You probably remember sitting next to your mother many years ago, as she used her sewing basket to fix clothing or sew on buttons. It's still pretty much an essential for any dorm room, apartment or home. Seams rip, hems tear out, and you'll want to be able to fix them quickly and easily. If you keep sewing notions at hand, you can fix most things quickly, for at least a temporary fix.
So, would you prefer to look at sewing baskets which are already filled with appropriate items, or would you rather just buy the basket and select the items yourself? If you're not planning to do a lot of sewing, outside of replacing buttons and the like, you can probably get by with a pre-filled sewing kit. They will usually contain a few needles, some straight pins, a small pair of scissors, a tape measure and a pin cushion. If you wish to do any other sewing by hand, you'll want to stock a basket yourself.
You can select a box or basket first, and then make a list of what you'll want to include. You can find boxes or baskets at many stores, and they don't even need to be designed as a sewing box or basket. You can use a fish tackle box, since there are lots of handy compartments inside.
If you find a sewing kit that includes a measuring tape and pincushion, you might want to buy it, since the items might be more expensive separately. Buy a pair of good fabric scissors, and make sure that they stay in the box, because letting the kids use them for paper will make them dull.
Pins and needles are also necessities for a well-stocked sewing basket. Look for needles called sharps, as they will go through more fabrics easily. You can usually find a small packet that will contain pins in several different sizes. Straight pins will either be a dressmaker type, with heads made of colored balls, or plain pins with flat heads. Either one will work when you need to fix a hem or do another small job. You should also have a package of safety pins in your sewing kit.
Thread is also essential to any sewing box. You should usually buy full-size thread spools, with the colors black, beige and white included, since these will be the colors that you use most often. Pack in a small heavy duty thread spool, too, and small spools of other colors that you may need. Any thread of machine-grade quality will work for your purposes.
Your sewing box should also contain a selection of metal snaps in different sizes, a packet of fasteners of the hook and eye type, and some assorted sizes and colors of buttons. You can put all these things in a sandwich bag, so they won't be difficult to find in your sewing box.
You will also want to purchase a seam ripper and a hemming gauge, which is very useful for measuring small lengths without digging for a longer tape measure. Seam rippers are essential for repairing mistakes you might have made. You can also include thimbles, to avoid finger-pokes, and needle threaders are also handy. These items will complete your basic sewing basket.