What's in Your Sewing Box?

I was bouncing around the blogosphere Monday and ran across a post on Prudent Baby called Start Sewing: What You Need in Your Beginner Sewing Kit. It got me thinking about what I think is important to have in my basic sewing box. The truth is, it hasn’t changed much over the years. There are a million gadgets out there, but as long as you have these essentials, you are ready for just about anything.

-Thread – black, white, grey and cream will do just about everything you need
-Needles – I keep straw needles and embroidery needles as that’s what I like for hand sewing
-Thimble
-Good, sharp thread scissors with a pointed tip that cuts all the way to the end of the blade
-Good, sharp fabric shears (these will never be used on paper)
-Good, sharp paper scissors

-Rotary cutter with extra blades
-Fabric marker (non-permanent) – I love the Sewline pencil
-Pens, pencils, a Sharpie, and an eraser
-Notepad
-Scotch tape
-Glue stick
-Measuring tape (Sara recommends a retractable tape measure)
-1x6 clear acrylic ruler
-Good quality seam ripper – you want the blade to be flat and sharp

-Tweezers
-Magnetic pin cushion
-Pins – I like a longer pin with a glass head
-Binder clips for things that can't be pinned, or mini clothes pins
-Knitting needle for turning corners
-Bandaids
-Lotion – that fabric will dry your hands out
-Reading glasses – I only had to add this one in the last year!

Of all these things, it’s the three pairs of scissors that I consider the most important. This is where I would advise spending some money. I love my Fiskars shears and wouldn’t trade them for the world. We’ll have to have a seriously talk if I ever catch you cutting paper with them.

I use a tackle box to carry all this around in. You can read about that here.  Sara has a more traditional sewing basket seen here:

Here's a peek inside at some of what she has accumulated:

So what’s in your sewing box?