Crafts
MrsPetroske
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
New to DIY & Crafts
in Crafts
So, I have never really been a super crafty person, but hubby & I have to save some money so I figure I'll give DIY a try. I would love to start sewing. Any tips on where to start. I do have two sewing machines (one was my mother's and one was my MILs). I really don't know much about them.
Re: New to DIY & Crafts
What's your vision for how crafting will help you save money? That might help point you in a direction.
Honestly, the DIY skill that probably saves us the most money is cooking.
I think sewing is hard to save money with. I'll spend $100 on materials for a baby quilt when I could just go to a store and buy one for way less. The only times I think I've ever really saved money was making a prom dress or wedding dress.
If you have the sewing skills to repair clothing, it can save you from having to purchase new clothing. I fixed the pockets and lining in my winter jacket when other people may have just gotten rid of it and bought a new one.
That said... Are you near your mom or your MIL? Would they be willing to show you how the machines work? Have them help you pick a project that they can guide you through- pillow case, pajama pants, ruffly valance curtain, throw pillow.
I agree with BeckyOff. It's not really clear from your post if you are considering DIY crafts to save money (ie not buy new), or are you thinking of doing some DIY and selling it to earn money?
I've sewn for over 40 years, always for myself, then later my kids. Years ago (OK, decades ago LOL) buying fabric, patterns and making something were ways of saving money. There was no cheap labor clothing from second world markets in our stores. There also was no internet with Clearance! and Sale! items for 70-80% off original prices. Anything you bought you found at local stores. As she said above, where I've saved money and fashioned original items is with special occasion/prom dresses for myself and more recently my daughter, and my wedding dress.
If you are simply looking for ways to save money on things you are already buying, cooking is the best answer. If you don't have a freezer unit that makes buying in bulk then cooking what you have frozen to save money, that would be a start.
Now, if we read your post wrong, and you want to be crafty with things you want to sell, look at Etsy to see what people are making and selling. You could sew things and sell them, maybe one of a kind small items like pot holders, oven mitts, aprons, etc. I just throw those out as things I thought of that are easy but maybe someone wants something individualized and they don't sew.
If you still want to learn to sew, most craft stores that sell sewing machines and fabric, like Joann's or Michael's have sewing classes, even starting at the basics. While my own sewing machine is probably 30 years old, it still works and I still use it. Even will all the advancements in machines, I could probably still sit down at any sewing machine and figure it out.
Good luck.
Thank you both for your answers. I did mean sewing as a matter of making things for the home, but now that you point out the cost of fabric, etc. that makes sense. My MIL is no where near us and my mother doesn't know how to use her old machine. Not too sure why she even had it to begin with.
It does make sense about cooking. We try. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking. Just figured that doing things myself would probably save money.
While the others are right about materials sometimes costing more money than the end product, it is possible to save money using a sewing machine.
We have a lot of second hand shops in my area that I love, but I don't always find things that are my size. I can buy something for a dollar or two, and then make it fit by adjusting it with my sewing machine, or some hand stitching. Honestly, it took a lot of trial and error, and youtube tutorials on sewing (I am still quite a newbie at sewing), but I had a lot of fun in the process. When needed, I can expand my wardrobe for much less than shopping store clearance racks will allow.
There's a woman that gave herself a challenge of finding something at a thrift store for $1 or less every day, and turning it into a new clothing item (normally a dress) for a year. I'm not a huge fan of her fashion style, but she does have a lot of good up-cycle and refashioning ideas. You can look her up - New Dress a Day. She completed her one year challenge, but she is still adding new things to her site regularly.
I also shop clearance or sales racks for really cute yarn, and using needles from my grandmother, I have both knit, and crochet Christmas and birthday gifts (learning how to do both on youtube). I've learned that if you are able to buy really cute yarn, you don't have to learn complicated stitches to make something look nice...the yarn does it for you! I learned simple projects, like ear warmers, and scarfs to start out. Each project took some time, but since they were small projects, I definitely spent less on yarn than I would have on a gift card. In my family, we don't do very big, or expensive gifts, and we all do a lot of handmade gifts for each other, so they weren't out of place.
I currently have a very large pile of jeans that were either given to me and don't fit, or they're my husband's, and he demolished the pocket area beyond repair. I'm cutting the jeans into squares, and sewing a blanket out of them. Making a new quilt could cost a lot of money in materials, but since the jean material is so thick, I"m not going to add batting, just a sheet for a back (that I can find at Goodwill). My sister made a similar one when she was in high school, and they use it all the time for picnics. For minimal costs, I'm going to be able to make mine, and I can't wait for it to be finished!
So yes....DIY stuff CAN get quite expensive. But if you are patient, and shop thrift stores, garage sales, or rely on what you already have, or can get for free, you can save your family money by using a little creativity and elbow grease.
Search craft blogs, and youtube tutorials for ideas and instructions.
I agree with the others about assessing your cost-savings as you go along here. Definitely learning some simple construction, repair, and tailoring skills will be useful for clothing and household items to keep them useable longer. (I love that thrift store idea -- even if it's something like re-using dress fabric for napkins, placemats or pillowcases!)
Search google for the model # of the sewing machines. You may be able to find a users guide or instruction manual. I'm typically a visual learner, so something like youtube would be helpful for me to learn how the machines work, and how to navigate simple stitching.
This is definitely on my list... I do have VERY simple sewing skills (moreso tiny craft projects and buttons!), and I agree that it would be useful to at least know the basics, even if I never need to make my own clothes
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