• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Sponsor

see kate sew

sewing, crafts, tutorials, DIY

  • Patterns
    • Free Patterns
    • Pattern of the Month
  • Tutorials
    • Accessories
    • Bags and Pouches
    • Clothing
    • Costumes
    • Crafts
    • Cricut Projects
    • Holiday
    • Household
    • Kids
    • Maternity
    • Quilting
  • Topics
    • Baby
    • Boy
    • Christmas
    • dog
    • Dolls
    • Easter
    • Girl
    • Halloween
    • Lookbook
    • Party
    • pet
    • Printables
    • Training
    • women
  • No Sew
  • Sewing 101
  • Sew4Good
  • Pet
  • Sewing Room
    • DreamBox
  • Reviews
Home
  • Patterns
    • Free Patterns
    • Pattern of the Month
  • Tutorials
    • Accessories
    • Bags and Pouches
    • Clothing
    • Costumes
    • Crafts
    • Cricut Projects
    • Holiday
    • Household
    • Kids
    • Maternity
    • Quilting
  • Topics
    • Baby
    • Boy
    • Christmas
    • dog
    • Dolls
    • Easter
    • Girl
    • Halloween
    • Lookbook
    • Party
    • pet
    • Printables
    • Training
    • women
  • No Sew
  • Sewing 101
  • Sew4Good
  • Pet
  • Sewing Room
    • DreamBox
  • Reviews

05.15

10 BEST SEWING SUPPLIES THAT AREN’T REALLY SEWING SUPPLIES!

Welcome to See Kate Sew! If you’re new here, sign up for my email newsletter for access to free patterns, tutorials and all the latest sewing news! Tour my sewing room HERE!

The quickest way to improve your sewing skills is to have the right tools! In this post I am sharing the best sewing supplies that aren’t really sewing supplies!

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

I love sewing supplies as you’d probably guess! You can read about my favorite supplies in this post! This post is a little different – these items are supplies I keep on hand in my sewing room, but aren’t actually sewing supplies!

Sewing Tips

These sewing tips will show you how to use tools that aren’t made for sewing in your sewing room! Add these 10 favorites to your sewing stash for better sewing, you can probably find a few of them around the house!

Sewing Tips

How to use a lint roller in your sewing room – Sewing Tricks

Lint roller

A lint roller is a sewing room ESSENTIAL! Use it to get threads off of your fabric, quick and easy! I keep this right above my sewing machine and use it all the time!

Secret sewing hack – Frixion erasable pens

These are awesome if you want to draw on your fabric but don’t want it to last forever! The FriXion ball pen by Pilot is erasable on paper but comes off with HEAT on fabric! So write all you want and then press it when you’re done! Read more here! Be careful though, it can reappear in very cold weather!

Best Sewing Supplies – Use a chopstick for turning points

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

A chopstick is a perfect point turner! Use it to push out corners and tricky little points.

Icing spatula for ironing help

I wrote about how a cake froster is one of my sewing room staples in this Sewing 101 post! I still love to use this as an ironing aid. It helps me get sharp edges as I iron. I especially love that it heats up too, making ironing a little bit faster. This one is nice and little for smaller projects!

Scotch tape – best sewing supplies

Invisible tape has so many uses in the sewing room!

I use it the most for taping pattern pages together and holding zippers while I sew them into a seam. Check out the video to see how to use tape to insert a zipper into a welt pocket opening.

Washi craft tape sewing hack

Washi tape can really perform any of the functions of invisible tape, but I also love it for marking seam allowances on my sewing machine.

I like to do this when I’m using a seam allowance that I usually don’t use to remind me!

Solid washi tape is also a great tool for labeling fabrics for a project or quilt.

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

Toe nail separators

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

Toe nail separators work wonders as bobbin holders! Use these little holders to keep bobbins wound up and then stash them in a drawer or little box! The foam holds the threads so the bobbins don’t unravel.

Use a standard fork to make perfect pleats

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

A fork is an odd tool for sewing, but it works great as a helper for making pleats! Using a fork to fold the fabric over will space them perfectly. Slide the fork through the fabric to get the pleats right next to each other!

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

Best Sewing Supplies – MAGNETIC WAND

Another ESSENTIAL! I use a basic magnetic wand to pick up pins from my sewing room floor. Pinless feet are happy feet!

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

Don’t get magnets too close to anything computerized like your sewing machine or computer so it doesn’t mess up the software!

Tuna cans for pattern weights

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

You already have a forks, so why not add some food!? Just kidding, these are solely for the weight of the can. Use cans of food to hold pattern paper on top of fabric while you rotary cut around the edges! Pattern weights can help you cut fabric much faster than using pins!

10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew
10 best sewing supplies that are basic household items! | Sewing Tool Hacks | Sewing Supplies | Sewing Supplies Around the House | How to Use Holdhold Supplies for Sewing | Sewing Hacks | Sewing Secrets | Sewing Supplies Hacks || See Kate Sew #sewinghacks #sewingsupplies #sewingtoolshack #sewingsecrets #seekatesew

Check out more sewing tips HERE! 

Do you have any tools to add to this list?

Originally posted in August 2018, updated May 2024.

27 Comments | Quilting, Sewing 101, Sewing Room

Exclusive Free PatternRuffled Apron

Sign up for my email newsletter and receive my ruffled apron pattern totally FREE!

We take your privacy seriously. See our privacy policy here. Unsubscribe at any time.

You may also like these posts...

You're a Gem Quilt - Easy Beginner Quilt!Quilt Block of the Month #1: You’re a gem quilt!fabric checkerboard game patternHP streamHOW TO DO IT ALL + make time for sewing with HPsewing 101: how to use the binding foot

Reader Interactions

27 Comments

  1. Jamie B

    08/23 at 8:45 AM

    Love this! Why didn’t I think of the frosting spreader?!? I must live under a rock because I didn’t know what washi tape is ????????. Thank you!!

  2. Gay Ferland

    08/23 at 9:10 AM

    That purple thang
    6″ ruler for drawing sew lines in half square triangles
    Bone folder for making points on dresdens

  3. Lucy-Ann Adam

    08/23 at 9:16 AM

    Never thought of using a spatula! Brilliant! Thanks

  4. Anne Rimler

    08/23 at 9:39 AM

    A toothbrush for cleaning the sewing machine; a glue stick for help holding fabric together temporarily; a short handled small head screwdriver, tweezers and needle nose pliers in your tool kit; small plastic containers or jars for holding stuff; elastic hair ties for button closures.

  5. Joanne

    08/23 at 10:08 AM

    Very cool !

    THANK YOU ????

  6. gmholt75@gmail.com

    08/23 at 10:23 AM

    I use painters tape for my go to tape…forceps are also great and clear nail polish to keep buttons on permanently…no loose thread.. freezer paper to back patterns…

  7. Gloria J Roybal

    08/23 at 11:20 AM

    Dental floss also helps hold fabric in place when you are trying to gather fabric for pleats. Place it where needle sews, in center of sewing foot and adjust it as you sew, then pull it out when you are done with your pleats.

    • S Boomsliter

      08/24 at 8:12 PM

      My stepmom taught name this…a zigzag stitch over dental floss is so much easier to pull to form gathers. Been doing it for over 50 years.

      • kate

        08/26 at 8:12 PM

        Brilliant!!

  8. Annabellouise

    08/23 at 11:22 AM

    Fantastic ideas. I knew about chopsticks, but never thought about using toe separators or a fork to help with sewing. Also liked the idea of using tape to hold a zip in place. I will put these to use right away.

  9. Virginia Thompson

    08/24 at 12:50 AM

    Great ideas, I like the weights! Now, head to Dollar Tree and get a plastic kitchen utensil tray to store items in!

  10. Kathy

    08/24 at 8:16 AM

    I use the lint roller with pre-cuts – right after taking off the plastic wrapper, roll around the linked edges a few times. It really picks up lots of little thread pieces.

  11. Rosemary B

    08/25 at 12:18 PM

    I do NOT like that new tool purple thang. It is useless, or redundant

    I use tweezers a lot. I have several types as I used to work as a nurse and always had some of my own tools. fine tweezers are great just search medical tweezers or lab tweezers on Amazon
    this is a nice pair but there are plenty of others
    https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Stainless-Tweezers-Straight-Precision/dp/B01N6892CO/ref=sr_1_4?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1535213786&sr=1-4&keywords=medical+tweezers

    The brand I have is from Germany Stainless Miltex. I use them frequently

  12. Wendy

    08/26 at 9:48 AM

    Round toothpicks to use as a makeshift stiletto, shelving liner (grip type) to put under your sewing foot to keep it from slipping, Thanks for the tip on the offset spatula; I hadn’t thought of that!

    • kate

      08/26 at 8:11 PM

      Oh good one!

  13. Aless

    08/27 at 3:23 AM

    I’ve found the tubular bamboo(?) stick that comes in manicure kits, shaved at an angle at one end and (sometimes) a point at the other, to be essential when guiding tricky fabric through the needle area of my machine.(Having loooooonggg memories of seeing, as a toddler, my mother (twice) with a sewing machine needle through her fingernail, I keep my fingers right out of the way!!!!!).
    I used to use a thin metal object, but broke a pin that actually hit my glasses, so I went to something softer…….Works a treat!!

    • Mary Honas

      09/12 at 10:08 AM

      It’s called an Orange Stick, I think. :/

  14. Gene Black

    08/27 at 1:25 PM

    An offset screwdriver to open the cover over the foot/bobbin. Much easier than the manf. supplied screwdriver.

  15. Sara

    08/29 at 7:13 AM

    Parchment paper (used to protect baking sheets) for protecting my ironing board and iron when I am putting in fusible interfacing.

    • kate

      08/30 at 12:20 PM

      great idea!

    • Lynn

      09/13 at 11:43 AM

      That suggestion is going to be so helpful!

  16. suzie

    09/05 at 6:22 PM

    wonderful tips! I use my heartshaped cake-form (? )baking-form ,to make heartshaped sewing projects. Suzie from Sweden

  17. Lesley

    09/12 at 10:58 AM

    A+ I use almost all of these except the toe dividers for bobbins! Good Stuff. Gonna tweet it! LOVE.

  18. Linda

    09/12 at 8:57 PM

    Dental floss threaders to insert serger tails or yarn through the eye of a needle.

  19. Jane Sanders

    09/13 at 10:35 AM

    To clean lint out of your machine, q-tips (especially the flexible ones) or pipe cleaners work really well to get that fluff and dust out.
    The plastic tablecloths with flannel backs that you can get at dollar store are a great portable design wall.
    I use empty prescription bottles to store used and broken needles and pins – no one gets scratched or pricked when throwing out the garbage.
    Empty tennis ball containers are great for holding tools when you are going to workshop or retreat.

    • Millie McCarthy

      09/16 at 9:49 AM

      Advice from the tech at my shop, using Q-tips to clean the dust out of your machine can do harm to it as the cotton can catch on those little screws inside. Use a soft brush to do this similar to the one in the kit you received with your machine. Occasionally you can use the can of air, but do not use this often.

  20. Rene

    09/19 at 11:11 PM

    I bend a pipe cleaner into a 1/2 inch loop and then insert the ends of the pipe cleaner into a coffee stirrer/straw to make a small tool to clean dust from my machine.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Exclusive Free PatternRuffled Apron

Sign up for my email newsletter and receive my ruffled apron pattern totally FREE!

We take your privacy seriously. See our privacy policy here. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Don’t miss these popular posts!

easy baby dress pattern for the summertime

easy baby dress pattern for the summertime

modern ombre + b/w triangle quilt tutorial + pattern

modern ombre + b/w triangle quilt tutorial + pattern

Fabric

Quilted Cosmetic Case Kiss Me KateKiss Me, Kate FabricOne Hour Granny Square Quilt Tutorial | See Kate SewModern Granny Square Quilt Whole Cloth

Pattern Hacks

Easy Baby Summer Dressthe EMMA pattern | See Kate SewThe EMMA Dress

Footer

Hello friends!

My name is Kate, a twenty something fashion lover and mother of two. When I’m not chasing kids you can find me at my sewing table or daydreaming up new designs. You can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

8a918f8da8e0e69102dc0f33a718de85a99c31a57283e0e3e2

FOLLOW ME HERE

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Sponsor

Copyright © 2025 See Kate Sew  •  All Rights Reserved  •  Privacy Policy  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs