Sewing On A Budget

March 25, 2008 – 10:31 pm

Rising fuel costs, house prices, rents, spiraling food bills; it all gets a bit much. We all find ourselves watching the budget, and looking for new ways to budget. One way is to take up sewing. At first glance, this may seem an expensive proposition, but this is not so.You can combine a hobby like past time with your need to clothe and furnish and save money, as part of your entertainment budget, now becomes part of your living allowance budget too, so both costs go down.

To begin with, you will need a sewing machine (well, you CAN sew by hand, but that is VERY time consuming!). No need to trot down to the shops or browse catalogues. Those new machines are expensive, and what you pay for a cheap one, you can get a most excellent machine and accessories for if you go the used route. the second hand machine will also have much better performance and durability than a cheaply built import too. For most sewing tasks, all you need is a straight stitch. For the few tasks you need a zigzag stitch, you can buy an attachment to do the task. So, looking at an older machine will be just fine, or perhaps grandma’s old Singer or Jones up in your mother’s loft might do! Look around. Just as my example mentions old machines family might have, so might persons on Freecycle. EBay is also a good source, but be certain that it is where you can collect it, as if not packed just right, a machine may end up only good for parts. if the machine is a hand crank or treadle, don’t despair. These two people powered types are excellent for learning to sew as the machine won’t run away from you, and you can most easily adapt to electricity by wiring on a motor quite simply.If you acquire a straight stitch only machine, a few inexpensive must haves to be truly useful are:
a buttonholer attachment. This will make different styles and sizes of buttonholes, moving the fabric about to achieve the zigzag stitch effect needed.

a seam gauge- this you place on the machine so your seam is straight and your hem is the desired width without variation

zipper foot- needed for placing zips on

edge stitching foot- this is a very versatile foot for sewing various seams

walking foot- for matching plaids, squares, and also for quilting

sewing reference books- you will want a copy of the manual for your machine, for the buttonholer, and general sewing reference book. If you buy no other reference book, I heartily suggest the Singer Sewing Book by Mary Picken. You will see a review of it in the book review section of this site.

There are several other feet and attachments you can get, but these are not needed until you have mastered the basics and get into advanced types off sewing, if you do.

Having gotten your machine, it is best to have it serviced, to ensure it is working properly. This will also ensure you do not find a need for alter costly repairs. if you cannot afford a service, or a repair place is not nearby, you can find online sewing groups on Yahoo and MSN as well as sewing machine enthusiast sites where you can find out the very simple techniques for servicing your own vintage machine. once that is sorted out, and you have mastered simple seams and pivoting with the needle, you are ready to consider the making of projects.

To keep within a budget, it is highly recommended that you think carefully before buying patterns or fabrics. Think of what you actually rend to wear and use, and avoid wistful thinking. It might be lovely, but it is a waste if it just sits on the hanger or clutters the place up! When you have settled on what you need to make, look about for free patterns online by Googling. Also keep an eye out for sales of second hand patterns on eBay ad sewing pattern sites, as well as sales at local and online haberdashery shops. be patient and take your time to find just the right pattern for what you are after, at just the right price, and that is designed for your skill level, and you will have no problem getting a satisfactory result all the way around.

When looking for fabric, consider making over old clothes. For example, old twill work trousers with popped crotch seams are no longer any good for general wear, but with the seams unpicked provide plenty of good material for a sturdy pair of trousers for a young child. Old unremovable stains from work can be got around by having the old outside sewn to face inside as well, and no one will be the wiser.Worn out cellular blankets can find new life as wadding for inside a patchwork quilt, and jeans with the knees ripped beyond gone can be reused for patchwork squares, material to make appliques on clothing, and more. Other resources for cloth include markets and haberdashery shops. With the plethora of online shops, and the strength of the pound against American, Australian, and Canadian currency, it pays to sit and figure out overall costs for what you are after from more than one source. For example, it may be cheaper to order denim from a UK based vendor, but for flannel, an order from Canada might save you money.

With planning, organisation, and proper practice, you can turn out a designer style wardrobe and furnishings for the same price (or less) of sweat shop produced, mass marketed goods. Those embroidered and appliqued jeans you saw at the department store for £35 can be made by you with surprisingly little effort for as cheaply as £15-20 depending on how if you make or buy in your embellishments, and how heavy the quality of denim you elect to buy. That means you have basically pocketed a savings of no less than £15 for yourself, and not only got yourself those jeans, but spent time enjoying making them, over a couple of evenings, so spent no extra cash on entertainment. Now that is budgeting and getting to enjoy life too.

Some of my own projects can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29124&l=1d502&id=634629781

By Shroud