Sewing Machine Accessories
Although the art of sewing seems to be dying, there is absolutely no shortage of sewing machine accessories and other crazy sewing doodads. But which ones do you really need? It all depends on your experience level and what type of sewing you like to do.
Two sewing machine accessories that are an absolute must for seamstresses of any level are extra bobbins and sewing machine needles.
The bobbin is a small spool that goes under the needle. Although you can make due with just one, it will make your life a lot easier if you have extras.
The second of the two essential sewing machine accessories are extra sewing machine needles. They may seem strong but it doesn’t take much to break one.
Make sure you have extras handy in case you break a needle in the middle of a project and don’t have time to get to the store.
Some other handy sewing machine accessories are the sewing guide, zipper foot, and thread cutter.
Depending on your machine, it may come equipped with some or all of these features. If not, you may be able to buy them separately.
The seam guide helps you sew straight seams of the same width by providing a guide to align the edge of the material.
This comes in handy when you’re making clothing and small errors in seam width can make a big difference.
A zipper foot may not ever be necessary depending on what type of sewing you primarily do.
However, if you need to sew in a zipper, the zipper foot keeps you from sewing into the plastic or metal teeth.
No matter what expertise you are, a thread cutter will probably come in handy at some point.
Most machines have them built in, but check to be sure. When you finish a seam, it’s easier to pull it over a thread cutter on the machine than using scissors.
If you see an interesting looking machine accessory in the store consider if it’s something you’ll even use before you buy it.
Some of them can make your work a lot easier while others may turn out to be a waste of money.
