What you need to start dressmaking
A sewing machine, fabric scissors, pins, a tape measure, marking tools and an iron.
- A sewing machine with straight and zigzag stitch.
- Fabric scissors kept only for fabric, and small snips.
- Pins or clips, and a tape measure.
- Tailor's chalk or a washable pen for marking.
- An iron and ironing board.
- A pattern, and the fabric and notions (thread, zip, buttons, interfacing) listed on its envelope.
Watch
11 Basic Sewing Tools for Beginners | EP. 03 (12:10)
By Glory Allan · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 12-minute video from Glory Allan on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Dressmaking
Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.