A sewing kit for my son...

And a fun trip to JoAnn's on Senior Discount Day :-)

My mind has been at work since I got back from visiting with my son and grandson for our little Christmas get-together. DGS, soon to be six, is so proud of and careful with his school clothing. His school has grades pre-kinder through high school, every class has it's own uniforms, and all of them are very traditional.

And I had a little shudder - what if one of those buttons on his Wednesday dress shirt popped off? Or the hem on his shorts or pants failed? And the discovery was made during the morning get-dressed-for-school time, and everything else was in the laundry...

Maybe DS has a sewing kit. I know I gave both my kids kits along the way during college and law school. But I also know I did a lot of their repairs during their trips home. And, yes, a stapler was used in between those visits :-) I know they both use tailors now.

On to the kit! It has to fit in a small box. This case is for 4x6 photos.

Self-threading needles. I can't imagine DS threading a needle without some loss of cool. I use these and love them! Great for grabbing tied-off threads and sinking them at the end of a seam or dart or topstitching.

Some glass-head straight pins. No need to worry if he irons over them. He doesn't get all of these! These pins are what I use all the time, my favorite for just about all fabrics. I do use yellow-head quilt pins on denim.

A seam ripper. He really needs this. DGS is sensitive to cloth tags and not all his things are tagless. A seam ripper is indispensable for getting a tag out of collars and side seams. I use the white handle Clover ripper and the pink Fons Porter ripper, because I do a lot of ripping! But I this one has a good thin point and should work well for DS.

Thread. I can't stand those little spool collections with awful cotton thread in them. This collection of pre-filled bobbins (poly thread) is perfect! And I can always reload them for him.

And the safety nets! 

(1) Safety pins (I bet he doesn't have more than a couple).

 (2) Pressure-sensitive tape that he can use to hem anything in a hurry! 

No iron needed, and it's washable.  

I've rounded up some small plastic boxes for the pins, and closable bags for the bobbins and sewing needles. Of course I'll give him the hem tape packaging separately, so he can read about it!

On a sentimental note, Mom left me all of her sewing things. She was quite a sewist and had beautiful tools, fabrics, and trims. I've tucked her short scissors and some shirt buttons from her hand-sewing case in DS' sewing kit. The scissors are German-made from Bolinger steel, and the movement and blades are exquisite. I know he will appreciate having them. They were very close.

A nice day. Bye for now! Coco