Is it actually cost effective to sew one's own clothing?

[BinahYeteirah]

bs"d

Once you factor in the cost of fabric, notions, etc. is it actually cost-effective?

I'm sure most of you sew just for fun and enjoy your accomplishment when you're are finished, but is it actually a frugal skill?

If you have any related stories, I'd love to hear them.

[sewingbarbj]

Yes or No depending on how you do it

That realy depends on what your makeing and how you do it . If you are trying to make a T- shirt that you can buy at WM for $5 the answer is definitly no. But if you wait for fabric sales or use fabric clearance centers to get your fabric cheap and your notions at 1/2 price, and you make items that cost more like pants, coats and kids cloths then deffinitly yes! I recomend you check around for good sources in your area. Happy sewing.

[MrsMoon880]

I have often wondered this myself. The sewing I do is more as a hobby than as a money saver. I would think you'd have to use the same pattern several times over to make it worth the $$. And you have to be NOT like me, who makes a lot of mistakes and wastes fabric.

[AinNJ]

it totally depends on your clothing budget and the type of clothing you're talking about. like sewingbarbj said, if you buy $5 clothes at walmart, it's definately not going to save you any $ sewing your own clothes. but you can make a pair of wool pants that may cost $80 in a dept store for alot less than that. i've seen the cutest little skirts with $30 tags on them and thought to myself, "for 30 bucks, i would have used much better fabric. not worth more than $10.". same thing with alot of gowns i've seen. $200 for a $8/yd satin and no lining? rediculous!

[xenabyte]

I agree, if you have 'designer' clothes in your closet (I don't) then you might want to learn to sew to make 'knock offs' for way cheaper...

I do think making your own dipes saves you money.

I agree with seeing $200 dresses that are so poorly put together!

[akmeg]

One of my favorite ways to sew is by recycling! I made my asian baby carrier out of an old pair of pants and a dress, and I have made huge men's t-shirts into cute fitted v-neck t-shirts for me, and I've made a patchwork dog pillow out of old jeans, and I've made lots of diapers and mama pads out of scrap flannel or old baby blankets, and baby booties out of wool sweaters, and a cute knee-length skirt out of a long ugly skirt, and as you can see, I could go on and on and on! If you sew this way, it's practically free, and you still get to be creative and make new things!

[Meiri]

That's the kind of sewing I've been doing lately akmeg. Skirts out of jeans from the thrift shop being the current favorite thing to sew. I have 4 now if you count the overalls one, and I have a DH rolling his eyes and telling me I don't have to convert every pair of jeans I own....:LOL

[bwylde]

Sometimes it is. I stock up on fabric I like when we get out of town to this bargain place where it's 99 cents a meter and I always check the bins at second hand stores as I've gotten meters of fabric for next to nothing. I also look there for patterns, which are usually a quarter (I got a lot of kwik sew patterns, including my well used diaper pattern, this way ). If I do buy a pattern at retail price, I am sure it's something I will use a lot. I've made lots of great clothing out of one pattern and mixing and matching patterns I have. Otherwise it wouldn't be as cost effective as we do most, as in almost all, our clothing shopping at second hand stores and material in stores around here start at $10 a meter as we only have little specialty sewing shops (no Walmart or other big places that sell sewing stuff).

If you're creative and use your resources, it can be very cost effective!

[tboroson]

It depends on a number of factors. I sew because I love the looks of some designer stuff - particularly things like Oilily and Hanna Andersson - for my daughter, but would *never* pay those kinds of prices. I can make things with similar funk for maybe $6-$12 per garment, sometimes even less if I happen upon a really funky fabric on sale. Now, I could buy clothing that is just as *functional* at a consignment shop or on sales racks at Target for about $3-$7. I could buy clothing at a thrift store for about $1 a garment. However, when I compare what I make to things of similar style, I'm saving a lot.

I could also shop the $1/yard fabric racks at Jo-Anns or Hell-Mart and buy bulk buttons instead of cute buttons, and pick up cones of cotton thread at a local outlet for $1 each and not care that colors don't match, and make clothing *really* cheap if it came down to it. I could probably make a garment for Talia for about $1-3 that way, slightly more than a thrift store but cheaper than any other source.

[fourgrtkidos]

I think it is cost effective. I can make something that fits well, and I like, like the cut, length, fabric and colour. Which, if you are picky, like me, means you end up payiig alot, retail, for something you could make for say 16$. Plus, once I find a pattern I like, I use it alot, with some variation, in diff fabrics and colour.
Plus, it is worth the good self esteem I feel , for being able to do something creative and skilled.

FUN!!!

[arooo]

Jumping in a little late....

but the reason I've started to try and learn sewing is in addition to the cost-effective thing (recycling)..... mainly I have a really hard time buying clothes that I imagine some other mama's child is making in some third-world sweatshop.

[mehndi mama]

I think it depends on how you sew, and what you are sewing. I sew mainly because I can't get exactly what I want for a price I can afford. So I shop for bargain fabric that I like, I recycle clothing (use the fabric for other projects, or alter a nice find), I buy patterns that I like the design elements of when Jo-Anns has $1 pattern sales.....and then I design from there.
If I buy a $17 pattern, and 4 yards of $15 fabric, plus $20 buttons, I'm probably not saving much.....unless I'm trying to duplicte a $200 suit or something. But for 2 $1 patterns and 3 yards of $2/yd fabric, and the knowledge that I'm going to get the exact style & fit I want.....I'd say that's WAY better than a $10 dress from Wal-mart, or even a thrift shop sometimes.

It's REALLY cost-effective if you are hard-to-fit. But you have to learn to alter patterns to make it work.

[pageta]

Diapers are definitely cheaper. Clothes - I like making myself dresses and such. I've made suits for a much better price ($70 vs $150 bought) but I couldn't get the seams to lay as flat as I wanted. I'm thinking of making a pair of pants for ds simply because nothing in the stores fits him - I don't think I could get them on him even if he was naked, and they're too long anyway, then add a cloth diaper and it's a loss cause.