I need to go shopping online for sewing supplies cost effectively

[aliumbear]

Opened a book on how to start sewing with a machine. I am missing a lot o things before I can start sewing and am worried about how much it will cost to buy it all - do I really need all of this stuff? It's ok if I do. I want it to be as cost effective as possible, not the worst products but I don't need the best

Plain cotton for making toiles
Pattern master/skirt curves
dressmakers tracing paper
pattern tracing wheel

paper scissors
pinking shears
embroidery scissors
serrated scissors
sewing awl

dress making pins
machine and hand needles of various sizes
washaway marker pens
fadeaway marker pens

dressmaking mannequin
storage for it all. I do already have a cabinet so it would need to be storage boxes etc

Would it be possible to go on a course first, to get a feel for what you need?

The book sort of is a course. I need links to websites for these things at a reasonable price and whether I can improvise on any of it. Are bed sheets suitable for toiles

I have been sewing for many many years and studied it at college. I do not have all the stuff you mentioned. At college I learned pattern cutting but still mostly use commercial patterns.
If you measure properly and go by the measurements on the back of a commercial pattern then they should fit you. Remember that sizing is not the same.
I do not have a mannequin. I usually only make for myself so I just try it on.
I had to google what a swing awl is.

Plain cotton for making toiles - yes but old bedclothes will do fine
Pattern master/skirt curves
dressmakers tracing paper
pattern tracing wheel

paper scissors - don't you already have some?
pinking shears
embroidery scissors
serrated scissors
sewing awl (what even is this!)

dress making pins
machine and hand needles of various sizes - machine needles probably came with your machine and you probably already have some needles?
washaway marker pens
fadeaway marker pens

dressmaking mannequin
storage for it all

You also need good fabric scissors and a tape measure. And an unpicker.

What are you hoping to make?

OP start with something simple and if you have measured properly you don’t need to make a toile first.

I agree with Chewbecca amended list as you usually you pick most of the rest bit by bit over time

We tend to use the poundfabrics. sale section a lot but charity shops with sheets and curtains in are also used. Also wall paper not bad for pattern making - if you can pick an old roll up sometimes they are in charity shops DH uses a book of victorian tailor mens patterns based on measurements rather than laid out patterns but he's years of commerical pattern making behind him.

We use amazon for a lot of other bits.

I don't think we even have a sewing awl - and DH has used soft leather to re-sole a fabric set of slippers. We do have pinking shears - I got them and everyone borrows them but only really needed with very fraying fabric. Embroidery scissors not needed though do have some anything that snips - I do tend to do fair bit of embroidery.

DD2 needed to do dying for art - and that's cost a small fortune with mordants - various natural dyes and unprocessed cotton and fabrics. So my advice I'd get as little as possible to start with and then add as you go along.

If you've never used a sewing machine before I would suggest making some very simple things first. Lots on YouTube for beginners.
You will then learn all the rookie errors and your machine's idiosyncrasies.
Then progress onto your course once you have the basics.
I second old sheets, charity shop bedding and even low budget flat sheets can be cheaper than buying fabric by the meter.

I agree you really don’t need all of that.
I started with (as recommended by my beginners course) …
Fabric scissors
Small snipping scissors
Unpicker
One packet hand needles
Tape measure
’Glass head’ pins
Swedish tracing paper if you’re hoping to reuse patterns.
Plasters for when you inevitably have a fight with a needle
Fabric marker - I prefer pens to chalk

I rarely make a toile and if I do use old sheets/duvet covers from charity shops.

Thread - don’t try and shortcut, just use Gutermann and be done with it!

I get most stuff from Amazon (or Boyes if you have one locally).
Good online cheap fabric shops - Pound fabrics, Bombay fabrics.

Tilly and Buttons are great beginner patterns.

I also agree with Chewbacca's list, but personally do find tracing paper useful (assuming you're using a pattern, rather than make your own).

Some sort of marking tool is helpful, but I've been known to trace pattern pieces on fabric with a ballpoint pen (outline only, tailor tacks for everything else). Call me a barbarian, but on a relatively stable fabric, ballpoints work a treat.

I agree with PP that you need a seam ripper. I'd put that top of the list!

I have never made a toile. I don't think you need 80% of that list. You need a really good pair of fabric scissors that you don't use for anything else (I like fiskars), a packet of tailors chalk and/or a fabric pencil, a seam ripper for undoing accidents and some nice sharp pins. Maybe a needle and some contrasting thread for tacking.

Then the fabric you want to sew with (don't do anything with stretch in for a first attempt) and matching thread colour - go darker not lighter as a rule, if you can't get a match.

As others have said, you can cut that list right down. As you get into it you can add to the selection. I use gutermann thread, cheap stuff snaps ( or even had one melt).
My basics list
Needles
Pins
Measuring tape
Thread
Seam ripper
Good quality fabric scissors (I like Fiskars) these are worth the investment.

Extras
Pinking shears
Snips ( for little threads)
Tracing paper ( if you want to preserve an original pattern)
Clips, i often use them for pinning
Rotary cutter and board
Plastic ruler with good straight edge

Second most of the comments, but I do actually have a mannequin padded out to my dimensions. I do find it easier to pin, fit, alter and hem on her as she doesn't move around as much as I do.

Agreed with all of this here. If someone is giving away a mannequin (DB got given one and gave it to me) it’s nice to have but I honestly don’t use it. I don’t even use toiles that much either!

Pinking shears I like for fabric cutting.

Agreed re Fiskars being the best for scissors.

Dressmakers chalk is useful for tracing pattern onto fabric.

Glass head pins are nice but I’ve only ever used normal pins.

Hi Op, we are so lucky to have a great little shop within travelling distance - Masons of Abingdon. They are good for reasonably priced fabric. https://www.masonsfabric.com/

Also Birmingham rag market is brilliant for cotton fabrics, lots of Rose & Hubble for under £5 a metre.

What are you intending to make? If dresses you used to just buy the pattern you liked and it had lines for different sizes that you cut out on, then pinned to fabric and cut around, using pinking shears reduces the problem of fraying. Sewing is a big topic you need to narrow down what you want to do initially to decide what supplies you need to do what you actually want to do.

I used to make dresses for myself when I was young, they were pretty much just run up on the sewing machine from a pattern as described above and then hemmed by hand, but it was just for me and they looked great if you didn't turn them inside out and look too much at the detail of the seams!

I have also always made curtains to fit the windows.

I really mean the pins with a coloured head not the plain silver ones. Easier to see when you drop them and don’t hurt your fingers so much when you take them in and out. Just be careful not to iron the plastic ones!!

To echo all of the above.

You need pins, a seam ripper, a tape measure and a sharp pair of fabric scissors. All the other bits you will pick up if you find you want/need them as you go along.

It sounds like the book you have got thinks you will be doing some pattern drafting which at this stage you won't be.

If you want to make your own clothes and want to learn from a book consider starting with something like Tilly and The Buttons 'make it simple'. If you buy the book you can download PDFs of the patterns in it from her website and get them printed at a copyshop.

Be warned though, dressmaking is not just one hobby its at least two (fabric and pattern collecting being their own entirely separate hobbies seperate to the actual business of sewing)

I love the sewing clips. The branded ones are expensive, but amazon have cheap ones. You can get cheap fabric at Fabricland, ive also isednpound fabrics and bought a bundle of random fabrics for £30. Useful for practicing on diff fabric types.

Also when you get your supplies, especially your fabric scissors, guard them with your life. Things get "borrowed". No one touches your scissors on pain of death.

My fabric scissors have a label on them. It reads ‘fabric scissors only - do not use on paper’.