So I look at quite a few different and new blogs on a daily basis to see what else is going on in the world and because I like to get an idea on what sort of thing people like to read and recently I've come across a lot of 'What's in my Handbag' posts. Now, the contents of my handbag are actually pretty dull, purse, mobile, wrappers, spare change etc so I decided to show you what I have in my sewing box that I take to university with me because that is definitely WAY more interesting!
This also ties in with me trying to shift the focus of my blog posts back to fashion and also I feel like I should do at least 2 blog posts a week to keep me happy.
I also think it's good to do a post on this to give a general idea of whats required to help anyone considering a university course or class in pattern cutting because when I started at my university course I had very little to go on until I actually got there.
So, yeah, here is my sewing box and all of the tools I use on a daily basis as a pattern cutter! And for those of you who don't know what I do, a pattern cutter drafts and creates pattern pieces which are then used to create garments. It can be pretty tricky depending on how difficult the design is but it gives you a cool insight to some tools of the trade...
Okay so here is the sewing box, as you can see there is a whole load of stuff in it ranging from postit notes to scissors and various blades... I'll admit when I received all this after ordering it in 1st year I was shocked because some of the stuff looks like torture implements! It's very much a mixture of professional tools seen commonly with fashion students and other little tools I've picked up here and there and find quite useful.
Measuring tape...very self explanatory, I use this to measure the body, for example the length of a dress from the waist down etc. This is pretty handy in pattern cutting too instead of using my set square and also because a measuring tape can go around the body whereas the set square can only go in straight lines. It goes without saying that everyone in fashion needs a tape measure!! If you can preferably get one that operates in both centimeters and inches .
Pins and a pin cushion, oh my gosh I only invested in the pin cushion wrist band last year and I have no clue how I got through the first two years at university without it! A pattern cutting table can become very cluttered with pens, scissors, tape measures and long rolls of paper so there's nothing worse than having your pins join the mix. I'm also very territorial of my stuff and don't like it going too far so this wristband for me to keep my pins on is great! Also it's fantastic for when you're working on a mannequin as you're not going between that and the table setting down or picking up the pins you need in order to fit a garment. Life saver!!
Assorted needles, I don't know why but a hand sewing needle is so hard to find in our university workshop so I bought my own. Accidents happen and sometimes you have to resort to hand sewing in order to fix it. There's been a few times when I've accidentally overlocked a hole into a garment and instead of going over it again (which can reduce the seam allowance) I just try and limit the damage by hand sewing it. If I'm lucky my lecturer doesn't notice and my grade stays good!!
This is an awl (hope I spelt that right) and it looks a little like a torture implement but I use it to keep a pattern in place when I'm pivoting a dart, more commonly I just use it to put holes in pattern pieces when I can't be bothered to find a hole punch haha!! Its not a tool I use very often but still handy to have.
This is a drill hole, it's used to make a hole in the garment where a dart is (that's the common use of it anyway) but again, I sometimes use this to make a hole in my pattern when I can't find a hole punch!
Now I can't remember what this is called but it's used to trace around pattern pieces, I have never used this before but I've seen a bunch of people in class trace their pattern pieces with it and it does appear to work, personally I'm old fashioned and just use a pencil and ruler.
Pattern notchers! This is a rather complex looking tool considering it just puts a little rectangle cut in paper to mark a notch in the pattern. I use this so much so yeah, get one!
Various snips and means of undoing stitches. The ones on the far right are a pair I got at the start of 1st year and have never really worked, I dunno if they're blunt or slightly broken because the two blades close but don't actually snip the thread. The stitch pickers on the left are my go to for undoing any stitch, hem, overlocking that's gone wrong but the blade in the middle is definitely the fastest way to undo any stitch, slices through them like a hot knife through butter.
Thread scissors, self explanatory, just use them to snip the thread on my sewing machine/garment once I'm finished with it.
Various blades, I got these last year to cut through some leather fabric I had because it was much easier to use these than to actually cut into the fabric however I've found recently that they are also great for cutting out corners and curves on pattern pieces and keeping them neat.
Sellotape! good for my big patterns where I need to attach two pieces together but also for getting hair and dust off my garments! That is until I bought my lint roller (below) which was an absolute godsend for my collection this year (see previous post) as I wanted all my garments to be handed in in pristine condition!
Pattern hooks! I've started my own little collection over the years and they are fantastic for in the house. These are used to keep patterns neat so they can be hung on a railing alongside your clothes but they're also great in the house as it means I can hang my patterns on the back of my door for future reference. My room is very small and all my patterns take up quite a lot of room so it's great to get them off the floor!
These are a small collection of my scissors for pattern cutting. The two on the right are used for cutting fabric, I prefer to use the smaller silver ones for cutting into more fiddly bits and the ones on the left are for cutting my paper patterns. From day one it was installed into our heads that you never use your fabric scissors to cut paper as they can blunt so easily and stop being so good at cutting neat lines in your fabric so it's a top tip to buy specialty scissors for fabric cutting.
Hemming web is great, I get this particular kind from Hobby Craft and I use it mostly at home to finish my garments because I don't have an overlocker but it's great stuff, my mum would always swear by this stuff when I was little and now I do!
Pattern chalk, I just bought some more in red and blue because there's nothing worse than trying to cut out a white chalk outline on white fabric but it's great stuff. Chalk is better than some of the pencils and stuff I've seen for tracing around patterns as it can just brush off instead of having to put them in the wash to get the pattern marks off.
And finally safety pins, they are a must have for anyone working with clothes including tailors and stylists, rips happen, calculations can go wrong and it's up to the safety pin to save the day when you want something to fit better or you want to try and cover up and nicks in the fabric!
So that's my sewing box for university. As you can see some of the stuff is pretty common and easy to get a hold of whilst others are a bit trickier.
Here is the website I got all of my tools from
http://www.eastmanstaples.co.uk/ its a great site and easy to work and if I remember correctly all of the stuff arrived in good timing and I even got a free bag to carry it all in.
Some of the stuff is pretty costly but there are usually cheaper alternatives on ebay and the like, a lot of my class get things off amazon as well which is where I usually purchase all of my books for research!
