So, you want to sew, right? You know you do, but if the only “kit” you have includes the one you picked up at a convention, then sadly I have to tell you that you’re not ready to sew for reals.
It doesn’t matter if you want to patch a torn knee, fix a bra hook, make a coin purse, or take a sewing class and buy an expensive machine that sews and monograms… you have to start with a basic kit. Here’s what I’d buy you if I was rich and knew your address to mail you one:
- A basket or container
- Needles
- A pair of nice scissors (consult a fabric store), both large and small
- Small spools of thread–black, white, blue and tan
- A package of iron-on patches (typically includes a few colors)
- A package of Velcro closures (circle, squares, or strip)
- About a yard of thin, white elastic
- Safety pins
- A small ruler or tape measure
- Pins and a pin cushion
- A package of hooks and eyes
- Stitch Witchery ® (don’t question, just trust me, you need it… it fuses fabric together by heat, which means you can “sew” simple hems without really “sewing”)
- An iron (I would naturally assume you have an iron, but then again, this is Aiming Low, otherwise known as The Land of People Who Do Not Iron)
This? Is NOT a real sewing kit. But it is very Aiming Low, so it has its purpose.
Now, don’t freak out when you see thirty-eight different types of elastic, or Velcro, or pins. Just buy a small package of each. You don’t need to overthink this little trip to the fabric store. This is a simple kit to get you started, but with it you could basically MacGyver any kind of sewing you need to handle that doesn’t involve a severed finger. Because that Aiming Low Teach post would, at the very least, involve some duct tape.
Now go forth and sew!
About Julia Roberts
