Cost of yarn over the years???

[Shellybrook]

obviously crochet has been out there for a LOOOOONG time. Since I've been doing this about a year now...I was wondering if anyone who's been doing this forever can tell me...has it always been a more expensive hobby than people think it is?

 

What was the price of yarn, say 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago etc.?

 

My dear grandmother passed away and I can't ask her, but I was wondering out of curiosity if this used to be a craft of frugality.

 

[darski]

It was definitely about frugal. I have been dl'ing patterns for hats from the 'olden days' and I remember when you did make what you could not afford to buy. Your skill and artistic talent made up for lack of pennies.

 

However, it has to be said that the choice of yarn available in the worst yarn store today far exceeds what could be gotten back then. (So, where you wanting navy or black for that hat?)

[frogsrock]

it would still be pretty frugal now if people just had a few hooks and stuck to acyrlic yarn like red heart

[pinkroses]

I can remeber getting red heart yarn and worsted yarn for 99 cents to $1.00 and the crochet thread was like a $1.00 Course that was when I was very little. My grandmother always brought some when she went to town.

That was the first places she wanted to go the 5 and dime.

My Grannie wouldn't believe the price of yarn and material

she use to love to sew and quilt and she taught me that love. She would fuss at me for paying that much for material. PINKROSES

[mudpie]

In the 70s I remember paying 50 cents for a 4 oz. skein of acrylic.

[craftconnie1]

I don't think crochet/knitting was always about cheap. often it was for uniqueness. growing up everything came out of a catalogue or from a very few stores in town ( small town few stores ) if you wanted something' nice ' you made it yourself. also homemade was often more durable everything was mended or remade and we never threw anything out!!!! My mother/grandmother spent so much time just mending socks,sweaters etc that they never had much time to make fancy. If I got a sweater, it was usually two / three sizes too big and worn only to church. I can remember woolworth's yarn and crochet cotton as being good quality but price? everything in our house had to come out of the "egg" money so it was always an issue

[Tiga]

Well, I just got the Encylopedia of Crochet, and it mentioned that crochet only really got started after the advent of cheap, machine made yarn/thread. It's ALWAYS been a thread-hog of a hobby, so I guess it's always been comparatively expensive.

 

I can tell you as a person that also sews as a hobby, it's tons cheaper than making clothes!

 

I mean, I can make a huge afghan for less than $30, with good quality yarn. If I want to use el-cheapo Red Heart WW, I can do it for less than $20, if I buy on sale or in bulk! To make a quilt that size would be in the hundreds!

[mythunderbird]

i inherited some yarn and threads from my dear great aunt who lived to be 97 years old,now you ask how much she paid? there were thread cones with 10 cents, and yarns which were in the labeled 25 cents. course they were wool and i could not use them so gave them to a friend who could. now holy cow its so expensive. thats why when you see a awesome deal, go for it, you will always find someting to do with it(yes dear i plan on making something as soon as i can figure it out what i want to make) lol