All you really need is a little plastic thing of needles ($1), some pins ($1), thread (varies but even good cotton thread isn’t that much), scissors (where you might actually consider investing a little - do not use these scissors for anything else, and consider a rotary cutter if you really get into it), and fabric.
Fabric might seem like the pricey part of the equation, but consider how much a thrift store is going to charge you for a duvet or a pile of t-shirts! I have something like 30 t-shirts I spent maybe $5 on several months ago, and I’ve been working through that pile for a while.
You can turn a t-shirt into a pillow, a reusable bag, use the scraps to patch clothing, make dolls, quilts… The bits that get to be so small to be unusable for a scrap quilt you can use to stuff things.
It takes a lot of time compared to machine sewing, but it’s an activity that can be done while watching a tv show.
Depending on where you live, those thrift store shirts are not material you really want to use for anything you would touch. “Lightly worn” means very different things in different areas and the more bougie areas tend to get picked clean REAL fast by all the “life hack” kids. And the less bougie areas… there is very much an argument for leaving the thrift shops for those who need them but that ship has sailed.
But yeah. I would just add on that it is well worth it to pay the extra buck or two for some self threading needles and a thimble. If you can’t thread a needle for physical reasons (e.g. vision or dexterity limitations) you probably don’t want to be doing too much sewing for things that experience wear, but not having to thread a needle is borderline life changing. Just stick the needle in something to stabilize it and then pull the thread down into the eye and boom, you are done.
A good trick is to thrift “by touch” - feeling for cotton or heavier materials. There are a lot of quality cotton XXL blood drive/college or work event t-shirts that no one will ever want. I’ve volunteered doing some sorting through donations for a homeless shelter before, and they weren’t lacking for those at all. It was more a lack of dress pants for job interviews that were needed.
Resellers are usually going for names and not necessarily quality from what I’ve noticed.
I thought that every pack of needles came with a needle threader, which looks like a diamond shaped metal wire and a little part that you hold. That already is a big help.
Not sure about every pack, but every kit (which is usually worth grabbing just because it is a cheap way to get the basics and a couple colors of thread) definitely does. But it is one more thing to faff about with and you still need to thread the wire loop. Versus just putting some thread in the slot and pulling/pushing.
Is that what that fuckin thing is for?