How many people sew clothing for themselves and/or family members? Do you save money by doing this?

In my experience, I don't save a lot of money unless I get really super deals on fabric or recycle old clothes to make things. I am starting on a quilt for my son's bed and I think, in the end, it will cost the same as buying one that is not on sale but already made. When I make clothes, I try to do it without buying a pattern because those are expensive, too. I do it because I love it.

I do. Two of my kids are plus-sized and I save money making them clothes because I rarely find really good deals on clothing for them. For my youngest dd, I make her church dresses. That does save me money over purchasing because I like to make smocked dresses, which are rather expensive to buy even on clearance. If I look for good prices on fabric, I can really save on home dec sewing.

Otherwise, the only time I save money is when I can use fabric and patterns that I already have. Since I buy fabric when I find a good price, I have a large stash at home. When I stick to sewing from that it is inexpensive.

Sewing is my hobby, so I would probably still do some even if it didn't save me money. It's just fun to do.

I sew, but have not made clothing in YEARS. Before kids, I used to make curtains, shams, duvet covers, etc. After kids, I only take out my sewing machine to hem, repair, or sew Girl Scout badges on vests! lol Fabric is not that cheap in my area, and considering the price of patterns and the amount of time it would take me to complete an article of clothing, it's more affordable for me to find good sales!

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Attaining financial freedom is like eating an elephant . . . it takes one bite at a time.

I love to sew.. for myself, my family, my friends & a nonprofit. Do I save $$ by sewing. Depending on the context. If I am making something that is not going to be a gift, I only put my time and effort into it if the materials are less expensive than a ready made item... OR... the item is intended to be a wearable work of art, or something truly unique.

For Easter I sewed my daughter's dress & knitted her sweater. Yes, I could have purchased a dress off the rack for same amount as the materials... but it wouldn't have been unique. She has black patent leather shoes, that I wanted her to be able to wear until she out grows them.... and there is something just not right pairing black shoes with a pastel dress. So, I made her a black dress! The fabric had an allover daisy print that was embroidered.... and I added a yellow ribbon around her waist. She looked very cute to say the least!

Formal gowns are the one item that I will always sew if given enough time. The fit can be so much better with custom sewn gowns than off the rack. And, I can usually save $$ over ready to wear when you consider that costly alterations need to be made.

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-Sarah

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Crafting / sewing for me is more for enjoyment than cost effectiveness. And I don't really enjoy sewing clothing! But sometimes, if my mother let's me raid her fabric stash or I find an especially good deal on fabric, I can make things for less.

I love to sew and have made several outfits for my daughter for this summer. I ONLY buy patterns when Hancocks has their $1 or $1.99 sales. I would never pay $10-14 per pattern. I really think that you can buy some clothes cheaper (Wal-Mart) than you can sew them but the outfits are not as cute. Some of the outfits I have made would cost $20 + and I have less than $5 in them. But then again, my little girl is 2 and it doesn't take much fabric at all! LOL! I really think that most people who sew, do it more for the love of sewing, not the cost but thats JMO. Sewing and crafting is my only stress relief and it gives me such a feeling of accomplishment when I finish a project!! It's almost as good as a coupon HIGH!

I used to sew a lot. When I was expecting our first born, we were very poor, and I purchased a garage sale sewing machine and made all my maternity clothes. We had a large store that sold a lot of discount fabric. I also made most of the baby clothes for the kids, but as they got older, we moved, fabric prices went way up, and it became more affordable just to buy clothes. I hardly ever sew now.

I am a different shape and size than I was before I got pregnant with dd, so I'm re-learning how to dress myself. I had a hard time finding clothing I liked, that fit well, and had an amiable price tag on it to begin with, but this just makes it even harder. So I've come up with some really basic, very easy pieces that require very little fabric--and no pattern!--to help re-build my wardrobe.

I'm with the rest--unless you can find a very good deal on fabric, it's not a money-saver. I only buy patterns if they're under $4, but WM is pretty good about that. And I cannot tell you how bummed I am that WM is doing away w/their fabric dept! That's just about the only place I can buy fabric for less than $4/yd (I never spend more than $3/yd, and only do that if I only need 1 yd!). And that's just about the only time I save money by sewing.

But I love sewing, and have gotten pretty good at it. I've picked up some money-saving tips along the way, like, for quilting I found a thick cotton blanket (full-sized) at Dollar General for $5 that I used as batting. You wouldn't be able to find batting for that price around here, so that was a real steal. Also, curtains/sheets in realy good shape at thrift stores can be good kids' pieces or small pieces, altho I have to be careful there, b/c I don't want to look like I'm wearing a curtain or a bedsheet!

I love to sew...heck, I majored in Family and Consumer Sciences...I was a "home ec" teacher. Anyway, There are some things you can really save money on. Usually the more simple patterns. I always wait for patterns to go on sale for .99 or 1.99. If you go online toHancock Fabrics Online Fabric Store or Joann.com: Online Shopping for Sewing, Scrapbooking, Yarn and Crafts you can check out their sales flyers to see when their patterns are on sale. Also, fabric goes on sale quite a bit and if sign up to receive their flyers in the mail they usually have 40% off regular price fabric coupon or such in there. That being said, you can also spend way more than you would buying something already made. I had a friend make an adorable dress for her daughter thinking she would save money. However, even with using the coupons and such it ended up being around $50...did I mention her daughter was 1 at the time? Anyway, it was a very cute unique dress and she made a straight skirt for herself to match so it was just too stinking cute! I would have to say, though, most people I know that sew do it purely for the enjoyment rather than to save money. My mom said that when I was a baby she made our clothes because it was just so much cheaper. It's just not as cost effective now b/c you can buy less expensive things a walmart and such. I say give it a try though...just don't try to do it with your kids around.

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Jenny, wife to Brad, mommy to two crazy little kids with one on the way!