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

I'd be very surprised indeed if it's cheaper! Pound fabrics has some deals or you can haunt charity shops and car boot sales but when you add in the time taken and all the equipment it'll be the most expensive wardrobe you've ever owned!

My mum was a brilliant seamstress and I can’t remember ever wearing a shop bought item of clothing, including coats, apart from school uniform until I was into my teens. She made everything for me, and when I was a teenager, she made some wonderful clothes from my designs and I was the envy of my friends. My dad worked in the Stock Exchange which was a very formal environment with a strict dress code in those days, and she made all his work shirts; she even made him an overcoat. My mum was particularly talented, but not unique, and if they knew that someone was wearing home made clothing. no-one ever thought they looked silly.

Most people could sew to an extent when I was a child, and everyone had sewing lessons at school. I really regret not developing my basic skills but am planning to do more once I've retired completely.

I certainly don’t find it cheaper, but I make a lot of my own clothes as 1)I enjoy it and 2) sometimes I want a dress that fits in a certain way in a certain fabric that fits just right, and you just know that’s never going to be easily found on the high street! I would be careful of cheap patterns on Etsy however - a lot of them are AI generated nowadays. No doubt there are some gems to be found however.

I'm 71 and have been making my own clothes since I was a teenager. You are absolutely wrong. My hand made clothes might be more expensive than Primark but are not more expensive than, say, M&S. I have never bought fabric from a charity shop although I know people who have. I buy deadstock from market stalls or a shop near me and reuse my patterns over and over again with variations. A friend gave me some pure wool tweed and I made myself a coat. Because the fabric was free I splashed out on a couple of metres of special lining at £22 a metre, it's a beautiful coat if I do say so myself. I incorporated the woven Made in Britain from the woven selvedge into the coat.

Because I shop at the places I describe I don't always know what is in stock so don't go with a fixed idea. I usually buy fabric I like and then decide what to make with it. If I buy 3 metres at £2.50 a metre (pure cotton so not rubbish) I can make a dress or trousers at a later date and use the left over fabric for a pair of shorts or a top or smaller pieces for quilting etc. It's very economical and very little is wasted.

I don't add in the time taken because it's my time and I can do what I like with it. Its not a job. I usually listen to audio books while sewing. I also knit (definitely much cheaper for a handmade item that is totally unique) and can knit fair isle in front of the TV. I need something to do with my hands.

I think this is just talking cross-purposes.

People who're pointing out that hand sewing is inherently expensive are taking into account time, and excluding things like your friend just happening to give you a present of fabric - which is lovely, and adorable, but it's like me saying 'nonsense, I always find shopping for ready-made clothes cheaper; why, last year my friend bought me a gorgeous dress so I got it for nothing!'

It is quite obvious that hand making clothes is expensive when you factor everything in. That's fine. Doesn't mean it has to be super, super expensive and you have to dash out and buy the most expensive fabric and most expensive pattern (and, as someone who quilts with offcuts, I am with you on re-using these bits!). But it's important to acknowledge that if you are discounting the time it takes to make a garment at home, or you're happily busting your stash pile or using gifts from friends, that's not the same thing as being aware of the bottom line costs.

I think it really matters, because knowing the true value of these things is something we've lost track of in society. It's why people are outraged at the idea of paying more for clothes and it's why people who have small businesses making clothes and other craft items find it hard. If we want more sustainable clothing and better work conditions, I think it's really important not to gloss over this stuff.

Is he the jealous, controlling type? It's such a bizarre objection to the way you and your mum spend your time, money and effort.

Wear your beautiful clothes and when people ask, tell them with a big smile, 'My mum made this for me.' All the bigger if he's next to you at the time!

I don't factor time in but I do consider

• quality fabric
• a good pattern
• interfacing
• buttons / zips / fastenings
• quality thread, including enough to edge
• decent tools, e.g. scissors, cutting mat, regular new needles and the most essential - an unpicker

Well, I've been doing it all my life. Being given fabric was a bonus certainly but it is still cheaper making my own. I really only mentioned the coat because I did splash out on the lining. If you find it a chore and want to factor in your time then don't do it but don't try to put people off trying on that basis. OP's mum clearly doesn't feel that way. Most home dress makers do it because they enjoy the process as well as achieving a level of fit and finish that would cost more to buy

My Mum made a whole host of my clothes when I was younger. That last thing she made was a ball skirt for my 18th birthday. I really wish she would start sewing again and make me clothes. I am an awkward shape due to mild scoliosis and extra weight and she paid a fortune to have my wedding dress custom made.

Four shirts from a free FB bundle waiting to be made into patchwork bags and accessories

It is quite obvious that hand making clothes is expensive when you factor everything in. That's fine. Doesn't mean it has to be super, super expensive and you have to dash out and buy the most expensive fabric and most expensive pattern (and, as someone who quilts with offcuts, I am with you on re-using these bits!). But it's important to acknowledge that if you are discounting the time it takes to make a garment at home, or you're happily busting your stash pile or using gifts from friends, that's not the same thing as being aware of the bottom line costs.

But it is dead easy to not buy new fabric. I have never bought a metre of fabric new in my life. There's a huge community of fabric re- and upcyclers.

He thinks that if someone asks where it’s from, saying “my mum made it” sounds childish.

He sounds like an immature dick. Quite aside from it being a wonderful loving gesture by your mum that he should appreciate as such, wearing sweatshop clothes in shit fabrics is nothing to be proud of.

There are also tons of free patterns out there. Look on the threadloop app to start.

I hope I'm not putting anyone off! I think people are more likely to be put off by unrealistic ideas about how much fabric costs, or how long it will take them. I loved making clothes for my DD, and I love sewing in general - it's so enjoyable. But I don't see why there's a need to pretend it's super cheap? It's not. Why should it be?

It’s certainly not as expensive as some on this thread are making out though!

I like buying new fabric. For me that's one of the lovely things about making your own stuff - you can choose. As I say, you don't have to dash out and buy expensive fabric. But all fabric has a cost, and it should.

No, that may well be!

I definitely think it's something you get better at doing affordably as you do more of it, too.

Its as expensive as you make it imo. I'm currently making a skirt from Liberty fabric that is costing £70 including pattern and notions , and my coat was £90 for materials etc. But I have made things cheaply , like a blouse from a single duvet cover and I also attend fabric swaps so have made things for the cost of thread only.

Sure. But a big part of the pleasure for me is saving unwanted fabric from landfill, not buying new. I buy up thread, zips etc at jumbles so basically time is my only cost (other than the cost of the machine, which was a gift).

Absolutely get that - it's the same as the way for lots of people, the pleasure of buying ready-made clothes is combing charity shops and getting lovely things for a couple of quid.

The point, though, is that making clothes by hand isn't generally going to be cheaper than buying them, nor should it be. Your carefully-sourced second-hand fabric and haberdashery (and gifted sewing machine) compare to someone scouring charity shops for second-hand clothing; both are cheap, and I wouldn't like to guess which is cheaper each time. By contrast, someone who buys well-made ready-made clothes new, is probably going to spend less than someone who makes their own with new, good-quality raw materials. That's fine. It's not a negative about hand sewing. It's great that we all have these choices.

What's not great, is when people whinge that clothing is expensive and want disposable fashion, or when they're unable to understand why hand-sewn clothes are often sold for higher prices than Primark et al would ask.

You can save on pattern costs and get better fits by making your own slopers from your body measurements.

I sewed my daughter a silk blouse out of liberty print fabric with a vogue pattern. I think it cost £120 all in. So a lot more than Primark.
But the, you can’t get silk charmeuse blouses sewn with details to a specific fit for £120. Off the rack would be £300+.

He thinks that if someone asks where it’s from, saying “my mum made it” sounds childish. @ClothingDilemma

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Even if it were true, why does he care?

Why do you care what he says when it's so stupid.

I'd be seriously impressed if I complimented someone's clothing and they said their mother made it.

Sounds like your dp doesn't value or respect the skills and abilities of your mother.

What does he think about other traditional women's activities?

You don't need to use the words 'my mum'. - 'I'm so lucky, I've found a dressmaker, isn't she amazing!'

Does she do pockets?

Except in my long experience it is much cheaper. I'll leave it there now and just carry on making my cheaper clothes.