putting a sewing kit together

pavlovs_dog

im in south wales (cardiff area) but will look out for that next time im up north

wendym

I use glass-headed pins (much easier to work with), and keep them in a pin cushion made by fitting fabric (mine is pinned rather than sewn in place) round a soap-filled scouring pad. Keeps the pins sharp and rust-free.

Rikki

Use an old tin and collect all your spare buttons together. You will be surprised they do come in handy.

madauri

Never never never use your lovely, good quality scissors to cut paper.
And it's a good idea to have a smaller pair, pointed, for nipping threads.

I don't know if what I'm going to say is spam, if it is say and I'll delete it: I have a website on sewing and it's going to be translated into English pretty soon. But in my page of links there are some in English that are nice. There's lots of info in English that you can find with a search on google! The Home Sewing Association is brilliant, for example - but Queenie said so already.
BTW, I don't use a mushroom to darn, I use an egg. Both are a great help. And I can't live without my seam ripper!

wendym

I've had some lovely fabrics from Ebay.

For my daughter's wedding I made a calf-length dress in embroidered silk, which took 3 metres @ £4.50 a metre, and a jacket in plain silk Dupion from a 2.5 metre piece which I got for £6. Change out of £20! She very sweetly said it looked really Monsoon-y, and bought me a matching embroidered scarf, which cost more than the outfit. This is the first time I've admitted to anyone how little I spent!

I've also had patterns from Ebay.


Edited to add:

Mail order fabrics from:
Croft Mill
Lowther Lane
Foulridge
Colne
Lancs BB8 7NG

Tel: 01282 869625

They send a regular list, and offer samples. The descriptions sometimes suffer because of the compiler's sense of humour, but I have had lots of real bargains.