What sewing supplies could you NOT live with out?

[Gamom3]

.

[Frankie]

Um, my sewing machine? tee hee

I don't sew that much, but my rotary cutter and cutting mat are two things I wouldn't want to give up. Ever. Love 'em.

[catalinakel]

seam ripper, hands down. Good scissors too.

[cin]

Good straight pins, my rotary cutter and mat, and good sharpened scissors. And my drawer FULL of thread :D

[3lilreds in NC]

Also, I LOVE my Viking sewing machine. Love it. I would probably not sew without it. I don't sew much these days, but when I get to, I enjoy it because I have a good machine. Also, you can't beat an excellent pair of scissors like Ginghers, and a good rotary cutter & cutting mat.

The other thing that I love is my magnetic pin cushion. What a dream come true. You can pretty much aim the pins in its direction and they land on it. No more pins all over the place. It's lovely.

Oh yes, let's not forget the seam ripper!:D

[Caroline]

Here is my list:

Great scissors, I wouldn't want to be without my ginghers (I have three pairs and the kids know not to touch them, at all. Of course, DH sometimes forgets.)
Rotary cutter and cutting mat
Glass head pins, so you can iron over them
Large cutting table
Iron and large ironing board
Lots of thread colors (and I like Aurofil thread)
Lots of bobbins
Lots of presser feet for my machine
many different types of machine needles
Freezer paper for making patterns and stencils
Parchment paper to use when fusing for art quilts
Wonder Under for art quilts and fabric postcards

Ok, I could go on. But really, good scissors, my rotary cutter, threads, and machine needles are my biggies. Oh, and glass head pins so you can iron over them.

And, I love a great fabric/quilt store.

Hope this helps.

[kdeno]

I am thinking about asking for a rotary cutter and mat for my b'day but I am not sure. I am trying to keep things simple. I will have to follow this thread

[Tracey in TX]

I could do without sewing in general :P

[nuthouse]

The absolute essentials:
Assorted needles
Beeswax for coating the thread
A very nice pair of scissors
about a 1/2 pound of very good pins
A vinyl coated measuring tape of 60"
A seam gauge,
A wooden point turner
Some very good tailors chaulk
Some tailors marking thread
A very nice pair of embrodiery scissors
A third hand
A very good iron, ironing board, and tailors ham
A nice yard stick
A number 4H pencil, or a mechanical pencil with 4H lead.
Some safety pins in assorted sizes.

You can sew quite well with just this.

Then I would buy
a seam ripper
a magnetic pin holder
a 12 inch wooden ruler with a steel edge
a pair of thread snips
a full length mirror
a cardboard table protector (cutting board)
a tailor's clapper
and a good lint brush
some darning needles and a darning egg
a small embrodiery (sp?) hoop
a very good mechanical sewing machine that does straight stitch and a zigzag.

I sewed for twenty years with nothing more than this list.

If your still at it with this amount of equipment, you can then begin to specialize with the sorts of things that are specific to what you like to do most.

[Ellie]

a table to lay fabric out on, instead of having to crawl around on the floor. Ugh. I get bruises on my poor shins when I do that, my shins being the only part of my body that is still skinny [*bg*]. I have a folding craft table (http://www.sewingtableshop.com/sewing-tables/craft-tables/sullivanshomehobbytable.cfm) that I love; its sides drop down when not in use, and it has a removeable cover, like an ironing board cover. I *love* this table.

I'm thrilled to death that in this house I have a whole room for crafty-sewing-whatnot, and that I can put my sewing machine on a table and just leave it there. 30 years of sewing in the living room or dining room seem like a bad dream, lol.

[Heidi in CA]

I would always emphasize how important the iron is. Most people don't think about it but having an iron close to your sewing machine is the difference between having a finished product you feel good about and one you want to throw into the garbage. It really is THAT important.

[Sandy in Indy]

Most all of the above are on my list...especially glass head pins, good scissors and a rotary cutter. But I also wouldn't sew these days without a serger--makes the job SOOOOOO much easier and faster.

[GLOWAcademy]

Oh thats easy for me lol
A Seam Ripper lol

[Bee]

dh.He's the one who can sew.I try to avoid it as much as possible.

[fishnoises]

I would not be able to live without a needle and thread so I could sew on buttons. Other than that.....run away. Or like my son says, "Not gonna happen!"

[Amy in MD]

My sturdy Bernina 900 (pre-computerized model), gingher scissors, seam ripper, different sized needles (embroidery, quilting, walking foot (for machine quilting quilts) and the small fish hooking one for hand tying quilts or sewing on buttons), rotary cutter, mat and long quilting ruler.

I also enjoy hand work so I have some pearl cotton, embroidery threads and I never seem to have enough basic white and black, natural quilting thread when I need it.

I enjoy quilting, hand embroidery and working with wool (blanket stitch, pennyrugs, primitive rug hooking). Right now I am mainly finishing hand projects while my children are in piano lessons. So I have a small bag with small gingher (embroidery) scissors, magnetic needle catcher, thimble and project of the day/month, etc.

Amy

[iquilt]

Seam rippers :) And my awesome sewing table that allows me to lock up everything when I need to keep little fingers away from my stuff.

[Melissa in NC]

I am thinking about asking for a rotary cutter and mat for my b'day but I am not sure. I am trying to keep things simple. I will have to follow this thread

I got a cutting mat for christmas. I am glad I got a big one from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B7MUGY

I can cut out my pattern without having to adjust a small pad.

[jmgconner]

My seam ripper, rotary cutter and mat. I mostly quilt, so those are my big needs.

[Melora in NC]

My mom! We're buying fabric & buttons today for the "Little House" dress she is going to sew for dd. I'm a sewing drop-out.

[Mama Anna]

Since much of my sewing is mending with my two children at their present ages (and living in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment), I find my dritz stick (the one whose numerals haven't been sucked off), a tiny little hook for dealing with snags, and a plastic point/curve turner to be the neatest - beyond the ripper, scissors, and sewing machine, of course!

[momofkhm]

Pins, seam ripper, that 6" measuring thing with the slider (I've lost it twice!)

Sewing machine of course. I also love my serger, but as long as I have a machine, I could live without my serger.

[Faithseed]

I am always loosing my hem gauge (that 6" measuring thing)!

When I packed up our house last Oct, I found 4 of them!!! At least I'm set for the next month or two before they all disappear again:rolleyes:.

[umarider]

My serger (can't believe I went so long w/out one!)
Huskystar sewing machine (just a good, basic workhorse)
Rotary cutter & mat (makes is so much easier to cut stretch fabric w/out distortion)
Sharp scissors that are ONLY for sewing!
A plethora of machine needles (always need to change these for the light stretch fabrics I use)
Turning "sticks" - I don't know the name of these, but they are plastic and you can attach them to the fabric/elastic so you can turn long narrow things, or run elastic through waistbands, etc. (they are dark blue plastic, made in Japan) I freak when I misplace one!:rolleyes:

[Laura Corin]

Laura