Back to School - Sewing Supplies!

After a long time deliberating and actually trying to find any kind of classes in my area...I have enrolled in Community College!

(It worries me which character I might be....there are also only 6 of us in the class)

Its a City & Guilds certified class in dressmaking - it really is back to basics but unfortunately it was the only one running this year, and I figured there's no harm in going right back to scratch and learning the right techniques rather than ones I just acquired over time through books/Internet.

And what is the best thing about a new semester? New supplies!

I thought I would just do a quick run down of a few of my favourites out of this little bundle of essentials. Not only did I treat myself to some class specific needles, glass head pins (don't use plastic they will melt under the iron if you forget one!!) and seam rippers there are also:

Fiskars Fabric Scissors
Looks at these bad boys! Fiskars are amazing sharp fabric scissors and as an alternative to their trademark orange, I managed to a find zebra print on PlushAddict. They are marked as 'designer' scissors and also come with a rotary cutter which is pretty handy. I don't really use rotary cutters all that much but may try it in future for slippery fabrics. I believe you can also get a cheetah print version as well. Whilst it may seem a little indulgent getting 'designer' scissors there is method to the madness - in a sea of orange scissor at least I will know which are mine!

Clover Chaco Pens
I cannot recommend these enough. It has made tracing patterns and markings an absolute dream! The pen style holder makes them easy to handle and draw - however it has a tiny rotary wheel at the end that releases the coloured chalk for marking. The chalk lasts absolutely ages and is also refillable. The lines produced are also very visible, it doesn't come off so easily that you loose your markings, but it does brush off with effort so your finished project is intact. LOVE THEM. I found mine on Amazon.

Tape Measure
Bit of an obvious one however this handily has both centimetres and inches on the same side and in the same direction. I find this very useful as usually there is quite a mix of metric/imperial going on when it comes to sewing.

Thread scissors
So I already have a pair of these for home but a secondary 'class' pair was a necessity - I tried to use some provided last week and it was like cutting thread with a teaspoon. These lovely stork scissors are from eBay.

Pin cushion
Granted, I could have made one but...well this guy is cute and only £3. Again from PlushAddict I just popped him in the basket for instant satisfaction and a place to keep all the pins tidy on the shared tables. The pins do turn him into more of a hedgehog!

What's your bit of essential kit? I'd love to know :-)

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