Sewing notions

As for any other craft, before beginning to sew you will need to buy a few basic supplies, but you don't want to buy more than the absolute minimum necessary, because you don't know how far you will want to pursue your new craft. People will disagree on what notions and tools are absolutely essential. Here I provide a possible list.

Sewing machine

You will probably want to buy a sewing machine, although of course hand-sewing is also a possibility for the deft hand (not me for sure). There are many options on the market, some costing as much as thousands of pounds, but as a beginner you are better off buying a basic machine with few options, which will be easier to learn to use and a lot cheaper.

There are computerized machines which can do a lot of fancy things on their own, but many experts recommend a basic electric machine for beginners because these are simpler to use and easier to maintain.

If you are very motivated and sure you want to sew your own clothes or other fancy projects, it will be worth buying a more expensive machine like the Janome 7025 Sewing Machine (this is a model exclusive to John Lewis which is identical to the Janome 525s Sewist, but cheaper). If, like me, you think you may only use your machine occasionally for simple repairs and modifications, a cheaper model will be a wiser option. My recommendation is to buy a good brand (Janome, Brother, Pfaff, Husqvarna, Toyota) and make sure it can sew heavyweight fabrics like denim, because that is something you will probably need (John Lewis machines are produced by Janome, but their cheaper model, the JL110, is a good machine that unfortunately is not recommended for this reason). I have bought a Janome 2032, which is an old model that is no longer manufactured and thus cheaper. I have not tried it yet, but I do hope it can sew denim as I have been told.

Your machine will probably come with some basic tools to get you started, such as needles, bobbins and feet. Mine came with very basic ones: two different feet (zigzag and buttonhole), a darning plate, a seam ripper, 3 bobbins, 3 needles (14/90 size). But you may need to buy different ones for specific projects.

Sewing machine needles

My machine comes with instructions and recommendations on which needles and thread match specific fabrics. You should buy them only as you need them. Here are some common options:

70/10 and 75/11 for fine fabric;
80/12 for medium weight fabric;
90/14 for heavier fabric;
100/16 and 110/18 for denim;
ballpoint needles for jersey;
top stitching with large eye for heavier thread.

Sewing machine feet

There are many, many feet for sewing machines (some of them will probably not work with your machine). The only ones which are actually useful for a beginner are: the zig-zag foot, which is the standard foot suited for most uses (including sewing buttons), the buttonhole foot and the zipper feet (there are a few options: standard, narrow and invisible). Note that special feet make specific tasks easier, but are not necessarily needed. For example, it is pretty easy to sew a button using the zigzag foot, but there is also a foot specific for that which makes it even easier. So you do not need to buy a special foot for most purposes, only if you are doing a lot of sewing is it worth buying them.

Notions:

• fabric shear;
• tape measure;
• pins and a pin cushion;
• seam reaper
• measuring gauge;
• chalk or other marker;
• chopstick (or something similar, used for poking out corners and turning out tubes of fabric);
• thimble and hand sewing needles (not necessary for machine sewing, but many projects involve some hand sewing);
• iron and ironing board.

Some will add the following to the above list:

• cutting mat + rotary cutter;
• yardstick;
• embroidery scissors or other small scissors;
• embroidery and tapestry needles;

Fabric:

There are too many possibilities, so I am not making suggestions. Except that, to begin, you should choose an easy to sew fabric, such as medium weight cotton, and avoid patterns that require matching such as stripes.

Thread:

The thread must match the fabric, for example, heavyweight fabrics require thicker thread. In addition, you will want to match the colours too, whether by using an identical colour or a contrasting one. For standard cotton fabric, some people prefer polyester thread, because it is easier to use, others prefer cotton (which has more lint than polyester and hence requires cleaning the sewing machine more frequently).