ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to make your own clothes? Is it more affordable this way?

Updated on March 30, 2011

When I was first married and had two babies, one after the other, I made all of their clothes and mine. This was a while ago and fabric was quite inexpensive and so were patterns. Over the years fabric has become more and more expensive and the quality is sometimes questionable, but I believe you can still save money. The important thing is, do you like to sew? If it's something that you feel creative and happy doing, it's worth it even if you don't save money because you're clothes will actually fit!

There are some extremes where you can save a ton of money if you're willing to put in the time. A co-worker of mine came to the US from Russia where she had been a physicist. The government made it impossible for her to stay, so she immigrated. She wore very attractive clothes to the office and we all wondered where she bought them. I asked her one day and she told me she made all of her clothes, including underwear! She came from a poor family and learned to sew at a very young age. Their method of making patterns was to lay on the floor, on top of large sheets of meat-wrapping paper and have family members draw around a pattern around each other. They never purchased patterns,which were way too expensive,

Fabric need not always be purchased from a bolt. I made a suit jacket, for myself, from a wool coat I found at the Goodwill. It was part cashmere and the softest, most beautiful fabric I've ever worked with. I figured the coat was from the forties or fifties after researching the manufacturer, and it must have been kept in storage as it was like new! Also,, I bought the coat on half-price day for $4! The unique buttons were an extra bonus!

It will take you quite a while to recoup your money if you buy one of the new uber sewing machines that can embroider your liniens and figure your taxes at the same time. For many years I used an old treadle machine that someone had attached a motor to. Embroidery looks so much nicer when it's done by hand anyway. I now have a table-top Kenmore from the sixties and it works great!

I love to be creative, and choose the colors I like, rather than pick from the two or three, or sometimes one, offered by factory-made clothing. Recycling is a big thing for me, so reusing a piece of clothing and giving it a new life makes me feel great!

If you'd like to try sewing, go to JoAnne fabrics and talk with the sewing teachers. They are very helpful and you can work there or rent machines to see if you like them before making a major commitment.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)