Some questions for all you seamstresses.

Specifically those of you who sell your creations online or at festivals.

I'm a mere young'un and I haven't been sewing long, but my ultimate goal is to eventually be as talented as you guys and get to the point where I'm confident enough to sell clothes to others (maybe a few years from now). I have quite a few questions and since you folks are the ones who inspire me most, I figured I'd go straight to the source for these answers.

-Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing?
-How long were you sewing before you started selling?
-Patterns: Yea or nay?
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make?
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you?
-How do you figure out prices for selling?
-How do you attract customers?
-If you sell via your own website, what hosting and/or domain services do you use and how do you let customers place orders (paypal/MO/whatever)?
-Is a business license needed?
Optional: I don't know how to ask these without seeming nosy or impolite.
-Is the money decent?
-What items are your biggest sellers?
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer these for me. Any other advice is appreciated too. I can't wait to someday get to the point where you all are.

 

-Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing?
from fooling around on the machine myself, my grandmother, and tips from books. mostly trial and error
-How long were you sewing before you started selling?
about 9 years since i've been sewing since i was little. but i've been doing patchwork for 4-ish years
-Patterns: Yea or nay?
only for pants, nay for everything else. i make my own.
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make?
music, nature, symbols, other clothing i see, vintage styles
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you?
i sell on a website, ebay, and at festivals. ebay and websites seem to be the best.
-How do you figure out prices for selling?
i total the costs for materials and go by how long it takes me. I usually look at the finished item and pick a price that seems fair and affordable.
-How do you attract customers?
i post on forums, my blogs, websites, spread thw word to my friends and to people at festivals, hand out businesscards, do swaps, sell on ebay (good to get customers for a site)
-If you sell via your own website, what hosting and/or domain services do you use and how do you let customers place orders (paypal/MO/whatever)?
for now i use freewebs.com. totally free but you cant make anything too intricate
-Is a business license needed?
techincally, yes, but i dont think most of us have one.
-Is the money decent?
as a side job for me, yes. the money is good when you can sew full time and get alot for your items. full time i dont know if i could do it unless i had a husband that made a decent amount of dough
-What items are your biggest sellers?
hemp necklaces, dread beads, apron tops
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes?
i dont pay taxes (muaha)

 

-Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing? I taught myself to sew..so there was lots of trial and error. Every thing I make is still a learning experience for me
-How long were you sewing before you started selling? About a month..then I started selling really simple apron tops
-Patterns: Yea or nay? Yes, on some things
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make? My head. I will stare at my fabric forever until I 'see' something. Then I do my best to create it
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you? Ebay, my site, occasional festival. I had a store for 3 years that I sold out of. We gave it up this year to focus more on our family. The store was in our living room of our old house and we really had no privacy and no life outside of our shop. The shop was the most successful, but ebay runs a close second.
-How do you figure out prices for selling? It all depends on the materials used and how much time and energy I put into it. Obviously something simple will go for much less than something with a detailed applique
-How do you attract customers? Ebay. Alot of my sales go to repeat customers
-If you sell via your own website, what hosting and/or domain services do you use and how do you let customers place orders (paypal/MO/whatever)? I use shoppingcartsplus.com and I accept paypal and money orders
-Is a business license needed? I have a business license
Optional: I don't know how to ask these without seeming nosy or impolite.
-Is the money decent?I would rage it if there were 30 hours in a day. lol I just can not keep up with creating that fast and my kids all at the same time.
-What items are your biggest sellers? Apron Skirts with detailed appliques
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes? When we had the store, we had to charge tax paid out every month. We were also making lots more money than we are now. Now, I do not pay taxes on what I make.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer these for me. Any other advice is appreciated too. I can't wait to someday get to the point where you all are. [/QUOTE]

 

You already have some answers but I wanted to answer too


-Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing? mostly from just looking at clothes and trial and error
-How long were you sewing before you started selling? 3 or 4 years
-Patterns: Yea or nay? only ever used 3
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make? festivals, ebay, vintage patterns and books
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you? ebay and my site, ebay has been most sucessful
-How do you figure out prices for selling? I just look at the clothes and set a price depending on the cost of materials and the time and effort it took to sew
-How do you attract customers? advertise on hippieheadshops.com and hand out flyers
-If you sell via your own website, what hosting and/or domain services do you use and how do you let customers place orders (paypal/MO/whatever)?
i use register4less and build my whole site in html, i use paypal for creditcard stuff
-Is a business license needed? i dont have one yet since i dont make that much money but i will be getting one next year for tax reasons
Optional: I don't know how to ask these without seeming nosy or impolite.
-Is the money decent? i make more than i did in my corporate job
-What items are your biggest sellers? patchwork pants have been so far
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes? i dont file taxes...... sh dont tell the government HAHAHA
​

 

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the insight.

Still welcome for more answers from whoever else comes across this later. The more, the merrier.

 

thanks roses, i was wondering pretty much the same things... and thanks very much to all you crafty chickys for answering

 

-Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing?
Loads of trial and error...A seam ripper is yer best pal..
-How long were you sewing before you started selling?
Ive sewn off n all since I was lil as far as when i started making patchwork clothes tho...I think I sold the second thing I made...it was a blue skirt with clouds and a rising moon applique...saucy..lol
-Patterns: Yea or nay?
Both...when I use them I usually adapt them to what I want
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make?
I literally sometimes get struck down with 'visions' in the fabric store....lol im such a nerd...and yeah..like cre n funkyphresh..i stare at the fabric til i see something or look online for ideas..
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you?
Only ebay at the moment...Working on a site...
-How do you figure out prices for selling?
I look at it and judge what I think its worth is..If i spent a whole nite on an applique im not selling it for $25
-How do you attract customers?
By sharing my work here and throwing it on ebay...
-Is a business license needed?
Ive never had one but I am a rebel like that
Optional: I don't know how to ask these without seeming nosy or impolite.
-Is the money decent?
Its not what it should be but what can ya do? otherwise it can be super good..
-What items are your biggest sellers?
Apron tops apron tops apron tops!
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes?
I dont

 

Where did you learn most of what you know about sewing?I just bought a cheap machine,fabric,cutting board and rotary cutter and got started~
-How long were you sewing before you started selling? about a month and half and I was selling simple apron tops
-Patterns: Yea or nay? At first I didn't use patterns but after I had been sewing for a few years I started using them~I still mainly make my own as I go
-Where do you get ideas for the clothes you make? Most of the ideas just come to me~Usually when I'm meditating I will get a vision or sometimes I can just look at the fabric and decide what I want to do~
-Where/how do you sell (ebay, your own site, festivals, lots, etc.) and which way has been most successful for you? I mainly sell my clothing at the store I manage locally but I also sell at Threadhead Creations~I have been successful at both~
-How do you figure out prices for selling?I just figure how much I spent in materials~time~energy and figure out what I have to have for it~
-How do you attract customers? I advertise in some of the local newspapers but I have a lot of repeat customers locally~
-If you sell via your own website, what hosting and/or domain services do you use and how do you let customers place orders (paypal/MO/whatever)? I have a website with bizland but I'm not super good about keeping it updated~ mainly I like to take paypal~
-Is a business license needed? I don't have one but I claim everything I make~
Optional: I don't know how to ask these without seeming nosy or impolite.
-Is the money decent? The money is decent~if you can get the repeat customers and be patient enough to get that following~
-What items are your biggest sellers? It varies from month to month~but my macrame hemp jewelry and padded pouches are always very good sellers for me~
-How do you account for your sales when it comes time for taxes? The place locally where I sell my goods tells me exactly what I made for the year~I add up what I made on The threadhead creations site and my own site~I add up my reciepts for fabric and supplies(write offs) and then I have a tax person do my taxes~sometimes I pay and sometimes I get a check back depending on the year~

 

seems like a lot of you dont pay taxes! lol

i wont tell...