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!

And lots of spare machine needles!

I third the idea of a tilly and the buttons book. Make it simple is a brilliant starter book , I would've loved it when I did gcse textiles.

A walking foot and a zipper foot 😃invaluable.

Pinking shears (they help reduce fraying fabric)
Great book called 'Hand me ups' it's about giving new life to out grown clothes, but easy to adapt for adult clothing.
Little lady Liberty is also a great book for easy makes.
Agree with avoiding cheaper sewing kits (the threads are useless, poor quality needles and seam rippers (I bought one for dd when she got into sewing, but it was a false economy, and she snapped an needle (thank goodness she was wearing her glasses as it flew up into her face...I still shudder at the thought of it hitting her eye if she didn't need glasses).
I have an extension table which fits my sewing machine (more of a platform really) but I love it, but make sure you get the right one for her machine (they are expensive though).

I think you’re covered by what’s been said. I wouldn’t bother with fabric in advance, she’ll probably want to pick that, but by all means go on a shopping trip together.

But machine needles and bobbins aren’t universal, make sure whatever you get fits her machine.

A pp has suggested an overlocker and while I agree they’re great i’d strongly recommend also finding someone local or getting it from a shop that will give her classes or tuition in it. My mum was a dressmaker and I grew up around them but still was brought to tears setting up a new one recently! It’s one of those things if you do it in the wrong order it’ll just never ever work properly

Husband got me some crane scissors they are beautiful and I really treasure them. They weren't expensive. They are embroidery script but I use them all the time.

All the above plus...

A gift voucher (or an £20 in a card) for money to spend on dressmaking patterns. Patterns are quite expensive now so having the money to splash out and buy a couple is a lovely treat.

Sounds strange but go to an promontory and buy some heavy washers. They have a nice flat side and are great to lay a pattern on top of fabric and hold it in place.

a roll of tracing paper to use to copy a pattern so th at you can reuse the pattern in different sizes.

I love my big cutting mat, get one as big as possible, it helps with measuring and protects table, can be used with rotary cutter.

I have a couple boards from Ikea along the back of my sewing table that have trays and books for storing things like clips and scissors

a voucher for fabric shop to buy fabric with such as fabric godmother

One of these:

seam gauge

A Metre rule and Set square

A very large cupboard (I have one of the IKEA 4 x 3 box bolder units) to store all her fabric. You can never have enough fabric, and you can guarantee that what you have is about 1/2yd too short or not quite the right colour.

More bobbins for the machine
Bobbin holder
Big scissors and small scissors
Spare machine needles, including a double one.
Thread in all variety of colours
Safety pins
Pins
More pins
A few spare extra pins.
A magnet to pick them up when you've dropped all six boxes on the floor.
A button box
An overlocker (sorry! I got one a few years ago and I love it)
Long thin elastic threaders
Four or five tape measures (you can never find one when you desperately need them)
Chest of drawers for haberdashery
A £500 voucher for Fabric Warehouse or similar
Daylight light
Press stud applier and lots of press studs.
Some name tapes that say "made by XXX" (I've never used them, but I longed for some at her age)
Elastic in various widths.
An extension to put it all in.

Just a small starter kit 🤣

A metre ruler, a hip curve, and a French curve.

Trust me she will need them if she decides to make up her own patterns. It's easy to copy most clothing if you have these items.

The French curve is perfect for arm eyes.

I agree with the lots of bobbins - then this is a nice accessory to keep the bobbin and matching spool of thread together

www.amazon.co.uk/CKPSMS-Brand-Topper-Fits-Spools-Thread-Organized/dp/B09BYFPNNP/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=Taylor+Seville+Originals+Spool&linkCode=gs3&linkId=b088cb709fc0d65f83e6ce6e8b80535c&qid=1677959337&sr=8-9

Charity shops are worth keeping an eye on for dressmaking patterns, and also if you take out a subscription to Prima Magazine they include a dressmaking pattern with each issue. The content is more than likely not something she'd be interested in, but the craft part at the back is usually very interesting.

I'd say dont worry about overlockers at this stage, maybe something to think about if she keeps at it after her GCSE.

I got a little sort of gauge at JL for measuring it has various measurements like 1/4, 1/2, 5/8" et inches on one side and metric on the other.

Butterick patterns are half price at the moment so £5.87 each.

An iron and an ironing board for pressing seams and hems.

Scissors - big fabric ones (never to be used to cut anything other than fabric) and some small ones for snipping threads. A seam ripper. Rotary cutter and mat is nice but might be worth waiting and seeing how she gets on first, as if she’s dressmaking she’ll want a massive mat and storing it can be awkward.

Pins - glass head so she can press things without melting them. She should never be sewing over pins. Depending on what she’s making she might like the look of sewing clips - get them from AliExpress/eBay/amazon instead of the branded sewing shop ones.

Tailors chalk, or pens. I like the purple air erasable pens.

Thread - I’ve found coats moon fine in my machine and it’s cheaper than Guterman.
Spare bobbins that are compatible with her machine.

Zips/buttons - might be worth choosing once she’s picked some fabric so you can get coordinated colours. My preference is invisible zips but she might want to try a few types.

I’ve been sewing for nearly 15 years, I make clothes for me, my children, fancy dress outfits, I’ve made curtains and quilts. I had the basic brother machine on loan from a family member for the first couple of years, then got my own machine which is a computerised one. I love it and I feel like I can make anything with it. I have no interest in having an overlocker - plus I have nowhere to put one!

Oh, and if she wants a magazine subscription I wouldn’t go for Prima, something like Sew magazine or Simply Sewing is much more likely to appeal, comes with a free pattern each month and you can often get a trial subscription pretty cheaply - 3 issues for £10 currently Here

She should never be sewing over pins.

No, it’s entirely acceptable to sew over pins! You put them in at 90 degrees to your seam. I’ve been sewing for over 40 years and my mother sewed for us all before that. categorically that’s bad advice.

Different if you’re doing complex tailoring or using couture techniques. Then, you hand tack (Americans say baste). But everyday seeing, use pins. I’m just this morning setting in a 2 piece sleeve to a wool twill fabric jacket - it’s pretty firm fabric so the easing and pinning is really key to getting a smooth shoulder line and arm scye.

If you can get a cheap subscription to Craftsy then it's very useful for beginners and improvers. Sign up to get their emails and then wait for a month or so to see what offers they send. I think I paid $25 for a year of gold membership. Regular price Gold is $166 and Premium is $97. Remember to cancel the membership or it will roll over to full price at the end of the year, I cancel the roll-over on the same day as I start my membership as I would forget otherwise. I'm currently watching both a basic how to sew a garment class and a how to improve your garment finish class.

Rotary cutter and mat.

A decent basic sewing machine.

Prima! Is that still going?! My mum used to get that :)