See something in a catalog or at the store and say I CAN MAKE THAT..
then later you do ???
My niece is convinced I can make anything under the sun to look similar to items like in delias, alloy etc.. LOL .. So .. guess what she gets for her bday and holidays??
But Im sitting here looking at a pottery barn catalog .. at some curtains :rolleyes: thinking man.. those are NICE.. but at $49 a panel.. hmm I think Ill wing it myself :wah: :wah: LOL .. I m pretty good at winging things so we shall see how well the duplicated look comes out.

anyhoo.. what have you seen that youve made instead of buying ?? do share :) kathy

Everything. :lol: I have a really hard time spending money on anything at all that I could make that would save me at least 40% off of the retail. Does that make sense? For me, sheers were on the border line. I have really tall windows (nearly floor to ceiling and we have 11 foot ceilings). I was able to buy some window sheer material at Joann's using my 40% off coupon and they came out to about $5 per sheer I think? So that's definitely a savings for me. But at the same time, you can pick up nice standard sized sheers (84") at TJ or Marshalls for the same price.

Sorry, got carried away on that issue. LOL

I almost did the same thing on windows, but luckily I added up the fabric costs before I bought it. Just the fabric alone would have cost me way more then the finished product at a middle line discounted store. I went and bought them. :)

I also figure in the aggravation when deciding whether to buy or sew. Curtains aren't hard to sew, but they are hard for me to cut out. I have to move the furniture so I can do it on the floor, in the middle of the night. Ugh, usually not worth it.

But I did just take advantage of one of the home dec sales at JA and got material and blackout lining to make curtains for dd1 and 2 bedroom. The fact that they slept in past dawn the next morning made it all worth it, lol!

I often have the guilty seamstress feeling when I look at things in a store! If I can get things on sale, then I don't mind so much! Other times, I'll look at an outfit (kid's clothes for example) - I'll start thinking about the fabric, notions, elastic, pattern... and sometimes, that $10 outfit is just a steal, so I buy it. Other times, I'll see some gorgeous boutiquey thing, and I know I have to make it!

My copycat items I've made:
My children's nurseries - I loved the high end boutique look of nurseries - so I did it myself.
A mini-t@ggie
My wedding dress (my mom made it - but she and I went to the store to try on the $6,000 dress I liked, and we turned it inside out, looked at the seams, etc!!! She made me a muslin one, and then we did the real thing!!!
We did the bridesmaid's dresses too.
Same thing for my kid's christening gowns (my sister and mom did these)
Large throw pillows in the family room were a copy cat off of potterybarn.
That's all I can think of for now!!

It's cool to be able to sew!
:)
Maria

i do it a lot lately. i will buy things i can't make or can't make cheaply, but i mostly try to make things.
of course, my kids are just growing into some of the first things i made and i am feeling kinda icky about them. no serger, lots of mistakes that i can find and i am kind of in a funk right now. :wah:
i love making things and my kids all love it too, maybe i should just get rid of the yucky stuff LOL

My wedding dress (my mom made it - but she and I went to the store to try on the $6,000 dress I liked, and we turned it inside out, looked at the seams, etc!!! She made me a muslin one, and then we did the real thing!!!


Ohhhh, I want to see a pic of that dress! :D

I made a fitted slipcover for my couch that costs about $800 at pottery barn!!!!! I spent about 130 for fabric and supplies -- it felt so great to show dh the price in the catalogue, hee hee! Sort of justifies all mye fabric purchases, lol!

I swear this sewing skill has saved the bank during this pregnancy. Maternity pants and cool summer tanktops. They are SO expensive in the stores, and I just can't justify paying that much for something I'll only wear a few months. I've bought maternity jeans, but I've made a bunch of stretchy pants and tops. I'm supposed to be moving in a few weeks but I still haven't packed away my sewing machine in case I outgrow the things I've made! lol

The fringed cowboy jeans I did were knock offs from a local boutique. They wanted $39 bucks for the jeans and a screen printed t-shirt!

I often get inspiration from catalogs. If I see something I like, I'll cut it out, and the picture floats around my sewing room for the next year or so, lol.

Heather made a hanna skirt that I had a picture cut out of. :D

Yep, both skirts in this picture are store knock offs.....

Ellie's stripy skirt is a knock off of a LimitedToo skirt that Ellie fell in love with. $48.....umm, that one was about $24 in really nice poplins.

Isabelle's skirt is the one from Hanna that Shecki just referred too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/xheathers/IMG_0783.jpg