In this time, when almost everything is instantly available, you would probably think if sewing is viable for you. Sewing is a great skill to learn and enhance, but in this day and age, when everything is fast-paced and easily obtainable, is sewing cost-effective?
If you are a crafter and has a great passion for what you do, you would probably value your sewing skills more than time and money. Sewing is an excellent hobby but entails equipment and materials to achieve your goal in sewing projects according to your interests. Sewing is cost-effective if, in your sewing journey, you will discover that it serves as a nice hobby and an opportunity to earn as well.
List of Contents:
Is sewing an expensive hobby?
Sewing as an expensive hobby is debatable. The answer lies in one’s perspective. If you think you can manage to cultivate a pastime that requires buying a sewing machine and the sewing supplies and materials that you need and enough passion for going through it, it will not matter if it is expensive or not.
Some crafters also think that sewing may seem an expensive hobby, but there are ways you can sew frugally. If you are seriously considering sewing as a hobby, you need to buy a sewing machine that you can use—no need to buy the high-end ones with modern features yet. Stick to the basics first. You probably need a basic sewing machine and a nice pair of fabric scissors.
For starters, please do not get the expensive and luxurious fabrics, instead of practicing sewing less costly fabrics like muslin to get comfortable using your machine and move one to more complicated stitches and advanced projects.
Is making clothes cheaper than buying?
Making your own clothes is cheaper than buying is not a statement that holds true for everyone. Even if you have a great interest in sewing or even an expert on it, making your own clothes is not always cheaper. For example, making your jeans is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive compared to looking for a comfortable pair in the mall.
For some people, it would be cheaper to make their own clothes than buy them. Some people sew even their own toddler clothes because they cannot find the right clothing they want to wear in stores. Either nothing off-the-rack fits or the design or color of the clothing available does not match what they have in mind.
If you are one in this situation and have a great interest in sewing, it is a perfect idea to make your own, do not expect it to come cheap. Making your own clothes may save you some bucks on labor costs, but you must invest in time and materials. It might not be an economical option, but as a sewing hobbyist, it is the more satisfying and happier choice.
Is learning to sew worth it?
Sewing is a life skill that is worth your dollar, your time, and more. If sewing for you is a hobby, then it is all the more valuable because it is a fun task that you can look forward to after a tiring day or week. Sewing can also be more than a hobby if you think you are confident and skilled enough to do business out of it.
There are a lot of ways you can benefit from learning how to sew. Learning to sew as a hobby, you can make different projects such as clothes, bags, purses, curtains, quilts, children’s toys, home decorations, etc. which can be great gifts to your friends and family. With sewing skills, you can also create unique outfits for yourself if you cannot find anything in stores that fit your imagination.
Learning to sew can also offer you an earning potential when your work is recognized by other people who are also willing to pay for things that you made. Equipped with sewing skills, you can also earn from repairing, altering, and upcycling garments and make it into a small business.
Learning how to sew is also a sustainable skill. You put a more significant value towards the clothes that you made yourself, so you do not give them away so easily, unlike the ones you bought at a lower price in stores. Having sewing skills, even the basic ones like sewing a button or hemming a skirt or a pair of slacks, can save you money and waiting time if you still delegate these easy sewing tasks to other people. You can also upcycle your old clothes with lovely fabrics into more interesting sewing projects such as unique purses or beautiful quilts or pillowcases.
Learning how to sew is well worth your while, be it for your personal enjoyment or an earning opportunity.
How much should I charge for sewing projects?
Putting a price on what you sew is usually a difficult task. There are more people nowadays who base the price on the cost of materials used and barely get any profit. This thinking may sometimes be due to the fact that there are also customers who do not recognize the time, effort, and talent you put into sewing your craft projects. You may have to find the right market for your sewing projects, clients who are willing to shell out an amount worthy of your time and labor.
Pricing your sewed projects may seem a little daunting as you have to consider all the factors that went into creating your sewing project. Below are some recommendations from crafters who have tried to sell what they sew.
-
- First, you must take into account the cost of materials. You can start with the basic supplies used in sewing, such as the fabric, pattern, thread, needles, buttons, zippers, etc. depending on what your sewing project needs.
- It would help if you also considered the electricity used for your sewing machine, for your lighting as you work or maintenance of your machine. These may not immediately come to mind as the primary materials you use for sewing but must be factored in, especially when working on your project for an extended period.
- If you are selling your sewed product in craft fairs, you can add to your cost the following expenses: cost of your stall, fuel cost for driving to the fair, and promotional materials such as business cards or posters.
- Selling your product online also entails expenses that you can also factor in the cost. These expenses can be your website expenses, advertising, postage expenses, and fuel expenses when you have to deliver your product to the post office.
- After considering all your expenses, you must now take into account the time you spent sewing your project. You may have enjoyed doing your sewing project and may not consider it as work, but if what you made is a product to sell, you must also add to the cost your time doing it. You must also pay yourself for the time spent in doing work, even one that you love, like sewing because time is invaluable. You may think of paying yourself a rate lower than the minimum wage since you are doing your sewing project at home and on flexible hours.
- Suppose you consider sewing as work and not only a hobby. In that case, you can include all of the time you spent in doing your sewing project, such as the time to buy your materials, advertising your product, packaging, and delivering your sewed items to the post office.
- You can pay yourself either hourly or based on the number of items you sewed for sale.
- Sewed product sellers use these methods to determine the cost of their items. You can calculate the price by adding your hourly rate to the materials cost. You can also use materials cost multiplied by 2 or 3 as a selling price estimate. Finally, you can check out the prices of sewed products similar to yours and sell at the same price as long as you can still profit from it.
How long does it take to sew a dress?
You can only make a rough estimate of the length of time you can sew a dress from scratch. You have to take into account the many variables involved in putting one together. First and foremost, assess first your expertise in making a dress so you will be able to make a wise estimate.
A simple dress like a shift dress will most likely clock in less time to make than a dress with many attachments such as zippers, buttons, and embellishments. A dress with sleeves will also take a lot more time since sleeves will take added time to attach and sew properly. A dress with beads and embroideries may even take days or weeks to finish since these dress trimmings are usually done by hand.
A rough estimate to sew a shift dress is 4 to 6 hours with everything in place. It would be best if you remembered that there are many processes you have to go through before you can sit down and do some stitches on your sewing machine. You have to choose and buy the pattern, fabric, and the attachments that you need before you can start the actual sewing. There are still many processes in between, such as fitting, measuring, cutting, and ironing the fabric. So there is no one size fits all timeframe in sewing a dress.
Also check:
What’s the cheapest sewing machine for beginners?
As a beginner, you are still learning the ropes and probably just trying to operate the sewing machine a few times. If you are a newbie but have a great interest in sewing to contemplate buying a sewing machine for yourself, here is a guide to help you decide which type of sewing machine can suit your needs as a beginner does not break the bank as well.
There are so many choices of sewing machines out there that it can be quite challenging to choose which one is the best one for your sewing needs. As a newbie in sewing, you probably have your specific needs and personal standards in the sewing machine that you are looking for.
The cheapest sewing machine you can find in the market these days, which is best for a beginner, is a simple sewing machine with a solid construction, is reliable, and, most importantly, reasonably priced for such a great learning tool.
Leave a Reply