Beginning Sewing for the Re-enactor

Basic Equipment - Fabric Shopping - Getting Started

To quote luminary Douglas Adams, "Don't panic!"

Trust me.

Everyone has to start somewhere. While some people are gifted with a textile-friendly childhood home, where they learn to sew from toddler age, most of us do not. Except for some project involving burlap, plastic needles, and acrylic yarn in elementary school, I had never sewn at all before joining the SCA. There have been some truly horrible mistakes along the way, but I stumbled into having a decent grasp on the particulars of sewing...and you can too.

Let's start with the basics. To sew, you need three things:

1	Some basic equipment
2	Some fabric
3	A plan or a pattern.

Let's take these three items in order.

Basic Equipment

Everyone who sews will have a very different idea of the 'essential' sewing kit, so your mileage may vary. It's not necessary to lay out a lot of money for every specialized gadget (although that can be part of the fun!). A sewing machine is NOT a required piece of equipment, although it's a lot less painful to completely and irrevocably screw up the fit of a garment you machine-sewed in 2 hours than to screw up the garment you sewed by hand for 2 weeks. Here are the items I consider essential for the beginning sewer:

Measuring Tape	I'm speaking of the flexible kind from the craft store, not a hardware measuring tape (duh!). Strictly speaking, I suppose you could get away with a measuring string or a long piece of flexible paper (actually, the period way to do it!). But don't.
A straight edge ruler	Yardsticks are helpful, but even a cheap plastic 12" ruler is adequate.
Straight pins	Some people swear by a specific kind of pin (plastic head, long, short, dressmaker's pins). It is really not all that important as long as you're not using $30/yard 4 ply silk satin that mars when you put pins through it. I personally use plastic headed, 1.25" quilter's pins for virtually everything...when they fall on the floor, the brightly colored heads are easy to find before my husband steps on them and yells at me. The length is also adequate for pleating thick fabrics.
An assortment of handneedles	Even if you are a sewing machine devotee, you will need some hand needles. Singer's generic needle assortment works just fine.
A marking device	There are a lot of kinds of marking devices out there. Roughly speaking, they fall into three categories: chalk, water soluble pens or pencils, and tracing paper and wheels. Forget about the tracing paper and wheels. It's messy and inexact. Chalk vs. water soluble pen is really a matter of personal preference; try each and see which you prefer. Either way, you'll want one in white (for dark fabrics) and one in a color (typically blue, for white fabric). I use chalk almost exclusively, but be warned, chalk will rub off with repeated handling of the fabric so it's best to mark things you're about to cut immediately. If for instance you're using chalk to lay out a complicated design for applied decoration, you'll probably want to baste over the chalk lines with thread. Otherwise you'll be halfway through and realize that your chalk lines are gone! (Sneaky underhanded trick: when working with white linen and muslin, I actually use a regular #2 mechanical pencil and keep my marks within the seam allowance. It's much less fussy than either chalk or pens!)
Ironing board and iron	The importance of the iron CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED. Set up your ironing board near your sewing workspace, as you will need it often.
Thread	Start learning with good old Coats & Clark mercerized cotton thread. Cheap, strong, reliable, available nearly everywhere.
Seam ripper	Trust me. You'll need it.
Scissors or shears	If you're going to spend any significant money early on, this is the place to do it. Solid, good quality dressmaker's shears will last a lifetime with proper care and will make your life a dream. I bought a $50 pair of Gingher dressmaker's shears back in high school as a ridiculously expensive present to myself, and I still use those shears for every sewing project. When I've misplaced the shears occasionally, I want to cry trying to cut fabric with those orange handled Fiskar monstrosities. NEVER LET ANYONE USE YOUR DRESSMAKER'S SHEARS FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN FABRIC. NOT LEATHER, NOT PAPER, NOT PLASTIC PACKAGING. GUARD YOUR SHEARS WITH YOUR LIFE. After 11 years, my shears just now need sharpening and adjustment (available typically through your local craft store). If somebody uses your shears to cut something inappropriate, the nicks on the blade may ruin them.

And that's it. Really. Even today, probably 80% or more of my sewing involves only the items listed above, and much of that other 20% involves only additional drafting tools for pattern making (French curves, protractors, T-squares and the like...I can't draw, and I'm a geek, so take that for what it's worth!). Here are two additional tools that are helpful but not strictly necessary:

Seam roll	One of many ironing tools intended to help your life, this long heavily packed sausage roll allows you to press seams without the seam allowance showing on the front side. This is very helpful; I'd generally avoid tailor's hams or needleboards as they're a lot less useful.
Seam gauge	Yes, you already have a straightedge ruler, but this short ruler is handy for hems and handsewing.

A few notes about the sewing machine: You need one that goes forward and back. Zigzag is nice sometimes, as is the capacity to make buttonholes (although you should really do that by hand whenever possible...it actually looks nicer). You don't need a $600 computer controlled, 90 stitch embroidery nightmare. Forward and back. That's it. Put the daisy stitch down and back away slowly....

Take me to Part 2: Fabric!

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