7 Essential Sewing Tools for Total Beginners

Sewing is an amazing skill to learn! If you’re here I’m guessing that you are thinking about how to get started, and where to begin. Which is great! In this post you’ll learn about the 7 most essential and basic tools for sewing beginners to get started.

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It’s really never too late to learn how to sew. I didn’t even learn myself until about 7 years ago. So don’t worry. If I can do it, so can you!

I know there are probably thousands of websites, videos and tutorials out there to learn from. But before you get overwhelmed, just remember that learning to sew is a process.

You will not master it overnight. But, with regular practice, just like with anything else, you’ll get better and better over time.

To get an idea of what you’ll likely need as a beginner, here are some of the best basics you should consider.

These are some of the best brands and shops that I personally recommend. (And no, you don’t have to have everything today, but these are some of the best products that I started out with)

1. Beginner Sewing Machines

Typical, basic machines are currently pricing out at around $69.00 to about $200. Of course there are many more expensive options out there, but you may want to save that purchase for down the road when you have more experience and when those extra features will be most useful.

I recommend that you go for a basic version, you don’t need anything super fancy right now.

Some good brands to look for would be Brother, Singer, and Janome. There are many other brands, but those are the Top 3 big ones that you will find are most common when you search.

Don’t be afraid to buy online, or in a store, but try to buy from reputable companies at the very least. Everywhere from Amazon, to Walmart, to JoAnn’s will have several simple options to choose from.

You will also need some needles for your new sewing machine. If the one you purchase doesn’t come with any, look for the Schmetz brand needles, and Universal type.

Keep in mind that you will want to use different needle types with different fabrics and as you become more adventurous- but if you’re starting out with some basic cotton fabric, than Universal will do.

These are my faves:

2. Fabric Options

With fabric, your options are so vast, that they sky is the limit! Or in other words, you’ll likely be able to search and find whatever kind of fabric your heart desires!

Just to name a few of my favorite places to get fabric: JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby, Etsy, Hawthorne Supply Co, Fabric Fly, and Fabric.com.

There are also so many local quilting and sewing shops out there, so I encourage you to do a search in your area and help support those small businesses too!

They are usually the ones that will have the newest bolts from the big fabric designers and makers like Moda, Kaufman, Riley Blake, Dear Stella, Free Spirit, Lotta Jansdotter, and Michael Miller. (Some of my faves since I was a brand new sewist!)

By no means is that list exhaustive of places to get fabric or designers, but it will at least give you a good place to start your fabric discovery! I absolutely love shopping for fabric (maybe even more than shoes shopping!).

I love looking at all the beautiful designs and colors- how they coordinate with each other, and I start dreaming of what gorgeous things I could make with it! Try it, make a list of things you want to sew and work your way through!

In posts down the road, I’ll go more in-depth about fabric types and brands and places to get it from, so stay tuned!

My Faves: Hawthorne Supply Co. and of course JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby just to name a few!

3. Choosing Thread

(On Average $0.99 to $7.50, depending on spool size) This one is very easy and shouldn’t require any difficult searching to find- as you can get some at nearly every craft store in your local area.

There are different types of thread (which we will go into further at a later date), but for beginners the three basic options would be cotton, polyester, and all-purpose.

Cotton thread works well with nearly any fabric. It won’t stretch, and has good heat tolerance (for ironing), but it can tend to break easily if pulled too tight.

Polyester also works well with almost any fabric you choose. It does have a little stretch and has a smooth feel to it, and is typically a little “shinier” than cotton threads. It looks nice so it could be a good choice for top-stitching.

My Faves are:

There’s also All-Purpose thread with is a combination of cotton and polyester. So it has a little more strength to it, and might be the best to use with your new sewing machine for the flexibility it offers.

4. Types of Scissors

There are two main scissors brands that are kind of the standards in the sewing world: Fiskars and Gingher. Here it’s really going to be a preference thing in my opinion.

Gingher are typically all metal, heavy duty (and heavy), but very long lasting and very well made. They seem to be a little more expensive overall, ranging from $20 to $60.

JoAnn’s has them on sale all the time though, so if you want to go with this one, I’d wait or use a coupon!

With Fiskars you get a lot more options with the handles, shapes, and sizes. They are also well made, but from my experience tend to need sharpening a lot more often.

However, Fiskars also has options that are less expensive, which is why I would recommend those to a beginner. These price in the range from $10 to $60.

Rotary cutters are also an option, but you may not feel comfortable using them at the beginning. It’s fine if you are though!

These vary in price from about $14 to $75. A little pricier than either of the other brands above, but my favorites are the Olfa and Fiskars brands.

My Faves:

5. Needles, Pins, Safety Pins, Marking Pencils

I’ve grouped these items all together as 1 “tool” that you need because they are relatively inexpensive and you’ll probably buy lots of them during your sewing years.

As with fabric, there’s a plethora of brands and types of pins that you can choose from. The top brands that I prefer are Dritz, Schmetz, Singer, DMC, and Clover. They range in price from $2.00 to $9.00 or so, depending on the quantities and brand.

With these, it’s also really a preference option. They come in all different sizes and colors and lengths and amounts. I would start with some short and long straight pins and some safety pins.

And with needles, just get a package that contains assorted sizes and those will be enough to get you started.

You will also want to get at least a couple fabric marking pencils that will help you with cutting patterns and transferring marking to keep your fabric lined up.

The same brands as mentioned above will offer several options on these too. My personal favorites are colored chalk pencils from Fons & Porter. The different colors are helpful depending on the color of the fabric you’re using, to help you see your marks.

This adorable kit already comes with scissors too:

6. Cutting Mats & Rulers

These are so great to have! Again, they are made by various brands and come in all sorts of sizes. My favorite is made by the brand Olfa, and I love the 36″ x 24″ size.

It fits on my small table and is my primary work space. Because cutting mats are self-healing, they are safe to use with all your cutting tools, even a rotary cutters.

I do think the best size here is the 36″ x 24″, but if you can’t afford to buy that size this early on, I think it’s still worth it to get at least a small cutting mat. It will protect your table and help you cut your fabric straighter.

You will also likely want to get at least one ruler- again there are many options to choose from, but a basic one to start with would be a 2.5″ x 12.5″ ruler, which will only run you about $9.

I prefer Omnigrid rulers, because they are see through, sturdy and stay in place nicely. There are other brands to choose from as well.

7. Patterns

Last but not least– Patterns! I think second to fabric, patterns are my absolute favorite thing to shop for! There are SO many out there to choose from, no matter what you are wanting to make! If you search long enough, you can probably find a pattern online for literally anything you can think of.

There are also a ton of free patterns too, and that’s what I would recommend if you’re just wanting to learn the basics. A good source for free patterns is Craftsy.com, AllFreeSewing.com, and loads and loads of great blogs!

I plan on featuring some of my very favorite pattern designers in future posts, so I hope you will check back here again soon! And if there is any other sewing topic that you’re interested in, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to be a resource for you as you get your sewing going!

My faves include the few listed above and also: Made By Rae and Blank Slate Patterns

Conclusion

There you have it! I hope that this article has helped you figure out what the 7 basic sewing tools for beginners are. Let me know what you think? Did I miss any?

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