Sewing is your passion – or is at least an enjoyable enough task that you think you can utilize your skill in order to earn a bit of extra money. The easiest way to make this a reality is by working sewing jobs from home.
Sewing-from-home jobs are more common than you may initially guess, and they’re an excellent way for you to grow certain elements of your craft while also padding your wallet.
It’s important, when looking for sewing work, that you have a well-rounded understanding of your own skill as a seamstress as well as an understanding of the amount of time you can dedicate to your freelance work.
Consider some of the options we outline below, and see if you can’t find a freelancing position that is right for you.
Understanding Your Skill Set
Before you start any Googling, you need to understand yourself. Why is it that you like sewing, and why specific projects such as baby clothes or decorations?
What, too, is a project that you can see yourself spending several hours on without losing interest or growing too frustrated with to continue?
Freelance sewing requires the same kind of dedication you’d put into a personal project, and you don’t want to sign onto a project only to find yourself growing bored halfway through.
In order to avoid this, you should seek freelancing positions that let you do the kind of work you most enjoy.
Consider some of the following, and see if you can envision yourself working in that field:
Sewing From Home Jobs
Repair
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is; whether someone’s getting ready for a wedding, prom, or a new job, they’re going to need an alteration.
Repair work and alteration jobs are always in high demand. If you open yourself up to freelancing and repairing lost buttons, ripped dress pants, or making sizing alterations, you may soon find yourself receiving more requests for work than you can accept.
Repair work is, in some ways, simpler than independent or original creative work; you don’t have to start from scratch when a person comes to you. Instead, you can go straight to the solution by taking their work pants up an inch or two.
However, that doesn’t mean that repair work or alterations aren’t important. When considering whether or not to freelance as a seamstress focusing on this field, remember that your potential customers will be coming to you for your skill.
Confidence and peace of mind are the keys here; you will want to fill their orders to the best of your ability in order to gain their trust and establish your reputation as a freelancer.
Custom Design
If you’re more interested in sharing your own designs with a consumer audience, then you may want to look into freelancing as a custom designer.
Custom designers who freelance are often hired to create one-of-a-kind wedding dresses or to outfit a unique wardrobe.
These kind of freelance positions are a little more difficult to find than those in repair, but that doesn’t mean they’re not available!
As a matter of fact, once you’ve found yourself an audience, it’s likely that, so long as your work is done with care, you’ll earn yourself several repeat customers who appreciate your creativity as well as your work ethic.
Home Wares
Not interested in working with clothes? No problem. There’s a plentiful market out there for throw blankets, smaller baby blankets, quilts, place mats, oven mitts, and assorted other handmade home goods.
If you’re especially clever, when you advertise yourself as a freelancer, you’ll emphasize your ability to embroider the works you make.
Before you know it, the home goods you made will be in dozens of houses, each of them personalized to your customers’ preference.
Stuffed Animals
Every new mother wants to ensure her child has a soft and cuddly toy to hold close when she can’t be there.
If you’re looking to break into a unique field of freelance sewing, then take advantage of your ability to create hand-sewn stuffed animals.
So long as they’re good for a cuddle and are friendly-looking, the stuffed toys that you make will attract a broad audience, and the patrons who love your work will share your name and information with dozens of their friends.
Sewing stuffed animals may be more difficult than hemming someone’s pants, but it’s a valuable position with a broad market waiting to see a new and carefully-made product.
Combinations
You could also take advantage of your personal versatility and work in a number of these fields at the same time.
One week, you could embroider a pair of oven mitts for a customer, and the next week, you could be sewing buttons back onto someone’s work jacket.
In playing to your strengths, don’t limit yourself! The world of sewing is your oyster, if only you let it be.
Once you find your sewing niche, make sure you keep your schedule in mind. No matter how much you love working in a particular area, you shouldn’t overwhelm yourself with projects, as this will cause you to burn out.
You should also make sure that you keep your freelancing goals in mind. Ask yourself: why is it you want to go into freelancing? Do you want to improve your abilities as a seamstress? Do you want to make a little extra money every month?
With these things in mind, you’ll be able to decide early on just what kind of positions you want to seek out.
Exploring More Sewing From Home Job Opportunities
Some sewing-from-home jobs you can find on an individual basis, but others can come to you through established companies.
Below is a listing of a few companies who are always looking to hire freelance seamstresses in different capacities – and all of them seem prepared to pay you well for your time and effort.
Heavenly Occasion Purchasers is looking for a versatile seamstress who can sew accessories as well as create lovable stuffed animals for children to hold on to.
This company wants its freelancers to sew baby bibs as well as their wall-hanger, Buster the Happy Goblin, and stuffed companions, Heavenly Angel and Little Nick.
Heavenly Occasion Purchasers requires its freelancers to use specific kinds of material for each of these projects, and freelancers have the opportunity to earn between $60 and $120 per assignment that they take.
This kind of position is not overly complicated – Heavenly Occasion Purchasers makes it clear in their freelancers’ brief that the work they ask for requires either a zigzag stitch or a straight stitch – and patterns for each of the possible products are provided.
It’s a well-supported freelancing position that could let a beginning freelance seamstress get their feet wet.
Kitchen Crafts is looking for freelance seamstresses who can work from home and make their household products including placemats, and oven mitts.
This position is ideal for someone who doesn’t want to work with clothing, but who still wants to involve a bit of creativity in their work.
Freelancers who apply to work with Kitchen Crafts have the opportunity to make up to $460 a week, depending on the assignments they receive.
Craft Works International wants to work with stuffed animal enthusiasts.
This company specializes in the creation of its Dino Dinosaurs, and they supply all the materials necessary to make you into their freelance seamstress.
This is one of the more accessible work-from-home sewing positions; you don’t have to go out and buy any material! Just sit down at your sewing machine – or take your needle in hand – and go to work.
Craft Works International looks for both hand sewing and machine sewing when it comes to their Dino Dinosaurs, and freelancers who work for them can earn up to $560 a week.
If none of these openings appeal to you, websites like Upwork are frequently posting jobs that members can view, exposing them to numerous creative and diverse freelance sewing positions.
Starting Your Own Business with Sew From Home Jobs
If you want to take your sewing-from-home a step further than freelancing, you may want to consider opening your own business.
Websites like Etsy, Amazon Handmade, Redbubble, and Society 6 are all easily accessible sources through which a home-seamstress can sell their wares.
When it comes to establishing your own sewing business, though, you need to balance several somewhat complicated elements.
Starting your own business requires the same kind of self-awareness that freelancing does; without understanding what kind of sewing you like to do best and how you want your work to impact your life, you may end up a little lost.
Make sure that, before you start off on your business adventure, you have your personal goals well-established so that you can keep them in mind as you begin working.
Organization is also essential when you’re starting your own sewing business. You will need to keep track of everything you purchase in order to account for the financial exchange that occurs once you begin reaching out to potential customers.
When you’re working from home, too, you will need to rely heavily on social media in order to advertise your work.
Post pictures of sample products to Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, but also do research and see where your would-be competitors peddle their wares.
Before long, you may find yourself among their ranks and with a loyal customer base, to boot.
Working from home and sewing as a freelancer takes a lot of independent work on your part.
The opportunities to work in a variety of areas, though, are out there, and no matter what it is you like to do – or what you’re best at – you’ll find someone who wants to buy the crafts that you’re making.
Manage your social media presence well, be accommodating with your customers, and you’ll soon develop a reputation as a freelancer that earns you more projects than you’ll know what to do with.
Here’s a video showing more tips on starting sewing jobs from home.
Have you tried any sewing from home jobs?
I have a full-time job but I can make some alterations.