What’s in Your Sewing Kit?

You can tell a lot about people by what’s in their sewing kits. We are starting a new series of posts to share a little bit about the process of making and the tools sewists use to get things done. While we’ll feature the sewing kits of creatives across the country (world?), we thought it might be fun to begin by turning the tables on ourselves!

Lauren, what’s in your sewing kit?

I love gadgets and stuff that makes my sewing life easier, but I’m also always on the go. I need my tools to be consolidated, compact, and as lightweight as possible. My favorite item in my “sewing kit” is actually the kit itself: a sweet little pouch sewn for me by one of Rhonda’s favorite customers back when I lived in South Carolina (hi, Emily!). It’s gorgeous, and it fits just the right amount of notions for a day trip to a friend’s house or sewing studio. I use Gingher brand (the lightweight version) for scissors and snips, chalk pencils for marking fabric, and Clover binding clips for holding my quilt bindings in place. I also recommend the Curve Master presser foot for sewing lovely curved seams and the Hold It Precision Stiletto for pressing seams open and negotiating tight sewing situations without burning or impaling my fingers. (Man, I wish I’d found that one sooner.)

How do you organize/disorganize your supplies?

Every project gets a tote bag, and ideally all my supplies are either in my kit or in the Urbio system mounted above my sewing table. But truthfully, my studio tends to be consumed by the hurricane of whatever I’m working on in the moment, and I swear half of my sewing time is looking for the tool I need. I definitely have the space, but I need to get in the habit of being more organized; my second-grade teacher once told me that and apparently I haven’t made much progress!

Favorite time of day to be creative?

I have a three-year-old, so I can’t devote substantial time to sewing until after 8:00 p.m. Usually this means I’m hitting my stride around 10:00, get really really inspired around midnight, and finally cash it in around 1:00. alsdvjsdvnaipo Whoops! Just took a little nap on my keyboard.

What do you do to keep the creative juices flowing?

Some of my best ideas come while I’m working on other projects. If you tell me I need to come up with an idea today, I won’t be able to make it happen… but if I have three garments to finish and four loads of laundry to do, I will design the world’s most awesome quilt. Sewing always helps me percolate on what’s coming next.

Rhonda, what’s in your sewing kit?

I am not much of a ruler or gadget girl. I do have a crazy collection of the more obscure Clover sewing tools, but my day-to-day tools are pretty basic. I am a total scissor snob and would feel like my hands were cut off without my Gingher dressmaker shears, embroidery snips and rotary cutter. Karen Kay Buckley’s Perfect Scissors have micro-serrated teeth that make them a necessity for detail cutting. Sakura Micron pens, mechanical pencils and masking tape were toolbox staples in art school. Now they are sewing kit staples in my studio. Micron pens are great for signing quilts and sketching. They can also be used to fill in bleach spots on black fabric (guess how I figured that one out)!

How do you organize/disorganize your supplies?

I tend to make piles and project bags. I also put Post-it notes on everything. If Lauren saw the state of my studio right now, she would have a seizure.

Favorite time of day to be creative?

I like to create right after I wake up in the morning before anything happens to interfere with my mojo. Working on quilts after 5 pm is not a good idea for me. All of my math skills disappear after dinner.

What do you do to keep the creative juices flowing?

I keep a sketchbook and a little Moleskin notebook with me at all times. Knowing when to say when is important, too. If I can’t push through a task, I step away and go for a walk outside.

We want to know: what’s in your sewing kit? What can’t you live without?

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