9 Essential Sewing Machine Accessories You Should Have
Owning a sewing machine doesn’t necessarily mean you have all you need to start your sewing project. There are a few accessories that are essential and a few others that would be a nice addition to your accessory box. To get you started, I have arranged a list of accessories you need to make your sewing project run a lot smoother.
What Sewing Machine Accessories Do I Need
Contents
The list of sewing machine accessories you need is almost endless, depending on the project you’re handling, you’ll need accessories like sewing machine cover, magnetic seam guide, machine feet, maintenance kit, thread, bobbins, scissors, needles, tape measure, and pins.
It’s not enough to get any kind of sewing machine accessory. Sometimes, you need a special accessory for a special project. It is important to know the exact demands of the project you’re working on.
9 Essential Sewing Machine Accessories
These accessories are essential because every sewer needs them for basic projects.
1. Scissors
You’re going to cut through a lot of things while sewing. It is, therefore, essential to get a good pair of scissors. One pair is never enough. If you’re using the same pair of scissors to cut through fabrics, papers, thread, and other materials, the sharpness of the blade reduces overtime.
Instead, keep a pair for cutting through fabrics and a smaller pair for cutting through threads whenever you need to rethread your sewing machine. You can also have another pair for cutting paper and other materials.
2. Chalk
Another essential accessory you need to make your sewing experience a lot easier is chalk. A chalk will come in handy when you need to paint a mark onto your fabric. Chalks are ideal for painting temporal marks into fabrics because they can be removed by another fabric piece.
You can simply grab a piece of fabric and brush off the chalk marks on your main fabric. If you can’t get your hands on chalk, you may use pencil crayons just as long as you can wash them off.
3. Seam Ripper
The seam ripper is an important machine accessory that is used for removing a stitch or seam. Removing seams with a pair of scissors is not quite easy. What you need for this task is something tiny or pointy to fit into those thread loops. A seam ripper is especially important if you’re handling an embroidery stitch.
4. Measuring Tape
A measuring tape is another good accessory for every sewer. It’s important to buy a tape that has imperial markings and metric measurement markings. Basically, what you need is a tape with inches on one side and centimeters on another side. These markings allow you to work with any kind of pattern from around the world.
Half of the world uses centimeters with just three country using inches, but you’ll find that half of the guides and sewing pattern you’ll see online is in inches while the other half is in centimeters. These two measurements can be a bit confusing. This is why it is necessary to get the appropriate measurement tape.
5. Iron and Ironing Board
If you’ve ever sewed before, you should know the importance of owning a good iron. When buying one, be sure to get an iron that has good heating settings. If you want to work with tin fabric types, you need an iron that can be set to know temperatures.
Be sure to buy an iron that can get to a temperature as low as 275 Fahrenheit and higher up to 445 Fahrenheit. An ironing board is also a great accessory to have around your workspace. Be sure to get a board that offers the right shape and size for your space. If you can’t get a board, you may use a table.
6. Sewing Machine Cover
You’ll be making a big mistake if you leave your sewing machine uncovered. Dusts and dirts could get into the vital parts and prevent your sewing machine from working at an optimal level. When your machine is not in use, be sure to keep it safe by covering with a sewing machine cover.
7. Maintenance Kit
Your sewing machine needs regular clean up and maintenance. The mechanical parts needs to be oiled too. A maintenance kit is therefore important to keep somewhere around your working space.
Be sure to keep screws, cleaning materials and a special sewing machine oil in your maintenance kit. Whether you do get a maintenance kit or not, be sure to hire professionals to give your sewing machine a proper clean up once in a year.
8. Hard Carry Case
Sewing is by no means a static profession. Sometimes, you may want to take your sewing machine to class, a sewing conference, or a client’s place. A hard carry case is perfect for taking your machine wherever you go. Apart from being helpful in carrying your machine wherever you go, it also ensures dust or debris do not find their way into your machine as you move from place to place.
9. Needles
Well, you need needles to sew clothes don’t you? In fact, you need both sewing machine needles and hand sewing needles. Also, you need as many of these needles as possible. It’s recommended that you replace your sewing machine needle as often as possible to avoid bending or breakage while working on a project.
Also, you may want to do a little research on the perfect sewing machine needle for your project as different fabric types require different kinds of needles. For example, you can’t possibly expect to use the same needle for silk fabric and denims. One is light and the other is extremely tough. This is why you need a little research on the best kind of needle for the fabric you’re working with.
Special Sewing Machine Accessories for Quilting and Embroidery
These accessories might not be necessary for the basic level sewer, but if you’re working with quilting and embroidery projects, these accessories are just as important as the ones listed as essentials.
1. Special Quilting Feet
If you’re using a newer sewing machine model, you should be able to get special quilting feet for it. Special feet applies the perfect amount of pressure to your fabric. They make everything else run smoothly and give your project a professional look. If you’re getting a special quilting foot, you may want to buy quilting guides as well. Quilting guides helps you sew your quilts at an even distance.
2. Spool Stand
When working with quilts and embroidery, there are usually different types of threads to choose from. If you prefer sewing with multi colors and different thread types, a spool stand can be quite helpful. It helps keep your sewing area neat and ensures you can easily get your hands on the thread type you want. Some spool stand can hold as much as 50 spools.
3. Sewing Clips
When working with embroidery and quilts, we tend to move our fabrics around a lot. To get everything to stay in the right place, you need a lot of clips. If you’re working with multi-fabric layers, it’s not ideal to simply pin the fabric pieces together. Instead, a sewing clip can help hold everything in place and neatly too.
4. Electric Cutters
If you’re working with quilts, one thing’s for sure: you’ll have lots of cutting to do. Normally, you can do these cuttings with scissors, but you’ll certainly feel the effect in your arms. An electric cutter allows you to relax your arm while cutting your fabrics perfectly.
If you’re going to buy electric cutters, do well to get a few. You don’t want to cut through thin materials with the same cutter you use for leathers. The blades can quickly go blunt and they are not the kind of blades you can simply sharpen.
How Many Sewing Machine Accessory Do Begginers Need?
There’s no way to put a number on the accessories you need while starting out. You can simply get as many as you can and wait till you need a specific accessory before adding it to your toolbox.
Can You Use All Sewing Machine Accessories With All Machine Models?
No, this does not work. Different machine models have different accessories that fits them. Before you buy a sewing machine accessory, be sure to ask for the one that fits your machine model.
- How To Hem Chiffon With Tape - January 21, 2024
- How To Fix Ripped Jeans That Ripped Too Much? - January 9, 2024
- How To Make Pants Waist Smaller Without Sewing? - January 8, 2024