It has been a while since I posted on here, I’ve been sewing for a non-profit this past week. I’m sewing cloth pad kits for girls in Africa who don’t get regular access to feminine supplies. Each kit has a backpack and other essential items so the girls have what they need for their monthly moon time to bring with them to school. The project I’m working for is Forget Me Not, and I’m doing it all in memory of my younger sister who passed from an OD years ago. So my heart and headspace have been all wrapped up in sewing these kits! It is going to be an ongoing project of mine to do when I don’t have other stuff in the works.

Since I don’t have an upcycle to share this week, I wanted to pop on and post some tips for ordering custom clothing on Etsy. I used to sell custom clothes, and let me tell you it was one of the most nerve wracking projects I ever did. By the time I was done I could not get myself to step foot in the sewing room without feeling nauseous…not good!

I’ve been trying to support other women who upcycle, so I ordered the above skirt and another shop has some things in the works for me. If you are interested in ordering upcycled or altered clothes from people, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Know your measurements. Seriously, I made two custom skirts for a woman who would not tell me her waist measurement. Nothing weird or fishy about that…am I right? Be up front about your size requirements and measurements when you order handmade clothing. It helps the seamstress so much.
Be open to the maker’s creative process and ideas. When you are ordering custom clothes, give the maker the freedom to do things their way. It can be tempting to go overboard with demands or to ask something to be made just like something else you saw in an ad. But that is above and beyond difficult for the seamstress and takes all the fun out of the design process. Honestly, if you want something to be a copy of something else…you should just buy that thing in the first place. A lot of people try to order custom clothes because they think that they won’t have to pay as much for a knock off. But sewing handmade is a lot of blood, sweat and tears! It takes a lot of work and the reason some of those originals are so expensive is because a lot goes in to making them.
Not all seamstresses do custom work. If a seamstress says they aren’t open to the idea, let them know it is ok. You can still support their shop or help spread the word if you love what they do!
If the seamstress is working from a pattern, keep in mind that patterns call for a particular type of fabric. Sometimes a heavy weight woven is the best fit, sometimes lightweight cotton or stretch knit. The pattern typically will sew up best with the proper kind of fabric, or at least something as close as possible. So if the seamstress says you cannot go with the fabric of your choice, respect that and be open to other possibilities.
Treat your seamstress with respect and also pay them accordingly. A former client who wanted lots of custom work was not paying me what the work was worth. I was undercharging because I wanted my upcycling biz to be a success, but it drove me loco because I knew I could be charging way more. The client kept asking me to keep my prices low, but I started to suspect that she was reselling the pieces because she didn’t care what size they were. She was buying for cheap and then marking things up…I’m fairly certain of it. And it ruined my biz! Show respect for the people making your clothes. You can expect that a handmade item is going to cost more than something from Walmart. And the pieces you get will be one of a kind and make you feel divine!
Look at the inventory in the shop you are considering, and see what styles the seamstress likes to sew. Buy what they have available first if it is in your size, or ask for something similar to a style that the person already knows how to make. That way there won’t be a huge learning curve to do your custom threads.
One last thing, when you get the item try it on right away. That way you can tell how it fits, and if it needs to be altered you can either alter it yourself or send it back to be fixed. When I received this Bob Ross skirt, I automatically assumed it would be too short. So I complained and made a fuss. It turns out the skirt actually is way longer than I first assumed! I apologized to the seamstress, and plan on shopping her store in the future to support her business. But above all I learned a very valuable lesson! Try everything on before you make a judgement on the work.

It is so fun to shop altered and upcycled clothes! The biggest rule of thumb is to treat the maker with so much respect. Pay them what the work is worth, and be open to his or her design process. In the end you will wind up with totally unique pieces that fit you like a charm! So worth it!

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Tips for Ordering Custom Clothes