TonnieLoree

Harsh maybe, but once I was given two second hand size 12 identical dresses to turn into one size 18 for a stoutly brides maid. They would have been better off financially going to Ross or a discount store to begin with.

Maris

I have made Lazy Girls "Town Purse" on order. spent a lot of time looking for material in the color the customer wanted. It was more an "ego" thing than a "money making project". I still make reed baskets that I sell on consignment in a gift shop--usually make enough to buy more supplies and a little "fun" money. You never get rich making crafts.

Sally 1612

Have you considered teaching? Mabe a Hand sewing class? This could be on your choice for class,ie: quilting a quilt top, by hand NO Machine work. Basic class on how to cut/sew not just quilt block include how to on aprons,and or other skills of this type???

clhr

I think you all have given me the right answer just have fun with it. If you can make some extra money great. Thank you so much for the ideas & expert advice.

lalaland

I don't make a living from sewing but I do make enough money from it to take a trip up to WA every year to attend the Sew Expo. I've managed to make enough money selling things I've made over the last 5 years to go. Hopefully, that will continue.

BarbaraSue

I did wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, alterations of such and prom dresses. It became very difficult to do some dresses, because the people buying the fabrics and picking the patterns didn't sew and didn't know what they were looking at. some had no clue what they even wanted. i made one dres by the pattern, had made a muslin base so she could see it, fine, go ahead and make the dress. She hated the sleeves and the neckline, and the length and the fullness of the skirt, didn't want the zipper, wanted buttons, didn't want the buttons wanted the zipper back--- the dress from hell finally left the house and I closed my doors. And these same people want a bargain because you made it, they didn't have to "buy" it.

Debby54

I do make a living sewing as this is my second job.
I make quilts,pillows,table runners and mats as well as other things which I sell at a shop and also out of my home.
I am also make handbags which I sell and finish peoples needlepoint into pillows and such.
It didn't happen overnight but once enough people knew and passed my name about I am now booked for work to do until the end of this year

nanasquilting

I've been making T-shirt Quilts for about 7 to 8 years now. I make a fair amount of money part time and could do better if I wanted to spend 40+ hours a weeks (which I don't). Even during this horrible economy, I'm amazed at how many people still have the money (250.00 to 600.00) to spend for t-shirt quilts (also memory quilts).

vickig626

It's been slow for me to find the right niche for me but over the past year, I have been consigning scrub caps and stethoscope covers to a local hospital shop. Not many are willing to accept consignment items and don't seem to want to buy outright so I guess I just got lucky. I do pretty well with that.

People who know me have approached me for memory quilts or baby quilts. I give them a good price but still make some money for my labor.

I also seem to do pretty well with accessory items - wallets, totes, eyeglass cases, phone cases, things like that.

You run into people who want to bargain with you so you have to decide if you want to raise the price a little so you have room to come down in price. That also creates repeat customers because they think they're getting a deal from you as well as referral customers.

You will also run into people who appreciate the work involved in a custom item and will pay a fair price (so they pay the higher price without question). I recently made a bag for a repeat customer and when she picked up her latest bag, she gave me more than I asked.

I don't make a living at this because I'm on disability and can't sew everyday or promote myself as I would like, but it definitely supplements the income (and my fabric addiction). :-)

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions that I might be able to answer.

lfw045

Hmmmmmmmmm ......don't like the word "fat".......would you prefer fluffy? LOL! I'm pleasingly plump, definitely fluffy, and yep FAT.....truth is truth. Political correctness is crap....JMO.