Home Sewing Isn't a Savings!

We used to sew to save ourselves money. That isn't the case any longer. In fact, it is often far less expensive to purchase ready-to-wear than to make something. Those who do not frequent fabric and craft stores don't realize that times have changed.

I was recently asked to help with a church project, sewing flannel pajama pants for a special occasion. There were approximately 140 pair and the fabric requested was Christmas flannel prints. Of course, being a church, there was a rather tight budget. Now I know the general prices of fabrics--all fabrics--because I am a seamstress and fashion designer. So, I was skeptical about being able to come up with fabric and notions to produce PJ pants for $7 per pair. I was aware of several online stores that might be able to accommodate us with less expensive fabric, but 200 to 300 yards was out of the question. In addition, once I'd taken shipping costs into account, it was more economical to purchase fabric from a local fabric store, even at the higher prices. Needless to say, this project never came to fruition. Unfortunate.

Santa Clara County has a slim selection of quality fabrics for fashion. Most of the mills who supply our stores are located back east, or over seas. The fabric mills back east cater mostly to stores in snow areas and do not take into account customers in temperate climates like California. There is a high selection of synthetic fleece fabrics and wool, as well as quilter's flannel which of course, is more expensive because of the higher quality quilting requires. I realize most all of our cotton mills have closed and cotton is usually shipped from somewhere other than the states, therefore, incurs higher shipping which gets passed on to us, the consumer.

On the other hand, a large percentage of our ready-to-wear comes from over seas where labor and fabric is cheaper. So off-the-rack clothing tends to be less expensive than making it yourself. Those days of saving a little money by sewing your own clothing are gone. Today, we sew because 1) we enjoy it, 2) we want a perfect fit, or 3) we want a higher quality product. I personally sew for all three of the above reasons. But I am a rare breed, and much in demand; that is evident in the amount of potential clients I get on a weekly basis, even though I'm not really sewing for people any more (ha--yeah, right).

I think it's unfortunate that sewing isn't offered in public school any longer. All of the sewists that might have been, might not even know they'd like sewing if they were offered the opportunity. Most of the sewists I see now days are home-schoolers; kids whose mothers passed on the skill or hired a sewing instructor to teach them at home.

Times have changed. I'm not sure it for the better, but it has certainly impacted the fashion market!