Income from custom sewing

[CarolAnn]

When My sister in law was in an accident, she ended up wearing an appliance to hold her pelvis together while it healed back together. The thing was attached by pins and stuck out so that no clothing would fit.

This made me aware that there's a real need for people who've been in accidents or had orthopedic surgery for some reason - who need special duds made! Wheel-chaired folks also need slacks with no pockets (that would catch their thumbs as they push the wheels) - and that are cut higher in the back and lower in the front.

Others need seams hooked together with zippers or velcro so they can be dressed, but get out of the clothes easier when limbs don't move easily.

Is anyone doing this type of sewing? I'd like to get into it. I'm sure there is a market out there!

[MNMOM]

CarolAnn,
When my sister broke her ankle I took a pair of sweat pants and opened the seam on the leg and attached velcro so she could get them on and off.
I use to sew latex free undergarments for a small catalog company that dealt in all latex free things for people with the allergy. ( I have the allergy). It brought in pretty good money, but as it grew and I needed more sewers that's where the problem came in. I couldn't find sewer's for the lingerie sewing that I needed, so when it got more than I could handle, I quit.

[Shamrock1121]

I had a friend who had a physical deformity and she was able to go to Kansas State University and they made her special patterns from muslin with which to make her clothes.

My MIL had curvature of the spine and it drew one hip up higher than the other. She always needed to alter pants she purchased until I took her to a class at our local County Extension Office where we altered pants patterns to actualy FIT!!!

I've also taken a class where we altered hand-knitted sweaters. I took this class from a gal who had to make one shoulder on her husbands sweaters 6-inches longer than the other in order to have the bottom of the sweater hang correctly.

So there are sources/resources out there that may be able to help with the basic patterns. You might contact the pattern companies and see if they have a special grouping of patterns for special-needs people.

-Karen

[leera]

My Mother used to have a friend that did that type of sewing,she could make anything for just about anyone........she made a good living doing it.

If you've got the talent for it.......I say go for it!

Unfortunately when the woman passed away,and her husband let all of her beloved sewing machines sit in a flooded basement for who knows how long.............none of them were savable.........

It had been set up really nice too.She had her machines lined up all around the basement,each set up to sew a specific fabric,that way she didn't need to constantly adjust the tention,and she could have multiple projects going at once..........

She even had fitting rooms!

Still even better,she would use the scraps from her sewing projects to make custom doll clothes and sell them at local fairs and festivals.

Like I said she made a good living doing it.......... :)

[Pigzzilla]

I used to make shirts for my Grandpa. He liked regular shirts, not the Western style. But he had bad Arthritis in his hands and buttons were a problem for him. I found snaps that looked like 4hole white shirt buttons. He thought that was the greatest thing, he could do up his shirts without help and no one could tell they were snaps.

[donnam]

I work from home doing custom window treatments and it is my full time job. Some months are slow and I do clothing and repairs also. I love working from home and the money is certainly helpful. I think your success depends on where you are located and how many hours you want to put into it. :)

[figgfamily]

There are tons of sellers on ebay that do custom kids clothes. I'm not sure about specialty like your talking but it would be worth a try.

Sounds like a great concept that way people could have the fit just perfect for them.

[Suzy]

Do you know someone in some local doctor offices or hospitals that might could hook you up with the folks who really need this service??? It sounds like there would be a wonderful market for it if you can tap into that market!

You might want to get started, maybe find one or two people to sew for, then contact a reporter at a local newspaper and tell them what you are doing....if they would do a feature article on you providing that service, that would be great free publicity AND it would get the word out to people that NEED you to sew for them! When I was with the newspaper that was the kind of article we'd love to have! best wishes!