My favorite crafting tools {Hand Tool Edition}

The other day I posted about some of my favorite crafty tools, like my sewing machine and my Silhouette machine. Today I thought I'd tell you about some of my favorite and most used hand tools. None of the links in this post are affiliate links, and I'm not being compensated in any way to promote these items.

Point Turner and Seam Creaser:

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I mentioned this handy little thing yesterday. For the longest time I turned corners with the little tapered sticks that come in bags of Polyfil,and they worked okay. But this tool is so much better for getting sharp corners on things like pillow covers and zipper pouches.

Babyville Boutique Snap Pliers

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These things are awesome! My mom bought them for me a few years ago, and I've used them a bunch! They allow you to add plastic snaps to all kinds of projects quickly and easily, and the snaps come in all kinds of colors. Plus you can get even more colors at http://www.kamsnaps.com. I will tell you that I've never actually used the Kam Snaps products, so I can't vouch for their quality, but the pricing is reasonable, and I'd like to try them someday. Babyville Boutique is awesome to work with though. The first set of pliers I had kept splitting the snaps, which turned out to be caused by a faulty presser. I contacted them on Facebook, and they not only sent me a brand new set of pliers, but they sent me a whole new bag of snaps (60 sets) to replace the 8 or so sets that were damaged. I've used these to close bracelets, add closures to bags and pouches, and make stacks of doll diapers.

Rotary Cutter

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I have 3 different sizes of these, but this is the one I use the most. A must have for squaring up fabric.


One Step Looper

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I got this with a birthday gift card, and it had been so handy for jewelry making. It will even cut and loop memory wire.

Jewelry Pliers

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I don't have this exact set, but I have all of the pliers in it, which include bent nose, flat nose, round nose, long nose, and side cutters. I think I actually got my set at Lowes (easier to talk Nick into shelling out money for jewelry supplies if they can be found next to power tools ha ha). But this set is less than $10 on Amazon.

Nylon Jaw Pliers

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These are great when making wire jewelry to prevent tool marks on your wire. They are a little pricier than some of the other pliers, but with a sale or a coupon they are still well under $10.

Bead Reamer

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This is for enlarging the center of beads that may be a bit too narrow for the wire or cording you are trying to string them on. But I also use mine for sharpening the individual dies or the next tool...

Leather Punch

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These can be really expensive. I opted to get the one linked for around $6 with free shipping. When it came, only the smallest two punches would work well on even thin patent leather. I contacted the merchant and they very quickly shipped me a replacement at no charge. The second one worked a little better. But I had the idea to sharpen the edges of the dies with my bead reamer, and the performance vastly improved. I use these for punching holes prior to installing rivets, eyelets or grommets in leather. 

Eyelet Tool

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This simple tool is what I use to set eyelets. They are available for every size eyelet you can buy, and can generally be bought with the eyelets as a set or by themselves.

Snap Fastener Kit

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This little kit sets metal snaps in fabric (or leather or vinyl, etc.). The snaps can also be bought separately. 

Self Healing Mats

I have several sizes of these, and I use them all.

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6 x 24 Quilting Ruler

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I use this thing ALL. The. Dang. Time. For tons of stuff. I live in fear that my kids will break it.

Fabric Marking Pen

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I'm on my 3rd one of these. Love them!

Elastic Threaders

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Yes, you can absolutely use a safety pin to thread elastic through a casing. But these are very inexpensive, and they keep the elastic from twisting, something I always struggled with using safety pins. I'll never go back.

Ring Sizer 

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Sometimes you will see these called a mandrel. And they can be pricey. But I got mine at Joann's for less than $2 with a coupon. If you make rings at all, this is a necessity.  

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but those are the tools I use the most. Happy crafting!