How to Sew | essential tools

To help kick off the new How to Sew series, I thought I'd start us off by giving you a peek at some essential tools I use almost every time I sew.

Do you agree with my choices, or am I seriously missing out on some important essentials?

Essential tools for sewers

1 scissors (big ones for cutting, small ones for snipping)

Good quality, sharp scissors are essential. Get a big pair for cutting fabric a smaller pair to snip odd threads and snips smaller areas. Keep them sharp.

2 pins

You can never have enough pins. Colourful ones are the best because you can see them clearly in your fabric and they're easy to spot if you drop any on the floor.

3 fabric marker

This is handy for marking clothing so you know where to cut or sew. A marker is easier to use than tailors chalk and produces a more durable line (but it washes out so it won't be permanent). I'm still using my husband's grandmother's tailors chalk, but as soon as that's through you can bet I'm racing out to the store to get my hands on this kind.

4 stitch ripper

I would have to say this is the most essential bit of kit I have in my sewing box. This is my best friend. I use it to rip apart seems when I want to resize a top, or to fix my mistakes if I've sewn somewhere I shouldn't have. 

5 wrist pin cushion

Someone very clever came up with this idea. It's pin cushion you wear around your wrist so that the pins are literally to hand when you're doing your various jobs. I always seem to misplace my pincushion when sewing, so this is perfect.