I bought your book a couple of years ago and have been receiving your emails ever since.  I just wanted to share this little something with you.

 Although I have been sewing for a long time now and I have put zips in items that I have made.  I have never replaced a zip in anything as it scared me (that’s funny I know but it did).  This week I got sick and I was unable to do anything not even look after my family.  So I got my copy of your book out and two pairs of pants that needed the zips replacing, my quick unpick and started to take out the zips.  I have to say that I never thought that unpicking anything could be theraputic but I loved the whole process of taking the zip out.  

 Yesterday I was feeling a bit better so I got my trusty little Janome out and along with your book right beside me I proceeded to replace the zips.  I loved they went in beautifully and your instruction in the book was wonderful it was like having someone talking me through one step at a time.  I have to say that one pair of the pants the zip I put back in was better than the zip I took out.

I’ll never be afraid of replacing zips again.  In fact a friend has asked me to replace a zip in her husbands pants  and she is going to pay me for it. 

 Judith, do you think $15 is alright to charge for replacing a zip?  I also wanted to ask you about your 2nd book is it just the same as the first one or is there extra information in there that is not in the first one?  (I suggested she charge AUD$25)

 So thank you for an excellent book and giving me the courage to try something new.

 Mandy

The best option is to employ a contractor.  This means that the person you employ has to have their own business identity.  In Australia we call it an Australian Business Number (ABN).  This is registered with the government, and means you are liable for all Goods and Services Tax (GST) on your services.  For example – You can work from home, but may pick up work from a clothing alteration and dressmaking shop who charges out at AUD$60 per hour.  You take the work home and charge the work out at her rate.  That means if you complete a job that takes one hour you put on the docket $60.00 plus GST of 10% = $66.00 to the customer. You should then fill out a Contractor form with the customer’s information, including the invoice number and the amount charged.  Once all the work is completed I charge her 50% of all work done.  Keep in mind that you should be getting 50% of the AUD$60 per hour not $66.00.

If you decide on the other hand to bring someone into your business whether that is at home or in a shop, you will be liable for all the government regulations and rules for employing someone.  In Australia we have an Award Wage Rate for Casual, Part time or Permanent.  These rates are based on age and level of skill.  On top of that is superannuation, holiday pay if applicable and a workers’ compensation levy.   The average cost to employ someone is around $25.00 per hour give or take.  Some countries have maternity leave plus other rules. 

Personally I find that the contracting option works better for everyone.  This is the option I take.  I love working from home.  It gives me the freedom to work the hours I want, and also to do all the other work I do like writing articles, creating illustrations, developing workshops and other concepts to do with clothing alterations.

This is why I get really emotional about what you should be charging for your time.  I don’t mind getting $30 per hour when all I have to do is call in “pick up and deliver”.  I don’t have to deal with the customer which takes a fair amount of time.  When my customers come to me I charge $40 per hour, because I am doing the fitting.

If you are doing dressmaking, and you are being paid peanuts, you need to educate your customers.  Think about it this way – How much work goes into one garment that sits in a fashion store?  The designers have to develop the pattern, grade the sizes, cut out the fabrics, have it sewn together, market the garments, pay rent in the shops, and employ people in the shops to sell the garment.

There is a lot of time and money that goes into the develop of one garment.  Once the garments are developed, they can be mass produced.  Cheaper garments are mass produced in countries like China, India, and Fiji etc.  They are cheap to buy and sometimes the alteration of shortening the length is more than it cost to buy the garment in the first place.

So when you have someone come and ask you to make something, explain about what you really have to do.  Even if they provide you with a pattern, you still have to cut it out, check the measurements, cut it out, have a fitting, and if it is really expensive fabric, you will probably make a toile (calico sample) first to get your measurements right. 

Think about your hourly rate and what you are charging.  As your business grows look at how you would employ someone to help.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

They can be altered with just a little care.  Normally if I was shortening something that was a machine knit, I would sew a row of stitching just above the cut line, but because these had feet, I decided to cut the feet off first, then stitched above the new cut line, I then overlocked just below the stitch line, turned and stitched the hem up, sewing topside, and sewing with my button hole foot.  I learned this little trick in my shops.  The normal domestic sewing machine foot can tend to slip on a stretch fabric, so one day I thought “what about the plastic buttonhole foot”?  It has those little ridges underneath, and they then to grip onto the fabric stopping any slide.  If you sew topside, in other words, you are sewing on the right side of the fabric, and the hem is underneath, you will get a beautiful stitch.  Once you have the first row of stitching done, go back and sew a second row next to the first, using a reference point on the foot to guide you, keeping the same distance from the first row of stitching.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

 For the life of me I do not understand why someone would do that.  If you want to leave a reasonable seam allowance, then do that.  You can even fold it over if you like and stitch it down with a loose stitch.  If you have to clip, then consider folding the seam allowance over and stitching down rather than clipping.  If I am reshaping a neckline or putting on a collar, you have to clip to get the curve, so clipping is important, but if you have want to leave large side seams, you really do not need to clip (usually).

 In the case of the dress in question, it was not a fitting dress, so it could have been left without being clipped.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

If the arms were too tight and around the armhole and back, then you can insert a panel down the arm and down the back panel.  I remembered a client bringing me a Riding Jacket a few years ago, and what I did was insert some good quality heavy velvet as panels down the arms and the side back seams.  The Riding School had approved the changes, which is an important point, because some of them are very strict on what the jackets must look like.  This particular jacket also had a collar that had seen better days, so I took that out and replaced it with a new black velvet collar.

 So if you have a jacket in your wardrobe that has become a little tight, take a good look at it, and see if it would look any better if it had some fabric panels down the arms and back.  You could take the complete back side panel out and replace it with a new fabric such as velvet, or just open the seams and add the extension between the existing panels. 

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

 For the life of me I do not understand why someone would do that.  If you want to leave a reasonable seam allowance, then do that.  You can even fold it over if you like and stitch it down with a loose stitch.  If you have to clip, then consider folding the seam allowance over and stitching down rather than clipping.  If I am reshaping a neckline or putting on a collar, you have to clip to get the curve, so clipping is important, but if you have want to leave large side seams, you really do not need to clip (usually).

 In the case of the dress in question, it was not a fitting dress, so it could have been left without being clipped.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

 Riding Jackets are probably the most common to become tight, because the rider begins horse riding lessons at an early age, then as she gets older the jacket gets tighter.  They will leave a reasonable seam allowance, however if this is not the case, you can look at other alternatives.

 If the arms were too tight and around the armhole and back is also tight you can insert some good quality heavy velvet as panels down the arms and the side back seams.  Most Riding Schools will approve this type of alterations, however they should be asked first.  I had a jacket once that also needed the collar replaced, so I did that in velvet as well.

 So if you have a jacket in your wardrobe that has become a little tight, take a good look at it, and see if it would look any better if it had some fabric panels down the arms and back.  You could take the complete back side panel out and replace it with a new fabric such as velvet, or just open the seams and add the extension between the existing panels. 

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie