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Sewing In The Barn | Blog

Sewing In The Barn is an Educational site for your easy

Sewing and Serging reference, we do not sell any products.

Selling Your Sewing On Etsy

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Fabric Hoarding

Selling On Etsy

Crazy Quilt Scrapbusting

Cricut Maker review

Production Serging and Sewing : Protect Yourself

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Scott Fortunoff

This past weekend, I got back into the swing of giving sewing machines away for my Scott’s Free Sewing Machine charity program. I forgot how good it made me feel to help others. On the other hand, it made me so sad as I was reminded that the struggles are very very real for some people. Tragedy and hardship is everywhere. For some, this is a very sad world that leaves people with many unanswered questions.

Question:

Mini zip kits image I still consider myself a newbie, only been sewing for about 3 months. I was hoping I could try to sell some stuff on my already established Etsy page but I feel like nothing is ever good enough. It could be anything, a weird stitch, an uneven edge, those bulky corners that happen on a zipper pouch, or as seen in the pic lopsided ends or a crooked keyring tab. I guess what I'm asking is how critical are customers? Am I being silly to think noone would want to buy these slightly imperfect things? Should I have more practice? Give myself more time? ...
Comments:
People who buy on Etsy generally know that type of thing is common, I wouldn't worry about it if that is where you are selling. They look nice. The more times you sew them - your technique and skill will improve. A general remark about folks wanting to sew and sell - the most successful ones are not still learning to sew when they try selling their products. Favorite items people try to sell are hanger-kitchen-towels, headbands, scrunchies, face-masks, dog bandanas, various totebags and purses. These are all wonderful learning items but not profitable ever if you learn what it truly costs to make things. Calculate including the whole cost, labor, materials, equipment cost and amortization etc. Do it for fun and sell a few things here and there, but don't expect the fun hobby to pay for itself or even for the materials it requires to "feed" it. It is very rare that something you make is unique enough to be a superstar sales grabber. Just have fun and MakeItSew!

Fabric and Quilting Hoarders

Folks who deny they have hoarded more than they could have any reasonable expectation of being able to use in their lifetime are full of excuses, "sewing for charity" "delight in chaos" and other handy denials of fact, but they Neglect to think seriously honestly about what it is like to Cleanup after a person who hoarded once they die.

Fabric hoard image Quilting groups are full of deniers who think it is humorous, cute, and funny to encourage more of the same.

In a local fabric recycling nonprofit Fabmo.org they get truckloads, literally weekly, delivered by grieving relatives cleaning up after the fabric-hoarding person passes away. But a very high percentage of people have no access to a place like that, so they try at first to sell it, donate it to a local quilt guild or throw it away by the dumpster.

It is the "Quilting Community'' elephant in the room that no one speaks honestly about or when they do, they're told to shut up. Imagining you may "will it" to your daughter or relative or guild is also a common daydream that generally does not go as you intended.

If you wish to change how you manage your fabric - join our Quilters Cleanup group on Facebook for tips and ideas how to best use the space you have reserved for fabric and sewing, and ideas on how to use up what you have while you are still here to enjoy it. This group is just focused on this one topic, not a chat group, no selling - just practical tips on how to use up the fabric you have and how to practially utilize the space you have for using it. Download the QuiltersCleanup Fabric Destash list from our downloads page for places to sell your excess fabric and quilting supplies.

Good Reads this month:

Morse Sewing Machine History: An Interesting Story!

Needlebar

Needlebar is a fairly comprehensive site on Vintage sewing machines beyond just Singers which are generally the most popular/sought after vintage sewing machines

Doug Leko's New Book Tabletastic

The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History

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