The Sewing Basket of the Twenty-First Century Sewist is High-Tech, Low-Tech, and Full of Things Your Grandmother Never Heard Of!

Welcome to my virtual sewing basket.

Sewing equipment has far surpassed what can be contained in those pretty wicker sewing baskets of a time past. What a quaint image a sewing basket is today.

Imagine trying to stuff sewing tools like your laptop, digital camera, a stack of embroidery DVDs, your rotary cutter and cutting mat in one of those! It’s not happening.

Nothing is more frustrating then to buy a pattern and fabric and realize there are so many more items that you need.

My hairdresser, here in Mexico, loves the purses I make and wanted to order a pattern and have a friend bring it down from California.

She asked me for help.

It is then that I realized she needed a lot more than just a pattern.

As I compiled a list of all the tools she would need to make just one purse, I realized that my grandmother, and my mother would be puzzled and amazed by what we consider sewing staples today.

Rarely did I have yards of extra fabric. And rarely did I buy novelty buttons, I covered my own buttons. I wasn’t a farm girl, nor was this the dark ages.

My mother didn’t sew, and there was no room set aside for sewing. In fact I used a card table as a sewing table, and when I got going really fast the machine would bounce on the soft surface of the table. Oh yes and I walked 5 miles to school in the snow…well not ever!

I was well into my thirties before I developed a stash of fabrics and sewing tools.

Sew here is a picture I took of some things that you need to get started:

In times past when women did not work and had few creative options, embroidery was an important craft for them. And thus developed the sewing box or basket. It held needles, embroidery yarn or floss,hoops, scissors and other embroidery related items.

Even though my sewing room is slick and modern, I do love old containers. Here are s a few I have recived as gifts over the years.

There are so many wonderful tools on the market, once you get started sewing you will want to try new techniques and each one has it’s own tool.

I have put together a shopping list for your sewing basket.

Click on the item to see a photo and description.

Sew Tell Us About your Favorite Sewing Tool

What is your favorite sewing tool? Is it the seam ripper? A favortie thimble? Your rotary cutter?

Or a steaming cup of coffee to keep you stimulated?

Drop us a line and tell us about one or all of the tools you love.

And send pictures too!

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