Any seamstresses in the house?

Re: Any seamstresses in the house?

• paperpusher member

  

  March 2015

  I have no advice on what's worth it to buy vs make, but I suggest JoAnn Fabric for the patterns. They always have a sale going on. Like this past week all Simplicity patterns that are normally $20 and up were $1.99. Sometimes they have them as low as $0.99. And it's doubly good because their coupons aren't good towards the patterns. I find their patterns and instructions easy to follow.

  
  
  
  

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• amelisha member

  

  March 2015

  I'm in Canada and our stores are local so I'm not much help, but I, too, always wait for sales and I have a membership card to my fabric store - it's $10 and gives me way more than that in discounts, up to 40% off just about everything.

  
  

  Although honestly, I only sew stuff that I can't buy for whatever reason, because for me it is rarely worth the cost of materials, like you said. The exception is stuff like curtains and tableclothes, sometimes, because nice higher-end ones definitely cost more than the fabric alone in that case. But for most things? Once I've bought decent fabric, all the thread and notions in the right colours, and the pattern and whatever else, I could have bought it cheaper almost all the time. But I do sew if I want something specific and can't find it ready-made.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• littlepep member

  

  March 2015

  I'm not a sewer, but my friend did some no-sew curtains with that tape-like stuff. They turned out GREAT. Obviously not as fancy as what you would be able to buy, but I think for something like a nursery that's going to change once the baby gets older, it would be perfect. She also made some pillows for a chair in the nursery and I think those were pretty easy. 

  

  
  

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• Kahlyla member

  

  March 2015 edited March 2015

  In terms of what's worth it vs. not, it may be worth sewing your own [whatever] if you want to use something like an organic fabric. Like I've always wanted to use organic cotton sheets for my kids but to buy them is quite pricy because then you're also paying for the branding and the premium that seems to come just from something marketing itself to the granola market. But organic cotton in and of itself needn't be terribly expensive. (Organic cotton cloth diapers, for example, in bulk with minimal marketing, were barely more expensive than regular.)
  
  Or as @amelisha said, at the very high end - with ready-made high-end curtains and the like, you would be paying for the brand name and cachet, so you could save money there by only buying the fabric. But I mean, you probably can't make curtains cheaper than the cheapest ready-made curtains or huge IKEA ones or similar.
  
  I also heard a designer once suggest that, if you were looking at silk for example, the stores really mark up "silk for drapes". Instead, she suggested looking at dressmaking silk, that it would be far cheaper (and of course would come in some awesome colours). You can score big at the clearance bins as well, and maybe come out ahead that way.
  

  

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• ohannabelle member

  

  March 2015

  Lots of patterns can be downloaded online, and printed at home, which I love.

  http://www.joann.com/sewing/patterns/
  

  http://www.mccall.com/home.html
  

  
  

  Curtains and throw pillows are huge money savers. I just can't bring myself to buy throw pillows from department stores. The prices are absurd. 

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• wandajune6 member

  

  March 2015

  I don't know how to sew. I want to learn but I'm useless. That said, my friend offered to help me with curtains once for an oddly-sized window. She made a great suggestion that worked-- we bought dirt cheap curtains that were too big then she shortened them for me. It was cheaper than buying fabric and almost much easier.
  

  

  

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• madamerwin member

  

  March 2015 edited March 2015

  ohannabelle said:

  Lots of patterns can be downloaded online, and printed at home, which I love.

  http://www.joann.com/sewing/patterns/
  

  http://www.mccall.com/home.html
  

  
  

  Curtains and throw pillows are huge money savers. I just can't bring myself to buy throw pillows from department stores. The prices are absurd. 

  This is what I was going to say! Curtains, pillows (including those u-shaped ones for nursing), and crib bumpers are all pretty straightforward. 

  
  

  Other things that are not TOO difficult once you get the hang of reading patterns:

  - Sleeping sacks

  - Fleece hats 

  - Crib bumpers

  - Pennant banners

  - Diaper caddy

  
  

  I would shy away from anything that involves buckles, zippers, or pockets, until you gain some confidence with the sewing machine - do NOT attempt to make a diaper bag, or a baby carrier, or anything else that has many moving parts. Not worth it.

  
  

  And I have always had good luck with McCall's patterns, and Michael's and Joann both have great selections.

  
  

  wandajune6 said:

  I don't know how to sew. I want to learn but I'm useless. That said, my friend offered to help me with curtains once for an oddly-sized window. She made a great suggestion that worked-- we bought dirt cheap curtains that were too big then she shortened them for me. It was cheaper than buying fabric and almost much easier.
  

  Also, this is a great suggestion for curtains, and I did the same thing. I needed wide, short blackout curtains for our guest room, but they were super expensive to buy. Instead, I bought one narrow, long blackout curtain at Ross for $15, and cut it in two, sewed new curtain rod sleeves on, and voila! Two blackout curtains for $15.

  
  

  Happy sewing!

  
  

  
  ETF words

  

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• Fairyjen1 member

  

  March 2015

      My mother is a seamstress and I sew really well. Jo-ann's has classes for beginners if you want to get started. You can check your local Junior college. Ours has various levels of sewing classes that are inexpensive, offered in the evenings and weekends and are for anyone in the community, not just registered college students.  also sign up for Joann's coupons. They often send out 40% off one item coupons that are good for your fabric. 

  
  

     As for what is worth sewing vs buying? The unfortunate reality is most things are cheaper to buy. I sew custom costumes. My husband and I dress up at comic book conventions (cosplay). I sew for decorating if I have a specific look in mind and I can't find it. Sometimes I'm inspired to make a certain dress I can't find in stores, or I find a great fabric I want to use. I can't seem to find dress pants that fit properly so it's nice to be able to tailor my own. I think it's a good skill to have and I enjoy doing it, but it really doesn't save much, if any, money. 

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• larrygaga member

  

  March 2015 edited March 2015

  I go to Joanns for everything. However, if you aren't stuck up Walmart carries acceptable fabrics. They don't have as many patterns so I go there first and get my basics and go to Joanns for whatever is left.
  
  Shit the fabric is probably coming from the same maker.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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