What’s in my sewing room
In the pantheon of dubious truisms, one of the most pernicious must be “It’s a poor workman who blames his tools”. I have never heard this said in any environment where the tools provided weren’t complete crap.
Looking back, I feel like I spent much of my childhood wrestling with shoddy tools. Probably the worst culprits were left-handed school scissors. Other southpaws may remember them: sticky-hinged, rusty, blunt-bladed and with handles that bit into your knuckles. They were so abysmal I eventually gave up and learned to cut right-handed. They also taught me the absolute futility of common ownership of tools. To this day, hands off my Ginghers if you know what’s good for you.
I fell in love with good tools the first time I ever used a properly sharpened chef’s knife, the kind you only have to stroke over the skin of a tomato for it to part like tearing silk. Using it instantly transformed meal preparation from drudgery into flow — a state of pleasurable absorption in which time no longer mattered. I wonder how many people think they don’t like cooking merely because most of their time in the kitchen is spent fighting against blunt knives, flimsy pans and dead stove sparkers.
Similarly, I spent my first couple of years as a home seamstress thinking I had no natural ability because I found it fiendishly difficult to achieve passable results even on seemingly simple projects. It was only later that I discovered many of my difficulties were due in large part to substandard tools — cheap plastic sewing machines, blunt shears, the wrong size needles, flimsy thread. Once I upgraded to good-quality tools, these difficulties vanished. (Which was a relief, but also meant I now had only my own ineptitude to blame when things went wrong.)
The Frister and Rossman Destiny, tool of the devil.
Sewing has a lot in common with cooking in that it requires specialized tools which might only get used a few times a year but for which there are no effective substitutes. A meal in the making can grind to a halt for lack of a grater or roasting pan; a beautiful dress can wind up in the Pile of Shame for lack of silk pins or a bias tape maker. I think this puts a lot of would-be sewers off, and I must admit that equipping a sewing room can hoover up a lot of money and time. But those of us who are even semi-serious about making our own food don’t scruple to equip our kitchens with electric mixers and turkey basters and citrus zesters, so why should we bridle at the idea of tailor’s hams, loop turners or pinking shears?
On the bright side, the tool-intensive nature of sewing gives it an element of magpie glee. You can always make an excuse to stop into a craft shop because there is always going to be something useful in there, usually at the pleasantly justifiable cost of £10 or less. Utilitarian shinies: the best of both worlds.
There are as many sewing setups as there are people who sew. I thought I’d give you a peek into mine. Here’s my sewing room, aka Atelier Catbox. Theoretically, this was meant to be a joint project room, but my sewing and I have almost completely annexed it. (Sorry, James! You snooze, you lose!) I probably should have prettied it up before taking the photo, but this at least gives you an accurate idea of what it looks like after I’ve finished a project: yes, like a cyclone hit it. Craft Rooms it’s not, but it is a happy mess.
Click through for the annoted image.
And here are some of the tools I use.
Measuring and cutting
Top to bottom: PatternMaster, Sew Easy French curve and quilter's ruler; rotary cutter, pinking shears, Gingher dressmaking shears, thread clipper, snips; sewing gauges. And measuring tape, obviously.
I mostly cut out garment pieces with shears on my living room floor, saving the rotary cutter for straight edges or small pieces, because it’s tedious trying to cut out anything larger than the cutting mat with a rotary cutter — you have to shift the mat underneath fabric and pattern, which invariably rucks everything up. The 24-inch quilters’ ruler is very useful, as it’s gridded and includes angle guides for cutting on the true bias, but I suspect it’s not 100% accurate. The Sew-Easy French curve I can’t honestly recommend for drafting — the edges feel like they’ve been hacked out with a handsaw. The PatternMaster is more useful and accurate, and comes in metric and imperial. The Fiskars snips (with gray and black handle) are excellent for clipping curves and snipping notches into seam allowances.
Pressing
Foreground to background: Sleeve board with cotton lawn and silk organza press cloths; tailor's ham; point presser/clapper; travel iron for small surfaces; spray bottle; iron with Teflon plate; feline assistant.
Pressing is a huge part of sewing, which is ironic (see what I did there?) because I have always avoided it whenever possible. I have a lot of pressing equipment, and I have to admit, grudgingly, that it makes all the difference. Sleeve boards and tailor’s hams are the kind of thing many sewers put off buying, but they are extremely useful for achieving better finish on garments. A tailor’s ham, for instance, can cure the Pointy Nipple Syndrome caused by bust darts. The spray bottle is for pressing linen or wetting press cloths; I don’t use steam from the iron very often as it’s hard to control. When I do, I fill my iron with bottled water because London tap water is so hard it can bork an iron completely within 6 months, turning it into a spluttering, limescale-spitting demon.
Marking
At left: Clover tracing wheel for use with carbon paper. Top to bottom: Hera, fine-point water-soluble marker, Chakoner chalk wheel, Sewline erasable marking pencil.
Different projects require different marking tools. The Chakoner chalk marker is probably one of the most useful sewing gadgets I own. About the same size as tailor’s chalk but much more accurate, it’s heart-shaped, refillable and fits easily in the hand, drawing a very fine line of powdered chalk using a rotating wheel. The chalk brushes off (usually). The Sewline pencil is a close second to the Chakoner; it handles like a mechanical pencil and the marks can be erased either with the eraser or with plain water.
Sewing
Bernina 830 in Horn cabinet, found on eBay. Cabinet open, sewing machine in operating position.
Cabinet closed, sewing machine lowered and stowed.
My knees literally went weak when I found this on eBay after eight months of waiting. The machine was a classic model I knew and loved, refurbished to near-mint condition. The cabinet had an airlift to raise and lower the machine, a custom insert for flatbed sewing and innumerable trays and drawers for notions. When I won the auction for just over half my maximum bid, I ran up and down the flat squealing. When the buildings across the road caught fire and we had to evacuate the house, it was harder to leave the Bernina than to leave the cat. It is my baby. (Sorry, Audrey.)
Some favorite gadgets:
Wrist pincushion
Why do I feel instantly more competent when I put this on? Who cares. No more groping for pins at a crucial moment. Constantly useful.
Scissors onna chain
Where are my scissors? James, did you take my scissors? I just had them. Goddammit, you put something down for one second in this house and… I already looked there. Are you sitting on them? Where the hell are they? Now I’m going to have to get off the couch and — oh, here they are. On this chain around my neck.
Fine point tweezers and seam ripper
Needle-nose tweezers. Good for pulling every last stray thread out of that seam you screwed up and had to unpick.
Vintage Singer hem marker
Menfolk like to pretend they don’t know how to use pins. If you haven’t got a reliable sewing buddy, here’s a good way to mark your hems accurately yourself. Adjust the red thingy to desired hem height on ruler, hold rubber bulb in hand, stand in front of marker and turn slowly in a complete circle, squeezing at intervals. The red thingy will puff a line of powdered chalk all the way around your skirt to mark your hemline. Sorted. (Avoid the Dritz/Prym hem marker as it is worse than useless.)
Simflex expandable gauge
If, like me, you are crap at getting buttonholes, tucks and pleats evenly spaced, you need one of these. It expands like an accordion to allow perfectly even marking. Watch out for pinched fingers.
The humble thimble
When I slip this on and pick up my needle, I feel like I’m taking my place among the billions of women, most of them nameless, who have stitched their way through the course of human history. Thimbles are sturdy, practical and utterly feminine. There are worse things to be.
Tell me about your tools!
Great tools! The erasable marker was new for me. What a handy thing to have for people like me who need a lot of direction when cutting and sewing.
Oh I know the pain of being a leftie – can’t use scissors, cake forks, calligraphy pens, play the guitar, the violin, etc etc. I too had to learn to cut out with both hands, and I can iron with either hand, which can be quite useful. I am in awe of your plethora of sewing equipment and I want to rush out and buy a sleeve board and a tailor’s ham!
I can iron with both hands. I thought everyone could…. I guess I’ll have to do a survey. teehee.
I want that sewing cabinet. It reminds me of the one my dad made for my mom. I used to think he was sooooo handy til I recently found out it was a kit. LOL however, she used it for 53 years so it was quality.
Fabulous post. I think about kicking one of my kids out so I could have a sewing room, but I guess that would make me a bad mom (they’re 15 and 12)…. so I am jealous! I can tell I will come back to this post for the discussion on tools -very handy. I want that hem- thingy!
Thank you!
Rena
15 year old shares with 12 year old, mom has a sewing room. LOL no, I’ve been there, and once they have their own room bombs wouldn’t shake them loose.
You made me laugh. 15 yr. old boy, 12 year old girl – bought this house so they would each have their own room (when they were 7 and 4, respectively)…. So although I would love to take you up on your suggestion – there would be MAJOR push back!
R.
LOL, I suspected as much but I had to try for your sake. LOL
oh, this just satisfies my nosy-nancy so much! Thank you. Very educational, too. I have been looking (even today in a thrift store) for a sleeve ironing board. I’ll add tailor’s ham to the list now, too, or consider making one.
That wrist pincushion is so sweet.
one thing I always knew was that I needed GOOD shears and needed to PROTECT THEM. I tie up the good ones, or even lock them up so that they are NOT convenient to use so that others aren’t so tempted by them.
and I’ve learned over the years that if my machine acts up it pays to toss the needle and put in a new one since so many of the problems with a machine that you wouldn’t believe were needle related are in fact related to a bur or slight bend on the needle.
If it isn’t the needle, it’s more often than not the thread path (thread jumped out of the proper path) or lint under the needle plate.
One thing I don’t have yet is a tailors Ham or sleeve roll. next on my list I guess.
Oh wow! I am so bad with tools. I have so very few! I JUST bought a ham in the last month, I mark with pen (so bad!) and occasionally tailors chalk, and I also just finally replaced my seam ripper of a dozen years last month as well. I want your Sewline pencil! And how delightful that you have a whole room to yourself, lucky girl!
Utilitarian shinies, best phrase of the day! Great post
the scissors rant
Comment left so that I will be able to recieve updates on this post and be able to find it again. Good post, thanks, Kitty
I hear you about the quality tools–finally got my first really decent kitchen knife a few months ago, and it has made life so much easier! And back when I was quilting, and had only a tiny sewing table and folding table for support, and no way to seriously organize my space so that stuff was out of the way…well, sewing was such a disaster that I quickly stopped bothering. Now that I spin and knit, I notice the same thing: crummy fiber, shoddy spindles, or rough knitting needles make my work a chore in ways it just doesn’t have to be.
Wow! That’s such a cool room. I only sew in a little corner, and yes, I should probably invest in some better sewing tools. The only good thing I have are my shears. I don’t even have a pressing ham or gridded rulers or curves or a chalk wheel…I use broken bits of chalk…maybe that’s why everything is always so inaccurate
It’s not me! 
I am so linking to this. True and funny.
I love your room. Sometimes I feel guilty buying so many tools that I don’t exactly need yet, but it’s so nice to know they are there when the time comes.
I co-opted the second bedroom when I moved in with my boyfriend/now husband. It comes with a cat box as well. He was upset the first time I called it the “sewing room”, but come on. He had one box and a futon in there when I arrived. He wasn’t exactly using it.
You’ve got a whole room for sewing?! That’s fantastic.
I bought one of those turn-it-inside-out tools you showed me, thanks for that!
Brilliant post and incredibly useful. Thank you so much for this insight. Am just about to start thinking about a new sewing machine, having worked on an old one I got for free last year. Have no idea where to start, other than to spend a decent amount of money.
O.M.G. It’s like John Lewis in your house! No wait, you have more tools than you could ever get at John Lewis!! Wow. My biro, scissors and ‘British history’ wooden ruler just don’t measure up (hehe).
Also, my grandfather was a carpenter and he used to pride himself on the hems the ladies of the house sported. Once I explained my uber-manly and gorgeous grandfather used to do them, my husband took on hemming duties with gusto.
I will totally bookmark this and send my beginner/intermediate/miserly students to read. Great post, I love your writing.
I just ordered a tailor’s ham and sleeve roll off Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecupcakegoddess) and I am SO EXCITED. (Is that sad? Weird?) I’ve been trying to press curves on the end of my ironing board for so long. It only sort of works. With the most recent dress I made, I had Pointy Nipple Dart Issue so badly, I ended up trying to press it out WHILE WEARING IT. (Luckily I had a Very Padded Bra on, so no burns.) So yeah, it was time for a tailor’s ham.
Here’s my sewing machine & feline assistant: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27472906@N06/4823218100/
I think my favorite tool is probably my wrist pincushion, too. My aunt made it and it is both useful and adorable.
Ahahaha! I have totally done the same thing — pressing while wearing — using either bra or an oven mitt for heat protection. Not recommended.
Your sewing assistant is adorable, by the way.
Oooo, thanks for sharing all of your favourite tools with us. So that hem marker really works? I might have to get one. Hubby does indeed claim to be useless with pins, so I save up all of my stuff and force my mother-in-law to do it when we go visit her down in Cincinnati or she visits us up here (she sews, and she bought me the sewing machine, so it is kind of her fault…).
That button spacer is fantastic, though. I love mine!
Your poor cat.
I have a couple of those chalkers, in white and light blue so I can mark both darks and lights.
I ought to make myself one of those wrist pincushions at some point. Pins aren’t easy to pick out of the Altoids tin where I keep them if I’m trying to hold something shut and watch it so it doesn’t slip, and when I fit for other people it’s hard to ask them to turn a bit or stop slouching if I have pins in my mouth.
What your customers don’t understand pin mumble? I thought it was an international language! LOL
What a great post. You’ve got a few things I covet!
I have hardly any tools. It’s true. Not sure if I’ll give up and go shopping one of these days or make a sport of it.
But tools aside, what I’d really like to know is: How is it that you have so much more sewing room than I do and you live in London?! (I remember people having standing-room only bedrooms there.)
Oh, and your sewing machine/cabinet is gorgeous!
Two factors: rich boyfriend, stabby neighborhood.
Maybe you can tell us where to pick up the rich boyfriend part of your equation. Pardon, but what’s “stabby”? (Definately not ” ‘Murican” English!
When I first met James he was wearing a moth-eaten T-shirt that said “junkie” and eating takeaway kebab out of a styrofoam clamshell. So I guess the first rule of picking up a rich boyfriend is to scope out men who obviously do not fritter away their money on things like clothes or food. I still can’t get him to buy new underwear without a struggle.
Stabby neighborhood = a place where stabbings happen with uncomfortable frequency.
Fortunately I learned to cut before I learned to write, so I learned to cut right-handed despite being a leftie in most everything else. You have a far better-equipt sewing room than I. I need a tailor’s ham in the worst way, for starters. I was just commenting on the benefits of having the right tools myself, after driving myself nuts trying to set snaps with not-quite-right dies.
I LOVE your hem-marker gadget.
I have sharp knives and high-quality pots, however, and I gotta say I still hate cooking.
Oh, the left-handed shininess of it all! Me too!
Thank you for the show and tell. I sure appreciate it.