Value in making your own

sorry LondonGranny I didn't notice.
Like you Doodledog I knit and justify my extravagence by a) deciding it is a hobby and therefore excellent therapy and b) it's a lot cheaper than buying the equivalent.

I backed out of a high-end wool shop recently having worked out the cost of the garment, thinking what £100 and I still have to knit the thing.

I ended up sourcing similar wool elsewhere at a third of the price and I am onto the second sleeve......

I can't speak for sewing, but as a knitter, I know that knitting your own things is not usually cheaper than buying ready made.

It depends on whether you compare like for like, though. Obviously a hand knitted cashmere jumper is going to be a lot more expensive than an acrylic one from Primark. Most knitters I know wouldn't bother knitting something out of cheap yarn, as they know they could get something of similar quality for the same money and no effort.

Comparing a hand-knit with a high-end garment is very different, as you can pay serious money for a well made jumper made of expensive yarn, and in that case, making your own is cheaper, and you can be sure that the fit is right.

I factor in that knitting is my hobby, so see the expense in terms of what I would have spent on a different pastime, and tell myself that I am also producing clothes that I would have otherwise had to buy (if I could afford to pay for cashmere or silk clothes, that is).

Grammaretto
Seamstresses, not sewers...too easy to misconstrue as an underground drainage system! OK maybe that was just me

I would make more clothes if I could afford the lovely fabrics.
A friend ran a cloth shop back in the '80s and it was successful. She'd go to the Yorkshire and Lancashire mills and bring back van loads of remnants. But since we have stopped most manufacturing in UK only the designs are produced here and big companies have sole ownership of their fabrics, it is no longer profitable to compete.
And seeing as Marydoll has just bought a £30 dress for £1 where's the hope for us sewers?
Apart from the enormous satisfaction and skill!!

I love sewing, but just don't have the time.

However, although I don't make from scratch anymore, I frequently alter and amend. Not to mention taking up and mending. It saves me a fortune.

I tried eShakti for supposedly 'custom made' clothes, but they were no better than off the rack. When living in Shanghai I had a dressmaker, which was great, although they really only could make their own patterns or copy an existing garment. Still. It was wonderful to get my clothes made to order. I miss it!

Yup, I’m a funny shape and can’t buy dresses from shops. Or trousers. I wish I could see but it always goes wrong.

Having them made is my only option and yes it’s worth every penny.

I don't think that we creative types look at the value of what we've made but maybe we believe that we're saving money by making our own.

If I make a summer dress I do however think that a similar item would probably cost at least £20-25 or more in a shop, probably more. Therefore I'm saving money and have something unique and could make two or three dresses out of the same pattern until it falls to bits - the paper pattern that is, not the dress.

If you're a funny shape shop bought dresses won't fit anyway.

I think the value is in the skill and the achievement. Also cheap clothes and fast fashion has a price, for the environment and fot the vast majority of those who work in sweatshops.

I have just been looking at tops and skirts on sale by sahara. Most tops are very simple and don`t even have darts, just cleverly cut but quite long for the vertically challenged. Some of the more sack-like in a drapey silky fabric are the most expensive. My conclusion is that it is far cheaper to make your own tops in a similar style, as long as the fabric is good

Skirts in the sale, similar, expensive for what they are, cut carefully and gather into a waistband and bobs your uncle

I won`t say that some dresses I have bought lately are worth making. I have a range of beauties in retro style from ladyvlondon. I could not even make the underskirts for what they charge. Their sales are super value eg I got dresses at around £30 and have bought a couple of long sleeved items to wear with tights and camisoles

I haven`t sewn all summer, need to take some things to the charity shop first. Next time, I will make my project last