There are, but if you get the little plastic thing of assorted needles you’ll be fine. Maybe $1 from Walmart.
I’d grab black cotton thread to start out with. For mending, it’s usually either about hiding your stitches so they aren’t seen at all, and it doesn’t matter, or picking something that matches what you’re fixing.
The thread that comes with kits is usually crappy polyester that will break if you look at it funny - it’s only really useful for “basting” (sewing something together temporarily to hold it in place while you do the more permanent sewing.) The other things in kits (pins, seam rippers, tiny scissors) are usually okay though.
Fixing buttons is a good project to practice on IMHO. Lots of clothes hide an extra button somewhere on a tag inside, but you can also get a nice plastic jar of mixed buttons at the dollar store usually.
Really, don’t overthink it. Even ugly stitches will hold stuff together if you put enough of them on.
someguy3@lemmy.world 4 days ago
if you’re mending you don’t need to overthink it. You really only need a thick if your you’re like trying to pierce through like layers of jeans. Yes get color thread to match whatever you’re sewing. Get grey, black, white, maybe brown and that covers most things unless you really want to make it completely invisible.