Save Money by Making Your Own Accessories

We all want to look our best for those special occasions that crop up once in a while, don’t we? And I don’t think that I am wrong in thinking that us mothers take real pride and delight in dressing our little angels up to look their absolute best. 🙂

Well, we recently had a special occasion coming up and I really wanted to get the boys something new. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly that I was looking for, but as it was a formal wear occasion I thought that a new shirt and tie or something along those lines would do the job. 

So I did what I usually do when I decide that I want to buy something, and I got my tablet out to peruse my favourite shops to see what they had to offer. But, to my greatest disappointment, I couldn’t find a single thing that jumped out at me as the perfect item. Now, in the past I wouldn’t have been able to put the tablet down until I had ordered something, purely because I didn’t think that I had another option. But now however, I have my trusty sewing machine.

Don’t worry, I didn’t decide to make them a tailored jacket each, their Grandma is doing a fab job of making them complicated things like that. Plus I am definitely not at that point yet! No, I was thinking of something a lot cheaper and easier. A bow tie. 🙂

The exciting bit 

As you might already know, here at Bunny on a Budget, we love to save money. So the idea of making my own bow ties for my boys wasn’t only exciting on the making front, I also love a good money saver.

The exciting thing about making your own accessories for me is that you get to choose what they look like. The colour, design and size is all up to you. Do you want to make something that looks simple and subtle or do you want it to stand out and look different from what’s available on the high street? Sometimes you just don’t know what it is that you want until you go shopping for fabric.

Saving Money 

A good tip for saving money here is to avoid buying a full metre of fabric which will cost you on average around £12. You don’t need a lot of fabric at all so unless you would use the left over fabric for other things, it would just be a waste of your money.

Bearing this in mind I bought a fat quatre for £2.50 which measures around 18″x 22″ and this easily made 2 bow ties with some left over. 🙂

Easy Peasy 

Bow ties are really easy to make and they take hardly any time at all. There are a few options that you have about how to make them. For instance, do you want to use a piece of wide elastic for the strap or would you rather make a matching fabric strap? I suppose that the answer to this depends on how much time you have available as the elastic strap, although it may not look as nice, is definitely the quicker option. I wasn’t overly pushed for time, so I chose to make the fabric straps for my bow ties.

You can also choose between a velcro fastening or a selection of strategically placed poppers. In this case I think that the velcro is the better option as it is less fiddly to attach, and you have a better chance of them fitting your child for a long time.

If you are a confident seamstress then you will probably be able to whip up a bow tie without any guidance in no time. However some people may prefer to use a pattern to feel comfortable with the project. I however chose to follow some step by step instructions on Pinterest. They were really simple and straight forward so I would recommend this as a good option. If you like the idea of this then make sure you have a browse on there because there are so many different looks to choose from, you are literally spoilt for choice.

Tick Tock 

Once I decided on the look of the bow ties, it was time to get sewing.

As a mother, we all know how limited our time is. There is always a long list of things that desperately need our attention, so not many of us relish the thought of sitting at a sewing machine all day, creating even more mess! So, how demanding on our time is making your own accessories?

Well, including the prep work of measuring, cutting and setting up the sewing machine, I think that it only took about 1 1/2 – 2 hours to completely make both of the bow ties.

That really does show just how easy they are to make. Obviously the more often you make something the quicker you get, so it can only get better.

Great Satisfaction 

For me the best part of making these bow ties was seeing my boys in them. They looked so cute and smart, I was over the moon. Plus, they loved them too, so it was smiles all round.

Also I won’t lie and pretend that I don’t care what other people think. When people compliment them, I feel really proud that my boys look really special in something that I made especially for them.

But my enjoyment in making things doesn’t end with my boys. I think that whenever someone is wearing or using something that I have designed and made myself – and they like it, well that gives me great satisfaction. So much so that having a sideline income based on this could be something worth thinking about.

So this is my little story about the joy I found in making something special for my boys and saving money.

How about you, have you ever felt satisfaction by making something unique and saving money at the same time?