9 Nov 2011

Guest Post: My Favorite Sewing Tools!

Hi people! My name is Sølvi and I blog at delfinelise, and I am thrilled to help Tors out this week!

Hi! I´m Sølvi

Nice to meet you!

My initial thought was to write something about dressing stylish for winter, but since that topic already´s so well documented by Sarah and Suzy, I decided to share with you some of my favorite sewing tools!

I am always interested in new ways of improving my sewing skills, and I am always on the lookout for new cool stuff that can make my sewing experience even better. How about you? Do you have any special tricks or gadgets that makes your sewing more enjoyable?

Well, here it is, my top list:

1. Measuring tools. The classic Sømometer is a typical Scandinavian gadget, and as you can see from the picture, all the most important measurements are printed on it. Invaluable! My measuring tape is pretty sweet too, as it has one side with inches and one with centimeters, and it is printed for lefties! I am left-handed, and it´s so cool to have a measuring tape where the numbers start at the right side, much easier!

My favorite tools

2. The second thing I´ll share is my sketching tools. I have a fashionary, witch is a sketching book with body templates. I sketch my design ideas in it, so I don´t forget, and I can always go back and see what I have actually made, and what I haven´t . I always color my sketches using my Caran d´Ache pencils. I've had them for ages (I am talking 20+ years here...), and they are so perfect for coloring!


fashionary drawings 

3. The next things that are invaluable to me are my sewing books. As I use A LOT of BurdaStyle Magazine patterns when I sew, having a good reference book nearby is crucial, as the Burda descriptions tends to be quite foggy. A good fitting book is important as well, so I know I don´t spend hours on a garment only to find that it doesn´t fit. 

My favorite tools

4. For prepping patterns and transfering them onto the fabric I love to use my Signet Color chalk. It´s got cartridges in different colors, and it works well on many different types of fabric. I love that it has the shape of a pen as well, as it makes it more pleasant to write with than some of the other tools on the market. Pictured is a hand held hole punch as well. It´s perfect for punching holes in the paper pattern so that I can makes accurate markings on the fabric.

My favorite tools

5. Next up are my favorite cutting tools. I depend heavily on my rotary cutter and cutting mat, it makes fabric cutting much more accurate and fast. I love my metal ruler as well, it´s super long, and with a 90 degree angle it´s perfect for cutting straight lines.

My favorite tools

6. The last thing I would like to share with you is my favorite way of storing pins while sewing. It´s a belt for the sewing machine! I don´t have a big sewing space, so I love how this keeps (most of) my pins, sewing machine needles and needles in place. I found the tutorial for this on Martha Stewart.

My favorite tools

So there you have it, my favorite sewing tools. Enjoy!

11 comments:

  1. I love the pin belt idea, I'm so stealing that idea! Off she trots to Martha Stewart...

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  2. Thanks for sharing your tools, and I have a twenty year old tin of those pencils too! Slightly different set, a smaller one, but cool to see. I might try one of those sewing machine bands although I think there might be dials in the way...

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  3. Thanks all, I´m happy to share! :-)

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  4. Love your coloured chalks!! In fact I need them. Do you buy them online?

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  5. Ooooh, I want a Sømometer now!

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  6. @Suzy, I did in fact by them in my old hometown, but I know I´ve seen something similar online. It´s from Dritz, and after checking it out it seems to often be available in the quilting section, but I found mine where all of the other haberdashery were. A quick online search gave me this: http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/086771.html, and it´s also available on Amazon. Good luck hunting! :-)

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  7. You have some fantastic tools! I love the chalk kit and the pin belt! Genius!

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  8. hey nice designs, your designs and equipments are really good.
    tools for english language

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