Sewing..practicality or pretty?

**Thevail** · 03-10-2009, 03:10 PM

I'm sure there's a point where it's easy to do both, but I'm increasingly discovering that it's not very cost effective to do "good" sewing.

So I'm focussing on the practical stuff like mending, altering, or just creating very basic things.

Of course, I'm not very good at sewing either..so that could be a major factor.

Do you do one or the other or both?
How on earth do you afford the fabric and "notions"?

**Spirit Deer** · 03-10-2009, 04:00 PM

I think I probably approach sewing differently than most people, simply because there's very little I haven't sewn over the years.

I used to do tons of clothes, but that was back when we had kids and when clothes weren't made in China to be sold cheap here, and when there were fabric stores instead of craft stores and they had good quality fabrics, and when it wasn't easy to find secondhand clothes in good condition. I do still make a few clothes but mostly we buy secondhand because it's a lot cheaper.

These days, most of my sewing is practical and somewhat unconventional. I've done an Add A Room for our pop up camper and have another one in process for the motor home. These AARs make the awning into a screen room with storm panels, very handy in case of bugs and/or rain. On my list of projects for spring is a sunshade for the south side of the house, which I'll be sewing from a couple of different kinds of shade cloth to save on AC costs this summer. I also need to remodel the screen walls and solid walls for our QuikShade canopy. I do all kinds of stuff sacks for storing this or that, particularly for camping. I did a padded canvas bag that holds three cast iron Dutch ovens for camping. I've been sewing curtains lately, including a pile of nightshades to cover windows and help retain heat at night in the house.

I pick up sewing supplies in a variety of places. For the AARs, I used ripstop nylon I got at a rummage sale 300 yards for $20. That ripstop has been used for countless other uses, too. The shade cloth came from a wholesaler. The fabric for the new seat covers in our camper came from a wholesaler we stumbled across out in the middle of nowhere near Prior, Oklahoma. Now our seat covers are a souvenir! I buy quilted fabrics cheap at garage sales. I get zipper chain from my wholesaler. I shop for specialty threads online. I bought the fabric for the seat covers in our van at Goodwill, and paired that with some plain fabric I had when what I bought wasn't quite enough. I bought 150 dozen zipper pulls, which get used for all kinds of things, for $5 at a garage sale. I get eyelets, grommets, and snaps from my wholesaler, much cheaper than at the hardware store.

I consider stocking my sewing room to be about the same as stocking a food pantry. I don't keep the ingredients on hand in my pantry for just one cake, for example. Instead, I keep a variety of ingredients on hand so I can make a wide variety of different foods based on my needs and wants as they come up. My sewing room is the same way. Consequently, if I see something cheap, I pick it up even if I have no immediate use for it. Because of that, I have a good supply of all kinds of notions, patterns, fabrics, an pretty much everything I need. My supplies have built up over the years. Because I live where there is no good place to buy even basic sewing stuff, it's been a godsend to have all this stuff on hand.

Overall, I'd have to agree it's no longer cost effective to sew clothing. In general anyway. But for me, since most of the stuff I do would be either too expensive or not available to buy, it makes sense to have what I have.

I'd have to say most of what I do now is more practical than pretty.

**mommy4ever** · 03-10-2009, 04:14 PM

I sew for practical and pretty

I shop like I do for the stockpile, rock bottom prices. I have wholesale accounts for basics. From the more trendy, I go online. And I scour the ads for garage sales by quilters. Want a good deal? This is where to find it.

Used clothing is almost always cheaper, but sometimes not. For $5 in fabrics(LARGE yard bags full) I made my kids jammies for 2 years. Can't beat that, they were simple but cute.

I also sew to sell, here I will be willing to spend a little more to make more. But I find that you don't *need* to get the trendy fabrics to pull off a "look", it's clever mixing of fabrics that make the outfit.

I often upcycle.

Before:

After:

Altering an existing garment, can go a LONG way for very little. The holy jeans that were too short, became a set of funky capris. The shirt dh wouldn't wear(he won't wear red), became a darling sporty dress for dd.

I intend to continue upcycling things. IT's fun, it's cost effective. And the kids love having something unique.

**celina** · 03-10-2009, 04:32 PM

i was going to suggest what pposter did...finding used fabric, from garments and such and re-inventing them..there is a great member here nuisance (there is a number after i think) who does AMAZING things

**Grainlady** · 03-10-2009, 04:37 PM

I quit making clothing in the early 1990's. Back then it was long Country Jumpers that were all the rage, which were easy to make and you could make them out of inexpensive fabrics.

You're right about the price of fabric and notions these days. I can purchase a whole outfit at a thrift store for the price of a pattern or a spool of thread.

I still alter or re-make a bargain, so my sewing skills and stockpile of patterns and notions has paid dividends for decades. I used to purchase men's suits from thrift stores and remake them into a blazer or vest and a skirt for myself.

When I was in high school I could make a mini-skirt out of 18-INCHES of fabric - shocking! - but inexpensive.

Where I saved a lot of money was purchasing remnents and making clothes for my kids when they were little. I even made their coats. Wish we would have had Polar Fleece back then..... I also cut off both my prom dresses (we didn't dress like movie stars back then - my dresses were made with cotton dotted swiss and I made them in Home Economics Class) and I used the bottoms to make my daughter dresses and could wear the short dresses to church. So look at secondary uses from ready-made clothing at thrift stores.

I was going to make awnings for a couple windows last year and when I looked for fabric, what I thought would be perfect for the project ended up being "dry clean ONLY" fabric. How can cotton duck canvas be dry clean only??? So I scrapped that project.

Wish I had a dollar for every hour I've spent cutting fabric and sewing...

**mauimagic** · 03-10-2009, 05:02 PM

Good question - I think I sew for both...and because I love to.

When I started sewing - a million years ago -

- my aunt taught me because that's something young girls learned to do. Sewing became a passion - I truly love to create things in fabric.

From 8th grade on I was responsible for paying for my clothing, so I sewed to be practical and stretch my bablysitting dollars.

At some point the price of patterns went absolutely crazy, so I learned to draft patterns.

Now I do a lot of hand sewing - love it!! Have trouble sitting without doing something. I also sew and do alterations for people who never learned how. Last fall I offered to teach a sewing course in town through a center and only two people were interested. As our economy changes, I am sure more will desire the skill.

One of my favorites is to design and create costumes for the hula groups on island and for some in Missouri. have a big production coming up next month that will keep me busy and happy for many nights!!

To reuse a soccer phrase
......Sew On!!

**Spirit Deer** · 03-10-2009, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Grainlady

How can cotton duck canvas be dry clean only??? So I scrapped that project.

Wish I had a dollar for every hour I've spent cutting fabric and sewing...

Try Sunbrella for exterior projects. There are some good prices on eBay if you're patient.

When I did contract sewing for a bootmaker, I made the best money per hour I've ever made, except for what I've made writing.

*I* wish I knew how many thousands of miles of thread have gone through my old Viking 990 sewing machine! And yes, I'm sure by now it's THOUSANDS.

**Momto2Boyz** · 03-10-2009, 05:15 PM

I do both. When looking for a fabric to make clothing for myself, the first place I check is the Salvation army. I find that I can use plus size clothing to make new clothing for myself. Dresses are great becuase there is lots of material.

Part of it, is that I just don't like looking like everyone else. So for me, shopping at Target and Old Navy, makes me feel like everyone else. So, I'd rather add my own flair to my own wardrobe! But I still like to do it cheaply!

**MoonMommy** · 03-10-2009, 06:39 PM

A lot of my sewing is practical. I have made drapes for every room in the house. In the long run, it was cheaper for me to make them (they are lined) than to buy them premade. Especially since I really couldn't find anything that was premade in my price range that I really liked.

I am currently working on a cushion for the window seat in my dining room. It isn't necessary, but I have been wanting one ever since we moved in and so...

Othere things I have made are mostly Halloween costumes for the kids. We have made a Tigger costume, a fish (that one didn't turn out so well), Cinderella's ball gown, and a knight.

I would love to do something craftier, but right now, I don't have the time or space since I have to sew on my dining room table and that is also where we eat our meals.

As for notions, I have quite a stockpile that I have purchased while they were on sale over the years. If I am doing big projects, I can sometimes find good prices on fabric at fabric.com.

**Thevail** · 03-10-2009, 06:52 PM

how do you upload photos of your stuff??

**cab54** · 03-11-2009, 11:47 AM

I made my boys a couple of special things when they were little, like Christmas outfits and some jammies. But over all, it was cheaper at my nearest discount store, or from kids' resale shops to buy them school and play clothes. By the time you bought all the notions and fabric, it cost more than upscale dept. stores charged!

I also made Halloween outfits for my kids, cause I could mainly use scraps of fabric I already had, and any old leftover thread on the seams, cause nobody was really gonna see that.

Now, I quilt mainly, from scrap fabric and sale fabrics I find here and there. Once in awhile, I knit a sweater or something I sew together on the machine. The stretch stitch does a nice job on some things--not all.

**mombottoo** · 03-11-2009, 12:05 PM

Now, I only do mending...years ago I sewed, but imho it's not very cost effective at least for me anyway. I can find clothes on clearance racks for a lot less than it would cost me to make them.