Make or Buy? Your preference?

[Lady Day]

I dont know, Paisley, I invest in a pattern and can make it up in my size to fit my exact tastes for a few dollars as compared to taking a risk getting a RTW item that may or may not fit the way I want it to.

Excess fabric can be reused as trim on something else, or household items, and I can alter a pattern on the fly to make a new design from it, so I do see sewing as being not only more cost effective, but also more tailored to repurposing. Granted it takes a bit of cash up front, but Ive made up one pattern like 12 times, and each item made looks completely different from the others.

LD

 

[LizzieMaine]

I dont know, Paisley, I invest in a pattern and can make it up in my size to fit my exact tastes for a few dollars as compared to taking a risk getting a RTW item that may or may not fit the way I want it to.

Excess fabric can be reused as trim on something else, or household items, and I can alter a pattern on the fly to make a new design from it, so I do see sewing as being not only more cost effective, but also more tailored to repurposing. Granted it takes a bit of cash up front, but Ive made up one pattern like 12 times, and each item made looks completely different from the others.

LD

Exactly -- I'll often make up multiple variations of the same dress, different collars, different trim, and so forth, and sometimes even take pieces from entirely different patterns to come up with something new. I categorically refuse to pay more than $10 for any pattern, and I make good use of the ones I already have before buying more.

Fabric can be expensive if you want it to be, but it's also possible to find it very cheap. I get practically all my cottons at -- yes -- Wal Mart for $2 to $2.50 a yard. A typical dress takes four or five yards, so I've got my fabric for ten bucks or less. Add buttons for another couple of dollars, or for nothing if I find ones I like in my button bin, a zipper for another couple of dollars, and there you go. Change back from a twenty for the whole project. It might take me eight or nine hours total to cut it out and put it together and get it finished, but that can be spread out over as long as I want to as a spare-minutes activity so I don't even notice it. No matter how I look at it, it's less expensive than store bought.

 

[Viola]

Wellll.... yes and no. It's not cheaper than many dresses I've bought new, honestly, at 20 dollars, though 20 dollars is by no means expensive. That said, the dresses I buy new for under 20 dollars are not well-sewn often, or in your choice of color.

And you can't (well I can't) change necklines or lengths or any of those myriad details that are what takes a dress from being ugly or barely wearable or just all right to really nice and flattering on an individual.

What I'm saying is it's not the very cheapest way to get a dress but it probably IS the cheapest way to get a flattering dress and it's DEFINITELY the cheapest way to get a well-made dress. At least you know the strengths and weaknesses of the seamstress and can be sure that if its a simple piece its still carefully done.

 

[Paisley]

OK--I don't think I would save money by sewing. I've tried sewing and I'm not good at it. It takes me a ridiculous amount of time, makes a big mess, the thing still might not fit right, and it looks homemade. And I could buy something at a thrift store or new at Ross for the same price or less. (I'm thinking of my $9 cocktail dress and $7 blazer and $3 skirts.) Of course, I don't find deals like that all the time. But in general, it's better for me to let someone else do the sewing.

 

[C-dot]

That's alright, Paisley- We all have our own talents!

I tend to sew/knit small things. I can knit sweaters and sew clothes, but I don't in bulk because I find them time consuming. In between small projects, I'll start one super big one. And I'm always so proud of the outcome - People's reaction when you say you made something is priceless, aswell!

If I could make all my own clothes, I would. I find it very rewarding. Perhaps that feeling would vanish if I did, though, because it would become more than just a hobby.

 

[Miss 1929]

Time and money and size and proportion

Pros and cons!
I used to be a 2. Now I am a 14. So my size is much more difficult to find in vintage.
Proportions are always a problem for me no matter what size I am, there's always a 4 size difference between my top and bottom halves, so nothing really fits as it should in vintage, unless the original owner was a freak like me too.
Good vintage in large sizes is beyond my means these days. And I usually want solid colors rather than prints, so that makes it harder to find an unstained item.
All these are the pros of sewing vs. the cons of buying...
On the other hand, although I have the skill, patterns, and fabric to make stuff, I never have the time, so that's the flip side...
And I do adore a real vintage item, it has history and usually superior craftsmanship - also many fabrics from the 30s are not made anymore.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I make everything I wear. I love the vintage cut and style, but I also want some of *my* personal style in there, too. With sewing you can make WHATEVER YOU WANT. I don't even LOOK at RTW clothing anymore. I don't like actual vintage, either. To fragile for me. I make copies of vintage patterns and then SEW AWAY. I can make a dress in one day if I'm not too fussed with detail.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

If I could make all my own clothes, I would. I find it very rewarding. Perhaps that feeling would vanish if I did, though, because it would become more than just a hobby.

I can assure you it just gets better and better with every piece you make for yourself!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I don't know how to sew or knit, though I want to learn both.

You should come sew with us: cherry_bombb, me, and another friend who isn't on here. I hold "Gay Sew Days" at my flat every now again. lol. Gay in that they are happy Really! Also, I can knit so I can teach you that. It's all winning every which way!

 

[Emer]

I'd LIKE to be able to make my own clothing--I'm actually going to take a sewing class at the local college next year to try and learn (each class is 4 hours long, so I had better learn something! lol). I'm a buyer only because I don't know how to make my own yet.

But when I do buy, I tend to like vintage-inspired pieces, only because I can return things when they don't fit properly. Buying vintage usually means buying from a person rather than a company, and it's so easy for someone to make mistakes when meassuring a garment. What they call the waist might actually be the hips, or what they meassure as the torso may be longer/shorter than the reality. But if I can find a good vintage piece that I love, I'll take the chance the plop down the money!

I also like to buy modern clothes from places like Banana Republic that have a vintage feel to them. Pairing them with the right accesories makes them look more retro than they really are.

 

[Lady Day]

And you can't (well I can't) change necklines or lengths or any of those myriad details that are what takes a dress from being ugly or barely wearable or just all right to really nice and flattering on an individual.

But think about if you could change those necklines and such. Investing in a $40 class to learn that could save you countless dollars on mediocre RTW down the road.

Like with the cost of RTW, there are many levels in sewing in which you want to invest your time. I wouldnt spend 14 hours on a simple house frock, but I would spend 3 days on a winter coat. Thats time invested in something that can last your lifetime. I always compare both money and time in what Im making. Thats one reason I stick with patterns Ive made time and time again, I can knock those out in just a few hours. If I cut out two blouses, I know the pattern well enough now that I can get them both done in one day.

*whew*

LD

 

[Viola]

Oh Lady Day I don't discount that at all, I'd love to find classes that teach that but the sewing store I knew of that offered it closed and I'm not sure where to go for these lessons, at forty dollars or any other price either. [huh]

It would be a good investment IF a very all-thumbs person could learn it? I have no natural ability. None.

You should come sew with us: cherry_bombb, me, and another friend who isn't on here. I hold "Gay Sew Days" at my flat every now again. lol. Gay in that they are happy Really! Also, I can knit so I can teach you that. It's all winning every which way!

That would be so cool but seriously I don't know ANYTHING. I don't sew BUTTONS yet. I don't want to be like I'll come sew with you guys and then just stare like a slack-jawed yokel. Buuuut if you let me come I'll bring soda! lol

 

[Amy Jeanne]

That would be so cool but seriously I don't know ANYTHING. I don't sew BUTTONS yet. I don't want to be like I'll come sew with you guys and then just stare like a slack-jawed yokel. Buuuut if you let me come I'll bring soda! lol

cherry_bombb is the one who showed me the basics of sewing. That first time I went over her house she was showing me stuff and explaining stuff and I was just staring like a yokel. Haha. She would ask me if I was ok from time to time. That's just the way I learn. I take it all in and rarely speak.

After that, I was on my own. I taught myself how to use the botton hole maker on my machine. I figured out darts on my own, but cherry_bombb came back over a month later and went over them with me again. She also showed me how to put in a zipper. It was like unleashing this magic that must've been stored up inside me lol lol

I'll PM you if we have another one.

 

[Miss 1929]

Stitch and Bitch

it's always good to have a few girlfriends to sew with! It is less tedious and you can share knowledge.
We used to have Stitch and Bitch Tuesdays at Theresa LaQuey's, now that was an education! I learned a lot and it was good for the diet too, we would all bring salad stuff and be very virtuous.

 

[ilanacharnelle]

I buy basics like cardigans but I have an amazing Nanna who has made me two circular skirts and a full petticoat to wear underneath them. I am so in love with them, and have worn them so much they're falling apart. I'm so grateful to her for making them, they're just wonderful.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I'm not sure if I'm notorious yet for being both a repro snob (don't wear it) and a cheapskate (if it's over $50 I ain't buying it), but I am both. If I could sew I probably would make my own stuff and not be stuck up about it, but I have (finally) found an amazing store in Brooklyn where I can get amazing cheap vintage every time, not to mention Etsy. I hate bengaline. And a lot of the repro stuff is more than double what I would pay for real vintage. Expletive that.

I do have an off the rack vintage figure though, except for a long waist, which is only sometimes a problem. So I am lucky.

 

[fortworthgal]

I'm not sure if I'm notorious yet for being both a repro snob (don't wear it) and a cheapskate (if it's over $50 I ain't buying it), but I am both. If I could sew I probably would make my own stuff and not be stuck up about it...

I could have written this. All of my vintage is original, but I've also never paid more than maybe $15 for a hat and $10 for a dress or a suit. Lots of time spent at estate sales & flea markets! I don't see a lot of repro clothing that is within my cheapskate price range, and when I can find original vintage so inexpensively, I just can't justify buying repro.

Oh and I can't sew to save my life so that answers that. lol

 

[Medvssa]

Unfortunately, sewing supplies and fabric are so expensive here (not kidding, you pay +5 euro for a 1000m spool of thread) that sewing your own can only be considered an expensive hobby for me. But I don't care, I love it, and as Amy Jeanne said, you can make whatever you want... as crazy as you want, and fitted to your own weird shape. And altering patterns or making your own is a great, underrated exercise in spatial imagination that really keeps my mind motivated, which is not so easy
I wish I had more time to dedicate to it.

 

[40'sgirl]

Sew or Buy

I was very lucky that my mother would sew for me. Any outfit in any combination I wanted for a party or a dance, my mom would have it perfectly done. I didn't learn to sew like her, she is still alive, but doesn't see well enough to sew anymore. It's a shame. She has all the patterns from the 40's and 50's. I love that era. So beautiful. I found a place that I was able to find
some absolutely gorgeous dresses that could pass for that era. The dress I just wore was actually a Prom Dress. I don't know if I would have let my high school age daughter wear it, but for me and the function I was going to it was perfect.

I've read many of your forums about the patterns. When I get time I will go through my mothers box of patterns and scan some of the pictures.

 

[Shirin]

The only vintage items I own are a few hats and jewelry pieces, but as far as I can tell, buying real vintage for me wouldn't make sense anyway as everything I've come across is too small in structure anyway. I do sew my own clothes from vintage (or repro) patterns and I enjoy it too. I would buy repro clothing-heck yeah-just need the cash! I would like to one day buy a few stop staring dresses.~~swoon~~