How to Earn Money from Sewing

We all love our little talents and hobbies. Whether it's baking, scrap-booking or sewing, doing something that you enjoy just gives you a sense of relief. However, sometimes, you might feel as though you want to bring your hobby up to the next level. So how exactly can you earn money from sewing? I have compiled a few ideas for you with the help of Pam Johnson.

Market Your handmade items
Head out to stores or posts ads on Craigslist that market your items. You should also hit Ebay or Amazon to reach a wider audience. Have you ever heard of Etsy, Artfire or Zibbet? Well, these are website where people buy and sell  handmade and customized items. Put a few photos of the items that you have made up there, and let people know how they can be tailored to meet the customers' expectations and wants. Once you have established a formidable customer base for yourself, consider sending your designs and pictures off to a company. Maybe they will be interested in hiring you to do some work.

I have sold my items on etsy in the past and even though it takes time to establish yourself between all the competition, I know that it could be a rewarding business if you keep at it and market yourself properly.

Teach Sewing ( online or offline) 

If you like to sew at home, you will absolutely love to sew with a bunch of sewing enthusiasts like you. If you think you are at a level where you could help out other people learn to sew, consider teaching how to sew. This could be done both online and in-person. You could check out some fabric stores in your neighbor hood, they invariably hold sewing/quilting classes of some sort. Talk to them if they're interested in having you as a teacher in their studio. 

You could also post an ad on Craigslist and see if you get any students for one-on-one sewing instructions 

You could also set up a sewing blog ( like Blooms And Bugs) and start posting sewing tutorials on your blog. If you work consistently and post quality tutorials and patterns, you will soon engage a lot of like minded people. Blogging maybe a slowly growing form of business but its very flexible and sometimes the only option for people who can't work outside home.

Draft and sell sewing patterns 

If you are comfortable drafting your own sewing patterns consider making a pdf copy of your patterns and selling them. There is a big market for sewing patterns especially the quality ones. You could set up an account with websites like Etsy, BigCartel, Craftsy etc and sell your patterns via them. 

If you find it difficult to get customer's attention in these forums you could also try submitting your designs to sewing magazines and get paid to write for them. 

Get paid to fix/Refashion clothing

Sometimes all it takes is a straight seam to make a garment fab from flab. Since most people aren't very handy with sewing machines or needles they are always looking for professionals who could fix things for them. You could offer those services and earn money for them. You could start by telling your friends about your business and charge according to the complexity of the job. My friends have been asking me to start a mending/refashion business forever and I know for a fact that many of them have paid $5 or so for get just a straight line sewn on their garments to take it in.

Enter a Competition
Check around town to see if any sewing competitions are coming up. You might sew live in front of other people, or you may enter a garment you have sewn to be judged. In any case, contests usually come with prizes. It'll be only a one time deal, unless, of course, you continue to enter sewing contests. Besides the prizes, this is also a great opportunity to get your name in front of the interested audience and establish you as an expert in topic of sewing.

Farmer's Market/Crafting Fairs
Did you know that farmer's markets always keep a couple of stalls reserved for local artists to sell their creations. You could talk to one of the organizers in your area and see if they let you put up a stall to sell your items. Similarly every city has some crafting/handmade items fairs at least a few times every year. You could sign up for their announcements and call for vendors and set up a booth when they come around. All the successful crafters I know regularly participate in these fairs and make decent money depending on the venue and crowd in the event. Since these fairs usually have a significant booth fees its better to check out as a visitor first to see what kind of crowd is turning up, how are the sales going before you sign up for one. 

Once you participate in a fair, always make it a point to learn more about selling from other vendors while you are there. Notice how the popular booths are organized, what they are doing differently to attract buyers, how you can incorporate those things in your next fair. All these things will help you grow your business.

Also try to network with some customers while you are there, offer them some freebies to sign-up their email address for your mailing lists, take their phone numbers to notify of upcoming sales if they are willing. All these actions will not only bring in more sales but also establish your brand among the prospective clients.

Garage Sales
When you have a yard sale or a garage sale, it's really an excellent opportunity to market yourself in a low pressure environment. Simply place some of the garments that you have sewn out on the tables with the other items. They can be items you made in the past, or you can sew some new pieces specifically for the garage sale. When people purchase the pieces, you can gently tell them that you actually made it yourself. If they seem interested, you can always say that you would be happy to sew more pieces for them. You could also sew a little trademark on the inside of your items.

Market your business for free
Whenever you are working for yourself, it's important to carry around business cards. You never know when you might meet someone who would be interested in your services. For example, at the garage sale mentioned above, you can include a business card with every purchase of an item that you have made. It's a less pushy way to let people know that you are able to sew items for them. Ask local store owners if you could leave a few business cards there too. A business card is also an excellent idea because it is a more professional way of letting people know that they can contact you as opposed to just giving out your phone number.

Carry your work around - what better way to show off your work than wearing it yourself or dressing your kids in it. Try to dress your family in clothes made by you and make sure they look their best. Then when someone comes up to you and says how much they like the dress your daughter is wearing you could immediately tell them that you made it. Yaay for free publicity.

Also try to carry a small piece to work on if you are waiting anywhere - doctor's office, public transport, DMV. It will be a great conversation starter and guess what that conversation will be about- Why? your sewing business of course.

What would the world be like if everyone could profit from their hobbies? Well, maybe people would be a little bit happier. Profiting from your sewing ventures will make you feel as though you have a real purpose in this industry, and it will help to give you even more drive and inspiration.

Author Pam Johnson enjoys sewing and blogging. She is a contributing writer for flowerdelivery.net.