Dress Making Tools and Supplies ~ The Anna Blouse Sew Along

The Anna Blouse is a fun make that requires very few special notions or tools.  Most of them you probably already have in your tool box.

That being said, I have included a comprehensive list of tools ~ many I learned about and used in design school and when I worked in the Apparel Industry.  You do not need all of them (note items marked as optional).  If you will be making lots of garments, I would suggest investing in these tools over time.

~Essential Dress Making Supplies~

~Sewing Machine and needle for Light Weight Fabrics - I like to use a size 10 or 12 woven needle for sewing light weight cotton and rayon fabrics.  A microtex needle specially designed for polyester is a good idea if you are sewing with a polyester or poly blend fabric.  

~ Iron and Ironing board

~ Tape Measure 

~ C-Thru Ruler - any Clear plastic or acrylic ruler will do

~Thread - I prefer cotton thread but an all purpose thread will work as well

~Good quality fabric scissors - so important : )

~Pins - I am partial to Clover Fine .45 mm pins but any pins for fine fabrics will work well.

~Tailors Chalk - This will be used for tracing your pattern. My favorite tailor's chalk is from Clover.    Invest in a light color and a dark color for marking dark and light color fabrics.  Clover also has a chalk tracing pen - the chaco liner - that is wonderful for marking slippery fabric.

~Marking Pen or Pencil - a must have tool for marking the bottom of the tucks and drawing sewing lines for the tucks.

~Carbon Paper and tracing wheel [Optional] - These tools are also a great way to mark tucks, pleats and darts. I will show you how to use them in this sew along.

~1/2" bias tape maker [Optional] - This is not necessary but will make it a bit easier to create the bias binding for the neckline trim.

~Hem or seam gauge [Optional] - [Dritz seam gauge, Dritz Hem Gauge, Clover sliding gauge]  There are numerous tools for marking seam and hem widths.  I will show you how to use these as well as a ruler to mark your hem.

~Pattern Weights [Optional] - Pattern weights can be purchased at your local fabric store. The ones pictured are Dritz brand from Joann fabrics.   You can also find large washers from your local hardware store.

I like to use heavy items from around the house such as tin food cans from the pantry and vintage ball jars from my sewing table.

~Muslin - You can find this inexpensive fabric from most fabric stores.  I like to buy mine by the bolt with a 50% off coupon from JoAnn Fabrics.

~Tracing Paper (If you will be tracing your pattern) My favorite for tracing patterns is medical paper you can buy from Ebay.  It is sold by the roll and one roll will last quite some time!  Nancysnotions.com also carries tracing paper.  There are lots of options out there.  Some seamstresses love Swedish tracing paper which is a stitch able non woven fabric that can be traced on as well as stitched on.

 ***These I would categorize as "Nice to Have Dress Making Supplies" but not absolutely necessary. These are a worthwhile investment if you plan on making lots of garments : ) ***

~Hip Curve A handy tool to have when altering and tracing patterns

~French Curve  Another handy tool to have when altering and tracing patterns

~L-Square Great tool for measuring grain lines on your pattern when laying your pattern out to cut.

Fairgate rulers and measuring templates are the design industry standard.  They have a great set of all the rulers you need HERE.

~Notcher   For marking notches on your pattern. A very handy tool to have as it makes marking notches so easy!

~Circle Punch [The link provided also includes a buttonhole cutter] For marking the ends of darts and tucks on your pattern.

~Tailors Ham  Helpful in pressing garment areas that are not flat - darts, tucks and sleeve caps

~Seam Roll  Helpful in pressing seams such as sleeve seams and pants and trouser seams

You can find the schedule and links for the Sew Along Here.

xo

Charise

My *Must Have* Dress Making Tools for Marking and Cutting

I have been working away on my Anna Blouse Pattern and am so excited to publish it!  It is coming soon!

While I have been sewing prototypes of the blouse I thought it would be a great time to share my *Must Have* dress making tools.  I started as a home seamstress sewing my own clothes starting in junior high school. (I actually started sewing at the age of 6 - hand sewn clothes for my dolls!)   In my early twenties I attended apparel design school where I learned about professional tools of the trade that I'm excited to share with you!  

These are the tools I use for marking and cutting.

* TAILOR'S CHALK ~ I  prefer to trace around my pattern pieces and to do this I use tailors chalk.  My favorite brand is from Clover.  You can find versions of this chalk at your local dress making fabric shop.  I keep a few different colors on hand - Red and Blue for light color fabrics and Yellow for dark fabrics.

* FABRIC SHEARS ~ You will also need a good pair of fabric scissors.  I have a couple pair of gingher shears that I just love.  I only use my fabric shears on fabric - cutting paper with them will dull them!

* MUSLIN ~ Invest in enough muslin to make a test fitting garment.  This can either be actual muslin or a less expensive fabric that is similar in weight and drape to the final fabric your garment will be sewn out of.
I always have a bolt of muslin on hand to sew up an initial garment for fit.  If you sew lots of garments it is worth it to make the investment.
I buy my bolts of muslin at JoAnn Fabrics when I have a 50% off coupon.

Making a test garment (or muslin as it is called in the apparel industry)  is so incredibly important.  Even if you follow the measurements on a pattern you may want to tweak the pattern a bit.
Don't make the mistake of cutting into that expensive final fabric without sewing a test garment first!


~ OPTIONAL TOOLS ~ 
These tools are great to have if you sew lots of garments.  They are a bit of an investment but definitely worth it!

NOTCHER - I love this tool and learned about it in design school!  Use it to mark the notches on your patterns.  You can find one [here].
You can also use a pair of paper scissors to cut your notches if you are not quite ready to make the investment.

BUTTONHOLE CUTTING SET - These are great tools to have as well.  The circular cutter is for cutting keyhole buttonholes but I learned to use the circular cutter to mark the end of darts and tucks on my patterns.
You can see the holes at the bottom of the tucks pictured above.
If you cut the hole in the pattern you can mark the garment using chalk or a marking pen or pencil as pictured above.  You can find the buttonhole cutting set [Here]

Ok...off to work on the Anna Blouse.  Cannot wait to share the pattern with you!

xo

Charise