Replies

1. 
   starzoe | Oct 26, 2008 12:34am | #1

   Are you planning to design your own patterns? You do know that you cannot sell hats made from sewing patterns that are under copyright and virtually all of them are?

   Have you done some market research to find out if there is a market for your product? Have you fully investigated all the important implications? Do you know if you need a business license? Have you investigated wholesale resources, tax implications, zoning, time involved and if there is a profit to be made doing this?

   Sorry if I sound negative, but setting up any sort of business where you do work for others involves a lot of planning. The odds against making any sort of decent profit are small. Yes, some small business setups are successful and fulfilling, mainly because a lot of thought had gone into the project right from the beginning.

1. 
   mucci | Oct 26, 2008 03:36am | #2

   Thank you, this kind of information is what Iam looking for, and I wasn't sure

   about using the patterns, so thats helps to.  I will do some research by going to

   the library and checking on-line.

   Thanks you

   Shirley

    

    

2. 
   Teaf5 | Oct 26, 2008 04:12am | #3

   Starzoe's advice is great.  Another caution is that the economy affects tiny businesses just as it does great ones. 

   While celebrities may drop a few hundred dollars on a famous designer hat for their children, more and more people would consider even a five-dollar hat for a child to be a luxury nowadays. 

   If the process brings you satisfaction and you find that you can sell some of your work, it's definitely worth a try--just watch the initial outlay for materials and supplies.

1. 
   mucci | Oct 26, 2008 06:12pm | #4

   Teaf5: Thank You, so true.

   Shirley

3. 
   ShineOn | Oct 26, 2008 08:59pm | #5

   Hello

   I used to make sun hats for my 4 daughters when they were younger, it was a lot of fun. small project, short time to make, and you can have so much fun with great fabric prints and trims. I often had requests from strangers to make/sell them. While I only made a few for friends, there was definitely a demand for them. So do some research to find the market and price range to focus on. The investment in fabric is usually quite small for each hat. I always made my own patterns and you can too, just play around and have fun. Good luck.