This could be a very long list but I’m going to try to limit it to an arbitrary number, say 10. I do a lot of different kinds of crafts so that makes it hard but I’m trying to think of the things I use a lot and would not want to do without. Then maybe I’ll talk a bit about each one at some other point.
- My Mac of course. Being a graphic designer, almost everything I do gets touched by the computer at some point.
- My sewing machine. I do a lot of sewing and mending, I think this is a must-have for every household.
- My serger. Hmmmm. Yes, I could do without it but it’s fast becoming my right hand for sewing projects.
- My good Japanese fabric scissors.
- My lightbox. I think my parents got it for me when I had just started the advertising design program. This year I got another lightbox that is round! and it spins! It won’t replace my traditional rectangular box but it probably deserves its own post.
- An X-acto knife and a metal ruler. I’m going to lump these together because they almost always get used together. Can I squeeze the self-healing cutting mat in here too?
- My Japanese sewing awls (meuchi) This probably warrants its own post as well to explain why.
- roll of 18″ wide white paper. Someone gave this to me when I was in college and I have been using it ever since, mostly for drafting patterns but not just for sewing.
- Flathead pins. If you sew anything these are really the best. Get the finer size with the heat resistant heads.
- Beacon’s craft glue. I hesitate to single this out but I discovered it last year and now I use it for everything. It bonds in a similar way and almost as fast as hot glue but without the heat, yet you can also apply it thin and get a repositionable bond like spray adhesive, without the mess.
Well, I can already think of a few more things, like Frances, my dressmaker’s form, made by my husband. You can read about her here.