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spider_gw

Sewing project idea - what do you think

spider
13 years ago

Hi' need your thoughts. Needing to make extra money - lost my job. Sewing chair cushions and other items, would you pay $4.00 plus the cost of material to have a dinning chair

recovered. Sorry I can not get the picture to load. If you

would like to see the before and after picture of a chair

e-mail me maybe I'll be able to get the picture on here soon.

Thanks - Spider

Comments (6)

  • oilpainter
    13 years ago

    Hi spider
    You might be under pricing your work if it is good work. What you should do is do some leg work first. Find out what the retail cost is for what you are making. Then figure out your cost to make them and then figure in your labour. The fixed cost is your materials and you can't fudge that but you can fudge your labour either up or down.

    Price the fabrics you will use. Try to get a wide range of fabrics around the same price, so you can offer 1 price. If a customer wants a certain fabric and it's more expensive then adjust your price. It's easy to do if you already have a fixed price for fabric.

    If you want an idea--My sister made a mouse cover for her upright vacuum and could have sold it many times.

    Maybe you could post a photo--here's how

    To post a photo--
    Get a photobucket account--it's free. Upload your photo. Under the picture you'll see a bunch of URL formats for the picture. Click on the one that says HTML. It should automatically copy. Go to the thread here and right click and choose paste. It will show up as writing but when you submit it will be a picture.

  • kathi_mdgd
    13 years ago

    Oilpainter,i made some of those vacuum covers as well.Made myself the mouse first,people liked it and i sold a few.I sold them for 80.00,and asked for 1/2 the money up front,and they either bought the fabric themselves,or told me the colors they wanted and gave me the money to buy it.I also made the rabbit,and cow.Still have my patterns for those.
    Kathi

  • oilpainter
    13 years ago

    My sister also made the mouse door stoppers. Another idea is a weiner dog draft stopper or some can cooler or koozies like one lady on this site sells.

    If you are making chair pads make up 4 placemats or a table runner and sell them as a set. You can charge a lot more for a set than separate chair pads.

    I made chair pads for my wooden kitchen chairs last winter. I bought the material and quilt batting fairly cheap on sale. I didn't put ties on then because they always rip off. Instead I bought some of thst waffle weave plastic non slip drawer liners and cut it in 8 inch squares. One under each pad and they don't go anywhere. 1 roll is more than enough for 4 chairs

  • spider
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    maybe this time, if it works there will be pictures of the chair, but the blue one I haven't made a custion for yet. Spider

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • izzie
    13 years ago

    Are you making a "box" cushion with sides, not just flat, piping would be more, it's more work. If your doing it as custom job, I think around $10 would be a fair price. If it's just a flat one then maybe less.

  • blitzyblond_protege
    13 years ago

    Have you considered "Cathedral Windows Jackets" made from men's sweatshirts. they sell $25-$35 around here. Take a sweatshirt and split it up the front center Like a dress shirt. Find a appropriate cotton fabric (Complimentary, contrasting, or matching) and face the new edges. cut a few 2inch or 3inch "X's" across the chest (and the Shoulder blades if you want) Sew 2 of the new points folded back into the jacket. Sew a strip of the fabric you use to face the new edges with to the inside of the jacket, so it peaks through the windows you just made. You can finish or adjust the pattern as you like. OR you can replace an armband of the sleeve with the material you faced the new opening with. Have fun.

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