Sewing to Sell - a review of an amazing book

A book review and a giveaway!

Hi! As we are coming closer to Christmas I am finally finding the time to sew some Christmas gifts. I have started to make a list of a few projects (new and good old) that I want to make and this organizer was on top of the list.

As soon as I finished sewing this handy organizer I knew it had to be mine... So I am giving myself a Christmas present. :) 

I have been telling you later that I have a couple of new big projects coming up soon so organization and focus are the keywords here. I do need them now as much as I need oxygen. And I have always been a list and schedule kind of person. So I am using this organizer to keep together all my monthly and weekly schedules, a calendar, a few business cards, and lots of lists - to-do, to-sew, to-buy...

It has the perfect size to keep my beautiful new notebook, so I can jot down all my ideas and thoughts for the upcoming projects. And just in case you are wondering where I got it, it was offered by my blogging friend Constança from Saidos da Concha. (If you don't know her blog I can tell you that you are missing one of the most amazing blogs on homemaking and crafts.)

This organizer was made using one of the 16 patterns from the book Sewing to Sell - How to Sell Locally and Online, The Beginners Guide to Starting an online Business, by Virginia Lindsay. 

Virginia is the creator of Gingercake Patterns and Gingercake blog. I immediately felt connected with Virginia once I read her about page. Her story is the same as mine and (I bet) the same as so many of you. She started sewing again when her kids were really small and she was spending more time at home. And then she goes on " I loved all the bright and beautiful fabrics available and I became addicted to searching for new projects all the time!" and I was all hands in the air "That's me! That's me!"

Virginia has some great patterns on her pattern shop and some handmade items on her Etsy shop, so make sure you visit both and get yourself and your loved ones some Christmas presents! :)

Sewing to sell is a book that focus on several aspects that you need to have in mind when creating a home-based sewing business. Virginia talks about how to find your sewing style, how to identify your customers, how to choose which items to sew and sell and what materials you need for that. She also talks about the whole process of setting up a business and starting to sell, attending craft shows, photography, marketing, pricing and packaging. There are lots of great interviews with business owners and useful tips!

 If you are planning on starting a handmade/sewing business this is a must read! I know it is helping me a lot! Having all the things that I need to set my business in one place and so clearly explained is truly helpful.

Another great thing about this book is that it comes with sixteen projects (patterns and instructions!) for you to make and sell freely! The projects are organized in categories (projects that are useful items, projects that make the best use of materials and projects that are great sellers) and include items for kids and babies, fashion accessories, for the home, to gift someone, and for the sewist and business women. They include, among others, a cute pincushion, a insulated lunch bag, a oven mitt, a baby set, a quilt, and a few bags and pouches. (see images below, courtesy of C&T Publishing)

And the Handy Organizer that I chose to make (image also courtesy of C&T Publishing).

I have used three different Japanese fabrics that I had sitting on my stash for years!... They are all cutesy and made of cotton and linen. I have a crush on Japanese fabrics. I love their quality and prints. 

These Japanese zakka fabrics were the first I bought when I first started to buy fabrics a few years ago when I started to blog (back in 2007) and started to think about going back to sewing again.

Here is a photo of my cotton+linen Japanese fabric stash.

This is my do-not-cut stash. I bet you have your own, right? :)
This is actually the second time in so many years that I had found the courage to use these amazing fabrics. First time was to make my kids a fabric game, blogged here.

Actually, there is a whole chapter on Sewing to Sell about buying and using fabric!
Virginia's advice is to have a plan - build a stash wisely, making smart fabric-buying choices. I needed to read that!

I have a huge fabric stash. I call it my "private fabric store" since I can just go there and get almost any kind of fabric type and print I want... Although that seems to be a good thing, on one hand, on the other hand sometimes it isn't that great...  

I buy a lot from my local fabric store. They have a dozen of huge bins full of good remnants and bolt ends. They should be called the treasure bins. :)  So, I am the kind of person who usually buys fabric without having a specific project in mind... I just hoard whichever I like and see potential in. But I have to make myself some justice and let you know that I make choices - first I grab every single remnant I like but before I go pay it I stop for a few minutes and go through all that (sometimes 10, sometimes 20) fabric and I often end up leaving some behind. (And I almost always regret that I did... but that's another story! :) )

From time to time I buy yardage when I have a specific project in mind and I have never bought bolts. 

So, I really feel like I need to change my approach when it comes to buying fabric... I need to be more pragmatic and project oriented. Now that I am going to start a small sewing business I feel like I have to make smart buys. And that also goes by buying coordinated fabrics... Sometimes I need to make an outfit - top and bottom - and I have a hard time finding perfect coordinates on my stash...

Another problem I have sometimes is that since I mostly buy remnants, I often end up not having enough yardage to make what I want... I have lots of single yards... Not a long time ago I could easily use just 1 yard on a dress for my girls, but not anymore... So now I can only use them to make tops and blouses for them. 

How about you? What's your fabric buying method? Do you hoard or do you buy when you need it?

Sometime ago I decided to organize my stash - a tough task I can tell you... By the way, how do you organize yours? By type of fabric, by color, by print?... 
I came to the conclusion that I did not have many solids... Solids are basics that everyone must have! They can be coordinated with any print and between themselves to make gorgeous color blocked outfits.

These are from my stash. It is about 1/10 of what I have from each category... Cottons and rayons (top left), corduroy, twill, denim and flannel (top right), tweed and wool (bottom left) and knits (bottom right)...

These are my precious... :)

Sewing to Sell is an amazing new book from C&T Publishing (which means great standards and quality) and it was released about one month ago. This blog post is part of a book tour so make sure to have a look on these blogs if you want to know more from Sewing to Sell and see a few more handmade items from the patterns that come with the book.

Giveaway!

And guess what? You can win a copy of Sewing to Sell! C&T Publishing will be sending a copy to one of you - USA only! Winners will be picked randomly by Random.org, by Dec. 22nd.
Just leave a comment below - I would love to know more about how you buy and use your fabric! 

Happy sewing!