10 Ways to Sew Faster & Increase Profits

If you’re sewing to sell, it’s important to become as efficient as possible and find cost savings anywhere you can.

It can be hard to make a handmade, one-person business profitable.

Your prices can’t be too high, or consumers will just go to mass-produced options.

But if you price them too low, you don’t get paid for all your hours and may have a hard time simply covering your costs.

So this article shares some of my top ways to reduce costs and wages.

Little savings can add up to big profits over the course of a year.

 

1 – Batch your work

This is the biggest reason one-of-a-kind businesses are hard to sustain.

When you’re using different materials, patterns, techniques, tools, etc. for each product, you can’t complete one step for multiple products at once.

When you can take one pattern (e.g. the foldover clutch) and cut several pattern pieces at once, cut several pieces of zipper, put your zipper foot on your machine and sew the zippers on for several bags, then switch to a regular foot and sew the bags together, etc., it speeds things up.

You become more efficient with each step because you get into a flow, memorize the steps, and move quicker.

Task switching is a less-obvious time drain.

 

2 – Stick to similar colours

It’s not only a good idea to stick to a color scheme to build a strong brand and/or collection. But it can also make you more efficient.

Firstly, if you only sew with a certain color palette (e.g. earth tone colours), then you’ll become more efficient when shopping for fabrics.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the beautiful fabric options out there. But if I know I’m only sewing with earth tone colours, when I see a beautiful navy and white fabric, I don’t spend time considering how I might use it, what color of binding or lining to use with it, other colours to go with it in a collection, etc.

Secondly, when you stick to a limited color palette, you don’t have to spend as much time winding bobbins and changing thread on your sewing machine.

I prefer to work with light-colored fabrics so that I can always use white thread.

It allows me to buy my thread in bulk and avoid spending time switching threads.

 

3 – Choose fabric wisely

Some fabrics are easier to work with than others. You may not have a choice, as some patterns/items require a specific type of product (e.g. swimwear uses stretch fabric). However, if you have the option, choose an easy-to-work-with fabric.

Also, the more you work with a specific type of product, the better you’ll get at it; improving the quality of your products and making you more efficient.

• Stretch – stretchy fabrics can be more challenging to work with. You need to get the tension right on your sewing machine and be precise when cutting so you’re not stretching it and getting lopsided cuts.
• Slippery – silks, chiffons, some velvets, etc., can be harder to cut and sew, resulting in less accurate sewing and requiring more time to pin and adjust.
• Directional prints – when you need the print of a fabric to face a certain way, you’ll end up with more waste. It also creates more opportunities for mistakes (i.e. if you cut a pattern piece upside down by mistake). It will also require more time to cut the pattern pieces since you can’t just fold the fabric wrong sides together and cut multiple pieces at once.
• Thickness – thicker fabrics can be harder to sew (depending on your sewing machine). You often need to sew a little slower to go over bulky seams, your machine may skip stitches, or you could break needles.

 

4 – Choose patterns wisely

There are many products and patterns I won’t sew, simply because they’re too complicated and I know I can’t be efficient/profitable sewing and selling them.

Before you decide on a product to sew and sell, consider if there are any aspects of it that will slow you down: tight curves, complicated shapes, too many steps, etc.

Most consumers won’t understand that a certain shape or design is harder to sew, and that’s why they should be willing to pay the higher price tag.

 

5 – Cut corners where you can

You obviously don’t want to compromise the quality of your products, but consider whether your customers will care if a zipper pouch is lined, or if the inside seams are simply serged.

Also, start looking at some of the mass-produced products you’ve purchased from retailers. You’ll likely notice that the seams aren’t perfectly straight, perhaps the thread isn’t a perfect match, or two seams don’t line up perfectly.

So don’t be a perfectionist. Consider what’s most important and focus on that.

 

6 – Pre-thread bobbins

Most sewing machines require you to unthread them to wind your bobbin, which costs you time.

Buy an extra set of bobbins and wind several of them at once so that when your bobbin thread runs out, you simply grab a pre-wound spool and load your machine.

 

7 – Zipper by the yard & bulk purchasing

You can reduce your waste when working with zippers by buying zipper by the yard.

The teeth are plastic, so you can cut the zipper to the exact length you need.

It can also save you time by not having to search for the right length of zipper.

Another perk to limiting how many types of products and variations you make is that you can buy materials in bulk.

Instead of buying a yard or two in 10 different fabrics, you can buy 10 or 20 yards in one or two fabrics and find savings.

Sign up for newsletters so you know when sales are on, and look for ways to reduce shipping or number of trips to the local fabric store (to save on gas and mileage).

 

8 – Invest in tools

There are lower-cost tools to increase your efficiency, and high-cost ones.

Start with smaller items, such as a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and fabric weights, to speed up one aspect of your business.

As your business makes money, put a portion of profits back into the business by purchasing more time-saving tools.

You may eventually work your way up to an industrial sewing machine that allows you to sew much faster and go through bulkier materials with ease.

We often don’t know what kind of tools are out there, so try Google-ing “tools for ______” (whichever process slows you down).

For example, “tools for sewing binding” brings up dozens of tools you can buy, and even videos sharing tips that will make the process easier and quicker.

 

9 – Create flow in your workspace

I’ve moved my sewing room several times in the past couple of years, and have rearranged each space dozens of times. I’m constantly finding ways to set up my stations to be more efficient.

I purchased a folding table for my cutting station so I don’t have to clear things off my sewing space each time I need to put my big cutting mat down.

I’ve also tried a U-shape setup before switching to an L-shape setup (because spinning my chair from station to station was actually making me dizzy).

I purchased a smaller ironing mat and folding table to create an ironing station.

My space is always a work in progress. It doesn’t look very fancy…but it works!

 

10 – Think outside the box

Don’t be afraid to try different techniques, patterns, or processes to find the fastest and easiest way for you.

Be creative!

I’ve seen several “tools” people have made to turn straps or scrunchies right side out.

As well as sewing techniques that shave just a second or two off the production time…but that adds up when you’re making dozens or hundreds of an item.

 

I hope these tips help!