Buying in bulk

You don't have to be a professional to buy supplies in bulk. For somethings it make so much sense.  Buying 12 or 50 yards of something at a sewing suppler can be the roughly the same price as buying 2 of those 3 yard cardboard backed packs and then you have the extra for future use.  It can even be worth is to pay a little more for a large amount of something you know you use a lot.

This box arrived last night, a spool of 3/4" elastic, one of 1/4" twill tape, 2 spools of rayon seam binding and 5 spools of thread!

I get most of my supplies from WAWAK.  I used to use Atlanta Thread Co, but WAWAK bought them a couple years ago, plus Wawak is fun to say.  You can buy really large things from them like 144 yard rolls of elastics and tape, down to the small packages of snaps and bias tape you would find at your neighborhood fabric store, but discounted.

36 yards of 1/4" cotton twill tape for $3.95 which = 11 cents a yard.

$2.95 for 12 yards of 1/4" wide elastic = $.25 per yard ... If you buy 36 yards, it comes to 22 cents a yard or 16.5 cents a yard if you buy 144 yards.

Needles are cheaper, too. But even better is the huge selection you can find at an on line store.

Here are some supplies I've been living off of for a while.

I realize not everyone needs as much as I do, but consider buying smaller reels of things.  This is a way to keep down the price of sewing for yourself.

A roll of 1/4" elastic and 1/4" double fold bias, both were 144 yards when I got them.

This is a roll of cording good for home decor mostly. I bought it about 25 years ago. It's almost gone, but believe me, it was cheaper to buy this formerly huge roll than buy just the yardage I needed at the time.

This is all that's left of a gross of skirt hooks and eyes I bought 8 years ago. I need to replenish. It is so great to just be able to reach into a box when I need one.

Here is my baggy of steel corset boning.  It is so much cheaper to buy a dozen of any one size than single pieces.  I just label and store my extras for the next time.  Or, you may even think about going in with a friend or two to get the bulk price.

This is where I buy corset supplies ... Corset Making Suppies.com, but if you just search for corset making supplies there are many others. Farthingales is very good, too.  They have a lot of corset making knowledge available, if you are new to corset making.

I am ever in search of a bargain ... well trained by my mother!

But, I have had to un-learn a little of that training, because sometimes it doesn't make sense to buy things in bulk as any of us who have shopped at Costco or Sam's Club knows.  But, with some careful thinking we can save a lot of money.


HAPPY SHOPPING