Bulk Sewing

My entire family recently got the flu :(. Not fun. I’d had the flu shot so it wasn’t debilitating, just annoying. During our quarantine this nesting mama went a little nuts. I sewed everything and I’m out of things to embroider. If you find yourself in this situation or just want to prepare for the summer, here are some tips for sewing en masse.

1.Choose your pattern wisely. Pick something that does not have smocking. The fewer pieces the pattern has, the better. A few options I’ve had success with are the Children’s Corner Patterns Johnny, Creations by Michie Jumper, and the Children’s Corner Patterns Robert.

2. Choose similar fabrics. This way you will not have to make adjustments for some that you don’t have to for others. Try to choose fabrics with patterns that all “run” the same way. I love fabric finders cottons-they’re all 60 in wide and they have great body. This is my go-to fabric.

3. Choose 1-3 things to change about each garment. In the image below I added tabs to one, did different embroidery on the others, and did covered buttons on three. By not changing a lot, I was able to keep it all straight.

4. Do the same step for each garment at the same time. Think of yourself as an assembly line. Cut out each one, sew the first seam on each one, embroider each one, etc.

5. Cut out each one individually. This was a tip I often ignored…and paid for. Just do it. It makes each one so much cleaner and (surprisingly) keeps them all more uniform.

Do you have any tips on sewing in bulk? Anything that has worked well, or not worked well? Let me know on instagram or facebook! I’d love to add to the discussion.