It's not a tool per se', but
fabric! Years ago, I didn't used to pay much attention to fabric quality, and since I had a super-tight budget, I just bought whatever was cheapest. I would never have paid $10 a yard back then. Whew! That was outrageous!
As time went on, I'd occasionally find a deal on quality fabric, and was amazed by the difference. It cuts better. It sews better. It turns out a much better product. It didn't take long for me to turn into kind of a fabric snob. Although I'm willing to pay more for quality, I still look for deals on "the good stuff"!
ha ha
Tool-wise, I only buy name brand cutting wheels for my rotary cutter. I tried those Harbor Freight ones once. A pizza cutter would've worked better. LOL!
On the other hand, there are a few "extravagant" items that I regret buying. A Creative Grids Starburst 30 Degree ruler, for example. It was almost $30. While it does make a nifty block, it wastes soooo much fabric. Another one is that Fiskars ruler with the built-in rotary cutter from years ago. Mine never did cut right to begin with, and then the stoppers fell off and got lost, making the rotary cutter mechanism go right off the end if I wasn't paying attention. I never really felt my Purple Thang was worth the money, either, even though it was only a few dollars. It broke a couple of months after I got it. I only ever used it to poke out corners, and a crochet hook does that just fine, so I never replaced it.
