For those of you who are regular followers, in recent months you’ve seen a number of posts about the top ten items I would put in a sewing kit, if I were a beginner and brand new to sewing. Today’s blog post is a roundup of all ten items.
On the other hand, if you just happened to stumble across my website, you may have noticed that this website has a whole huge load of free doll clothes sewing patterns. I design doll clothes patterns — both for myself and commercially — so I may be partial when it comes to this next statement, but…
Sewing doll clothes is a fantastic way to learn! For millennia, this is how humans have taught the next generation to sew — by making little cloth dolls and dressing them. So if you’re brand new to sewing, consider using some of my free doll clothes patterns to give yourself a quick and easy starter project.
Go buy yourself a cheap doll at a second-hand store, and use this video to help you locate my free patterns for your doll on this website. And honestly, don’t buy yourself a $500 sewing machine if you’re new to sewing. You may not enjoy sewing at all, so don’t waste your money!
Before I go any further, I have to make a disclaimer statement. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my Privacy Policy page.
And now for the first item in my list of ten sewing tools that I consider “the sewing basics”:
#1 — Hand-stitching Needles
The nice thing about doll clothes, is that you can sew them by hand in a very short amount of time.
My beloved sister, believe it or not, doesn’t enjoy sewing. But she made the same mistake a lot of people who are new to sewing make… She went out and bought herself a new sewing machine, thinking she’d love sewing.
She’s a second grade teacher, and for her first sewing project, she decided to make her classroom of 24 students one tote bag each. Tote bags seemed like a simple enough project, right?
But after sewing half a dozen tote bags, she decided she hated sewing, and she went to her local Dollar Tree and bought her students a bunch of cheaply made-in-China tote bags instead.
I would venture to guess that her sewing machine is still growing dust in her closet!
She would have saved herself a lot of trouble if she had started with a smaller project and a few hand-stitching sewing needles.
You may be thinking, “But I hate threading needles! It’s hard!” Don’t worry; I’ve gotcha covered with my second necessity for those who are new to sewing:
#2 — A Needle Threader
Most sewing kits come with one of these cameo needle threaders. If you’re not sure how to use one, this tutorial shows you how simple they are to use.
A threader often comes in a typical sewing kit, but I don’t recommend buying a “sewing kit” like you find at a grocery store. They use the cheapest thread (which breaks as you use it), crappy scissors that can’t cut anything, and they throw in a button that you’re never ever going to use. And frankly, those cameo needle threaders aren’t the best.
Buy a nice set of genuine needle threaders like these traditional plastic ones or these fun shapes from Singer (the sewing machine company).
The traditional tin needle threader (pictured above) works fine in a pinch, but if you spend just a little more money on your needle threaders, you’ll feel your needle threader is fun to use and lasts a long time, instead of having it twist and bend and eventually come apart, which is usually what happens to the cheap tin needle threaders that have a cameo image on them.
Click here to learn more about needle threaders.
And obviously, if you’re new to sewing, you’re going to need some…
#3 — Thread
When my girls started sewing, I bought them each one of these boxes of a variety of threads from Gutermann.
It provides someone who’s new to sewing with 26 colors of thread to choose from, in a box that keeps all their thread organized in one place.
Yes, it’s more expensive than buying just one or two spools of thread, but if you do decide to invest in a sewing machine later on, Gutermann is the thread company that keeps your sewing machine in good working order. These threads are designed to prevent lint from getting down inside your machine (and lint is known to clog gears and cause mechanical problems).
If you find that you don’t enjoy sewing after all, you can re-sell your used box of Gutermann thread for a reasonable price on eBay — which, by the way, isn’t a bad place to buy yours! But if you do buy your thread on eBay, make sure it’s 100% Polyester.
Cotton seems like the better choice environmentally, but it’s not. Cotton thread is primarily used for embroidery, so stick to Polyester, which is less likely to get tangled up, when you’re sewing doll clothes.
Click here to learn even more about thread.
Next on my list of ten items to buy when you’re new to sewing is…
#4 — Straight Pins
You may think your grandmother’s hand-me-down straight pins will work fine, but they do not. Second-hand pins are not sharp, so they’re likely to create runs in the fabric. There’s also the issue of rust, which you don’t realize is there until you’ve inserted the pin into the fabric and stained it.
So I’ll say it again: DO NOT USE SECOND HAND STRAIGHT PINS.
There are plenty of companies that offer sharp, rust-free straight pins at a reasonable cost. My favorite is probably Dritz, but Singer makes a nice straight pin set as well.
And if you’re not sure what you’re supposed to do with your straight pins, please view this very short video entitled, “How to Cut Barbie Clothes Sewing Patterns” (scroll down in the blog post to see the video).
After you watch that video and read through that blog post, you’ll understand why straight pins are on my list of must-have essentials. They help hold the pattern in place while you cut.
Just to clarify, you don’t want to buy the super-long quilters’ straight pins. Instead, buy the regular-length sewing straight pins. Add quilters’ straight pins to your collection after you feel comfortable with sewing, especially if you would like to try quilting.
Most regular sewing straight pins are going to be about 25 or 26 mm long (a little over an inch long), and it’s nice to have the colorful ball on the end. That little ball on the end makes it easy to remove them from paper patterns and the fabric, even if you’re working with tricky fabric like satin or thick denim.
Click here to learn more facts about straight pins.
And to keep your straight pins nice and sharp, you’re going to need…
#5 — A Tomato Pincushion
Do you see in the image above, how a crafty lady has made her own pincushion? Etsy has plenty of wonderful pincushions that have been handmade by sewists from all over the world.
But that’s not what you should start with! If you’re brand new to sewing, you’ve got to have a tomato pincushion because the little strawberry that hangs from the middle of it is filled with emery (like the sandy emery board you use for your fingernails), so it will sharpen your pins and needles — an absolute “must have” tool for all sewists!
Later, if you find that sewing is truly your “thing,” go ahead and add more pincushions to your collection. You can find handmade pincushions in my online store from time to time, too, so be sure to check out that link as well.
Click here for more details about pincushions.
#6 — Sewing Scissors
Many of you have noticed that I love my little Fiskars Stitchers mini scissors, and yes, if you’re new to sewing, you can buy those too.
However the MUST-have item in my list is a pair of actual sewing scissors. You can find sewing scissors sold in a set with mini snips from time to time, and that would be a purchase you won’t regret, should you decide you really enjoy sewing as a hobby.
If you’re not sure why you can’t use your regular old household scissors, you’ll learn quickly that they don’t work well with fabric. Take a look at the photo above. Do you see how the handle of the scissors appears to be bent?
That’s part of what you need for sewing, especially if you start sewing bigger objects like your own clothes and décor items like curtains.
To correctly cut your fabric, you need a pair of scissors that will glide along the cutting surface (maybe your kitchen table is what you’ll use) while you cut long swaths of fabric. Sewing scissors have a bent handle to help you make a clean cut, for big projects.
Sewing scissors are extremely sharp, as well, so they can cut smoothly through tricky fabrics like satin, denim, or corduroy. Never use sewing scissors for paper-cutting or craft cutting; they will lose this razor-sharp edge quickly if you misuse them.
Later you may want to add some pinking shears to your collection (see image above). These scissors will cut a natural zigzag along the edge of your fabric, to help keep it from fraying.
And once again, there are craft scissors that do this too — but you can’t use craft scissors with fabric. They are not interchangeable.
Click here to learn more about sewing scissors.
#7 — Seam Ripper (AKA an Un-picker)
My family always called this tool a seam-ripper, but I’m told that in other countries it may be referred to as an un-picker instead. Either way, if you’re new to sewing, you will make mistakes! So the seam-ripper/un-picker tool is an essential for your new-to-sewing kit.
I don’t currently have a tutorial video that shows you how to use one of these, but Professor Pincushion does. So I’ll default to her tutorial lesson. I’ve embedded it below:
As Professor Pincushion mentions in her video, it’s important to buy a seam ripper that has a lid, so you can protect your fingers from injuries.
Click here to learn even more information about seam rippers.
#8 — Fabric
If you’re new to sewing, PLEASE don’t go out and buy yourself $80 or $100 worth of fabric! Because what if you never finish the project you start? Don’t go all-out and break the bank because you want to learn how to sew!
When it comes to sewing, “going big” is not always the best idea. Instead, there’s a cheaper way to buy fabric than the by-the-yard method which we typically buy off the bolts.
In a fabric store, they keep fabric on these big, cardboard spools called bolts (see image above). But when the bolt is almost out of fabric, the craft stores have to discount what’s left, and we call that a “remnant.”
A remnant is often made from the leftovers after a fabric store has finished cutting the last of a fabric on a bolt. Whatever is left — it could be a yard, a half a yard, or even less — gets rolled up and sold at a discount.
The image below shows what a typical tub or bin of remnants looks like:
As I’ve said, you can often buy remnants at a discount, so for the absolute beginners out there, I definitely suggest you start small.
Buy three fabric remnant rolls for your sewing starter kit — just enough to give yourself a few fabric options — and if you find you really enjoy sewing, go back to buy more from the bolts at a later date.
Click here for a more detailed blog post about fabric.
#9 — Snaps
If it’s doll clothes you’re wanting to make, you’ll need some snaps to close the back of the shirts and dresses you’ll be sewing, and as you can see in the image above, the sizing of snaps can be a little confusing.
This older blog post all about snaps will teach you a little about how to read and understand the sizes that are offered for snaps.
There are other ways to close your doll clothes; ribbons, drawstrings, Velcro, and even buttons (for bigger dolls) can be used, but I think snaps are pretty simple and straightforward for a beginner to sew, which is why I’m adding snaps to my list of the top 10 items every beginning sewist should own.
Please click here for a more detailed blog post, all about snaps.
And just to make it that much easier for you, here’s my “How to Sew Snaps” video tutorial for your convenience:
#10 — Elastic
Last but not least, if you’re putting together a kit for an absolute beginner who is just learning to sew, a swatch of elastic will help the beginning sewist make elastic-waist pants and shorts, elastic-waist skirts, and any other garments that will use a casing.
There are a variety of sizes and styles, where elastic is concerned, but if the beginning sewist is learning to make doll clothes for a doll that stands 11 inches tall or smaller, Elastic by the Yard’s Skinny Elastic card spool is a fantastic choice.
And if they’re sewing for a bigger doll, you can find Dritz 1/4 inch elastic in most fabric stores, and it’s not a bad choice for most doll clothes that are designed to fit dolls that stand 12 inches tall or taller.
Have you ever put together a sewing kit for a grandchild or one of your own children? What were some of the tools you included in your child’s “sewing kit?” Feel free to leave a comment below!
If you enjoyed this blog post, and you’d like to see my videos, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists.
If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.
For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.
Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.