Dressmakers, help please! What does DD need in a beginners dressmaking set?

[WaggyTailsWetNoses]

DD 14 has developed a keen interest in dressmaking. So much so, she has unexpectedly chosen textiles as a GCSE option. She would love a dressmaking table ( to put her sewing machine on) in her bedroom. We’ve found a great little table with storage and I’d love to kit it out as a surprise for her birthday. Apart from a machine, fabric, scissors and needles, what else will she need? If anyone can offer any advice, I’d be most grateful as I can barely sew on a button!

So the things I would start with are big and then very small sharp scissors - fiskar are my best scissors.

Tailor's Chalk (preferably multiple colours) or I think you can probably get more modern options.

She'll also want pins (I have multiple types and this is another one where not buying the very cheapest is better. Mine are hemline which is perfectly decent and won't cost a fortune). I generally go with the small headed ones as I can sew over them without a problem and I'm super lazy with tacking but others may have other thoughts.

A seam ripper is handy for when you make inevitable errors. A flexible sewing tape measure, preferably 150cm rather than a shorter one.

A pin cushion potentially? I have a gorgeous liberty one. And an ugly but practical magnetic one.

Will she need a sketch book and pencils for her textiles GCSE?

I have a pin cushion that goes on my wrist and it’s great! Some little thread snippers, some pins, little plastic clips (to use instead of pins to see what she prefers). Hand sewing needles as well as machine ones. A pair of long tweezers are useful. A good sewing thread in different colours - gutermann or coats thread are popular.

you can pick this stuff up for a few pounds each and it’s the sort of thing she will find useful to have but not all of it is completely necessary

Dressmakers dummy. Went years without one before getting it, and it's a game changer.

Things I use the most when sewing

Rotary cutter & cutting mat
Fabric scissors
Tape measure
Thread snips
Clips/pins - I use clips more than pins
Tailors chalk
Fabric weights
Seam ripper

A few different coloured threads and bobbins is handy too.

I got a dressmakers dummy 6 months ago and it hasn’t made it out of the box - I wouldn’t say it’s necessary for a beginner but certainly good if she keeps it up

A good thimble- not a metal one as they aren’t very comfy, something like this Thimble on Amazon

A half decent iron and ironing board as nothing looks good until it’s been pressed.

Magnets for putting pins when sewing/ quickly get them tidy.

Tacking thread
Thread magic (thread lube!)
Pattern weights

Gutermann threads - less likely to snap or snag in machine. Large reels of black, white, navy and beige then colours can be added later if required.
Assorted pins including safety pins and pin cushion and magnet.
Pack of machine needles mixed sizes
Pack of ordinary needles mixed sizes, including bodkin and curved needles.
Pack of press studs and hook & eyes.
Velcro, iron on and stitch on, in both black and white.
Iron on hem webbing.
Elastic.
Buttons

Some interface for reinforcing/stiffening cuffs/collars etc...

A good quality set of sewing needles

A tape measure

My niece did GCSE textiles; a tailor's dummy was a godsend.

Go to a sewing shop and they'll help you out. A local type one, not a big corporate chain.

You can’t go wrong with the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing

its a classic for a reason, and has step by step instructions for a myriad of construction techniques, meaning that your DD will not have to rely on the instructions supplied with patterns (which are often sparse, confusing or badly translated).

Thank so much! This is all really helpful. There’s a great haberdasher near to us, so I will head in with a list.

Completely this.
A more modern book is Alison Smith "The Sewing Book" but I have been sewing 40+ years and still use my Readers Digest.

Also don't buy any kind of all in one sewing kit like they have in Lidl. They are invariably Christmas cracker quality and impossible to use. I bought a thing of 20 reels of thread and they all choked my sewing machine. If you have a Boyes near you they have affordable proper sewing supplies.

Any of the Tilly and the Buttons books are fab. For beginners.
Pins- lots of them
Pin cushion
Tape measure
Hand sewing needles
Thread
Seam ripper (I'd get a couple as I'm always miss placing them)

Possibly a sewing kit that comes with a pattern, correct amount of fabric etc.

I did wonder about this. There’s a twenty quid all in one set on Amazon, but I’ll go to a shop I think.

My list would include

Fiskars snips
Glass headed pins
Rotary cutter and self healing board (I find it's much more accurate and quick to use a rotary cutter than scissors)
Magnetic pin cushion
A hot hemmer ruler (saves getting your fingers burnt)
Plastic quilters clips - so much easier when dealing with thicker fabrics
Little sewing ruler with a moveable plastic bit so it's quick and easy to measure seams etc.

Have fun!

As a PP mentioned the Tilly and the buttons books are great for beginners. They are also aimed at a younger audience than some of the older books are, with possibly more fashionable patterns (though I’m in my 30s so probably not the judge of this that I was 12 years ago when I started seeing 😂)

An extra set (or two) of sewing machine bobbins.
Quick unpick.
Pinking sheers.

I also recently took up sewing and game changers for me have been:

• Ball point (sometimes called stretch) machine needles for sewing stretchy 'knit' fabric, as well as standard needles for non-stretchy woven fabrics
• A sewing lamp with a magnifying section- really useful for any fiddly jobs like undoing seams when I put the pieces together back to front
• Erasable pens (the ones they sell for £1 next the tills in Ryman are great). You can make very precise marks on fabric with them, but the ink disappears if you iron it

A magnet is very helpful to pick up all those pins when they get spilt 😁

I’d second Tilly & the Buttons. Lots of plain calico and pattern paper might be nice if she wants to play. After many years of trawling I got a bargain tailor’s dummy for £30 off EBay. It’s defo worth it but is after the machine probably the greatest outlay… get an adjustable one not one like a shop mannekin if you do opt for it

I have one if those bought in Aldi a few years ago and it's been fine with my sewing machine tbh.

Some charity shops are good for vintage sewing bits and bobs - good quality thread, etc.

Rotary cutter and board, different styles of pin, seam ripper, spare bobbins and a storage case with compartments to hold matching thread/bobbins ( Wilko do one) , different machine needles, good scissors, snips and pinking shears. Lidl are doing sewing accessories atm.

If she really gets into it and enjoys it I'd look at buying her an over locker. I make baby clothes and would be lost without mine.

Agree with the thread snips - also various sized scissors. I hardly ever use pins (I'm always nervous incase I accidentally leave one in a baby outfit 😳) so I use these instead:

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Also use these instead of chalk:

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A seam guide will be helpful too if she's just starting out:

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Oh and different presser feet like this:

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Sewing is an expensive hobby 🤦🏻‍♀️

I wouldn’t be bothered about a dressmaker’s dummy.

A good tape measure with centimetres and inches, divided into eights of an inch - at least 150cm long

very sharp scissors

Thin pins and the longest you can find. Not the glass-headed ones - they tend to break sewing machine needles.

Tailors chalk

She doesn’t need a bells and whistles machine. It should do forwards backwards, zig zag and automatic buttonholes. It’s good if it has a “low gear” facility for going slowly over thick layers without losing pressure

Lots of bobbins

Some specialised sewing machine feet: a rolled hem one is useful.