Sewing, Cloth and Soft Leather Kits

Travel is hard on clothing. Packs tear, cloak hems drag through mud, hose wear through at the heel, straps snap, and soft leather pouches eventually discover that rain, sweat, and optimism are not maintenance plans.

Most travelers carry at least a few needles and thread. Anyone who expects to spend weeks on the road should carry more than that.

Summary Table

Sewing Kit, Poor

Cost: 1 silver penny, 2 bits Weight: 0.5 lb TL: TL2–3

This is the bare minimum: enough to stop a tear from getting worse, tack on a rough patch, or reattach a tie before the garment gives up completely.

A poor sewing kit usually includes:

• 1–2 crude needles, often iron, bone, or low-quality steel
• a little linen thread
• a few scraps of cloth
• maybe a bit of waxed thread
• a simple wrapping, scrap pouch, or cheap needlecase
• no real shears
• no proper awl
• no useful supply of wool yarn
• no proper leather repair tools

This is often included inside a Personal Basics Kit. In that case, it should not be treated as a separate proper tool kit. It merely means the traveler can attempt very simple clothing repairs without automatically having nothing useful at hand.

Game use: allows trivial repairs. Does not remove equipment penalties for serious Tailoring, Sewing, or Leatherworking tasks.

Sewing Kit, Good

Cost: 3 silver pennies, 1 bit Weight: 0.5 lb TL: TL3

This is the sensible personal kit for ordinary travelers, soldiers, pilgrims, drovers, students, servants, and anyone else who understands that clothes do not repair themselves.

A good sewing kit usually includes:

• 3–5 decent iron or steel sewing needles
• a simple acus, or needlecase, usually bone, wood, horn, or cheap metal
• linen thread
• waxed linen thread
• a small amount of wool yarn or wool thread
• a large darning needle or blunt wool needle
• beeswax or waxed tallow
• small linen and wool patch scraps
• a few buttons, toggles, ties, or hooks
• small snips, a thread knife, or very small shears

This kit is for ordinary clothing repairs: torn seams, loose hems, missing ties, worn hose, cloak patches, and similar problems. It can manage wool cloth just fine. A woven wool cloak is still cloth; it is not some mysterious sheep-derived force field.

Game use: basic equipment for simple personal Sewing or Tailoring repairs.

Sewing Kit, Excellent

Cost: 9 silver pennies, 3 bits Weight: 0.5 lb TL: TL4

This is the compact kit of someone who either has money, skill, or both. It is still a personal kit, not a workshop, but the tools are noticeably better.

An excellent sewing kit usually includes:

• 6–10 high-quality steel needles in several sizes
• a fine acus of polished wood, horn, bronze, bone, or decorated metal
• fine linen thread
• heavier waxed linen thread
• wool yarn or darning thread
• good darning needle
• better small shears or folding snips
• thimble
• beeswax cake in a small case
• finer patch cloth
• better buttons, hooks, eyes, lacing points, and toggles
• sometimes a little dyed thread for visible repairs

This kit is appropriate for merchants, officers, nobles’ servants, well-equipped travelers, professional guides, and people who would rather not arrive in town looking like they lost an argument with a hedge.

Game use: basic equipment for personal clothing repairs; may give +1 to simple field repairs when quality of finish matters.

Traveler’s Cloth & Soft Leather Kit, Good

Cost: 9 silver pennies, 3 bits Weight: 2 lb TL: TL3/TL3.5

This is the standard adventurer’s kit. It covers clothing, packs, cloaks, bedrolls, tents, soft shoes, pouches, straps, and light leather gear.

A good traveler’s cloth and soft leather kit usually includes:

• mixed sewing needles
• heavier glover’s or leather needles
• acus or divided needlecase
• small shears
• awl
• bodkin
• thimble
• linen thread
• waxed linen thread
• wool yarn or darning thread
• large darning needle or nalbinding needle
• leather thong or lace
• beeswax or waxed tallow
• linen patches
• wool patches
• small soft leather scraps
• spare ties, toggles, buttons, hooks, and small buckles
• small leather pad or repair board
• rolled cloth pouch or leather tool roll

This kit is the right default for hunters, caravan workers, soldiers, scouts, sailors, pilgrims, and adventurers. It will not let someone make a saddle, rebuild boots, or sew armour. It will let them keep a pack strap alive until the next settlement.

Game use: basic equipment for cloth repairs; improvised equipment for soft Leatherworking repairs. Suitable for field mending, not proper manufacture.

Traveler’s Cloth & Soft Leather Kit, Excellent

Cost: 25 silver pennies Weight: 2.5 lb TL: TL4

This is the superior version of the adventurer’s repair kit. The difference is not just more stuff. The difference is better steel, better finishing, better thread, better organization, and less time spent swearing at broken needles.

An excellent kit usually includes:

• high-quality steel needles in many sizes
• curved leather needles
• fine and heavy awls
• good small shears
• small sharp knife
• thimble and palm guard
• fine linen thread
• heavy waxed linen thread
• wool yarn and darning yarn
• darning needle
• nalbinding needle in cold regions
• leather lace in several widths
• beeswax cake in a protective case
• better linen, wool, and soft leather patches
• spare straps
• hooks, eyes, toggles, buttons, lacing points, and small buckles
• chalk or charcoal marker
• measuring cord
• compact stitching pad or simple folding clamp
• fitted tool roll or small box

This is the kit for someone competent. A scout who owns this kit probably also knows which seam will fail first. A noble’s valet owns it because arriving in a torn cloak is apparently a social emergency. Both are correct in their own way.

Game use: basic equipment for field Sewing/Tailoring and soft Leatherworking repairs; may give +1 to field repairs where quality tools matter.

Field Tailor/Soft Leather Kit, Good

Cost: 18 silver pennies, 6 bits Weight: 6 lb TL: TL3/TL3.5

This is not a personal belt pouch. This is a camp, wagon, shipboard, military, or caravan repair kit.

A good field kit includes larger quantities of the traveler’s materials:

• many needles
• spare awls
• larger shears
• thread in several weights
• waxed linen thread
• wool yarn
• darning needles
• leather laces
• larger cloth patches
• larger wool patches
• soft leather pieces
• straps
• buckles and fasteners
• measuring cord
• chalk or charcoal
• small repair board
• tool roll, wooden box, or divided satchel

This kit can keep a small group’s gear functional over a journey. It belongs in a wagon, on a pack animal, aboard a boat, or in a base camp. A lone traveler can carry it, but then the traveler has made a choice, and that choice is “I am now the person who repairs everyone’s trousers.”

Game use: basic equipment for group field repairs involving cloth and soft leather. Allows simple manufacture of pouches, patches, cloth bags, straps, and emergency gear repairs.

Field Tailor/Soft Leather Kit, Excellent

Cost: 50 silver pennies Weight: 7 lb TL: TL4

This is a portable professional kit. It is not a full workshop, but it is enough for a trained tailor, outfitter, military repairer, caravan worker, or high-status servant to do serious work away from town.

An excellent field kit includes:

• extensive needle selection
• excellent steel shears
• fine and heavy awls
• palm guard
• thimbles
• cloth-marking tools
• measuring cord or tape
• linen, wool, and heavier thread
• waxed thread
• wool yarn
• darning and nalbinding needles
• leather laces
• soft leather pieces
• larger cloth stock for patching
• spare straps
• better buckles and fasteners
• repair board
• small stitching clamp
• fitted chest, roll, or satchel

This is the kit a caravan master wants somewhere in the baggage, because the alternative is losing useful time over stupid problems. Stupid problems are still problems. They just have worse public relations.

Game use: basic equipment for field Tailoring/Sewing and soft Leatherworking; may give +1 to repair work. Allows limited professional-quality repairs away from a workshop.

Optional Add-Ons

Notes on Knitting Needles

Knitting needles are not part of the standard kit. GURPS lists knitting needles as a TL3 tool costing $5, which converts neatly to 5 bits in Aletheia coinage .

They belong in cold-weather, household, shepherd, sailor, textile-worker, or long-winter kits. Most travelers need wool yarn and a darning or nalbinding needle more than they need knitting needles.

A knitted garment can be patched. It may not be beautiful. Beauty is a separate purchase.