Tools of the Trade

In my line of work, I have a very specific set of tools. I use all of them almost daily. In the picture below, you can see what I have. These are the very basic tools I use, not all of them.

1. Starch

2. Scissors

3. Recycled Pyramid Studs

4. Safety Pins

5. Iron

6. Thread Clippers

7. Hand Needles

8. Small Needle Nose Pliers

9. Grommets

10. Spike Embellishments

11. Black Thread

Scissors

Fabric scissors will be your best friend in any DIY clothing project. Whether it’s a sewing or a non-sewing project, you’ll want decent fabric scissors. I have about four different pairs ranging anywhere from $7-$40. A great pair to start out with are the orange Fiskers which run for $10 or less depending on where you buy them. I’ve had the same pair since 7^th grade and they still work great as long as they’re sharpened.  (Pro Tip: If you have sewing scissors, never cut paper with them. It will dull them and you won’t have them as sharp as you need them to swiftly cut through fabric. Keep two different pairs of scissors.)

Recycled Pyramid Studs

I started wearing stud belts in 8^th grade when Pacsun still sold “Girl Stud Belts”. The studs were smaller and the belts thinner so they worked with girl pants. Sadly, those don’t exist anymore, but I work with what I have. Most of my stud belts come from Hottopic. Anytime they wear out, I take all the studs off of the belt with my needle nose pliers. Anytime you see studs in my clothing, those are not bought in bulk. They’re ridiculously expensive and not made as well. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat down watching a movie with an old belt and pliers pulling out the studs. (I actually don’t want to think about the hours I’ve put into that.) I also save the belt buckles too, I can’t bear to throw anything away that I can use later. Especially if it’s metal.

Safety Pins

These little beauties have saved my life more than once. I’ve used them for patches, broken zippers, cut up shirts, shorts, attaching sleeves, you name it, I’ve probably done it. You can never have too many of them. Try to get strong safety pins such as quilting pins. If they come in a large pack, they’re not going to be as good of a quality.

Iron and Starch

Ladies, learn how to use an iron. Ironing is so incredibly important and it makes it look like you care. When Patrick, Ashur, and I were going to go out, I looked at my t shirt and saw that it was just too wrinkly. I heated up the iron while I was doing my makeup and took an extra two minutes and got out the really bad wrinkles.

I also have a dress that I absolutely adore that needs to be ironed after it’s washed. I’ll plan to iron it the night before to make sure that I have it ready for that next day. The biggest concern with ironing is not having enough time. Plan to make that time the night before. A little planning can help you go a long way. Since this dress is also made from cotton, I use starch on it to hold its shape. Starch is a great tool to help your clothing stay wrinkle free. You use it while you’re ironing and spray it on before you iron that area.

Thread Clippers

These little beauties are a recent addition to my tools. They’re great for clipping threads in the rather small and tight spaces. They’re very sharp and have a ton of uses. I got mine from Hobby Lobby. It came in a starter sewing kit. Totally worth every penny I put into them.

Hand Needles and Thread

If you don’t know how to use hand needles, lemme know. If you buy me some coffee, I’ll teach you how to use ‘em. If you really want to be an individual in your style, you need to know how to attach embellishments, patches, buttons, spikes, and the like to your clothing. Hand needles and black thread are a great basic to anyone wanting to have an individual alternative style.

Small Needles Nose Pliers

As I said above, I use these mostly for my pyramid studs. But I have also used them when I wasn’t able to push my needle through incredibly thick fabric, or my zipper gets stuck, or I just need some leverage in an area my fingers don’t have enough strength to pull. I emphasize the small pliers because they come in all different sizes. These are from just your run of the mill craft store. And I believe I’ve had this same pair of pliers almost as long as my Fisker’s scissors.

Grommets

You can purchase grommets at any fabric store. I’ve used them in shorts, shirts, corsets, bags, and more. They’re mostly used for lacing up items which is why I love them so much. All you need is a hammer and you can put them anywhere. Basically, if I have an excuse to put them in a garment, you better believe I do.

Spike Embellishments

These particular spike embellishments came from Hobby Lobby and are sewn on like a shank button. These are great to put on a jean jackets, shoulders of shirts, backpacks, and more. I love metal embellishments and use them on everything I can. Ask my husband or my mother, they find them all over.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into what I do. It’s the small additions that add up and make an outfit go from “Eh” to “Oh!”