Sewing Notions

I love the term “sewing notions.” It’s an oddly hopeful term, full of the promise of new projects and new ideas (a great pun on the other meaning of the word notions).

As a crafter who sews, does scrapbooking, quilting and card making, I also appreciate that notions are often valuable in lots of different crafts. Here’s an overview of some of the sewing notions you can use for sewing and many other crafts as well. If you don’t already have a notions stash, you will soon!

You probably already have a good collection of notions just by virtue of being a crafter who is interested in fabric arts. Basic things include:

• pins needles/sewing needles.htm needles
• thread
• scissors and cutters
• thimbles
• measuring tapes and tools
• straight pins and safety pins
• marking pens

One of the most popular sewing notions that crafters love to hoard is buttons. From the most basic clear or white plastic buttons to elaborate handmade buttons, it’s easy to see why some people get a little obsessed with buttons.

Buttons can be made from index.htm wood, pottery, clay, glass, fabric, metal, plastic, shell and many other materials. Big or small, plain or decorated, there are a million different uses for buttons, from holding a shirt together to providing the perfect accent for a hand-knit sweater.

Buttons can be used as a completely decorative addition to clothing, barrettes, pins, pillows and other home décor projects.

Once you start paying attention to buttons and searching for the perfect buttons to go with your projects, odds are you’ll turn into a button junkie, too.

Ribbon is another great notion to collect. While mostly associated with young girls, there is a wide range of ribbon available today that can be used as a wonderful accent for all sorts of projects.

Holiday ribbons can be used to decorate gifts, as an accent on wreaths, or in a sewing project. Wired ribbon is perfect for making bows. Satin ribbon is great as an accent on a little girl’s dress or for a sash or tie on a dress or fancy jacket.

Narrow ribbons can be used in card making and scrapbooking, while ribbons and trims of just about any size, shape, color or construction can be used in Crazy Quilting and similar fabric projects.

Depending on the crafts you do, you might also want to stock up on sewing notions such as zippers, safety pins and straight pins for quilting, embroidery thread, tassels, buckles, hooks and eyes, other fasteners, seam rippers and more.

Other helpful notions include fabric glue and fusible interfacing strips. If you dye your own fabric, a selection of dye might be helpful. There’s almost no end to the items that can be considered sewing notions.

Once you build up your stash of sewing notions, you will need to devise a way to organize and store your notions. Your storage system can be as simple as a stack of labeled boxes.

You could also hang or place a sheet.htm thread storage rack in your sewing area. These great little gadgets can hold tons of thread, and are great for holding lengths of ribbon, rick-rack and other embellishments, too.

Your sewing table may also provide a storage solution for some of your sewing notions. As you plan your storage space, remember to keep like items together and to go through your storage often to find all the great treasures you might have forgotten about..

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