Craft Fairs...What did you see a lot of or none?

[yarnhookncandle]

I went to a huge craft sale this past weekend, it was at a Catholic Church and spread out in the cafeteria, halls and gymnasium of the school, largest one I've ever been to. What I saw as far as crochet was lots of towel toppers, hats and scarves, baby afghans and a few adult afghans, small purses more for little girls, ornaments. Same thing at the craft fair I went to the weekend before. What surprised me was everyone had the round flat crocheted scrubbies made with the netting.

 

What I didn't see at all were gloves mittens or wrist warmers, only one lady had dishcloths, no potholders, no tawashi pouf type things in fact nothing for the bath, no walker totes (sewn but not crochet) absolutely not one amigurumi which I think kids would love. I saw one shawl. Oh...no bookmarks, doilies or coasters, cup holders, scrunchies or headbands. One lady had crocheted angel earrings that were beautiful.

 

I didn't see any crocheted doll clothes but the person I saw selling like crazy was a lady who had sewn American Girl doll clothes, people were buying four and five outfits at a time. I know there are lots of patterns available to crochet those.

 

I would be interested in hearing your comments if you've gone to craft fairs recently, what did you see a lot of or none of as far as crochet. I think it would help those of us who sometimes do a craft show so we get an idea on whatto make.

[Momcrochets]

The last fair I went to was smaller than the one you were at But almost every "yarn" booth had hats/mittens/glovesscarves...also very common were dishcloths and towel toppers. I think, if I were to sell at this particular fair, I'd actually veer away from the scarf and hat thing...too much already, and then you have to undercut your prices to sell anything. Also there were fabric and fleece mittens/hats/scarves. (northern state, what can I say?)

HTH

[CLLinda]

I went to one on Saturday at the church. I did see baby hats, scarves, adult and kid hats, baby clothes, booties (knitted) afghans, towel toppers, washcloths (knitted) and other things. Not many ornaments or anything for the approaching Holiday season.

 

I did see a beautiful crocheted afghan on the silent auction table and the last bid I saw was $50. It was mostly white, with stripes of yellow, green and red. Very pretty.

 

[macfoo]

Attended a small fair and there was only one lady selling anything yarn wise. A few shawls, a few small lapghans and that was it. No bath/kitchen stuff or winter items.

[milkyway]

I went to one in July, most of the crafts were jewelry and quilts. There were a lot of woodwork also. One booth had hand painted braided rugs, I got one with a lighthouse on one side and a harbor scene on the other.

It was a country theme for most of the items. My sister in law has been going for about 24 years, it has dwindled in size from 4 conference rooms to 2

[crochetluvknot]

we just went to a craft fair this weekend and it had about the same afghans washcloths towel topper and such but only 1 table that had scarves on it. lots of hand made stuff like wreaths and painted things and jewelry

[yarnhookncandle]

Thanks everyone for the input. I want to do a craft show or two before Christmas and after I went to a few it gave me ideas on what not to make because every crochet table had it and also ideas on what I didn't see. I still think a basket full of cute little amigurumi's would be a good idea to try.

 

As for crafts other than crochet, I always see many tables of jewelry but it is always priced expensive. Lots of sewing (purses and totes especially) candles are big and many tables of Christmas decoration type things. Oh I did notice quite a few tables of paper type crafts which I didn't see any of at shows I went to last year. Cards, tags etc.

[CroJulee]

Okay, I'm probably the only one who thinks this but I think that hats are always a good thing to have. I'd make them a little more special though. Something that will stand out.

 

I sold at craft fairs quite a bit when I was a little younger (17-19) and hats always sold well for me even when bunches of other people were selling the same product (I put a little better quality control into my hats though. more professional).I think the important thing was that I already had a following though (at a young age that was pretty exciting). People liked my hats. They fit good. They looked good. There was really alot of customers that came to my table thanks to other happy customers. Add the fact that my prices were decent and I'm a pretty out going person especially when I'm selling stuff.

 

But yeah, even with all the other competition I always made over $100 dollars and sometimes even around $200-$250 at most craft shows even with other crocheters selling things. Now, in the economy things are a little different but if you offer a good product that's gonna last a long time with a decent price and you really make it one of a kind (without putting to much money into it) you could really do well.

 

Anywho, done with the rambling. Tonights one of those nights when I could go on and on and on!!

 

Take Care and Good Luck!!

 

Julee

[Feederofthepack]

Mine was a combo craft fair/flea market. The yarn crafters had lots of towel toppers, wash cloths, some afghans and baby blankets, a few hats. They were very under priced! Some must have been donated for charity because you cuoldn't have bought the yarn for what they were charging. I had to mark down everything as soon as we got there. ( DH tends to over price everything.) I only sold a couple of scarves and hats that were unique-very unusual looking. I didn't even sell the school colors stuff and the fair was at the high school!

[ReniC]

I too went to a small craft show this past Saturday and it is a little different here. LOTS of dishcloths and scrubbies w/ netting center, a few potholders, towel toppers and some baby stuff but it was mostly sewn. Most potholders were sewn also.

 

A young lady was selling the cutest tulle tu-tu's (sp) for little girls that she readily explained how to make. She had a crochet baby hat/beanie on her table that she did not crochet. Got to chatting and I explained how easy it would be to make (sc and dc). She got all pumped up and knows a lady at her church that will surely teach her to crochet!

I expect to see her again next year with several crochet items offered. Yeah! Another newbie getting hooked!

There were a lot of items from south of the border in a huge booth but nothing was being bought. A few other jewelry booths, mostly turquoise and silver and a couple of blown glass jewelry booths.

No hats and scarves here as in the high desert our winter is very short. Light weight items of such would have sold very easily with Christmas coming up.

Even though this was a small show, it's a big thing in a small town.

[papersmiles]

Last weekend I went to a local craft show put on by a Christian Church organization. It was nicely done and had a TON of crochet items which is a first for my small town. Usually there are mostly ceramics, fabric crafts, stamped cards and food items. This year I saw a great many scarves, scrubbies crocheted from nylon netting, afghans and a few clothing items. I was rather disappointed there were very few small items like scrunchies, dishcloths, glass and cup cozies, purses, totes and fingerless gloves. Most items were larger but very cheaply priced.

[yarnhookncandle]

CroJulee...I think you are right about the hats and scarves. You may see a lot but they sell well.

 

I feel bad saying it because I don't like to put down other crocheter's work but what I see doesn't always look the best. To me anyway it looks like a lot of people use yarn that is old and fuzzy on their crocheted items. I don't know how to explain it except to say the yarn looks like it has been washed a few times and the item is sort of worn out. I've seen it with baby afghans and everything.

 

I'm thinking of sewing a few of the hook pouches and trying that. I haven't seen any of those at shows.

 

I also want to do some fingerless gloves and wristlets, very popular right now but I'm kind of scared. LOL I've never made them before. They look kind of difficult to make but I'm gonna give it a try.

[CroJulee]

CroJulee...I think you are right about the hats and scarves. You may see a lot but they sell well.

 

I feel bad saying it because I don't like to put down other crocheter's work but what I see doesn't always look the best. To me anyway it looks like a lot of people use yarn that is old and fuzzy on their crocheted items. I don't know how to explain it except to say the yarn looks like it has been washed a few times and the item is sort of worn out. I've seen it with baby afghans and everything.

 

I'm thinking of sewing a few of the hook pouches and trying that. I haven't seen any of those at shows.

 

I also want to do some fingerless gloves and wristlets, very popular right now but I'm kind of scared. LOL I've never made them before. They look kind of difficult to make but I'm gonna give it a try.

 

 

I noticed a lack of quality also. I know that's one of the reasons why my items sold well. If something I made didn't look like it just came brand new out of a package then I wouldn't sell it OR I would clean it up as best possible (pretty easy to make it look nice) and sell it for a discounted price, save it for a gift or donate it to something. My idea of barely sellable though was still better than what most people thought was completely sellable. I think that's something us crocheters need to teach when we show someone how to crochet. We need to teach our students about how to make a nice product. Not just for sale but for gifts and for themselves. Just my opinion though.

 

Here's a pattern for some wrist warmers if you'd like to try them. They're pretty easy and pretty popular on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elegant-wrist-warmers

 

It's my own pattern so I give you (and others) the permission to sell the finished product at any craft fairs you go to if you end up trying them and liking them. Wrist warmers are really fun. I like to knit mine up. If I could knit them in a more efficient manner I'd sell them but it just wouldn't be worth it time wise.

 

 

Julee

[carovan]

 

Here's a pattern for some wrist warmers if you'd like to try them. They're pretty easy and pretty popular on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elegant-wrist-warmers

 

It's my own pattern so I give you (and others) the permission to sell the finished product at any craft fairs you go to if you end up trying them and liking them. Wrist warmers are really fun. I like to knit mine up. If I could knit them in a more efficient manner I'd sell them but it just wouldn't be worth it time wise.

 

 

Julee

 

And if you market them as "texting gloves" you may get the teenage population to buy them.

[autumn_nights84]

I really only see crocheted baby items at craft fairs, mostly sweater, hat and bootie sets and the occasional baby blanket. I very rarely see anything else, and if I do it is usually a granny square blanket, those little topper things that you put on lollipops or snowflakes. That is it. I am actually thinking about doing a craft fair or two next year since there are a few schools close to me that have them every November

[yarnhookncandle]

Here's a pattern for some wrist warmers if you'd like to try them. They're pretty easy and pretty popular on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elegant-wrist-warmers

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the link to your pattern for the wrist warmers, I'm going to give them a try and make a pair for my daughter. I should have thanked you sooner but it has been one crazy week and this is the first chance I've had to login.

[natashaann]

I agree, areas of the country make a difference as to what sells well. Obviously, up here in Northern IN we can sell hats, mittens, & gloves that would not sell in the more southern states.

The last craft fair I did, I saw lots of dish/wash cloths, scrubbies, blankets, etc. I did notice more useful items sold better than the "pretty" things. That is probably a sign of the economy.

[alp1]

Did anyone go to any craft fairs this past weekend? If you did what did you see? I went to a small one that had only paper crafts and jewelry, no crocheted items. Not very interesting.

[Roli]

Okay, this weekend is the big weekend for all the church Christmas Bazaars in my town. What I never see and what I would buy several of is the swiffer covers. They only take a little time and yarn and every homeowner can use several of them. I don't like to make them myself because I enjoy spending time making garments.