I've been sewing a long time and reading sewing blogs since I learned there was even such a thing. Which means a LONG time ago. When it comes to blogging, my blog hasn't even hit a year yet. But now that I'm on the other side of blogging, I've come to some very interesting realizations. Those realizations can be summed up with only a few words.

Sewing bloggers work hard to provide valuable content. Bloggers are SERIOUSLY under appreciated and underpaid. That's it.

But there wouldn't be much of a blog post if I left it at that. And what does that have to do with you reading sewing blogs?

From posting across facebook and numerous facebook groups, I've heard more than once, "I don't click on sewing blogs. They're a waste of my time." Or worse, "I don't click on blog links because I don't think bloggers should make money for what they do." Or, "Bloggers shouldn't accept sponsors." WHAT?!

I think there's a HUGE misconception about the "pay" that bloggers receive. So I want to break it down for you.


Last month, Sewing by Ti received over 12,343 page views.

My google adsense pay was $6.91.

For that $6.91 I had 26 blog posts.

Each blog post requires:
-at least 1 1/2 hours of assembling patterns and sewing time
-2 hours of typing up the content, taking and editing photos.
-1 hour cross posting my content on facebook, linking my blog on relevent facebook posts and looking for more content for my blog
-1 hour of answering blog post comments, and communicating with designers and fabric sponsors
That is 5 1/2 hours PER blog post or 143 hours per month. Of course some projects require more time, and others less but this is a pretty good average of what I spend. Projects that involve fitting for myself may take 9+ hours to get the fit right. But I'm willing to be conservative here. In the state of New Jersey, minimum wage is $8.38. So in theory, my pay could be $1205.49

Let's talk materials.
-Kids projects take a minimum of 1 yard of fabric. Adult projects bigger than a t-shirt take a minimum of 2 yards (or a LOT more). The month of March had my 40 Garments in 40 days series. Based on very conservative estimates, I used a minimum of 55 yards of fabric. Let's say that I'm a smart shopper and pay $6 a yard for fabric (that isn't right, but let's say it). That's $330 in fabric. I did have a few fabrics sponsors for the month of march, so I'm willing to take out about 12 yards of fabric.  But I did used at least 12 yards for muslins so back to $330 in fabric.
-Add in a reasonable allowance for thread, bobbins, tape, paper, sewing machine maintenance ($150/year), needles, pins, scissor sharpening, and electricity. $25.

I will NOT include the cost of my current laptop, camera or my photo editing software. Those I owned LONG before I started blogging. But I assure you, eventually I will need to upgrade. Those costs will very much at that time be an expense to my blog. Let's say I'm reasonable and only upgrade every 5 years and don't go crazy with my expenses. Let's call that $1200 over a 5 year period, or 60 months. That includes a new computer or laptop that can handle photoshop, better camera lenses, backdrops, camera lighting, plus photoshop or similar software (currently $9.99/month). Which works out to $29/month.

So all in all, blogging costs me $1205.49 (possible wages at minimum wage), $330 (fabric), $25 (misc) and $29 (electronics) or $1589.49. But let's be fair. Because most people don't consider "lost wages" an expense. So just flat out expenses, excluding my time. That's $384. For the month of March I made $6.91 from google adsense. I got ZERO dollars from my affiliate links. No one paid me for my reviews.

Please note, these numbers don't include patterns I actually paid for. Because everything I review isn't from a free pattern or testing. These numbers make my stomach hurt. :*(

So if you've gotten this far, you're probably thinking, OMG, how does she keep going? Truth is, I can't keep up at this rate forever. Yes, these expenses are things that keep my children and myself clothed. But if I was being realistic, at most, I can afford to spend about $1200 for the entire year to clothe myself and my 3 kids. That's $100/month. I'm nearly $300 over budget. So yes, I search out sponsors. Fabric sponsors and pattern sponsors. But you know what I'm really looking for, READERS!

And chances are, the other sewing blogs you read are in a similar boat to me. They're making pennies and sharing their love of sewing with you!

So how can you help?
1- Send us money. :D No? Well it was worth a shot. ;) Just let me know if you change your mind.
2- Read our blogs! Every time you read our blog, we add to our page views. Those page views make it easier to get sponsors. And don't forget to share them too!
3- Turn off your adblock software. When you block ads on our blogs, we don't get paid. That's how my page views for the month can be so high, yet my payouts are so low.
4- If we post about something you love, leave a comment! That tells us (and our prospective sponsors) that you like what you're reading. Nothing like having over 1000 views on a blog post but no comments.
5- If you hate what we posted, let us know! We can't provide relevant content if you don't tell us when you don't like what we're doing.
6- If you have an idea, let us know. Its hard work coming up with all the ideas ourselves. If you want to hear about something and you like our writing style, then PLEASE, help us out and leave us a note.
7- I wasn't going to put this last one in here at all, but I think it needs to be said. YES, we make money if you click on the ads in our blog. NO, we don't want you to randomly click them in hopes we'll make more money. BUT, if something is relevant to you and you are actually interested in it, PLEASE click. It helps google adsense know which ads are relevant to my site which gets you better ads AND it makes me a few extra pennies.

Is this post meant to get you to read my blog? Yes. But this isn't about me. its about ALL the bloggers out there. Leave your favorite bloggers some love too! In order to keep going, we all need you.