Sewing As a Service Business

If you enjoy sewing you might want to think about starting up a sewing service. As a doll maker and designer it can be time consuming to sew a bunch of doll bodies. The idea of having someone use my design templates and sew the bodies for me is appealing. That way it saves me a lot of time and I can go straight to stuffing the doll and finishing her features. You could offer to do “piece” work. Meaning charge by the piece. For example $2-$3 per doll body and once you gained a few clients it could be worth your while. Sewing would have to be something you enjoy and you’d have to not mind the repetition of doing some of the same doll bodies over and over again.

Another idea is for anyone that enjoys doing stitcheries. The one reason I don’t offer stitchery patterns at the moment is I simply don’t have the patience or time to sit down and actually do the stitchery. Now I can draw out the designs no problem but it’s more time consuming to do the actual stitchery. I have in the past hired someone to take the design and create a stitchery for me. Then they took a great photo of it that I could use for the front cover of my patterns. I paid them a reasonable fee and PLUS they got to either keep the finished work or sell it. Their choice. A win-win situation. I had the picture I needed for my design as a finished product that I could use for my pattern cover and they got paid and could sell that finished item. That gal ended up going back to work full time so she can’t do them anymore.

The same concept could be done for those that enjoy needlework like doing Needle Punch. The designer creates the design and you created the finished Needle Punch. Again, you would take a clear photo of the finished item and email it to the designer, who in turn would use it for their pattern cover picture. Also the designer in most cases would furnish the materials required in most cases, or you could add the cost into what you charge. I would imagine there are a lot of crafters that either sell online or off line that could use this kind of service. The gal that did the stitcheries for me was fantastic at it and a lot quicker than I would be. It was really neat to see my design come to life like that.

I know personally in the pattern designing business this kind of service would probably be a great asset for a designer. To be able to team up with someone talented in sewing, needlework, etc. That came to know the designers style and how they wanted the finished piece to look. Or in the case of just the doll bodies, how they liked them done. It could really work out to the benefit of both individuals. I’m not talking about outsourcing work like they do when sending things overseas to have a mass amount of finished products made.

This business would specifically be beneficial to designers who create their own pattern line. The difference would be you (your business) would create ONE of something so a picture of the item could be used as the front cover for that designers pattern. An seasoned designer would have enough experience to know the steps required to write instructions for sewing the doll body, as most are very similar in the way they are sewn together. So something to think about and perhaps this will help someone that is trying to find the right niche for them to start a business in the crafting world.

Author: Talena Bacon

Marketing Manager

Pattern Mart, LLC

http://www.patternmart.com

Bio: Talena Bacon is a doll maker, pattern designer and also marketing manager for Pattern Mart, LLC

Add comment August 3rd, 2006

Beginner Sewing Patterns

For those of us who craft or sew, using sewing patterns can seem a little daunting task to learn the how to use them especially when you are just beginning to learn.  There are symbols which represent very important stuff, but somehow is quite well decoded.  However, there is hope with smaller pattern companies like Sew Fast Sew Easy.

While I have to admit I have taken sewing lessons at Sew Fast Sew Easy, I found their patterns very easy right after completing my first class.  They provide a challenge and a great fit.  In a scurry to get together my summer wardrobe, I have made a drawstring pant in light-weight linen using their drawstring pant pattern and am currently working on the large tote bag pattern.   

I am next moving onto their 1/4 circle skirt pattern and their online learning video with the pattern for a makeup bag.  I would love to take one of these to the beach.  This company stands out to me for its cutting edge products.  If you can’t make it to one of their NYC classes, don’t worry.  They have two well written and wonderful books.  However, I have my eyes on their next t-shirt class. 

I know that you will love Sew Fast Sew Easy as much as I do.

1 comment May 24th, 2006

So You Want To Sell your Wares

by Carmel Baird

Sewing can be addictive, you start out making garments for yourself and your family and then see many other projects that you would like to do. Every time you visit a fabric store or craft shop you get ideas and sooner or later want to make up these projects.

Some you can use in your home and give to family and friends as gifts, the compliments come and sure enough you want to do more, ….but to do more would require you to have more family or friends you can give them to and then there is the cost of it all.

One way to recoup the costs is to sell these items, but how to go about it.

There are many ways to go about doing this and here are a few ideas..

You can start with your family and friends, let them know that you are wishing to sell your items and if they could recommend your work to their friends and acquaintences. If you are wishing to take on the craft side of sewing or sewing homewares then you make up a sample range and maybe they would like to have a party for you to help get things off the ground.

Selling by party plan is a great way, you take the orders at the party, have a delivery date for pick-up, this gives you the time to get the orders made and you don’t have to worry about collecting the money, the hostess will have done that for you and have it ready when you deliver the orders. You need a good incentive for the hostess so that others will be willing to host parties for you. You can book up parties from one party to another.

Craft markets are anoher good outlet. the first time you go will be the wordt, in most cases that is, mainly because it takes the people time to get to know your products. A good line to sell at craft markets is handbags or scarves, both are popular, homewares like cushion covers, table runners, placemats and matching serviettes and yes there may be others there selling the same but yours will be unique to you. Visit the craft markets and see what is being sold and decide then on your product line. You can find unusual materials at factory outlets, try the interior designers or any retail outlet that has sample ranges of fabrics, these become superceded and can be bought very cheaply.

Many retail outlets will take consignment stock, that means they take your stock and only have to pay you when they sell it. You put your price on the item and then they add their markup onto that. The bags and scarves are good to go into the fashion boutiques, the homewares into the interior decor and gift shops.

Make up a list of your items with the price you want for them, package them or if you have a handyman around then maybe he will do up a display for you to go into the outlet if they are short on display stands, (don’t make them too big as room in these stores is often at a premium).

You will need a consignment agreement that you and the retailer will agree to. Things like the time frame before the item is changed over, who carries the insurance, if your stock will be covered by the retailer’s insurance, how and when you will receive payment for your stock once sold, who keep the display neat and tidy, who is responsible if the stock is stolen.

You also need to leave them a stock sheet with all the items you are leaving in their store. This they can mark off when something is sold and have a good record for you. Consignment stock doesn’t come into a store’s stock records until it is sold, so they will not have the same records as their other stock.

That is a few things you need to work out, I’m sure you will think of others but it is important to get it all on paper right from the start. Some stores do a lot on consignment and already know the ins and outs but you need to know them too.

Don’t be put off by all this, it is just doing the groundwork, setting things in place to cover yourself and once done you will be on your way.

There is another area and that is the World Wide Web. There is always eBay and other auction sites but you could consider your own website. You could make it similar to the party plan idea, take the orders, give a delivery date, they pay when they place the order and include the postage and handling, then you make the idem and send it off.

Making your won website today is very easy. There are places like FreeWebs, where you can design a site so easily and they even host it for you and you can do all that for free too. If you find it works then it would be better to get your own domain name and take their premium version that has more options. To collect the money there is Paypal, again free to get your account and FreeWebs make putting the access to Paypal on you website very easy too.

With digital cameras, taking the photos for your website is very easy and FreeWebs make uploading them and even resizing them a snip. So you would have your very own store on the Internet, get your business cards done, even that can be done on your own computer now. There are packs of business cards you can purchase to print our yourself and they can be done with MS Word too. Have your details on your business card, your email address and your website address and hand them out to all you come in contact with. I know a salesman who, whenever he is introduced to someone, hands them his card as he goes to shake their hand, he always seems to have one in his hand. He’s practised it and has it down to perfection, you can do that too.

So all in all, taking it one step at a time, you could have a very nice little business, your party plan, your craft markets, remember these are often monthly, your consignment stock and your website store.

Now with all of these there are things you should search out first and make sure you follow the necessary procedures to cover yourself. Read the fine print before you sign anything and make sure you get the documantation in place where needed.

Then go have fun as this can be a fun way to make some extra money and pay for your habit, the habit that is,of being swayed by fabric and projects and not being able to stay out of fabric stores and craft shops and above all else, loving your sewing.

About the Author
CTBaird, Author of Sew More For U, a DIY Sewing eGuide. Get great sewing tips and techniques,http://www.sewmoreforu.com/patterns.html http://www.sewmoreforu.com/sewingbook.html

Add comment April 30th, 2006