Important Tools for Aspiring Dressmakers are listed in this article. If you are an aspiring dressmaker, it is important that you acquire these tools.
Fashion Design Kits for Beginners
Everyone wants to dress well and look nice, we all want to put on the best-handcrafted fabric and design in town and we all want to look good but looking good and confident is based upon who sews your clothes or how you sew them.
Read Also: 10 Suitable Businesses for Housewife and Nursing Mothers
You have chosen to be a dressmaker or fashion designer, you may belong to the set of people who get clothes designs as inspiration either through dreams or imagination and you are aspiring to make a business out of it.
Before you make dresses, it is important that you own some tools so that they will enhance your creativity and productivity.
Let’s quickly take a look at some of these tools!
Important Tools for Aspiring Dressmakers
Read Also: How to Become an Entrepreneur in Nigeria
Important Tools for Aspiring Dressmakers as listed below:
1. Measuring Tape
Just like a teacher can not teach without chalk, the measuring tape is used to get measurement accuracy in seeing. It is used to measure the size of the person whom you are making the dress for and it is equally used to measure the size of the cloth.
Without the measuring tape, it might be a little difficult to get accuracy that is why every dressmaker should and must have a measuring tape handy. This is the signature of dressmakers.
2. Scissors
Sewing is about cutting clothes in pieces and the best tool for that is the scissors. It is a double-faced sharp metal that is used for curing. The dressmaker uses this tool to cut materials to the exact size and pattern that is needed.
The scissors need to be super sharp lest it will spoil your fabric.
In sewing, not one scissor is used, a fashion designer should have at least three different scissors for the different stages of sewing.
Read Also: 10 Things to Consider Before Starting a Business in Nigeria
3. Tailor’s Chalk
After taking the measurement of a client, it is important that the dressmaker cut the material provided to suit the measurement gotten.
This is made possible simply by making marks on the material with the tailor’s chalk. The chalk is quite different from that of a school teacher, it is flat in shape and can be bought anywhere dressmaking materials are sold.
4. A Good Sewing machine
After you have cut the materials, you will need to put them together and this can be done with the aid of a perfect sewing machine made strictly for the purpose of sewing.
Notice the word “Good”, not all sewing machines are good. Yes, they can sew but they are not good enough for you as an aspiring dressmaker.
Getting the wrong sewing machine can frustrate your passion for dressmaking. But a good sewing machine will help you bring out a good and great sewing pattern and can further enhance your creativity.
5. Sewing Machine Needles
Your sewing machine is quite useless without a good and sharp sewing machine needle. This needle is specifically made for sewing machines and it can only be used on the machine.
As an aspiring dressmaker, it is important that you always ensure that your needles are sharp so that every stitch is achieved with so much perfection wrapped around it.
Read Also: What Customers Really Want from a Business
6. Hand-sewing needles
There are obviously some stitches that you may want to do with your hand (without using the sewing machine) later for this to be possible, you need to make use of the hand-sewing needle. They come in different sizes depending know what you want to use them to stitch.
7. Thimble
When working with needles, sometimes you may mistakenly pierce through your own skin with the needle, hence it is important that you get a thimble to protect your fingers from unnecessary punctures from the needle. There are plastics and metal thimbles but it is advisable you always buy metal ones for optimal protection.
8. Thread
Whether you are sewing by hand or with the machine, when you pick up a needle, the next thing you’ll need is the thread. The thread comes in different colors and sizes. The color or size to use is quite dependent on the color of the fabric you are working with as well as other factors.
9. Cutting Table
You’ll need to place the fabric on a surface in order to cut properly. This is where the table comes in. You can either get a wooden or plastic table, it makes no difference as far as the surface is flat enough and can enhance your cutting professionally.
10. Dress Form
After seeing, you will definitely love to see how your work looks like before the client comes to collect the clothes (assuming you are going commercial) a dress form will do the wonder for you.
In time past, a wood cross like a ‘t’ was used but in recent times, there are forms that look more like a human and with different postures.
There are many other things you should have as a dressmaker but these are the top ten.
Read Also: How to Write a Business Proposal
Other ones include:
Iron and Ironing board
Paper (for drawing designs)
Pins and pins cushion
Tracing wheel
Ruler
Seam ripper
Needle threader etc.
When you have the right tools, your dream of being a good dressmaker will become a reality especially if you have the right training on how to go about it.
