Some sewing gadgets are worth the hype—and many aren’t. So when investing in specialty tools, how do you know what should go into your shopping cart?
We made a quick checklist for evaluating sewing tools designed to serve a single purpose and tried it out on a few specialty notions. These tools aren’t essential for sewing, but they are really nice to get if you have some extra room in your budget.
Our Discoveries
Here is how we evaluated the following tools
- Does this tool make my sewing easier or save time?
- Do I have enough opportunities to use this tool?
- If it’s a single-purpose tool, is it worth the cost-per-use?
- How drastically does it reduce stress? (This will be different for everyone because we all have different stressors with sewing.)
- Can I DIY a version of this tool?
Tool 1: A Notcher
What is it? This tool will clip all of the notches on your paper sewing pattern, making it easy for you to snip notches on your fabric.
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Does this tool make my sewing easier or save time? This tool is very easy and quick to use, but it doesn’t necessarily save you time. It helps you remember to transfer your markings and ensures your pattern markings are bold and uniform.
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Do I have enough opportunities to use this tool? You will likely use this tool on any paper pattern that you cut out.
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If it’s a single-purpose tool, is it worth the cost-per-use? This tool costs about $9 at Wawak.
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How drastically does it reduce stress? If you often forget to mark notches, this tool is so helpful. It also helps you clip far enough into your fabric, but not too far.
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Can I DIY a version of this tool? You can use your scissors to cut a wedge out of your pattern paper at the notch.
Conclusion: This is a tool you will use frequently, and if you are looking to make your pattern marking quicker and more accurate, it is worth the cost.
Tool 2: A Needle Point Tracing Wheel
What is it? This tracing wheel—also called a stiletto wheel—has long spikes that will poke small holes in your pattern paper or fabric. You can use this to true seams and quickly trace alterations on paper patterns or transfer alterations from your muslin to your pattern paper. You can also use it to easily trace a ready-to-wear garment onto paper to make your own pattern.
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Does this tool make my sewing easier or save time? The purpose of this tool is to transfer lines to paper or fabric quickly, so it saves time.
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Do I have enough opportunities to use this tool? You might have no use for this tool at all, but you also might find it very helpful if you dabble in pattern hacking, make many pattern adjustments, or sew a lot of muslins.
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If it’s a single-purpose tool, is it worth the cost-per-use? This tool costs under $5 at Wawak. If you use it on 2 patterns a month, it pays for itself in 2 months.
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How drastically does it reduce stress? Because this tool is so easy to use (and it makes things much quicker) you’ll be looking for excuses to use it.
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Can I DIY a version of this tool? You can use a pin to punch a line of pinpoints into your paper to get the same effect, but that can get tiresome quickly.
Conclusion: If you have the use for this tool, it’s definitely worth it. But you might not need it at all!
Tool 3: A Screw Punch
What is it? This tool, also called a paper drill or push drill, will punch small holes in your pattern paper, like dart points and pocket circles, so that you can easily transfer the marking to your fabric. Many of them have different bits to punch smaller or bigger holes.
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Does this tool make my sewing easier or save time? Just like the notcher, this tool is very quick to use, but it doesn’t necessarily save you time. It helps you remember to transfer your markings and ensures your pattern markings are bold and uniform.
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Do I have enough opportunities to use this tool? You can use this anytime you cut out a pattern with a dart or circle markings.
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If it’s a single-purpose tool, is it worth the cost-per-use? This tool costs about $12 at Amazon (or search for a local art shop).
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How drastically does it reduce stress? If you often forget to transfer circles, this tool is so helpful.
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Can I DIY a version of this tool? You can stick a pin through circle markings on your pattern and mark your fabric that way. It’s just easy to forget and can be fiddly when you are working with slippery or stretchy fabric. If you have one, you can also use an awl, but it will not create a neat, punched hole.
Conclusion: This is a tool you will use frequently, and if you are looking to make your pattern marking quicker and more accurate, it is worth the cost.
Tool 4: A Seam Allowance Tracing Wheel
What is it? A double tracing wheel helps you quickly add seam allowance to patterns. You place one wheel along the pattern’s line, and the second wheel will add your seam allowance. The wheels are usually adjustable for different seam allowance widths depending on the tool.
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Does this tool make my sewing easier or save time? This tool will save you a bunch of time if you need to add seam allowances.
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Do I have enough opportunities to use this tool? If you draft your own patterns, use patterns that do not include seam allowance, or if you like to change your seam allowances on your pattern, you will have plenty of opportunities to use this tool.
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If it’s a single-purpose tool, is it worth the cost-per-use? This Clover double tracing wheel costs $11.
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How drastically does it reduce stress? Check your stress levels after adding seam allowance to an entire pattern and see how it feels for you!
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Can I DIY a version of this tool? You can tape two (or more) pencils together to create a DIY version of this tool.
Conclusion: This tool is more similar to the stiletto wheel. It might be beneficial for the kinds of sewing projects you make, but you might not have a use for it.
The next time you are undecided about buying a new sewing gadget, use this framework to see if it’s worth dipping into your sewing budget. You can rank your tools by the ones that will reduce your stress the most! This will help you decide when to invest in them.
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