Hand Sewing Tool Kit

Include a variety of needle types in your kit (e.g. long, short, sharps, ballpoint, big eyes, small eyes) to allow for versatility in stitching various fabrics and handling specific repairs. There are three main needle qualities:

Eye: Choose a needle with an eye that is big enough for your thread to pass through easily.

Shaft: The shaft has a length and a width. The larger the width, the larger a hole it will make when it pierces the fabric. When choosing a needle, go with the smallest width that still allows the thread to pass through the eye. A longer needle will hold more fabric and allow you to do multiple stitches at a time while a shorter needle is easier to maneuver when doing complex stitches.

Point: Hand sewing needles have either a sharp point or a ballpoint. As a general rule, sharp points are better for piercing through wovens and tight knits and ballpoints (which are dull to the touch) are better for loose knits because they can push aside individual loops to move through the fabric.

Optional

A needle threader makes threading needles faster and easier, especially with fine or small-eyed needles. Be careful, because many needle threaders are quite fragile! See How to Use a Needle Threader for detailed directions.

Optional

A thimble has two major uses:

1. To protect your fingers from accidental needle pricks and
2. To help push the needle through heavy material

There are many kinds of thimbles as well as thimbles for different fingers. Experiment with what works best for you.

Sewing machine thread is durable, all-purpose thread that will be used in a large number of your hand-sewing projects. It is typically polyester and has high strength and durability. Gather a wide range of colors so you can match different repairs. If the exact thread color isn’t available, choose the option that is slightly darker.

While the technical difference between yarn and thread is up for debate, the term yarn is colloquially used for thicker strands of fibers often used in knit garments. Yarn can be single strand or made of multiple strands (called plies) that are twisted together. Yarn is used while darning or doing repairs on heavier knits. Gather a wide range for colors so you can match different repairs.

Optional

Embroidery floss (sometimes called stranded cotton) is a loosely twisted, 6-strand thread, usually made of cotton but also made of silk, linen, and synthetic materials. Floss is used in embroidery due to its smooth texture, heavy weight and durability. It can also be used as a thread alternative for hand sewn repairs when a thicker thread look is desired.

Fabric scissors are designed to cut fabric with a clean edge to reduce fraying. Your fabric scissors should be very sharp and only be used to cut fabric, cutting items like paper and tape will dull them quickly. And it can be very frustrating to cut fabric with dull scissors!

Thread snips are small and ideal for quickly snipping away loose threads close to the fabric.

Optional

Small scissors, like thread snips, are great for snipping away threads close to the fabric and for trimming small fabric pieces, clipping curves, and cutting delicate materials.

The seam ripper is used to take out stitch lines and un-pick stitches. It is necessary any time you are doing a repair or an alteration and need to open the seams of a garment. Or any time you make a mistake!

A ruler is necessary is making accurate measurements and drawing straight lines. A straight or L-shaped ruler is used to measure, draw and create a fabric patch. A see-thru ruler can be extra handy for visibility when makes marks.

A soft measuring tape differs from a ruler because it can measure curved and irregular surfaces. It is essential for any 3-dimensional or curved measuring. And because its made of fabric, you can pin through it!

Straight pins are used to hold pieces of fabric together before and during sewing. Because they are made of metal, they can be kept on a magnet or magnetic tray!

Optional

Tailor's chalk is chalk that is made specifically for marking fabric. It can be used to mark stitch lines and patch placements, and is easily brushed or steamed away.

Optional

A heat-erasable pen is an alterative to tailor's chalk for marking fabric. It comes in a pen form which can be easier to maneuver than the tailor's chalk and it disappears with heat from the iron.

There is also a water-soluble version of this pen that uses steam or water to wash away.

Tip: A great brand of heat-erasable pen is Pilot FriXion

You will need a variety of types of fabric to make patches for your repairs. To choose the ideal patch fabric for performance and aesthetics, take the following aspects into consideration and match them to the garment:

Weave Structure - Whether the fabric is woven or knit.

Fiber Content - The fiber that the fabric is made of (cotton, nylon, etc). This will likely be written somewhere on the garment tag.

Weight - How thick and rigid the fabric feels.

Stretch - Whether the fabric stretches horizontally, vertically, or both.

Color - Matching color is up to personal discretion but often a slightly darker fabric will look less obvious that a slightly lighter fabric.

Preference - A preference for a contrasting patch for a more visible repair.

See Step 2 of Make a Fabric Patch for an example on how to choose fabric for your project.

An iron uses heat and steam to press out and release wrinkles and folds from fabric. You should iron any fabric you are using for a patch before cutting it and steam or iron the area of the garment that needs repair so it is smooth and easier to work on.

If you do not have an iron or ironing board, you can use your fingers to create folds and creases. This technique is called "finger pressing."

Temperatures

Double check any guidelines that come with your fabric, but as a general rule ironing temperatures are as follows:

An ironing board or ironing pad is a heat resistant surface on which you can use your iron.

Optional

Masking tape is great for marking areas that need to be repaired and for temporarily applying patches. The adhesive is usually light enough to not leave behind a residue on the fabric.

Optional

An area of fabric is placed inside an embroidery hoop to create tension and keep the fabric taut during stitching. While less useful in repairs because tension can stretch a tear or hole, an embroidery hoop is very useful when applying decorative stitching and doing embroidery.

Optional

A darning egg is a piece of wood shaped like an egg (or mushroom) that is used during darning repairs. It has two main purposes:

1. It creates a barrier between the damaged area and the rest of the garment. This is especially important in tight spaces like socks where it would be easy to accidentally grab the other side while stitching.
2. It provides a curved surface that can mimic a curved area on a garment, like a sock heel. Then the resulting darning patch does not distort the garment.

Optional

A Speedy Weave is a small hand-held tool used for woven darning repairs. It holds warp threads in place and helps guide the weft thread over and under them in an even pattern—essentially acting like a mini loom. It's especially helpful for creating clean, consistent darning patches on holes or worn spots in both knits and wovens.