It's An Expensive Habit! 10 Ways To Save Money While Sewing!!! 

Hi friends! I hope you enjoy this quick extra video! I am feeling very productive. If you'd like to support the channel you can buy me a kofi: www.ko-fi.com/penguinandpear Let me know down below what are your favourite money saving tips? ❣

My grandmother would sew a garment for a friend if they would buy twice the amount of fabric and notions. She would use it to make the first one for herself and work out any issues (or learn a new skill). That way she would get a new garment, practice her skills, and be able to say yes to creating for friends. She told me that learning to sew is a matter of practicing the basic skills and learning to sew for myself would be the hardest part. I had just started to learn when she passed away, so I stopped. But now I am back at it. She also told me that making gifts for others is a great way to practice and boost confidence when I feel like I've failed. She was right :) I failed at making a simple top for myself about 4 times (the bust darts got me!). I put it aside and made a few cowboy shirts for the fellas in my family. That reminded me that yes, I do know how to sew, it's just a new skill and needs practice. She also taught me to take buttons and zippers out of clothing that wore out and use them for making my mockups. Thank you for all of your great advice!

My mother always said buy fewer clothes but buy quality.

You are looking so beautiful today. Thank you for the tips, I have used your tips before. Great Ideas. Stay well and take care yourself. Bless you. Thanks for sharing.

Rummaging through charity shops and jumble sales is a good place to start. You can make lots of things from an old set of curtains. But even if the fabric is just a rag, you can salvage buttons, zips , buckles etc which otherwise often add ridiculously to the expense of making something from scratch.

I put an ad in the paper asking for sewing notions and fabric donations and my garage was so full with donations. I got some great stuff including vintage fabrics. I just recently went thru it all and got rid of hundreds of pounds of fabric and still have more than I will probably ever use.

Love your new hairstyle! These are great ideas. My suggestion for anyone looking for a new machine is to buy one that someone traded in for a new one at a sewing machine dealer. You can get a much better sewing machine for your money (that has a good warranty and has been gone through) than if you’d have bought a new one. Usually they’re only a few years old too

Amen! This video is one colossal truth bomb. I laughed when you mentioned sewing a top in an hour. I have never in my life managed to sew a top in an hour. I haven't even mastered sewing a top in a week. I have made clothing from thrifted sheets, blankets, curtains, and tablecloths. If the fabric is a good match for the pattern then no one is the wiser . . . and who cares if they know anyway! I don't own many sewing gadgets, but I do tend to buy less expensive ones if I am giving it a go to see if I like it or not. My ridiculously cheapo walking foot has lasted for years. Pure luck. Getting my sewing machine served annually is a huge key to sewing success . . . along with watching your videos.

I never buy bias any more as it is not the width stated, I use pillow cases from Dunelm at about £4-£5 a pair and a good colour selection, ideal for inside bags and pouches etc and from the pillow cases I can get about 10 metres or so where a pack from the shop is more. I also re-make items in larger sizes into my size, usually Mums unwanted and un-worn items. I need some knitted cuff for an old jacket so will be off to the charity chop for a bomber style jacket to harvest cuffs and the rest might be turned into a gilet. All good fun 👍

I decide what I need in my wardrobe for each season then buy fabrics that will all coordinate together in a capsule wardrobe. It saves a lot of delivery charges if you only make the one purchase and you'll have all the fabrics to hand when you want to sew something for yourself. And of course, when I've got my fabrics for my upcoming seasonal sewing, I'm not tempted to buy any other fabrics i might see on the internet. Win win!

Love your haircut! Thank you for this video. You do pick the right conversations to approach in these videos. I appreciate you.

It's a time honored custom to remake clothing! Skirts are a great source of fabric. I'm big on slow sewing these days. I have a bias tape tip, you don't need bias tape to bind straight edges, you can cut strips on the straight when you don't need it to stretch. I like making bias tape out of striped or gingham fabric to add some interest to a bound neckline, or sleeves. Also making your own piping saves a lot of money.

I have one to add. Take apart the clothes you love. Use them to make patterns and put them back together. Eventually you’ll be able to draft patterns on paper with rulers and curves, but that takes time.

More details in sewing projects adds more time.

These were great suggestions and very helpful. I always trace my patterns so I can reuse the patterns for making garments for my sisters. I will buy books with patterns and trace them out and use them over and over.

I have a tip to share! (I never have tips to share LOL!) Ibought a used iron on Craigslist for $10 to use for ironing things that might be a bit gunky like iron-on interfacing or starching fabric. Then I can make sure my "good" iron is always in good shape for ironing with no risk of leaving some kind of nasty residue on my fabric

ALWAYS on POINT!! I always hear in my head" Buy Cheap, Get Cheap!!

I love your haircut and color. Looks amazing.

I have been sewing since I was 5 years old. This means over 65 years of sewing and collecting. I have my mother's, grandmother's and mother-in-law's equipment plus my own. Lots of unfinished projects, too. At this age, I'm concentrating on finishing so I don't leave a lot of UFOs... At 0:52 is a wonderful tip! I'd like to finish each project before committing to the next one. You learn from each garment you make, so by the completion of one you know more about what you want. Wait until then to look at more patterns and fabric.

Great advice Claire I have started altering clothes that don’t fit like a dress too tight up top so turn into a skirt I bought a blouse on sale and altered the sleeves So much more than making full items Loving all these videos while you aren’t able to have your machine out Good to see you are doing well ❤️

This video was music to my ears. As I am planning to get back into sewing after a long illness me and my husband went around the charity shops in my area and bought some curtains and quilt covers with pillowcases, unpicked them all saving all of the buttons. The curtains were lined so I got double the fabric. My son was getting rid of some of his shirts so I took all of the buttons off them and unpicked them. My thinking was to use all of this for toiles. I am in my 60s now but I am going to try to learn how to make my own blocks and also to hack a couple of basic patterns, fingers crossed anyway. Loved this video, currently binge watching. Take care xx

My favorite tip in this video is to repair/alter things you already own. I buy clothes at the thrift shops and then refashion them into something that suits me. I choose fabrics and colors that I love and make changes to the clothes. Some examples: I bought a long dress and cut off the top because it didn't suit me and made a gorgeous skirt out of it. Also, I bought a fantastic silk scarf and made a shrug out of it. I am having so much fun. Thank you for your videos, you are such an inspiration!

My tip is to repurpose sheets, blankets, and table cloths. I'm not sure about the rest of the world. But in the U.S. we have Buy Nothing groups on Facebook for just about every town across the country. It's a fabulous resource for finding free sewing supplies. I also thrift (charity shop) these items. Also, for a mock-up, I like to have plain sheets to practice with. Big savings over muslin. I hope this helps someone. ❤ P.S. Even if you have to buy new sheets, it's typically less costly than fabric off the bolt.

A lot of my stash is from thrift stores. I have beautiful quality fabric for things I decide I want to make for myself or others. So many of the fabrics are new also. I wash it, iron it sometimes, fold it, and store it for later use. If I don’t remember what my original intent was, a waist apron is always useable. I don’t make much clothing anymore since I'm retired so much of my sewing is quilting, bag making, and other embroidery and sewing projects. Good tips, Claire! 😊

100% agree all of these, I subscribe to many of these tips. I’d like to add, getting to know your pattern and fabric stashes all over again, has been instrumental in me saving a hell of a lot of money in 2023. Note taking apps on our phones that we also access on our tablets or computers, is a really useful place to copy and paste images or photos of all of our patterns (doing a brand at a time, it took me months, but became so useful!!). Rewashing my fabric stash reminded me what I had… and actually printing out some of my pdf patterns and preparing them helped me start using what I had - that dopamine hit of buying instead of using is really dangerous😂

I have 3 patterns that I can use to make a dress, tunic, top or skirt! I use old bed sheets to cut out my patterns and make different neck & sleeve options! 😊

I love and agree with all your tips, especially buying exactly how much you need and not rounding up. My biggest saving tip, other than altering and mending what I already have or thrifted items, is to be realistic and look at how much we already have and what we actually wear. Honestly, I don't really NEED any more clothes. I certainly don't need to speed-sew 20 items per season. A few well made garments are more than enough to keep me clothed and fashionable while exercising creativity and learning new skills.

I love the free online sewing patterns you have mentioned! In my area, the library system has a lot of great sewing books, including the Cashmerette books. You can trace the patterns that come in those types of books to get more free patterns.

When I was learning how to sew clothes as a kid, we would take a trip to the fabric store to pick a pattern along with thread & notions for that project - head home and get sewing - after washing the fabric first of course!😄 When I discovered quilting - that was a whole different ball game and I suddenly ended up with a bunch of fat quarter bundles, yardage, and way more patterns than I could ever sew in several life-times lol! I think I better head back to garment sewing and my old habits.

I would say buying per project is a cost saver ! I am trying hard to do just that !

I buy a lot of my patterns from charity shops, I can pick one up for £1 each and they are unused.

Great tips (and some reminders too) thank you Claire ☺

Hi Claire, you always have the best ideas and tips. Thank you. Cheers from your Canadian friend.

Great tips

I got rid of my stash too. 😊 I used up some of it and donated the rest. Now when I buy a piece of fabric, it's for a specific garment. I bought a cotton linen blend over Xmas to make a pleated skirt but I haven't been able to start it yet. When I'm ready, it's here. I'm not distracted by more fabric on line or buying even more. Just need to find the time to cut it out and get started. I have some interfacing here and all i had to buy besides the fabric was a zipper. I wish I learned early on you don't need a stash of fabric or notions to sew. Would have saved me a ton of money! 😮

Great tips Claire! You look extra pretty, love your new hair style. The sweater you have is a really pretty color on you! I am a big thrifter and have found the most unique vintage fabric from small charity shops. 🩷 also find tons of patterns for like a quarter to $1.00 an envelope.

This is fantastic. Good reminders and some new ideas for me!

I'm much more mindful as a result of your video content, Claire. I've especially saved money and frustration since I stopped trying to power through a project. 😘 keep up the great work!

You always cheer me up. I'm often learning something new, or remembering something I've forgotten about! Cheers Claire xx

Great video, Clare!

Lay out your pattern pieces on the floor or cutting table before buying fabric so you know how much you need. You can also play around with pattern placement before buying the fabric to save even more $. This doesn't always work when buying on line but most online shops now sell at least in 1/2 yard increments. Fashion Fabrics Club starts at I think 1/8 yard. Great video. Happy New Year!

All great tips!!!you know me so well!!!

Great ideas!

Really good advice Claire. Many Thanks xxx

I’m broke, and have very little fabric. I can’t afford Christmas gifts, so I need to use what I have. The hardest thought I can’t seem to change is I want to give people items sewed out of their favorite colors. I don’t have the colors my people like the most. How many people make a gift out of the fabric they have instead of buying the fabric? I don’t buy patterns, I download free ones, or copy what clothes I have.

Ouch! I got in a hurry didn’t pay attention and totally messed up part of my lining. So I had to go back and buy some more. Lesson learned.

Another way to save money on fabric is to use scrap fabrics as facings, bias tape etc. Large scrap fabrics can be sewn together to make a garment.

Great videos😊

All great tips Claire, thank you so much. I like your tip about sewing your stash. That's what I am doing lately and haven't bought fabric for years. xxx

Great book out by Helen Rhiannon, ' Dressmaking , the easy guide' very reasonably priced too, around £15 .. all about drafting patterns to fit. Patterns cost £10-£15 a go so worth a look. I raid charity shops for very cheap garments and bags and remove the hardware buttons,zips... shirt fabric is great for quilting. I have to be honest, I never lend out my machines due to having a bad experience doing so. Not everyone takes care of them as I do myself ( costly mistake on my part) Old saying 'a craftsman never lends his tools) . Your hair is looking good.

I have always tried to modify my garments.

Almost 25k!! 🙆‍♀️

If I stayed away from social media, I'd have missed this. Your hair looks pretty, Claire! I did a weird thing (for me) and became a Cashmerette subscriber. I find myself frustrated with how much time it takes me to do bodice adjustments, so I'm hoping that I can get a better starting point with Cashmerette patterns. One thing I don't do is trace patterns and need to start, I think. What do you use for tracing paper?

You look extra cute today!

The pattern advice is a very hard one for me. Uggg

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