This post is a collaboration between JOANN and I. All opinions are my own.
Get ready for these must have sewing tools you didn’t know you needed. Stand up. Stretch for a minute. Drink some water. Are you ready?? The sewing tools I’m about to show you will change your sewing life. You’ll wonder how you ever got by without them. You can thank me later :)
Let’s start with the fabric shaver. One of my favorite must have sewing tools.
Fabric Shaver
You’re probably thinking, “Why would I need to shave fabric?” Well, my friends, sometimes knits can be complete pills (see the pun there?). Pilling can make your knit pieces look super worn out and cheap. But there is hope! Enter the fabric shaver. This little device literally shaves off those puff balls of sadness, making your knits look brand new again. It’s also incredibly satisfying to do. Seriously. It’s almost like therapy for me.
Loop Turner
This basically looks like a long, skinny, metal stick with a hook at one end and a circle at the other. Don’t judge it by it’s minimalist appearance, though, this took is basically the magic wand of seamstresses. You can see in the video exactly how it works. You basically thread it into skinny straps, hook through the end, and pull it to turn it rightsideout. It’s also fantastic for pulling elastic bands through casings, and laces through hoodies. And at under $5, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t have one in your craft room.
Dritz Cone Thread Holder
I really hate having to rethread my machine everytime it runs out of thread. For a while, I tried to use serger thread, which comes in much larger lengths, but placing the cone in a jar. This just didn’t work out for me, and I was always having to adjust the thread to get it to have the right tension. Then one day, at JOANN, I came across a Cone Thread Holder. It was on sale for just over $10 and it is a GAME CHANGER. It makes cone thread work perfectly with any sewing machine. And it’s sturdy as all get out. I’m pretty sure the bottom plate is cast iron. Dritz isn’t fooling around on this one.
Wood Burning Tool
My sister used to work for one of the costume designers of Dancing With The Stars, and she told me this little secret: you can use a wood burning tool to essentially “cut out” appliques from tulle fabric. The precise heat from the tool makes it easy to gently slice through the tulle as close to the applique as you want. Be careful though, these tools get super hot!
Narrow Hem Foot
Though the world can’t decide whether we want to call this the “narrow hem foot” or the “rolled hem foot” rest assured, it’s one of the most wonderful presser feet out there. Normally, to do a rolled hem, you would have to flip your hem up, iron it, flip it up again to enclose the raw edge, iron it again, then sew it. AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. The narrow hem foot has a curve on it that literally does this whole process for you as you sew. It’s amazing. Just look at how lovely that narrow hem below it. No ironing required.
