5 Surprising Tools Every Sewing Room Should Have

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We all know about the basic tools, of course. Your scissors, pins, seam ripper, etc … But there are a few tools that have lived in my sewing room for years that I will never again go without! I’m here to share five of those unlikely, but oh-so-useful tools with you.

Unlikely sewing tool #1: Hemostats.

Yes, hemostats. The kind doctors use. Mine actually came from a medic my husband was friends with in his early days in the Army. I asked if he could score me a pair and they’ve been within arms reach in my sewing room ever since! They’re so useful for so many things, like turning tiny things right side out, getting stuffing into hard to reach places and reaching in to grab the elastic end you accidentally let slide inside its casing.

Unlikely sewing tool #2: Washi Tape

I love washi tape! If you’re unfamiliar, this is a decorative tape that you can find in the craft department of any store and in lots of cute prints, to boot. It’s different from regular tape in that it comes off very easily, without ripping paper or distorting fabric. I keep a roll of this handy in my sewing room for a few reasons. It’s very handy for taping the changes into pattern pieces I’m only temporarily altering, since it’s not permanent like other tape. I also use it to mark lines on my sewing machine when I’m sewing a deep hem or just need a line where my sewing machine doesn’t include one (on my serger too!). I also use a small piece of it to stick to the front pieces of something I’ve cut out, if the front and back look very similar, so I can tell them apart.

Unlikely sewing tool #3: An Awl

Many sewists have probably overlooked this notion, although they are sold in the fabric store. An awl has many uses, including helping to feed fabric through your machine if it’s stuck, without getting your fingers involved. It can also be used to turn seams the right direction as they go under the machine. An awl punches holes for snap setting or animal eyes and can get you started when you’re cutting button holes open.

Unlikely Sewing Tool #4: Tweezers

I didn’t know how dependent I was on my sewing room tweezers until they went missing one time. Threading my serger is a huge pain without them! While similar to the hemostats, tweezers can reach things the larger hemostats can’t. They’re also useful when putting your buttons in place if you sew buttons on with a button foot. Mine have an edge on that that I use to tighten or loosen the screw that holds my needle in place (though a set of micro screwdrivers lives in my sewing room as well).

Unlikely Sewing tool #5: Scotch Tape and Paper

Okay, I know this is two things, but they almost always go together. When making pattern alterations (and I almost always need to after making a muslin), I use plain ole’ printer paper and scotch tape. It’s irritating to have to go upstairs and get some, so I make sure to keep a stack in my sewing room at all times, right on my desk. Scotch tape on a dispenser is indispensable (see what I did there?) for making alterations and of course, for taping together your indie patterns. Mine has a permanent place on my cutting table and I keep refill rolls in my desk. Like my sewing scissors, my family knows better than to remove my tape dispenser from the sewing room!

That’s five! But I can’t end it there. There are some just-for-fun-totally-optional things in my sewing room that I LOVE and count among my favorite things.

First is my Spotify Premium Family account!

I procrastinated on going premium for way too long, but now that we have it, we’ll never go back. They don’t even have an affiliate program, so this is not an ad, ha! I just like it that much. Each family member can have their own account and we have any music imaginable at our fingertips. It pretty much feels to good to be true. You can even play your podcasts on it and we all know podcasts and sewing go together like PB&J.

Second is my Bose Colorlink Speaker.

My husband got this for me for Christmas one year and it was a huge suprise, we don’t usually do more than stocking suffers for each other to keep the Christmas budget under control. But it’s seriously one of my favorite things and I use it in the sewing room and all over the house constantly.

Third is my Bluetooth Noise Reducing Headphones.

I hesitated big time on buying these because the price was so much less than what’s mostly marketed these days, but they’ve been awesome. They do a good job of blocking out the Fortnite noise that I partially share a room with, so I can hear my podcast, so that’s a win in my book.

Your turn!

What items do you love having in your sewing room? I’d love to hear about them! Maybe you have a tool I didn’t even know was out there. Lemme know in the comments!

Cheers :)