keepsel
Keepsel for Sewing

The fabric stash, priced by the yard and the hour

Keepsel is inventory and production software for sewists. Track fabric by the yard and notions by the piece, and price every pouch, quilt and garment you sell from what it truly took to make (your time too, from the Maker plan).

Start free for 30 days See how it works

Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.

Track everything that goes into a sewn piece

From raw materials to the finished piece, Keepsel keeps sewists on top of:

  • yarn by the skein
  • fabric by the yard
  • batting and stuffing
  • thread
  • notions and zippers

A sewn piece in Keepsel

Product

Quilted Zip Pouch

SKU POUCH-ZIP-01

Material

Cotton Fabric

tracked in yd · Fabric

Supplier

Fiber & Yarn Supply

Variations, from Maker

Size, Fabric

A day in Keepsel, for sewists

  1. Bolt the stash into stock

    Each fabric by the yard with its real price; zippers, elastic and interfacing by the piece.

  2. Recipe each make

    Cut yardage, lining and notions, plus your minutes at the machine from the Maker plan: the true cost of a pouch, quilted and counted.

  3. Sew a batch, log the makes

    From the Maker plan, a work order for six pouches draws down fabric and zippers, and six finished pieces join the sellable count (work orders up to 10 a month on Maker as a trial and 100 on Team, unlimited on Business and Enterprise).

  4. See which makes pay

    From the Maker plan, with your sales recorded, ask Suli which makes earn the most, so you know what deserves table space at the next market. The free pricing calculator shows your real hourly earnings on any one of them.

Built around how sewists actually work

  1. A stash is money in fabric form

    Yards across bins and bolts add up to serious spend. Counting the stash by yardage and price shows what you're sitting on, and what that 'sale' cut actually cost per project.

  2. Pattern layout decides your real yardage

    A pouch that 'uses' 0.4 yards consumes more once pieces are cut around grain and print direction. Recipe the cut yardage, not the pattern's promise, and margins stop leaking at the cutting table.

  3. Notions nickel-and-dime the price

    Zippers, interfacing, elastic, snaps, labels: each small, together significant. A full bill of materials means the $4 of notions in a $30 pouch is priced in, not absorbed.

  4. Sewing time is skilled labor

    Forty-five minutes at the machine is the biggest line in most handmade sewing. From the Maker plan, add your time to each product and it counts in the true cost, at a rate that respects the skill.

Worked example

Quilted Zip Pouch, costed line by line

This is the math Keepsel does for every product you make: every line from its recipe, updated whenever a material's price changes. Your time counts from the Maker plan.

Materials are under a third of this pouch's cost: the rest is the sewing, and pricing that skips it works for free.

Quilted Zip Pouch

Cotton fabric, outer (0.4 yd cut)
$2.40
Lining + batting
$1.15
Zipper + pull
$0.65
Interfacing + thread
$0.25
Brand label
$0.20
Your time (0.75 hr @ $15/hr)
$11.25
True cost
$15.90
Suggested price
$32.00
Margin
50%

Questions sewists ask

How do I price handmade sewn items?

Cost the cut yardage, lining, notions and labels, add your sewing time at a rate you'd accept from an employer, then margin. Sewn goods priced on materials alone almost always underpay: the machine hours are the product. From the Maker plan, Keepsel counts that time in each product's cost.

How do I track my fabric stash as business inventory?

Each fabric is a material tracked in yards at what you paid, with the yardage you have on hand. Keep the count current and the 'do I already own this print?' question has an answer from your phone at the fabric store.

How much fabric does a project really use?

More than the pattern's minimum once grain, direction and mistakes have their say. Build a realistic cut allowance into each recipe; your counted yardage matching what you expected is how you'll know it's right.

Can Keepsel handle custom and commissioned sewing?

Yes. A commission starts as a recipe (fabric and notions, and from the Maker plan your hours), so the quote is grounded before you cut. Customer-supplied fabric jobs simply skip the fabric line and price the labor honestly.

Is it worth tracking small notions like thread and interfacing?

As a per-project allowance, yes. You don't need to count meters of thread: a realistic 25–50¢ notions line per make keeps a year of small costs from vanishing into the machine.

Keepsel for other crafts

ApparelT-ShirtsEmbroideryCrochetSee all crafts →

Guides for sewists

All guides

How to Price Sewn Items (The Cutting Table Doesn't Lie)

Pattern yardage is a promise; cut yardage is a cost. Price sewn work from what the cutting table takes and the machine hours you put in.

How to Value Your Inventory (for Taxes and Insurance)

The stock on your shelves is worth real money, a number that matters for taxes, insurance, and knowing what your business is worth. Here's how to figure it.

Are You Paying Yourself? How to Cost Your Time as a Maker

The most expensive ingredient in anything handmade is your time, and it's the one most makers forget to count. Here's how to put a real number on it.

How to Manage Made-to-Order and Custom Inventory

Made-to-order frees you from holding finished stock, but custom work has its own inventory trap. Here's how to keep materials ready and orders on track.

Run your sewing business like a business

Know your true cost and margin and keep every material counted. Or try the free pricing calculator first.

Start free for 30 days See how it works

Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.