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Step-by-step guide

Sewing alterations and clothing repairs from home: from your first hem to a steady flow of jobs

Hem, take in, replace zips and mend clothes and curtains from home. This guide covers published 2026 alteration prices from four South African businesses, what a beginner machine costs, a price list template, a job book, scripts and a 14-day plan to your first paid jobs.

  • 25 lessons
  • 5 modules
  • about 2 hours in total

Is this guide for you?

Good fit if

  • You can sew neatly by machine and by hand, or you are ready to practise.
  • You have a sewing machine, or can save for one.
  • You like steady, careful work and a fixed place where people can drop off and collect.

Think twice if

  • You do not have, and cannot get, a working sewing machine.
  • You find it hard to say no to rush jobs or to tell customers about risks with delicate fabric.

Honest expectations

  • First jobs usually come from neighbours, family and school parents within the first week or two.
  • Published 2026 prices for shortening trousers run from about R50 to R115, and a trouser zip from about R75 to R120.
  • Income builds through repeat customers and seasonal peaks such as school uniforms in January.

What is inside

  1. Module 1

    Is this right for you?

    What it involves, who pays, and honest expectations.

    1. How home alterations and repairs workFree · 5 min
    2. Honest expectations4 min (in the full guide)
  2. Module 2

    Set up and price

    What you need and what to charge.

    1. Your startup kit, costs and skills5 min (in the full guide)
    2. Set up step by step: ready for your first job5 min (in the full guide)
    3. Pricing and getting paid: real 2026 prices5 min (in the full guide)
    4. Your numbers: a worked example in rands5 min (in the full guide)
  3. Module 3

    Your first week

    The first steps, in order.

    1. Your first week, step by step6 min (in the full guide)
    2. Week one, step 2: Write your price list using local shop prices as a guide3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Week one, step 3: Do one free hem for a friend and photograph the before and after3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Finding your first customers: where to look5 min (in the full guide)
    5. Your 14-day first-jobs playbook6 min (in the full guide)
    6. Messages to copy: your first customers5 min (in the full guide)
  4. Module 4

    Your first month

    A routine that brings in customers.

    1. Your first 30 days: build a routine4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Month one, task 1: Set regular times for drop-offs and collections3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Month one, task 2: Ask a laundromat or dry cleaner to refer customers3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Month one, task 3: Keep a job book3 min (in the full guide)
    5. Common mistakes in home alterations4 min (in the full guide)
  5. Module 5

    Months two and three

    Repeat what works, grow and stay safe.

    1. Days 31 to 90: repeat what works and grow4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Months two and three, task 1: Run a school uniform season offer in January3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Months two and three, task 2: Decide whether an overlocker would pay for itself3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Months two and three, task 3: Raise prices on jobs that take longer than you thought3 min (in the full guide)
    5. Free courses to fill your skill gaps4 min (in the full guide)
    6. Getting paid safely and spotting scams4 min (in the full guide)
    7. Tax: what to put aside, with worked examples6 min (in the full guide)
    8. Risks, rules, tax and staying safe5 min (in the full guide)

What it costs to start

ItemCostNote
Mechanical sewing machine (if you do not have one) (optional)R3 000 to R4 500Sew & Grow says a good mechanical machine in South Africa usually costs about R3,000 to R4,500.
Thread, needles, pins, tape measure, chalk, seam ripper, scissorsR0Price a basic kit at a local fabric or haberdashery shop.

Try it before you buy

Lesson one is free. If it helps, the whole guide is R149 once-off.

Start the free lesson

Reviewed 26 October 2026 by the Earn Path team. Next review due 26 April 2027.