Money Saving and Sewing?

Does sewing save money? You must save so much money by sewing your own clothes? Great hobby, you will save a ton!

These are questions and assertions that I hear a lot as someone who sews. Even more when the person knows that I sew a large proportion of my family’s wardrobe. I got the same sort of question this week as a new round of group classes kicked off here at The Coastal Stitcher.

I think I usually give the same sort of quick quippy answer that a lot of crafters make when they are asked about saving money by making stuff yourself – essentially that answer is a quick and dirty NO!

This is because, a lot of people who ask about saving money when sewing are talking about beating the prices of fast fashion brands like Shein (I probably haven’t spelled that right, but if they can butcher the planet, I can butcher their name) and big box stores like Walmart. The fact of the matter is that no, I can not really sew a t-shirt for the $4 you can buy it for from fast fashion stores. This is also a very good way to end the conversation when someone is asking you to make them something for free when you don’t want to make it (seriously only sew/knit/crochet/insert-craft-here for people who understand the effort and love that goes into what you make).

The problem is that this is only a tiny part of the picture!

The problem with comparing prices of home sewing with fast fashion and box stores is that those cheap clothes comes at a different price. Even if we don’t go into the damage that fast fashion causes to the planet with over consumption, horrific treatment of workers and the use of unsafe chemicals – the clothes made by these types of companies are not meant to last. Both because crappy materials are cheaper to use and because you will buy more t-shirts if yours falls apart after the fifth wash.

There are lots of cool companies that are starting to fight back from this. Companies who pay fair wages, source local, reduce waste and make clothes that can last. When I shop for my kids this is something I try to keep in mind. Even better, this is where sewing your own wardrobe can help. You can do all the things these cool small companies are doing, but for less money when you are sewing yourself.

So let me show the ins and outs of saving money while sewing with an example from my weekend.

My daughter has somehow managed to grow without me noticing…something she is very good at doing. It meant that last week we realised that pretty much all of her leggings are too small for her at the same time. This is a problem when you are known as a Ferral Forest Child in your home and generally go through pants at a rate of at least two per day – made worse by a love of playing in the hose/mud/dirt/grass/etc. that the nice weather has allowed all week.

Now my kiddo goes to daycare and plays hard (see above) so leggings are one of the categories that I don’t always make myself for her. I might sew up the odd pair when I have left over fabric or for a matching set with me or her brother, but I don’t mind buying them from the store too. And here was my conundrum because I am trying very hard not to support the cheeto-faced-baffoon south of the boarder (please note after 14 years in Scotland I have much more colourful language to describe him, but I won’t put it in my blog) and am working very hard to buy Canadian as much as I possibly can. This meant that my go-to stores for leggings in the past were not an option. I should also point out that while the stores I used to use do make very durable clothes, they were also technically fast fashion brands.

So I started to look Canadian. I found LOTS of amazing stores and options. I also found very high price tags that would meant it was going to cost me a lot of money. And as every good crafter knows, when you have this sort of issue you simply say: Well I will make it myself.

So let me take you through the costs of batch sewing my daughter eight pairs of new leggings.

First lets start with comparison. By looking at some of the ethical Canadian brands out there, I was seeing prices form about $30-40 a pair of bottoms. That isn’t to say there aren’t other options, but this is what I found in my search.

To make a simple plain pair of leggings with an elastic waste I need 1m of fabric ($16/m from the awesome Canadian-based online shop L’oiseau Fabrics) and 19″ of elastic for the waste band (I already had this but it would add about $2 from the shop I buy it at). For the harem leggings I still needed 1m of fabric for the legs, but I also need 1/4m of ribbing for the waist and the cuffs ($4 also from L’oiseau Fabrics). I already had both the serger and the standard thread I used for these projects, but to be fair lets tack on an extra $2 to each pair (I buy my thread in bulk for my serger and it lasts a LONG time).

The cost I am going to leave out here though is my machines and my notions that I already own. I made these with a sewing machine and a serger. I also used fabric clips, a measuring tape, a projector, cutting mat, rotary cutter and scissors. Finally, I am going to leave out the pattern cost – now hear me out – I used two patterns to make these eight pairs, Waves & Wild’s Lightening Leggings (free) and Puperita’s Jungle Pants (about $8). Patterns do cost money, but PDF companies mean that I can use those patterns again and again even when they aren’t free at first. I have sewn both these patterns so many times that I don’t count the cost towards the make anymore. I also use a projector to cut out (about $100 to set up), but I don’t have to pay to print any patterns – my projector has also been used so many times in the six months since I got it that it too would now only cost pennies for each garment.

But here is another way I save a LOT of money when I sew for my family.

The fabric I bought will make more than one pair of leggings. Because of the way fabric is sold, I need 1m to get enough length for the leggings, but this fabric is about 1.5m wide. This means that I can get a full pair of leggings, plus one leg of a second pair, plus have enough large scraps left over to save for other projects (probably a t-shirt for my little boy or a colour blocked top for my daughter). This means that of the $16 of fabric I bought, I probably only use about $8 of it towards this project.

I also save EVERYTHING

I have different scrap bins all around my sewing room. I save large pieces that can be used for whole projects, smaller pieces for colour blocking, hand sized scrap for testing settings on my machines or teaching students and even the scrappiest bits of thread and serger ribbons for stuffing bean bags, teddies and other projects. This means I don’t let anything I buy go to waste. This also means I had fabric already saved.

The cat leggings and the main part of both harem trousers were fabric I already owned. The colour blocked capri-leggings are made from some of the extra I had left for the long leggings too. This means that three pairs required no specifically purchased fabric and two more only used a small amount.

Price Comparison

To be fair I am going to charge the full amount I paid for the whole cut of fabric I bought (ie $15/m) even though I will be able to make more projects. I bought 3m of jersey at $45, plus 0.5m of ribbing at $8. I also used $12 of elastic (it was actually way less than this, but I can’t be bothered doing the math) and we will tack on $2 per pair for thread at $16. Meaning I spent $81 to make these leggings or about $10 per pair. In reality if I did the mind math for thread and elastic and other things that I will make out of the fabric, I probably spent about $6-8 per pair. In comparison the ethical Canadian-based brand was about $240 or $30 per pair.

Ethical Brands Aren’t Overcharging Though

I want to be clear though, I don’ think ethical brand overcharge. They have overhead and they pay for labour. When I sew at home I do not pay myself a wage. Sewing it my creative outlet and my dopamine creating, fun activity – that means I enjoy making what I make. I am also fast. I have sewn a LOT over the years and with that comes speed. Making these clothes when I was new to sewing would have taken days, now it takes a couple of hours even with kid interruption – so don’t be hard on yourself if you are new to sewing and eight pairs of leggings sounds overwhelming, stuff will be different as you get better. I also buy things when I don’t think I would have fun making it. It does mean that I can sew for cheaper than brands though, because for me the labour cost isn’t part of it.

Other ways sewing for yourself pays – Back to the box stores and fast fashion

Let us get back to the quality of clothes from fast fashion and box stores. This stuff is not made to last and it is absolutley on purpose. It saves them money and keeps you shopping. In comparison me-made clothes are amazing.

I have dresses, sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc. that are five years old now and still worn daily and look nice. When you get to buy the fabric yourself and make these garments its means that the materials are good and the construction is strong. Your clothes will last. My children have NEVER destroyed clothes I have made them before they outgrew them. My son is now regularly wearing clothes I made my daughter four+ years ago. Some of those are grow-with-me clothes that lasted my daughter years before they were past on to him and they will be passed on again when we are done. If you make it, it will last. So while your walmart t-shirt can’t even be donated a year later because of the holes in it, your me-made masterpiece will still be in your wardrobe.

Plus you have the skills to alter things. If you made a dress and it is too long for your liking now, you can chop and hem it. If you no longer fit a t-shirt, you can alter it or cut it up and use it for another project. Those leggings my girlie grew out of? They still fit in the waist, so I am currently chopping the legs short and hemming them – now we have her shorts for the summer. Even if you didn’t make it, you have the skills now to upcycle. My kids have so many things made from old sweatshirt and t-shirts that my husband and I loved, but no longer wear.

Finally (for this article – though I could come up with so much more), you can make things that you truly love. I am a plus size woman and as my body got bigger the choices I had in the stores got less and less. When I was younger though (and didn’t sew for myself) I was a competitive swimmer, I had broad shoulders, no hips and big thighs – my mother (and all the women of my family) have also passed onto me a very well-endowed bust line. I NEVER found clothes that I truly loved. My whole life I found clothes that mostly fit and hoped they were in colours I liked.

Now I get to make things that fit perfectly – I have learned how to adjust my clothes to fit my shoulders and bust, I have found pattern companies that make awesome designs that get me excited about fashion and are size inclusive. I get to pick the patterns and colours I wear too – because I am a girl who loves my everyday grey sweatshirt just as much as my eye catching, artist supporting, crazy vibrant prints. I get to have it all and no retailer would be able to provide me well tailored, perfectly coloured clothes like that.

So maybe I should change my answer: If you want to make clothes that fit perfectly, are good for the planet, will last for ages and you want to have fun making them than absolutely yes, sewing can definitely save you money!

And if you want to learn to make clothes for cheaper, send me a message and LETS GET STARTED!