Top 10 Favorite Sewing Notions
Sewing notions are defined as tools that help you sew, and I’m sure all of you who love to sew have favorite sewing notions that you like to use. Today, I’m going to share with you my top 10 favorite sewing notions.
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Top 10 Favorite Sewing Notions
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It was hard to narrow my list down to 10 favorite sewing tools!
I decided to make a video showing each sewing notion, and how I like to use it. There’s also a written list with a description of each sewing notion under the video. (List contains affiliate links, view my disclosures here).
- Glass head straight pins – These pins are 1 7/8″ long and are very sturdy. I find them much easier to work with than smaller pins, especially when I’m trying to pin several layers of fabrics together. The glass head won’t melt if the pins get too close to the iron.
- Magnetic pin bowl – I have several of these bowls around around my sewing studio. They aren’t made for pins, but are actually used by auto mechanics to hold metal parts when they are working underneath a vehicle.
- Hand-sewing needles – I love John James Long Darners for hand-sewing. They are long and sturdy.
- Leather thimble – This leather thimble made by Clover is very comfortable to use while hand-sewing. I think it’s much more comfortable than using a metal thimble.
- Sew grip gloves – These gloves help you grip fabric, threads or strings. I find them very useful when I need to pull threads or strings when I’m gathering a sewing project. They only have one review on Amazon, and it’s not a very good one. They may not be good for some applications, but for what I use these gloves for, they work great.
- Thermal thimbles – I just recently started using these thermal thimbles. They’re very useful when you’re ironing a sewing project. They help protect your fingers from the heat and steam of the iron. I’m adding this picture of my 3 year-old grand daughter in my sewing studio. She loves the thermal thimbles (she uses them like finger puppets – not with the iron), but was upset there weren’t 5 of them. So, she added a couple of thimbles.
- Seam ripper – I really don’t like when I have to do some “reverse sewing”, but when I do need to take out some stitches it helps to have a good seam ripper. I have two different kinds – one made by Dritz and the other made by Clover. Both work well. I think I prefer the Dritz seam ripper because it’s a little bit larger than the Clover seam ripper. Both have the red ball to help protect against ripping the fabric.
- That Purple Thang – I’ve been showing this tool in several of my pillow videos. It’s great for turning out corners, and I use mine all the time when I’m making pillows.
- OmniGrip grid measuring tool – This measuring tool is very useful for quilters, but I also use it when I need to measure for cording or banding. It has markings for 1/8″ and 1/16″, and has useful angled markings.
- 18″ metal straight edge – I use this 18″ ruler to mark pleats for draperies and valances. It’s useful for measuring lots of different types of sewing projects. I like that it has 1/8″‘ and 1/16″ markings.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what some of my favorite sewing notions are! What are some of your favorite sewing notions?
If you loved this sewing tutorial, you’ll love these tutorials too:
How To Make A Pillow With Cording
You might also enjoy this great Craftsy class! (affiliate link)
Sewing Notions Workshop with Linda Lee
I’m joining these parties!
Great list Jann and I have heard of the. Thermal fingers! And what an adorable model you have!! One of my favorite notions isn’t a sewing notion at all- it’s a long handled tweezers that I have had since my 29 year old so was 3! They used them to take stitches out with! They are particularly useful when threading my serger. My other favorite is a thick rubber band that I slide on to mark where my seam allowance is- easily movable and I can see it!
Thanks Caroline! I forgot about my tweezers. When you need that kind of tool, they’re great to have around. Very good to use to thread the serger. I love your rubber band idea!
My favorite tool is a bodkin. It’s a great way to insert braided elastic into a waistband. The bodkin opening is quite small so I only use this method on 1/4 or 3/8″ braided elastic. Cut your elastic on the diagonal and thread the point thru the bodkin opening about 1 inch. Fold over the 1″ point and using your sewing machine sew the two pieces together using 1.0 stitch, back stitch so it doesn’t pull apart when you thread the bodkin thru the opening. Insert the bodkin thru the waistband opening pushing it thru and pulling it along the waistband. This method will save you a ton of time and frustration.
I don’t have a bodkin, but it sounds like a great tool to have for waistbands!
Great post and video. And that is an awesome tip about the magnetic bowl. I will definitely go and find my husband’s in the garage, clean it up, and relocate it! LOL
Thanks Kim! Yes, if you have one of these magnetic bowls in your garage, you’ll have to relocate it. I’m sure your husband won’t mind. 🙂
Hi Jann,
I so enjoy stopping by your site to see what you are up to. Today’s post got me with the title. Sewing is something that I used to do much more of but still enjoy when I can. I just had to see what your favorite notions were.
I love the thermal fingers! I need to get them. I have burned my fingers more times than I care to remember trying to hold a tiny piece of fabric and get the iron over it.
My favorite notion is the Jean-a-ma-gig.
Sheila
Thanks Sheila! The thermal fingers are great! I’ve never used a Jean-a-ma-gig, I’ll have to give it a try.