Sewing to Sell - The Beginner's Guide to Starting a Craft Business: Bonus - 16 Starter Projects . How to Sell Locally & Online

by Virginia Lindsay

Overview

You love to sew. Don’t you wish you could make a living from your sewing? You can, with the help of this practical guide for turning your passion for sewing into a successful home business. Everything you need to know is here, from finding your personal sewing style to creating a product line, identifying customers, equipping your studio, pricing and selling your work, marketing yourself, designing your own patterns, and handling the business and legal side of sewing. And that’s not all! You also get 16 projects (all customer-tested) to start sewing and selling right now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607059035
Publisher:	C & T Publishing
Publication date:	12/01/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	152
Sales rank:	556,974
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Virginia Lindsay is a self-taught sewist and lover of all things fabric. She is the author of the popular sewing blog, Gingercake, and the designer behind Gingercake Patterns. She has had several patterns published by Simplicity. Virginia lives in Freeport, Pennsylvania. Visit her at www.gingercake.org

Table of Contents

Introduction

Finding Your Sewing Style

Authenticity • Using Sewing Patterns to Get Started

Interview: Jessica Rider from A little Grey

Identifying Your Customers

Be Selective • Sewing for Kids and Babies • Sewing Fashion Accessories • Sewing for the Home • Sewing for Fundraising

Essential Equipment

Your Sewing Machine • Machine Accessories • Thread • Cutting Tools • Additional Tools • Serger • Computer • Camera

Interview: Vanessa Hewell from LBG Studio

Buying and Using Fabric

Have a Plan • Use What You Have • Building a Stash • Making Smart Fabric Buying Choices • Quality Counts • Coordinating Fabrics • Try Something different

Interview: Monica Donohue from Little Pigeon Crafts

Sewing

Change Your Favorite Patterns to Work Even Better For You • Keep Good Notes • Organize Your Pattern Pieces • Organize Your Workspace

Selling

Selecting a Name

Selling Online: Setting Up an Online Shop • Taking Good Photos for Online Sales

Selling at Craft Shows: Setting Up Your Booth • Making a Plan

Consignment Sales

Promoting Yourself: Business Cards / Postcards • Using Social Media • Keeping a Mailing List

Pricing and Packaging

Pricing: Materials • Time • Price • Show Pricing

Packaging: Packaging for Show Sales • Packaging for Online Sales

Interview: Candace Todd from Sparkle Power

PROJECTS

Projects That Are Useful

Boxy Pincushion

Craft Apron

Lunch Bag

Oven Mitt

Placemat and Napkin

Projects That Make Best Use of Materials

Drawstring Backpack

Grocery Tote

iPad Sleeve

Trimmed Messenger Bag

Half-square Triangle Quilt

Projects That Are Great Sellers

Baby Set

Handy Organizer

Great Big Tote

Professional Pillows

Slouchy Purse

Zippered Pouch

Appendix: Business Basics

You're In Charge • Keeping Your Look Fresh • Inventory

The Legal Aspects of Setting Up a Shop: Doing Business As (DBA) • Get a Tax ID • Set Up Bank Accounts • How to Pay Sales Tax • Income Tax

Making it Work For You

Resources

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

10/20/2014
The author’s expertise in running Gingercake Patterns, an online pattern business, is put to good use in a book that’s half-helpful suggestions for those who want to start a home-based sewing business and half a selection of 16 sewing patterns that can be used to make projects to sell. The first section contains valuable information on everything from identifying potential customers to taking good photos for online sales and setting prices for craft shows. Lindsay doesn’t offer much advice about the less glamorous and more practical aspects of setting up shop, such as incorporating a business or figuring out a profit margin, but there’s enough to be worthwhile. The projects are cute, too, including a simple boxy pincushion and an appealing, reversible grocery tote, all clearly explained with step-by-step diagrams. None of the patterns are revolutionary, but—this is key—Lindsay grants permission for all 16 projects to be sewn and sold, an important consideration for those starting a sewing business, and quite possibly making the book worth the price just for those. Full-color photos, pattern pullouts. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a must-read book for any sewist who is toying with the idea of taking their home sewing to the next level. Not only does this book provide you with 16 starter projects – it covers the basics from finding your sewing style, identifying your customers, essential equipment, buying and using your fabric to sewing and selling. There are also interviews throughout the chapters from talented sewists who have taken the leap and created their own craft business. What I really enjoyed about this book was each pattern included a cutting guide for a single item and then a cutting guide for multiples – an excellent time saver for stock building. Each project also included a sample price guide – perfect for any first time seller who is unsure of what to price their precious sewn items.

Make Modern Magazine

A practical and valuable guide for those who wish to make a living from their sewing, this new book from sewist and pattern designer Lindsay includes all you need to know to start sewing for profit. The book covers everything from finding your personal sewing style to creating a product line, identifying customers, equipping your studio, pricing, selling, and marketing your work, designing your own patterns, and managing the business and legal side of sewing. Also included are 16 projects—aprons, totes, messenger bags, tablet covers, baby quilts—that you can begin sewing and selling right away.

Quilts Inc.

This practical guide covers everything you need to know to start sewing for profit, from finding your personal sewing style to creating a product line, identifying customers, equipping your studio, pricing and selling your work, marketing yourself, designing your own patterns, and handling the business and legal side of sewing. Also includes 16 projects (with pullout patterns) that you can start sewing and selling right now.

American Sewing Guild Notions Magazine

This practical guide covers everything you need to know to start sewing for profit, from finding your personal sewing style to creating a product line, identifying customers, equipping your studio, pricing and selling your work, marketing yourself, designing your own patterns, and handling the business and legal side of sewing. Also includes 16 projects (with pullout patterns) that you can start sewing and selling right now.

February 2015 American Sewing Guild Notions Magazine

A practical and valuable guide for those who wish to make a living from their sewing, this new book from sewist and pattern designer Lindsay includes all you need to know to start sewing for profit. The book covers everything from finding your personal sewing style to creating a product line, identifying customers, equipping your studio, pricing, selling, and marketing your work, designing your own patterns, and managing the business and legal side of sewing. Also included are 16 projects—aprons, totes, messenger bags, tablet covers, baby quilts—that you can begin sewing and selling right away.

February 2015 Quilts Inc.

This is a must-read book for any sewist who is toying with the idea of taking their home sewing to the next level. Not only does this book provide you with 16 starter projects – it covers the basics from finding your sewing style, identifying your customers, essential equipment, buying and using your fabric to sewing and selling. There are also interviews throughout the chapters from talented sewists who have taken the leap and created their own craft business. What I really enjoyed about this book was each pattern included a cutting guide for a single item and then a cutting guide for multiples – an excellent time saver for stock building. Each project also included a sample price guide – perfect for any first time seller who is unsure of what to price their precious sewn items.

11/3/14 Make Modern Magazine

01/01/2015
Guides to starting a craft-based business are a business in themselves these days. Each seems to have its own focus—e.g., marketing your wares, setting up your space for production sewing, selling on a particular online marketplace. The latest entry comes from blogger and designer Lindsay, who began selling patterns and sewn items in 2008. The author's focus is on the creative process, although she does delve to a lesser extent into the nuts and bolts of operating an online company. Much of the book's content is a series of 16 tried-and-true starter projects that wannabe craft-based business owners can adapt or use—an alluring idea, since Lindsay sells her version of several of the projects in her own online store. Interviews with successful craft-based business owners provide additional perspective on what it takes to be victorious in this increasingly crowded field. VERDICT Most appropriate for crafters who need a very basic guide to selling their handmade goods. Those looking to take their business to the next level will benefit from Kari Chapin's Grow Your Handmade Business and The Handmade Marketplace, which provide a more comprehensive view of operating a craft-based enterprise.

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