is 100% polyester. It comes in small spools or reels and large cones as well. You do not need to buy every color on the spectrum. Buy thread after you have bought fabric, so you can get matching color. It should not be exact color as your fabric. A shade lighter or darker will do too. (I do not have thread for every fabric I bought. I only buy when the shade is too different from the fabric. It keeps the stash to minimum).

21. A Storage Box or Tote

To keep your sewing supplies in one place, you will need a storage box or tote bag. Remember those biscuit tins that our mothers and grandmothers used to keep everything beside biscuits?

Now, you can buy bags and boxes with compartments to put everything in place and out of reach of children. I have a small one in which I keep hand-stitching supplies.

FREE Sewing Must-Haves Shopping List

So here are all the basic sewing supplies you will need to start sewing. I have compiled these into a Printable Shopping List that you can print and keep with you. Cross the essentials that you have at home and plan a shopping trip for what you need :)

As a beginner, you will use all the above-mentioned sewing essentials over and over again.

I cannot wait to see what my Newbie Sewists buy! Tag me on Instagram or Facebook @rabeeamadeit to show off your Tools and supplies!

Happy Shopping & Sewing,

Rabeea 🧵🛒