10 EASY DIY Sewing Tools You Can Make This Weekend

You're about to discover 10 incredible DIY sewing tools that will transform your sewing space, and you probably have most of the materials already in your stash. These tools will save you money, help you sew better, and make your sewing room a more organized and beautiful place to create. Let's start with a press cloth. This is one of those tools that can save your fabric from disaster. Have you ever been pressing a seam and noticed those ugly shine marks on your fabric, or even burned your fabric with an iron? Well, a press cloth helps prevent all of that. Take a piece of silk organza, grab your pinking shears, and cut a large square. That's literally all there is to it. I love using silk organza because it's sheer enough to see through, so you can watch exactly what's happening with your fabric underneath. If you're working with delicate fabrics like silk or wool, I recommend having a few different weights. Cotton press cloths are great for heavier fabrics, while lighter weight options work better for delicates. I keep a little library of press cloths in a small bin near my ironing board, so I can grab one when I need it, along with all my other pressing tools. And speaking of pressing tools, here's another one you can make yourself, a tailor's ham. You know those tricky curved areas that never seem to press quite right? That's where a tailor's ham comes in. It lets you bend your fabric over a curve while you press. While you can buy one, making your own means you can create different sizes for different curves. You can use a small one that's perfect for sleeve caps, and a larger one for hip curves, for example. The key to a great tailor's ham is using the right filling. Sawdust works beautifully because it holds heat well, and it helps create crisp curves. You want to use sturdy cotton or wool for the outside, and make sure to stuff it really firmly. There's a great tutorial from our friend Cornelius that walks you through it, so I'll put a link to that in the description below. By the way, if you haven't heard my interview with Cornelius, be sure to check it out on the Seamwork podcast because he is just awesome. Now let's solve that eternal problem of the disappearing pincushion. A wrist pincushion is like having an extra hand when you sew. I used to waste so much time hunting for pins and it scattered all across my sewing table. Now they're always right where I need them. Honestly, it saves me so much time. The secret to making a great wrist pincushion is choosing the right filling. You want something dense enough to hold your pins securely, but not so hard that it's difficult to insert them. I found that a combination of crushed walnut shells and wool roving works perfectly. Evelyn Wood has a great tutorial on making a wrist pincushion, so I'll link to that one in the description too. Speaking of game changers, let's talk about a foldable pressing station. If you're working in a small space like I do, this is going to be revolutionary. It gives you a full-size pressing service when you need it, but it doesn't take up permanent real estate in your sewing room. Actually, until recently, I didn't even have a full-size ironing board in my sewing room. I just used a heat protective mat whenever I wanted to press a large piece of fabric. But sometimes it would get bunched up and sort of hard to manage. This is a way better solution. I absolutely love this tutorial from Casey at Pattern Scout for making your own. She goes through every single step of creating this and gives some really helpful tips on materials, which is key. You'll want several layers, including cotton batting, insulated batting, and a sturdy cotton cover. I recommend using wood for the base that's at least half inch thick to prevent warping. The next tool is a thread catcher, and trust me, your vacuum cleaner will thank you for this one. Those little threads that end up everywhere? They're history. I've learned this lesson the hard way after spending an hour untangling threads from my chair wheels. Not to mention, all those threads on the floor are not safe for pets. A thread catcher is just a simple fabric bag with flat bottom and a hanging loop. You can make one in about 15 minutes. The trick is to use interfacing on the top edge to keep it open and sturdy. I like to add a little weighted bottom too, using poly pellet sewn into a small pocket. Hang it right at the edge of your sewing table so you can toss threads in it easily as you go. I like to use a command hook for this, which is a sturdy adhesive hook that won't get in your way, that you can remove later if you want to. Now we're going vertical with hanging storage. This is perfect if you're like me and you need to maximize every inch of space. Think of it as a big tool organizer that hangs on your wall. To make it, all you need is a big piece of sturdy fabric like canvas or a heavy twill. Make a pocket for a rod at the top, just like a curtain. Then sew your pockets to the front in whatever size you like. When you're making this, consider what you'll be storing. Different size pockets work better for different tools. You could even include some with elastic tops for holding scissors and some with clear vinyl front so you can see inside. Honestly, I think something like this would be really useful outside the sewing room too, like in a home office or even a pantry. If you'd like a tutorial for this, I really like this one from the channel Sewing Times. The pockets are so three-dimensional, like little baskets. I'll link this one below too. Now here's one of my favorites, a non-slip petal cushion. You know that annoying dance your sewing machine petal does across the floor? Well, this fixes that. I don't know about you, but I end up in all kinds of weird positions when I'm sewing, and then I spend precious minutes just reaching for and rearranging my sewing petals constantly. This tutorial from SewSoEasy is just genius. She takes a piece of non-slip shelf liner and adds binding all around the edges, but the best part is the little roll at the top that stops your foot petal from sliding forward. It's a little roll of fabric with felt in the middle that she sews around the top, and that way you don't end up with the petal moving off the surface altogether. Like I said, it's genius. Now let's talk about a super easy tool you can make that's going to come in handy with almost every future sewing project. In fact, it's probably the fastest project on this list. It's a hem guide. It's just a piece of cardstock marked with common hem measurements. I keep one right by my ironing board, and it's cut my hemming time in half. Instead of having to carefully measure and mark all along your hem, you just fold your fabric over the cardstock to the line you want and press. Make sure to include all your commonly used measurements. I have mine marked for a quarter inch, three eighths, one half, five eighths, one inch, one and a half, and two inch hems. You can press right over the cardstock, and it's thin enough not to interfere with the crispness of your press. Here's one I absolutely love, a sewing machine cover. So there are lots of options for sewing machine covers, and you can make a simple one like this, or you can make more complex versions. Here's one I love that does double duty. It looks like a regular sewing machine cover with pockets, but when you unfold it, it becomes a mat that keeps your tools handy. I love multifunctional pieces like this. I like having two tools in one. The sewing machine cover keeps your machine clean and dust free, plus it gives some insulation if your machine is ever in an unheated area like mine is. And then the mat just makes it easy to grab tools when you need them, like extra bobbins or thread snips. The tutorial for this one also came from Sewing Time, so I'll link to it below as well. Now let's talk about pattern weights. If you use a rotary cutter like I do, these are essential. Unlike pins, pattern weights don't distort your pattern or your fabric while you cut. While you could use washers from the hardware store, making your own triangular weights with little loops makes them so much easier to grab and move around. Plus, you can use up some of those extra fabric scraps you've been saving. I've experimented with different fillings, and poly pellets work really well. You can also use aquarium rocks, but rice is something you might already have around the house, and that works too. For a full tutorial, I'll link to a video from Hello Sewing that I really like. She shows you how to make the triangular kind that I prefer. You don't even need that many. I like to have about eight or so around. Another sewing room essential for me that you might not consider is a tote bag. I use them for my works in progress, and to take stuff back and forth to my sewing shed all the time. I like to have at least three just for my sewing, and in this video I'll show you how to easily create a reversible one so you get two tote bags in one.