Sew far so good

Do you remember my sharing on wanting to sew some small items for sale? Then,  I was pregnant and worried, with no certainty of maternity leave payout from my then part time job.  I was desperate.

Today, Peanut is 5 months old. Though I was promised maternity leave payout by my then employer, it is still pending with CPF. Doesn’t help that I can only apply for self-employed maternity leave payout after 4 months.  I am desperate.

In my desperation,  I took out my sewing machine, dusted it and started to sew again. 

They say challenges are in fact opportunities, I think it must be God’s mercy. I was chatting with a group of friends about getting a baby carrier. We were all geared up to score (to buy at retail price. Yes, it sells like hot cakes!) a tula. A tula brought from retail is pretty affordable for a good carrier. But once it hits the resale market, the prices can be 20 to 50 percent or more. To better my chances,  I joined many tula fb pages to better my chances of getting a good deal. In the process, I noticed mothers purchasing custom accessories for their carrier. It then occured to me that I could make them and sell them too.

So I started to stalk blogs (blogger rocks), read comment threads and haunt Google search for popular fabrics. Knowing that only tula print fabrics would fetch good prices, I was bend on importing them. But they are expensive to ship in. To help me fund my first shipment, I offered to a birth club I joined to sew droolpads for them at a very good price.  I didn’t have a portfolio to show then, so I sewed my first droolpads for my ergo. I need droolpads then, so it was well worth the effort. It worked, and I started my new biz with over 20 orders even before my fabrics arrived.

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My first pair of droolpads

After a few weeks of sewing into the night after the kids’ bed time, I’ve got a portfolio of items to show on my fb page. These items are also available in my carousell shop.

This is the first set of accessories I made for my tula. It’s a cloudy!

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It's Cloudy with a chance of Aperture!

Tula isn’t just a baby carrier. It is a cross between fashion and practicality- that makes it a new breed. How long will this craze last for me? I don’t know, but I counted my babywearing days- not too long, 3 years max, since Peanut is my last baby. This makes me want to enjoy and cherish my babywearing days more! Being able to sew my own accessories definitely makes it more fun (and economical).

My hubby asked if sewing tula accessories is my long term plan. He was mindful of my growing stash of fabrics. Frankly, I am excited to find out too. Meanwhile, I am taking a step at a time and enjoying the process.

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This is not an uncommon sight at home. It happens when the baby wants mummy and no one else, or when the helper needs to cook and I wanted to sew, badly.

Are you a tula lover too? TITW! I still can’t make out the sound. Any help?

4 thoughts on “Sew far so good

  1. I am inspired by your post.
    I am a ftwm trying to venture into sewing baby accessories for sale. I have only small successes, looking forward to creating more accessories for myself and others.

    I admire how you are able to juggle your sewing biz and looking after 4 kids and your household. I have only 1 baby and finding hard to find time for my projects.

    All the best!

  2. I found you by accident and wanted to say hi! I am a face painter that just started sewing accessories too! 🙂 much luck! It is busy!

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