” A friend who saw them asked if I would make a couple of pairs for her niece’s son and I agreed to do that.”
As a long-time seamstress my advice is to NEVER agree to do someone else’s work for free because the word spreads rapidly and you’ll find yourself being expected to sew for MANY other people. I’ve been asked to do the most outrageous sewing for people who can well afford to BUY beautiful clothes for themselves and pay the store for the hem shortening.
Just one example of many: A neighbor who saw a woolen dress I had just completed except for the hem wanted me to loan her my brand new dress to wear to a party the next night. She was 4 inches shorten than I am, and I explained that I would never be able to remove the crease mark in the woolen material if I shortened it for her. (Not to mention that she was a sloppy eater). She said I was selfish!
Find some polite excuse to refuse.
I limited myself to sewing hems for my mother’s new clothes. I hate sewing hems but I did it with love for my Mother.
I actually told her I would charge her the cost of the fabric plus a small amount per pair. I appreciate your advice, I can see how freebies would turn into a nightmare.
Our high school had a seamstress completely abandon a full production project. She’d (the seamstress) left over 50 outfits incomplete.
Several sewing moms chipped in and (somehow) got all of the costumes sewn. I had to completely rip apart and resize several costumes. I hadn’t sewn since toddler Halloween costume days!
They managed to recruit me for a couple of the fall show costumes. That’s when I said...”that’s it!”. I sewed two 1920’s dresses and said, “No more!”