Can you save money by sewing your own clothing?

Ok this question has confused many a person lately. In the olden golden day's, the answer was unequivocally yes. In fact if you didn’t sew or know someone who did, your wardrobe was severely impaired (unless of course you were rich).

But what about today? In the days of super discount stores, mass production in third world countries and eBay? The answer is still yes you can save by sewing your own clothing, but its conditional. Its conditional on what you are making, how much you are spending on fabric/patterns and who you are sewing for.

What are you making? Well don’t sew things like t-shirts or underwear, you just cant make them as cheap as you can by them at some superstore. (unless you get the fabric for free – but who wants to sew underwear in there spare time?) What you can save money on is expensive items of clothing. A wedding dress is much cheaper if you make it yourself. The same with the special occasion dressed like, proms, dances, and church functions. Its very hard to learn to tailor men’s suits but if you are patient enough to learn you can save a lot there too.

How much does your fabric and patterns cost? My fabric store constantly mails me 40% off coupons, and I use them diligently. Every time I get one I use it. I have built up quite a fabric stash because I have noticed that most outfits use less then 4 yards of fabric. So I buy 4 yards of a fabric I like and then when I have time I go to the fabric store when there patterns are on sale for .99 cent/each, 1.99/each or 3.99/each (for Vogue that is the cheapest I can find them). Then I just pick and choose what pattern for what fabric. Beware cheep fabric, there is no easy way to teach you this over the internet, but you will learn by experience, as you handle the fabrics before you buy them.

Who are you sewing for? Baby clothes are so cute and there are so much out there you can probably get what you are looking for cheaper then making it. Unless you want to make that baby dress … go buy it! Now if you want a mother daughter matching dresses and your daughters are sizes are 6 months, 4T, size 7 and size 14 – along with your not so youthful size 16W, there is no WAY you could find matching dresses in mass produced clothing. In this case buying your own fabric and sewing it is the only way to achieve your hearts desires!

Also – plan ahead if you know you are going to be making an Easter dress then watch the sales after Christmas untill what you want is on sale. Find the dress pattern you want first. Then find the fabric. Buy it all on sale and then you should still have plenty of time to sew leisurely instead of staying up all night the night before finishing, at that point you are too tired to look your best anyways!

The benefits of sewing your own clothing?? Well first if you sew it well and correctly it will last longer then almost all store bought outfits. Take a look at store bought clothing, it really isn’t sewn with much care – the focus is on getting the largest numbers sewn and out the door to sell. I also like that whatever I make is almost always one of a kind. I have really never seen anyone sew the exact same pattern I used and the fabric I chose. Also when you are cutting out your pattern pieces, you can tailor them to fit your body – give you a better looking wardrobe and you will look better in your clothes. And when you sew it yourself, you can get exactly what you want!

Note: If you are serious about sewing clothing for you and your family I highly suggest getting a serger as well to finish off all seams – this adds durability to your outfit, and a more professional look too.