This is a multi part series, if you missed the previous 3 posts you can find them here: Sewing Tools Part 1: Measuring,  Sewing Tools Part 2: Pressing, Sewing Tools Part 3: Pattern Drafting 

Thread Wax

This is a pretty inexpensive and basic addition which you may already have lying around! I picked up this cutie visiting the Merchant & Mills shop last summer and it has definitely improved my hand sewing experience. By coating the thread with a swipe of wax then ironing the thread so the wax penetrates the fibre, the thread becomes stronger, smoother and less prone to tangles, knots and snapping. It just feels better somehow: weightier, substantial, more luxurious, sexier even. I don’t need to tell you, if you are reading this blog post chances are you already know that sewing is sexy!

Tailor’s Chalk

Another fairly rudimentary piece of equipment to have to hand. Great for temporary mark making on fabric to indicate cutting lines, darts, notches and so on. I previously had a 30+ year old chalk remnant pilfered from Mum’s sewing box but the kids got hold of it and the rest is history.

So I treated myself to some ultra fine Japanese chalk which comes in different colours which can be handy to serve different purposes or when making alterations to previous lines, but so far I have only made use of the white. It is wafer thin which is great for accurate marking but not so great because half where already broken in the box when I received it in the post.

Definitely storing this on a high shelf, the kids would obliterate it to dust just by sneezing near it.

Very crisp and satisfying to work with though.

Button Hole Punch

Yes you can use a seam ripper or scissors to open your buttonholes (I would recommend using pins to bar either end of the buttonhole if yo do it this way so you can’t accidentally slip and slice through the stitches— I learned that one the hard way), but this set is sooo cute and extremely satisfying to use. It gets precise results and a really clean finish.

The only drawback is the set size of the blade means it is often either too big for small button holes or requires multiple uses to open up larger buttonholes. Ideally one would need a set of these in multiple sizes.

But at what point are we in danger of becoming excessive and can no longer justify additional accessory purchases?! I fear I may have passed that line a while ago! Lol. 

Fraycheck

I waited way too long before nabbing myself a little squeezey bottle of this stuff. (And yes the buttonholes on all my early makes are now fraying and I have to go in and trim them and treat them with fray check to avoid further unravelling.)

Just grab some of this from the get go and save yourself the trouble. Go on, you heard it here first. Or probably you already knew it waaay before me, in which case well done, you are a clever cookie.

Obviously this  list is inexhaustible, I could go on and on but in an effort to keep blog posts bite-sized and digestible I will stop here.

 Happy sewing, Leanne xx

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