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As hobbies go, sewing is not cheap... |
At the time, I was writing about my impressions of having been away from
sewing for decades and finding that the landscape had really changed in the
interim.
Sewing nowadays is not a cheap hobby, nor it is it something that people do to
"save money", like we used to do when we made our own clothing.
From the very beginning, I was adamant about saving money where I could when
it came to financing my new pastime. My earliest sources of fabric came from
home and kitchen linens like sheets, draperies, and tea towels.
I started out making bags, so harvesting zippers, rings, and other hardware
trim from discarded or second-hand bags immediately became a priority for me.
Which is not to say that I didn't have to buy "actual" sewing supplies. It's hard to find a cheap alternative to various forms of fusible interfacing, for instance. (And — quite frankly — I wouldn't recommend doing so if what you're sewing requires it for a specific finish.) No doubt that what I've spent on Pellon products over the past decade has put the biggest dent in my pocketbook.
Of course, in today's hyper-inflated economy, I'd assume that the problem is
much worse. I did a quick check for the purposes of this blog post and here
are the differences on Amazon.ca for the four types of fusible
interfacing that I use:
- Decor Bond 44" x 25 yards in 2015 cost me $151.70; today it's about $180
- Peltex 20" x 10 yards in 2018 cost me $47.84 (a bargain); today it's about $120
- Thermolam Fusible Fleece 45" x 15 yards in 2019 cost me $161.81; today it's about $180
- ShapeFlex 101 20" x 25 yards in 2019 cost me $113.35; today it's about $200
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| Joann's CDN$ prices on select Pellon products in March 2023... |
While buying large bolts of interfacing provides the best
bang for the buck, I'm sure it's an impossible choice for some people to
incur such a big expense all at once. (Had I not been making money via pattern
sales, etc., I would probably only have bought what I needed for a project
or two at a time.) On the other hand, given ever increasing prices, I'm glad I don't have to make the decision now as to whether to buy in bulk or only what I need.
What about quilt batting? I've never purchased it, but during the height of the pandemic, I had heard that prices for batting had gone up by about 30% due to supply chain issues. Organizations that were making quilts for charitable purposes were finding it difficult to adjust. It's rare for prices to come back down after they go up, so I can only imagine the problem has been exacerbated by inflation in general.
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| More than $5CDN on eBay... |
The single tuck lock that you see here now costs more than what I paid for ten of them in 2016.
I would still recommend that you check out thrift stores for pre-owned purses and belts to scavenge hardware from; it's the ultimate save money/save environment choice.
I recently picked up a combo disappearing ink/washable ink marking pen and didn't think that it was very differently priced from the last time I bought one. A quick glance at the shelves to check out the other sewing notions didn't trigger any double takes at the prices. But one item — that wasn't on the shelf — has been puzzling me as to why it's so expensive.
I have been looking for some Fray Check for two years now, with no luck at finding it at a reasonable price (to me). The little
bottle that was purchased at a Walmart near the beginning of my
sewing journey had stayed usable for a long time because I always stuck a
pin in the opening to keep it as airtight as possible.
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| Would you pay this for one and a half ounces of glorified glue?? |
But over the years, it got used up and I was surprised to find that it
was not available in any of the usual places where I purchased my sewing
stuff. The example that I've shown here from Amazon is an extreme
one, but to be honest, I'm not interested in paying even five dollars for
one of these bottles. (My local Michaels store is selling a two pack
for $9.99.)
Frankly, I don't use it enough to keep so much of it on hand. I've been using other methods of treating the problem of fraying when it arises. If the problem is along a raw edge of a seam that will never be seen, liquid craft glue/fabric glue will work in a pinch. When I converted my Route 66 bag, I interfaced the loosely woven material with SF101 and then sewed around the raw edges to keep them from fraying.
Of course, actual fabric continues to be expensive, as it's been since I first came back to sewing. I have never been a regular buyer of fabric so I don't know what the price increases have been across the board. Are sales still occurring on a regular enough basis to satisfy needs? Have you had to adjust your expectations about accumulating a traditional fabric stash? Are you now more likely to thrift your fabric? (Anyone care to enlighten me on this topic?)
This last item is not sewing supplies related, but it speaks to the increasing price of everything that we buy. (Or the ever shrinking quantities at the same price point. Have you noticed that your rolls of toilet paper now have fewer sheets? Or that your canned vegetables contain more water? Or that the packaging for <whatever> has been redesigned because it now contains less?)
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| Save money on cotton pads and single use wipes... |
I have not purchased cotton balls or rounds or makeup remover wipes for a long
time and was astounded at the price of them when I was recently killing time
cruising the aisles at a drug store. In particular, the last time I bought
cotton balls, a bag of three hundred cost a buck at the local dollar stores.
Nowadays, it looks like a price point about three time higher gets you fewer
and smaller pieces of cotton.
The
reusable makeup remover pads
that I made about a year and a half ago have been meeting my needs extremely
well and have held up to my schedule of five days per week use. (I still have
some disposable wipes that I am making my way through on the weekends.) I will
vouch for this idea once again as a way to save money and cut back on single
use items.
Of course, there are now a variety of these available for purchase in the
marketplace, but since you're obviously a sewer, you can make them yourself
for pennies.
How has inflation affected your sewing hobby and what creative solutions are you employing to cope?
'Til next...
I'm primarily a garment sewer, but I've made pretty much everything else (quilts, pillows/cases, curtains/draperies, a handwoven 1970's bean bag chair!, purses/bags...). My feeling now is that although it may not be less expensive to buy clothing, what I make is higher quality, and will last longer. It also fits and is what I want ;=). (The exception being jeans, which are WAY less expensive after the first pair.)
ReplyDeleteI would love to learn upholstery. (Recommendations please.) I intend to try your facial wipes, but it may take a while to finish my humongous bag of cotton balls - I pull each one into 4 or 5 pieces lol!
Ah, so I take it you've made a second pair of jeans. Kudos to you!
DeleteDon't have experience with upholstery (aside from just taking something apart and recovering it like the dinette chairs so don't have any recommendations in that department. (Other than perhaps grabbing an old item at thrift or garage sale and experimenting.)
Laughing at your cotton ball thriftiness. You wouldn't be able to do that with some of the new supply that I've seen!
I have some new fray check I could send your way (if legal?). Yesterday's visit to JoAnne found some 100% cotton neutral color yardage for $5/yard so I will be making replacement Capri pants but found a disappointing options for 100% cotton knits for Tshirts and pretty gauze-like fabrics for summer tunic. Having more fun with paper folding projects and book making over sewing.
ReplyDelete