So you have fallen madly in love with sewing (hooray) and have bought / borrowed a machine and now need all the little bits and pieces to get you going! Here’s my guide to what I think you need in the sewing room to get you started.

A good pair of fabric scissors

Probably your most important item in your sewing box. There is nothing better than cutting fabric with a fabulous pair of scissors. Unfortunately, scissors can be pretty expensive. I have found a great pair on Sew and Sew – Fiskars  Dressmaking Scissors and have added the link here – http://www.sewandso.co.uk/Products/Fiskars-Dressmaking-Scissors__FIS-F9863.aspx

They cut with ease through denim, polyester and most other fibres, including upholstery, leather and suede. Their surgical steel blades are extra long and precision ground to maintain their cutting performance right to the tip of the blade. Their large, contoured handles are ergonomically designed for maximum comfort and provide excellent control whilst cutting. For £20 you’d almost expect them to be able to make you a cup of tea too!

Only rule – never use your fabric scissors for anything else (ie paper!)

Pins

Flower head pins are my favourite pins in the world – they are SO pretty your project will just look gorgeous when its all pinned and ready to sew. Look for ones that have a long thin shaft so that they can go easily into your fabric.

I blew the budget when I bought my pack but have found them alot cheaper on ebay. Simply type Flower Head Pins into google and you will be spoilt for choice:

Seam ripper

Sounds a bit dramatic as you certainly don’t want to be ripping the seams! This is for unpicking those stitches that have gone skew!

Tweezers

My most indispensable tool ! So handy for picking up threads, holding down fabric before feeding through the sewing machine – the list is endless! Found them at Gur Sewing  Machines for around £4 –  http://www.gursewingmachines.com/tweezers-5186-hd?gclid=CJSwgqefiLwCFQcTwwod3kYAFA

Measuring tape

Get a good quality one like the one below from Hemline. Not expensive and can be found at any haberdashery shop.

Ruler

Get yourself a T-Square which is great for checking that your pattern is straight at a 90 degree angle! Ryman do one for £5.50

Cottons and threads

If you want to buy yourself some threads I suggest always using Guterman thread. It is such great quality. Jaycott’s (online) seem to be the cheapest and I would normally buy a 250m reel.

Happy sewing everyone!!!!!