Originally Posted by LyndaK
Good for you starting to sew and quilt with your youngster! Get them going young, I say!
Do you have a basic sewing machine yet? Look at used ones, depending on your budget, but stay away from the cheaper ones sold at Walmart etc. You can often get a good used machine from a sewing machine shop that will last longer and has more features.
Next, rotary cutter and rulers. I'd get a 45 mm rotary cutter and blades, and a 6 x 12 and 12 inch square ruler. I like my 6 x 24 inch ruler too. A cutting board, the largest you can afford and accommodate is good. The cutters are very very sharp. Keep away from kids and clutzy husbands!
A decent iron and ironing board are needed, or pressing surface of some sort. Once again, depends on budget and sewing space.
Basic sewing kit for me includes good scissors, thread snips, 6 inch ruler, tape measure, long pins, handsewing needles(get an assorted package for now) and a pincushion(I like magnetic ones, that's a personal choice.)
As with most things, buy the best you can afford, or budget and save a little for the better quality items. That really is important for fabric and sewing machines IMO.
Depending on where you're located, sales at places like Joann Fabrics, or in Canada, Fabricland are great for some of the basic tools.
I started out with an iron, ironing board, sewing machine, scissors, pins and tape measure. We didn't have rotary cutters. We used cereal boxes to make templates for our quilt patterns...primitive huh!:)
I also found the Eleanor Burns made easy books to follow. I think her Log Cabin was one of the first full-sized quilts I made, after a basic 9 patch. There ya go. One person's opinion. Have fun!!
2 kenmores 1 broken 1 not. Idea was to get a working one to finish the project I was working on and find paperwork to get other fixed, then Veronica could have one to use as well.
I have a rotary cutter, no idea what size and it doesn’t cut well. I have no idea what I used it on in the past. Didn’t know you could sharpen the blades or buy new ones. I have a June Tailor Perfect half square & quarter square triangles template and a 4 x 18 ruler. I also have a 17 x 23 cutting mat. I have my eye on a bigger mat with shapes printed on it at work that I wanted to get, but I also wanted to get out to joann’s to see what they have.
Have an iron that seems decent and an ironing board, just trying to find a better cover that doesn’t rumple.
let’s see I have new scissors for material I just bought after reading about the importantance of separate scissors. Multiple tape measures, thread snips, couple packs of needles. I have a magnetic bowl full of pins, but I need to get the longer quilting pins. I do not have a six inch ruler but do have a 12 will that work?
I’ve seen the plastic for making templates, now I can finally use them. Told my husband that he gets to make me some templates for quilting cause he does that for his woodworking. ;)
Thanks for the advice and good wishes.