The cost to hobby

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I sew too. I buy things at Goodwill and remake them. I also buy material at estate sales. I paid 25.00 for 10 bags of material that I chose myself a week ago (that sure took some time - it was a whole room full of fabric!) - that price also included a clamp light for my sewing table and a few glass jars I found that I use for storage of buttons and such. It's all washed up and ready for use.

I usually start with Youtube looking at videos for sewing specific items there. I learned how to make a circle skirt and several types of purses plus cross body straps for them using Youtube.

I also make jewelry. I haven't found a way to save money on that but I've gotten so many supplies over the years I hardly need to buy anything more other than a few findings here and there. I buy those types of things when JoAnn Fabrics has 40-60% off sales.

I also cross stitch. I don't do as much anymore as I used to but I used to pick up aida cloth at estate sales and buy DMC floss when it was on sale.

I've got a room upstairs where I do crafts, make jewelry and once my son takes the sofa when he moves out someday I plan on setting up a sewing desk in that space.

 

[HopperFan]

DH worked for 17 years for Butterick & Vogue ............ so glad to hear so many people are sewing!!!!

 

[loves to dive]

Sorry to go off topic, but my husband dives and for his 40th wants to go somewhere to dive (considering going to the Georgia Aquarium since last time we went he wasn’t certified yet, and the whale shark dive has peaked his interest). I’m trying to find him a good place to have an actual ocean dive, since he only ever gets to go in Rhode Island where visibility is zero. Do you know any dive places around Amelia Island in Florida? Or do I need to look further south for a good dive? DH is afraid to let me go too far into Florida for a vacation for fear of accidentally booking WDW.

The best diving starts around Boyton Beach/West Palm Beach. Further north it just isn't that great. There can be ripping currents in the BB/WPB area, more often than not they are going to be fairly strong. I think we have been there once when there wasn't a current. Normally the dive boats drop you off with or without a dive master according to your preference with a dive float and the boats keep track of the floats then come pick you up. You just sort of fly over everything. If you haven't done currents it can be a bit intense. Our first open water ocean dives were in WPB, we found out I'm great with currents but boyant as all get out. It was also where we took my son for his first open ocean dives. The Keys have pretty mild diving, not great but o.k. If he dives wrecks there are some great once off North Carolina but again, the currents can be a bear and the viz can be pretty bad at times. There are some pretty cool springs in north Florida, fresh water, cold as heck. We go to them for check out dives if we haven't been in awhile. My honey and I are both master divers and cavern certified, stress and rescue certified, wreck certified so the sky is the limit for us. You couldn't pay me to dive the Ga. Aquarium, they charge way too much. I have done the dive at Disney twice. The TN Aquarium might be a better choice if you want to go that route. You can get some Carribean resorts and flight pretty decent prices.

 

[dadtoagirl03]

I restore 60's and 70's muscle cars. I drive a 20 year old car daily so I can afford to play with my "older" cars!!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I collect baseball and football cards. It's a very expensive hobby, especially for someone that makes about $1,200/month after a 1/3 pay cut about a month ago. I only have about $40 every paycheck to spend on it.
I've been trying to find a job on the side to go with my full time job, but I'm having trouble since we're in a town of about 10k people.

 

[manning]

I consider myself a bit of a hobby-ist.
I have to many interests and i'm a bit to fickle to dedicate all my time and resources to one thing.

Well my latest interest is sewing, I've had a desire to take classes and find a good beginning pace but dang it's not a cheap hobby.


So i'm curious, what are some of y'alls hobbies, and where do you find ways to cut your expenses?

Tell me about it. I can't control my wife. I think she has one of everything in the store.

 

[Tinknalli]

My hobby is being a soccer Mom. DD is 16 and has been playing since she was 5. It wasn't super expensive to start, but then at about 10 she started playing on a travel team. And the past 3 years she has been on a D1 travel team. Lots of money for fees, travel expenses etc. Not to mention time. We can spend $600 a year in cleats. But, it has been great for her. We have met lots of great people and done some traveling and gotten some college recruitment interest. She is a sophomore in high school and it has really put plans in place for her future. It will likely be my hobby for the next 6ish years. I will have to find a real hobby when she graduated college!

 

[LadyNia]

I love to decorate baked goods. I decorate cookies and cakes. When I want to learn something new I wait for craftsy to have a class sale. I buy decorating tools with coupons at Michaels and I buy ingredients at wholesale price at BJ's. I suppose I also save money by making my own cakes for special occasions instead of buying/ordering from a bakery.

 

[hsmamato2]

I sew as well! I like to hit up thrift stores and yard sales for machinery and fabric. A lot of old vintage sheets are nice fabric for making things!

I do this too! I don't sew all that much currently,but I do search Goodwill etc for cool older fabrics I can use.....

 

[hsmamato2]

on the topic of switching crafts etc....guilty as charged over the years. One thing I try to do is start slow..... that way If I don't get too into something I haven't wasted a ton of money. (I'm thinking of YOU,loom knitting from last winter!!!) I still have a basket of yarns I bought, but they were very cheap,and I'm using them up in various ways now. My current hobby is taking photos, mostly animals and nature for social media posting (just for fun) so at least it's all digital,and free.(until I decide I need some hard copies of certain pics,and then I spend some) I have a small but growing 'canvas collection' which can be added to on one wall of 4x4 canvases with my own photos on them,like a grid that grows. I look for deals on the cheapest 4x4 canvases everywhere I go. I also like thread or fiber arts where I can freestyle my imagined designs onto fabric(like needlepoints kind of or embroidery) that I do for fun,and the threads are very cheap so that's good. I enjoy painting with acrylics which is pretty cheap- my biggest hobby downfall tho is gardening.....not the type where I'm sharing tomato seedlings with neighbors....but trips to the local greenhouse with exotic plants that really,really, want!!!!! And my birdwatching is free and fun.

 

[bluehen]

My main hobbies are brewing beers and mountain biking. Mountain biking has a fairly large startup cost with bikes costing 3000, but I use mine for 10 yrs so it becomes fairly cheap. Yearly maintenance and parts can run a bit, but the activity itself is not only free but allows for extremely cheap vacations (no tickets needed). Brewing beer can be either cheap or expensive. I have relatively cheap equipment that cost me about 300 to set up. The biggest cost is ingredients. Since I usually drink very little of a batch (to ride that bike I need to keep my weight down) I could buy beer cheaper. My family is happy as it saves my sons quite a bit of money and family functions are now cheaper. Go for top of the line automated equipment and it can be very expensive.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Yes, I think it is worth the money. A great resource... but once you get your own machine. When picking out a machine, don't get carried by the number of stitches it can do as you mostly will just use straight stitch and zig zag on 99% of your sewing. Singer 4423 is a great starter machine.

Definitely go for the basic machine! I have a basic Singer that was under $100. I got it about 15 years ago and it's held up great. I agree that I pretty much only use straight stitch (I don't even zig zag, but I do use the blind hem stitch). My machine has pattern discs so I could do a few fancier things if I wanted to, but I think I've only done a fancy stitch once or twice.

 

[manning]

Definitely go for the basic machine! I have a basic Singer that was under $100. I got it about 15 years ago and it's held up great. I agree that I pretty much only use straight stitch (I don't even zig zag, but I do use the blind hem stitch). My machine has pattern discs so I could do a few fancier things if I wanted to, but I think I've only done a fancy stitch once or twice.

Don't get a Singer They are not the machines they use to be. Am a close friend who works in a sewing store that repairs all brands. She says that there are more Singers coming in for repair. The newer ones not the old ones. She says the older machines inner were made of metal. The new ones plastic. There are some brands that still have metal in them.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

For the past two years I have been into needlepoint. Something to do on planes, or at night on business trips.
Between canvases, threads and finishing, this was my number two expense last year on my Amex yearly statement. Yikes.
Trying to limit myself by as soon as I say that, a canvas catches my fancy and I get sucked in.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Don't get a Singer They are not the machines they use to be. Am a close friend who works in a sewing store that repairs all brands. She says that there are more Singers coming in for repair. The newer ones not the old ones. She says the older machines inner were made of metal. The new ones plastic. There are some brands that still have metal in them.

I was looking into brother machines but i'm going to take some beginner lessons before making and big investments

 

[amalone1013]

I love all sorts of crafts. I try to wait for things to go on sale or find them used. I like to joke that if you buy things full price at stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby, you're getting ripped off, since everything seems to go on sale AT LEAST once a month

I've dabbled in sewing, and may get back into when we have more room. I had a $50 black Friday singer from Wal-Mart that always seemed to work well. I left it at home when I moved out due to space... now the family home has been sold, and my dad is holding my things I left behind hostage - and I don't even know if he kept the sewing machine, or my deceased mothers clothing I had because I was going to try to make memorial quilts. I used to find fabrics at garage sales and estate sales like PP have mentioned.

I taught myself to knit in college, and picked up a TON of yarn a few years back for pretty cheap. I haven't had as much time to craft the last year with work, and when I did I focused on things for my wedding. So I am just trying to stick to my stash for new projects. I have a method crochet hooks too that I received as a gift, in many sizes, and some knitting looms. I've also found some hooks/needles/looms/yarn secondhand.

My other big hobby is scrapbooking. It's what I'm getting back into now. I always wait for stickers, paper, photo prints to go on sale. Sometimes they'll have nice stickers or small paper packs at the Dollar Store or in Targets dollar section. Michaels will have certain paper pads with $50 sheets for $6, so I got a couple of those and almost never get open stock paper any more. I'm starting my wedding scrapbook right now, and even with my tricks in at $85 already

I like to read too, and have been using kindle unlimited for about $7 a month. I re-upped my subscription on black Friday when they ran a deal. If I get bored with what's there I plan on trying out the local library. I haven't been to them since I moved to my current area.

I resisted making a hobby put of paper flowers... I made them for my wedding and was really happy with them, but have no plans to make them for around the house or anything. I might make them for others someday as a gift. They seemed sort of labor intensive to think of trying to sell them on etsy or something.

 

[manning]

I was looking into brother machines but i'm going to take some beginner lessons before making and big investments

That's what my wife has. They have machines that are reasonable. Just make sure it has metal gears.

She has the 6200. That model is way more than you want to pay.

 

[arminnie]

I am really really old. I took sewing in home ex in the 7th grade in 1958.

For years I made most of my clothes to save money. I had no money and there were no cheap imported clothes back then. I could do lined suits with bound button holes. All using a little Singer sewing machine from the 30s that only did straight stitches. Sometimes I bought a men’s suit at Goodwill and used the fabric to make myself a suit.

About 45 years ago I bought a top of the line Singer for a LOT of money. It had all sorts of bells and whistles. But a few years later during a move the foot pedal broke and could not be replaced. My Uber expensive sewing machine became a door stop. I tried for years to find a replacement i never did. I haven’t touched a Singer product since.

In 1989 I gave up on the Singer doorstop plus got a new job making lots more money and bought a Pfaff. I haven’t made clothes in years (decades) but the Pfaff is truly still great.

Someone could probably get a great deal on an almost 30 year old Pfaff or Janome.

I wanted an embroidery machine for years and years. I bought a Janome in about 2003. I used it a lot, but recently figured out that i haven’t used it once since a move in 2010. I have boxes of threads and interfacing. I probably need to sell or donate all of it.

Same with all of my Stampin’ Up stuff. I am the reason you should go buy stuff used.

 

[DizMe]

I have done most needlecraft hobbies over the years. For the past 7 years, I've been an avid knitter. I started with cheaper yarn but as my skills improved, I moved up and now will only use the cheaper Joann's-type yarns when making something smaller and less time-intensive like a baby outfit. I put way too much into my creations to settle for cheap yarn that will pill, lose its shape, etc. On the other hand, I'm not made of money so there's the dilemma: how to afford the yarns I love without making the cost prohibitive.

My solutions:
*Buy online and look for yarns I know that go on sale.
*Use a local yarn shop that gives me rewards, like $x off after every 10th purchase.
*Look for advice from other crafters on sites like ravelry.com.
*Shop at thrift stores, yard sales etc. Sometimes you find yarn, but often I buy garments like sweaters that are cashmere, wool, alpaca, and other yarns I love. It's time consuming, but I deconstruct them (look up youtube videos on how to do this, as there is a system to it) and repurpose the yarn. I bought a hand-crank yarn ball winder online and it's actually a very satisfying thing for me to deconstruct and repurpose, but you must have patience if you go this route. The benefit is the amount of great yarn you can get for almost nothing. Be sure the garments you buy to do this aren't full of holes. A small hole here or there is fine as you can reconnect the threads as you deconstruct, but if it was moth damage or there is too much damage, don't bother. You also have to look for the right seaming method; I learned the hard way that seams that have been cut and overstitched at the edges don't work because every single row has a cut end. Again, google about it and you'll find out how to shop for old sweaters etc. for this. This is a good site http://dawnprickett.blogspot.com/2008/01/recycling-sweaters-for-yarn.html

 

[hsmamato2]

I was looking into brother machines but i'm going to take some beginner lessons before making and big investments

I got a cheap brother machine a few years back at walmart for $55..... it's basic,but it works well! I actually like it.