What are your thoughts on homemade clothes?

[ClothingDilemma]

My mum has recently retired and taken up sewing. She’s absolutely brilliant at it and we’ve come to an agreement that if I pick patterns, she’ll buy them (as she can reuse them) and I will buy the fabric for her to make the clothes for me.

I am really keen as it seems such a sustainable and fabulous idea. Clothes that are made to measure (so they’re more flattering) and no waste or fast fashion. It also works out to be a lot cheaper than purchasing at a high street store!

My partner, however, thinks it’s a stupid idea and I’ll just look silly.

YABU - it’s a bad idea.

YANBU - it’s a fabulous idea

If you pick flattering stuff and it’s made to
measure why does he think it will look silly? Are you picking stuff that is more out there than you’d normally buy?

It’s all very normal. Cotton trousers, linen dresses, some skirts. Very much what I’d normally wear. He thinks that if someone asks where it’s from, saying “my mum made it” sounds childish.

I don’t think it’s cheaper or more sustainable but they do tend to fit better. I say this as someone who makes my own clothes. I often get asked where I bought things when I where certain pieces I made myself as they actually fit my really pear shape.

I would say go for it and if your husband thinks it weird he really should start to look at the quality of the stitching on most of his clothes. He’ll probably notices it’s actually quite bad.

Oh I’d love this. I’m completely cack handed with a sewing machine to my immense regret. I’d love to make adjustable skirts to accommodate the monthly variations, or even just nip in a few things here and there.

How about you ltb, marry me and your dm could make clothes for both of us?

It is a great idea! DM used to order clothing from catalogues, copy the pattern then make it from different fabrics, then return the items she ordered.
Patterns are so much more accessible now, what with places like Etsy etc so you can buy a digital pattern to print at home.

I have a friend who has her own handmade clothing company, so pretty much most of what she wears has been stuff she has made.

Being able to make clothing is a great skill to have. If there is some apocalypse, then you will come in handy.

I have tried, but only smaller things like arm warmers.

I think for me it is, we have a fabulous CIC that’s just opened up in town who save fabric and craft supplies from landfill, and sell them on the cheap.

I sew and wear quite a lot of my clothes so obviously disagree with your partner in principle. However, I have made so many things that I’ve ended up wearing once before admitting to myself that I don’t really like it that I must strongly disagree that’s sewing is less wasteful. Maybe you’ll make better choices!

This is ridiculous of him.

Your husband sounds shallow

My thoughts depend on the ability of the seamstress
made by me - hell no!!
Made by someone who knows how to do it properly (like your mum by the sounds of it) - hell yes!!

If your mum is good at sewing then there is no way you will look 'silly' wearing home made clothes that she has made to fit you.

I would say that, as someone who has made their own clothes for many decades now, it is not cheaper to make your own clothes any more. Fabric is bloody expensive! If you know somewhere to get reasonably priced fabric please share.

Oh anything that’s disliked gets picked apart and either turned into something else, or if all else fails, crappy clothes for the kids of the family 😂 she’s like a bloody wizard

Check out pound fabrics! That seems to be where she gets most of it, lots on there for £1-£2 a metre.

I make nearly all my own clothes and buy the fabric from a shop selling dead stock or market stalls. It definitely works out cheaper for me. I use the off cuts for craft projects which makes it more sustainable.

I don’t look silly but people sometimes ask where I get my clothes from and are impressed that I've made them. Don't say 'My Mum made my clothes', say 'they are hand made'.

I can’t comment on it being cheaper or more sustainable as I have never done it, because I don’t have the skill not because I wouldn’t but your husband sounds the childish one.
Id imagine if you told someone your mum made your outfit the only reaction they’d have is to be impressed

If your mum's really good at it I don't think you will look silly. I wish I could sew as I am tall with long arms and legs and struggle to find clothes that fit well. It's also hard to find just basic classic dresses with a nice cut that aren't either too short or too long

Your DP is VBU! Well made garments always look better and last longer, and if made to fit you, will look so stylish! I make a lot of my own clothes and wear them all the time, as well as home furnishings such as cushions, seat covers and tablecloths. It's not a cheap hobby though - good fabric is expensive. I look for sales and discounts and people getting rid of fabric they bought but never used. I'm very short so have been sewing and altering garments all my life.

Or, 'oh, it was from a very small and exclusive label, and is one of kind'

I’ve found some gorgeous striped cotton, £5.50 a meter. She needs 2.5 to make a pair of trousers (it’s very handy that we are the same size so she knows for me), so it’s less than £18. The same trousers in M&S would be £28, so it’s a tenner saved!

The best summer of my life was the one where I taught my teen DDs to sew and we fitted, with lots of effort, a dress for my youngest DD which matched her shape perfectly. She has a much smaller chest and waist but larger shoulders and dresses would gape in the front, but this one was exceptional because we built it to suit her. My oldest DD got to use some vintage 70s ribbon on a peasant top- it was so cool, like something to wear at Coachella. We used math (which scares me) successfully too! Honestly, those months spent in fabric stores and our dining room, with everything spread across the table, were some of the happiest days I have spent with my DDs. There's something special about sharing a craft, teaching it, and creating a usable garment. I'm thrilled they know how to sew now. What a waste and exploitation is the clothing industry - fast fashion is not only awful for workers but for the environment.

I’m really keen to learn but where my mum is a wizard I’m sort of a goblin in the corner. I’m awful at crafting

I don't imagine for a moment it's cheaper, even if you have cheap fabrics, because it takes time. But it's absolutely lovely. You can do really lovely details on home-made clothes, too. I know a few people who make clothes for themselves and it's just a gorgeous thing to do. I don't have the skill but when DD was a toddler I made her dresses (toddlers are very easy to fit, being straight up-and-down, and you don't need the fabric), and I still love seeing pictures of her in them.

I hated sewing when I was young, OP, but then I took it up again in my 30s and learned to love it. It's really good for your brain as you age!!

OP, the best thing about home-made clothes is that you can buy nice material to make them with - and know that no-one else will be wearing your dress/blouse/ trousers or whatever. They’ll also fit you - if you’re making your own clothes, you can alter them however you want.

It is definitely cheaper than buying quality clothes. I don't count the time making them as I don’t charge myself by the hour.

The one exception is jeans as it can difficult to source good denim. I have made jeans successfully but jeans from e.g. Sainsbury's are about £20.