Basic Tools for Hand Sewing

Review and List of Tools for sewing (not just doll clothes)

Presented below is a prioritized list and review of some basic sewing tools for successful hand sewing. The priority is Necessary (or must have), Useful (or commonly used in almost every project) and Nice to have. The likelihood is that if you have done any hand sewing before you probably have the Necessary sewing tools, and at least some of the Useful sewing tools. Some items have links to specific review articles. If you want more links, post a comment.

Many people ask about using a sewing machine for making doll clothes. I could write a lot on my opinion about whether a sewing machine even makes sense to use when making doll clothes for personal use (yes if your trying to mass produce an article of doll clothes, there is certainly the potential for time saving with a machine).  But for the sake of this post, the focus is on what other tools are useful to have whether you plan to use a sewing machine or not.  As you do more sewing, you will discover that there are just somethings that are easier to do by hand - either because it is that simple a task or because more precision is called for that can be achieved with a device that is typically intended to be used for 3/8 inch are larger seam allowances.

The other tool that is a given, is an iron, as there is just as much pressing needed in completing doll clothes as there is in making any article of clothing.  Now on to the rest.

Necessary Tools

Can not do much sewing without most of these tools - although the notions are project specific, having the basics on hand will reduce trips to the store.

Needles, pins and pin cushion.  These should be obvious but lets running through their uses. 

Needles - I use sharps, but embroidery works as well.  Sharps are narrower in the shaft,  so they can easily fit through beads and the sewing holes in snaps.

Pins to hold your pattern to the fabric during cutting and to hold the pieces as you sew then together with out the pieces shifting. 

Pin cushion or other item that you can store your pins and needles so they don’t end up on the floor, or in your foot ( speaking from experience!)

Thread - Just a couple of basic colors are absolutely necessary : White or gray for sewing on lights and black for sewing darks. . Ultimately you would want to match your thread to your fabric.

Seam ripper- Because mistakes happen.  It is also very useful if you are upcycling fabric for doll clothing.

Pencil - for tracing patterns and marking seams and hems. When making seams or hems draw a faint line or just a few well spaced dots as a sewing guide.

Chopstick for turning sleeves and legs - pushes the ends through, but has a blunt end to minimize damage to the sewn seam.

White craft glue and small paint brushes - glue can be used on the very edge of the fabric to stop fraying and can also be sued to finishing edges and creating hems.  With very loosely woven fabrics, you can glue between the fabric edge and the seam line to hold the fabric/stop fraying before sewing the seam.

Basic notions as required by project like snaps, velcro and elastic. Does the project need a closure device - snaps, velcro or hooks and eyes? Or are you making pants or bags that need elastic or drawstrings? There are a wide variety of these items available - but the key thing to remember is scale. 1/8 inch ribbon or ribbon would be the equivalent to over 1 inch wide in the 1:1 scale world, so stick to the smallest available that you can work with.

Yarn needles for threading elastic in waistbands. When you create the waistband tube (casing) which should be between 1/8 and 1/4 inch wide, you then pass the needle threaded with the elastic through the tube.

Scissor devoted to cutting fabric, if possible. This way the scissors remains sharper longer and gives you a nice smooth cut.

Tissue paper or thin paper to copy patterns as many doll patterns are published in books and not printed on pattern paper.

Useful Tools

Tools that are often used, and can simplify some sewing steps.

Pad of tracing paper - useful for tracing patterns, but also allows for more durable patterns for remaking the same clothes.

 Scissors devoted to cutting paper

 Clear ruler (Quilter’s Ruler) for marking seams and drafting patterns. For doll scale clothes, a 6.5 x 6.5 sized ruler is a good place to start since this will give you long enough edges to pre cut fabrics for projects as well as enough length to mark most hems without having to shift the ruler.

 Hem measuring gauge also used to mark seams and hems.

 Thread to match project fabric

 Clips - used some times in place of pins, but also helpful for organizing pattern and fabric pieces

Nice to Have

If your serious about sewing, these are great additions to your toolbox.

Locking tweezers - good for grabbing and pulling fabric when turning seams

Small rotary cutter and Self-healing cutting mat (not shown) - this is a 45mm blade. Rotary cutter is another way of cutting

Tailors chalk - can draw or trace pattern pieces directly onto the fabric. Chalk usually brushes off easily, but you should test it on a scrap of fabric first.

Rubber needle grip - helpful for pulling needles through multiple layers of cloth, especially if some glue has been used. Better than trying to push the needle through against a hard surface (which I have done too) as the needle may bend or worst break from the pressure (which I have also done).

Thimble - Another way to push a needle through tough layers if you are use to using them. Protects your finger tips as well.

Needle threader - Especially useful with small eyed needles like Sharps

More notions for specific projects - ie small glass beads to be used as buttons