OK my OS lovelies! I really need your help!

Caterina

Tell you what is a very lucrative way of making money with sewing skills - but you need to start advertising ASAP: clothes alterations.

Once a few people know about you it is a matter of getting jobs by word of mouth.

I have a couple of friends doing this and they are SWAMPED with work!

You would need to put cards in shops, small ad in local paper and possibly go and talk to clothes shops' owners (they often get requests for this sort of service).

Good luck!

Caterina

linzibean

Wish the thanks button was still working!

Some great ideas here, I'm going to pool all my leftover fabrics and see what I can do with them

hardpressed

Carrier bag holders, basically a tube of fabric, make a casing top and bottom, elastic in the bottom and a draw string at the top. I've made a lot of these for charity, they are always popular.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Those tidy thingies that hang from a coat hanger and have lots of pockets. All straight sewing and no fiddly bits - different colours/patterns for kitchen, bathroom/bedroom/kids rooms. If you can get hold of some felt you can glue cutout shapes on the pockets, no sewing.
Upright vacuum cleaner covers are also easy and could be a novelty item.
As everything seems to be Kath Kidson at the moment - go with the flow. Tablemats, cushion cases are both an easy sew.
Have a look around your nearest large market not just for cheap fabric but also for cheap nicely patterned duvet sets which you can cut up.
Have fun and good luck

moggins

Plimsole bags, I would have loved a funky one for my daughter but could only find them in grotty miserable colours.

Spendless

Some of the things my MIL has made, a nappy stacker (for putting disposible nappies in) add cut down wooden coat hanger and it hangs from a coat hook or end of cot. An organiser for back of door to put hair brushes, bobbles, smnall toys in, again hangs on wall or back of door from a small loop. Lap trays for people to eat their dinner off of whilst watching tv, need small wooden board for tops where plates rest, filled with the beads from bean bags (bought from car-boot).

oops_a_daisy

If you are good at sewing why not offer your services to a dance school to make up costumes - Mums ( normally me ) have to provide costumes for shows and competitions and they cost a fortune ( I really need to mend my sewing machine ) Perhaps because it is quite specialised to make a Tu Tu and quite time consuming that is why the costs are at least £175 upwards. We are always looking for more people that can make costumes because they all get booked up months in advance of competitions around here. It is not always a Tu Tu but that is just an example.
The other suggestion that I have ( again through personal experience ) is small dog clothes. Little jumpers for the winter or little coats - look on ebay as there are some people already making them for what people are after and costs. Also for dogs - little carry bags :-) Paris Hilton style :rotfl:

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Buy cheap hand towels, cut them in half, sew a strip of ribbon a few inches above the finished end and bind unfinished end with the ribbon. Hey presto - guest towels.

elona

How about baby patchwork quilts?

Funky and trendy large bags with shoulder strap.

Maybe do a couple of various ideas and see what is popular and profitable and then take orders.

Linda32

Scalves using the new ribbony type fashion wool