A seamstress is anyone who sews. This could range from sewing dresses, to pants, to accessories, to pretty much anything else. It may mean sewing with a machine, or sewing by hand. A seamstress could make things from scrap (have a pattern, cut out the pieces, sew it all together), do alterations (taking a garment that has already been made and tailoring it to fit a specific person), or perhaps re-cover furniture. Sewing can cover a wide range of crafts, so, as before, let’s do a bit of brainstorming.

Quilts/Blankets
Clothes – Bibs, Diaper covers, Vests, Skirts, Pants, Shirts, Under garments, Dresses
Jewelry – Necklaces, Bangles, Earrings
Accessories – Scarfs, Hair clips
Holiday – Halloween costumes, Christmas tree ornaments/skirt, Garlands, Birthday
Interior – Table cloths, Table runners, Tapestries, Bed linens, Curtains
Applique
Monogram
Special – Wedding, Maternity, Baptism
Repurpose
Matching sets
Coordinating outfits
Anything personalized

It is going to be a bit more competitive in the sewing world of crafting to market and advertise. It is a fairly easy craft to learn, and it is also pretty quick to whip up products. Of course, that is depending on what you are making. A wedding dress is going to take you several days as opposed to a wrap-around skirt that consists of a rectangular piece of fabric.

So, marketing…well…that’s going to depend on what you are specifically making. Figure out what your target audience is, and market to what they are going to want. For instance, if you are wanting to sell children’s boutique items, your target audience is going to be middle to upper class mothers and grandmothers. Appeal to what their idea of cute and adorable is going to be. Try using words like “precious” and “talk-of-the-town”. Selling clothing is going to be 100% based on how it looks when being worn.

As for other products…well…accessories are purposed to accessorize. Duh! So you’ll want to work off of ideas about “completing a look” or creating a “polished chic attire”.

If you repurpose previously used fabric, let your customers know that. It’s just another idea behind recycling and people just LOVE that.

Blog Ideas

Tutorial of something that you don’t sell.
Your dream machine. That big bad sewing machine that you would practically die for.
What’s your process for creating?
Where do you get your materials/fabric?
How is your favorite fabric created?
COLORS!
English: Vintage sewing buttons. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How do you handle custom orders?
Let your needle have a “relationship” with the fabric or the thread. This could be a real cute on-going theme for your blog (I caution about being too raunchy with this idea, you want to encourage readers, not drive them away).
Photograph a tour of your workspace. Use close-ups, show your readers where you keep everything.
A day in the life. What do you spend your time throughout the day doing?
BONUS: How did you get started selling your particular products?

And those are just a few things to get you started in the craft of sewing and fabric. There are lots of different things that you can make, and lots of different ways that you could go about making them as far as sewing is concerned. I know that I would certainly like to hear about what you make and how you make it. Include a link back to your shop in the comments section and share the news about what you do!

To check out my other “For the Crafter” posts in the series, just click a link below

INTRODUCTION

Fo r the Bookworm (Part 1)

For the Bookworm (Part 2)

For the Needle-arter (Part 1)

For the Needle-arter (Part 2)