tool boxes

This post originally appeared at www.levanah.com January 24, 2011.

Why do I love to sew, craft, draw? I’m pretty sure it has more to do with the fact that I love tools than anything else. A close second love would be boxes, but only because I can fill them with tools! I have another post planned where I discuss my reasons for sewing, but in all seriousness: I love the tools that go along with crafting, the more esoteric the better. I even like camping more for the toys… I mean tools, than I actually seem to like doing it. My horse is the best-accessorized guy out at the barn, and you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen all of the gadgets in out kitchen.

Yes, I love “stuff.” It makes me feel prepared to have the right tools, if only as a talisman that I won’t need them (like the extensive first aid kit I have for the horse). The thrill I get from having just the right tool for the job at hand is intoxicating, and fuels the obsession.

In homage to the boxes that I find so alluring, I want to share a few of my toolboxes:

First up is my ArtBin box, which I used every week the first semester studying fashion at Cañada College. It’s my first art supply box, for my first art class, and I really think the thing I thought I’d miss most about the art class is this box (in actuality I miss the whole class, the people, the projects). Always there with whatever tool I needed, and occasionally the tool someone else needed. It’s great to be able to open it up and start creating.

Next up is the serger box, if only because it’s such an awesome toolbox. My friend Kevin found the red metal tool box for me on a junk shopping trip, and I’ve used it on and off for a sewing box over the years. It’s just a little small for a sewing tool box, but it turns out to be perfect to hold supplies for the serger. I don’t use it for serger stuff anymore, because I don’t take it places much anymore. So the box has been repurposed to hold tools for my glowforge, which I also got because of my friend Kevin!

The sewing toolbox was my most frequently used tool box, and I needed it for at least two classes each semester. For the semester I wrote this in I needed it for: Designer Techniques, and Flat Pattern Drafting. I’ve tried a multitude of boxes as my “sewing box,” and I actually have a huge, multi-drawer office thing that I organize most of the sewing supplies into. But when I need to take them on-the-go, it’s nice to have the tools where I expect them, and to not have to dig or rearrange the box every time I need to find something.

A well-stocked sewing toolbox is a matter of personal opinion, but from reading many sources, and personal experience, I can recommend that your box have the following tools:

• Paper scissors
• Fabric scissors
• Small thread scissors
• Seam ripper
• Glass-head dressmaker pins (they don’t melt)
• Pin cushion (magnetic one like this is great for travel)
• Hand sewing needles
• 18″ C-thru ruler (not shown)
• Tape measure
• 6″ seam gauge
• Liquid fabric marking pens
• Scotch transparent tape
• Extra bobbins
• Thread
• Machine needle assortment
• Stylus
• Bamboo point turner

For pattern Drafting, I’ve added:

• 18″ flexible ruler
• Awl
• Compass
• Tracing wheels
• Eraser
• Pencils
• Pens

I also have rulers, curves, paper and oak tag, but they don’t fit into the box, and in some cases, I can just use the stuff supplies in the classroom.

The other boxes are to transport the the sewing machine, serger, and the actual sewing project supplies I have to move around from place to place.

Well, here’s a little view into my sewing world, hope you enjoyed it.