What Supplies Do I Need to Start Sewing and Quilting?

So you want to learn how to sew or to quilt? Good for you!

Quilting has become a hobby I’ve grown to love over the last ten years. Starting simple is always good, and you can’t be a perfectionist with your first few projects. Everything may turn out a bit wonky at first, but I assure you that you will continue to improve as you continue sewing.

Just like any hobby or handicraft, you will need a few basic supplies to get started.

1. Sewing Machine. This is obviously the most expensive purchase you’ll need to make. I sew on a Singer Quantum 9960. This is what I’d consider a middle of the line machine, and I have been sewing for ten years. Other great brands out there are Brother, Juki, Janome, and Bernina. If you are just starting, I recommend finding a sewing machine for about $200, but please read the reviews.

2. Rotary mat, cutter, & ruler. A rotary mat is where you’ll lay out your fabric for cutting. Your ruler gives you a straight edge, and the rotary cutter allows you to cut right down the side of the ruler.

3. Sewing Scissors. Even though you will primarily be using your rotary cutter to cut fabric, you will need a good pair of fabric scissors to make little cuts here and there. You will need a sharp dedicated pair of scissors specifically for cutting fabric. Once you buy them, be sure not to use them for cutting paper or other mediums as it will dull the blade.

4. Pins, needles, and thread. These three supplies are probably a no brainer, but a few simple supplies can make your projects much easier. Pins are used to hold fabric together as you sew. Your sewing machine will likely come with a pack of needles to fit your machine. A few hand needles are convenient to have in case you need to stitch up a little hole. I recommend a basic Coats & Clark all purpose thread or Gutermann thread.

5. High Quality Quilting Fabric. I can’t recommend enough that you start sewing with high quality 100% cotton quilting fabric. If you don’t buy good fabric, you may have lots of trouble with fabric slipping, puckering, and bunching. It gets really frustrating really fast.

Some my favorite places to buy fabric are:

Fabric.com (you can buy all their fabric off Amazon now too)
Kiwi Fabrics
Morgan Kelly Quilts (very small selection that’s great if you’re overwhelmed easily!)
Field and Cloth

There are LOTS of small fabric shops online to shop from. If you choose to shop at Jo Ann’s, be sure to shop their Kona Cottons or their Premium Quilting Fabric line. Some other great lines to search for among quilt shops are Art Gallery Fabrics, Moda Fabrics, Windham Fabrics, Birch Organics, Michael Miller, Riley Black, and Cotton & Steel. You can find Kona Cottons for around $5.00 per yard, but other high quality fabrics will run about $9.00 to $12.00 per yard.

Here is a page I’ve dedicated to my favorite fabrics and supplies.

Once you are ready to get started, this tutorial is a good one for a beginning patchwork project. And, click here to see the rest of my beginner friendly tutorials!

Have fun and ENJOY your new hobby!

(Please note affiliate links have been used in this post.)