It’s no secret that the cost of things in general is going up and that many of us will have to try and save money in areas we perhaps haven’t considered before. One way many might be doing that is by putting their hobbies to practical use and making the most of their arts and crafts skills.
Sewing is particularly good for this as it has practical applications and can help with creating and maintaining items for yourself or others.
How Do I Start a Sewing Budget?
Working out a budget for anything can be hard but it does pay to have one in place, otherwise spending can get a little out of hand without you even noticing. If you set yourself a monthly budget for fabrics, thread and other items, you can either spend what you have or roll it over to the next month if saving for larger things such as sewing machines.
If you do need a larger ticket item, don’t be afraid to shop around and look at what offers are available. For example, here we have a Sale and Clearance section that has some fantastic offers on sewing equipment, as well as ex-display machines which offer savings of up to 40% on machines. Keep an eye on our bundles and gift offers too, to get more bang for your buck!
Is Sewing Better Than Buying?
In an age of fast fashion, you can get cheap clothes both in-store and online, so is sewing better than buying? Well, it can be, but you have to know what you’re doing. If you are constantly buying new fabrics and new patterns for your pieces, then you are likely to spend more than you would from off the rail clothing. However, if you save old and worn garments to reuse their materials, do your own repairs rather than buying new clothes every time, use free online patterns and tutorials, and share ideas and items with friends and family then it can be far more cost effective to sew your own. In fact, if you’re part of a sewing group, we can offer group discounts and recommend suitable machines for you if you get in contact.
Make the most of thrifty shopping by buying items from charity shops or jumble sales to use their material for another piece. Take care of your equipment and regularly maintain it to make it last longer.
What Can I Sew That Will Make Money?
One way of making your hobby work for you is by selling what you make but this raises the age-old question of “what will make you money?” This is never a simple question to answer because it depends on trends, people’s needs at the time, and what others are prepared to spend their money on. Do your research beforehand and see what people are buying on Etsy and other similar sites to find out what people want.
Bags, soft toys, and personalised items are usually very popular, and the sewing kit needed to make them is fairly basic. The same goes for quilting because quilting fabric can be cheap to get a hold of and a finished product can be sold for a decent margin. Work out what you are good at making and how you can make it unique to encourage others to buy it. Find the most cost-effective way of producing that item and get crafting!
How Do You Save Time in Sewing?
One thing people don’t often consider when sewing is how much labour that goes into it. It’s all well and good saving money whilst sewing but if you are then losing a lot of time, that saving is not cost-effective for the hours put into it but there are ways of cutting down that sewing time.
Stay organised and keep all your items organised too. Investing in sewing and crafting storage means you don’t spend time looking for what you need when it’s all in one place. Likewise, using pattern weights can help prevent puckering on fabrics and patterns, and if you have a cutting mat and rotary cutter you can easily measure and cut without the need to lift strips away from the mat.
Other little things like filing away patterns for repeat use later and keeping a sewing journal will help you understand what you’ve done before and how you can learn from previous projects to help cut down time for future ones.
If you’re looking for more sewing stuff that can help you save time and money, check out our Crafts and Accessory shop here.