When you start learning how to sew, the shop shelves can be confusing. There are gadgets for everything. The good news is you only need ten tools to begin.
Here are the 10 sewing tools every beginner needs, with their names and what each one does.
1. Fabric scissors
Long, sharp scissors used only for fabric. They are also called dressmaking shears. Never cut paper with them, because paper blunts the blades fast. Tie a ribbon on the handle so everyone at home knows they’re off limits.
2. Paper scissors
A cheap pair for cutting out paper patterns. Keeping two pairs is the easiest way to keep your fabric scissors sharp.
3. Tape measure
A soft, bendy tape for measuring your body and your fabric. Choose one with centimetres on one side and inches on the other. Patterns use both.
4. Dressmaking pins
Pins hold your fabric pieces together before you stitch. Pins with glass or plastic heads are easier to see and easier to pick up. Glass heads won’t melt under a hot iron.
5. Pin cushion
A soft pad to keep your pins in one place. A magnetic pin dish works too, and it’s handy for picking up pins you drop on the floor.
6. Tailor’s chalk
Tailor’s chalk is a flat piece of chalk for marking fabric. You use it to draw around patterns and mark where to sew. It brushes off afterwards. Chalk pencils and fabric pens that fade do the same job.
7. Hand sewing needles
Buy a mixed pack. You’ll use them for tacking, sewing on labels and finishing hems by hand. A needle threader is a cheap little extra that saves a lot of squinting.
8. Sewing thread
An all-purpose polyester thread works for most fabrics. Start with black, white and a neutral beige. Cheap thread snaps and leaves fluff in your machine, so it’s worth spending a little more here.
9. Seam ripper (thread unpicker)
The seam ripper is a small tool with a sharp hook for cutting stitches. Every sewer makes mistakes, even fashion teachers. This tool lets you undo them neatly. You’ll use it more than you think.
10. Iron
Not strictly a sewing tool, but you can’t sew neatly without one. Pressing each seam as you go is the secret to a home-made make that doesn’t look home-made. Your everyday iron and ironing board are fine.
Nice to have, but not yet
- Rotary cutter and mat: fast for cutting, but the blade can slip. Fabric scissors are safer while you learn.
- Pinking shears: scissors with zig-zag blades that stop edges fraying. Handy, but a zig-zag stitch on your machine does the same.
- Thimble: protects your finger when hand sewing thick fabric.
- Sewing gauge: a small ruler with a slider, great for measuring hems.
What about a sewing machine?
You can start sewing by hand with just the tools above. When you’re ready for a machine, a simple, budget model is all you need. I explain what to look for in my best sewing machine for beginners UK guide.
If you’d rather buy everything in one go, read my guide to choosing a beginner sewing kit. Then pick one of these easy beginner sewing projects and put your new tools to work.
Learn how to sew the Nanna Betty way
Nanna Betty Sewing School teaches one skill per card, with short videos you can watch on your phone. Every make takes 2 hours or less, and you only need the ten tools on this list to start.
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