Help me price this!!

[claytonclan]

I was asked by a lady at work to make her mom a blanket for Mothers Day and she would pay me...I don't know what to charge her! I have spent $100 just on material, and then there is my two weeks time that I put in...how would I price it?

[samijofitz]

Normally I triple the cost of materials - however I can't imagine anyone paying $300 for an afghan...I would recommend discussing price with the person who asked for it, and seeing what she had in mind to pay.

[chrissyf]

When I designed ring beareer pillows in cross stitch for weddings. I charged $50 plus materials. They usually took me a month to design and stitch. I ddi design by hand on graph paper with pencil so actual stitching took about 3 weeks

[Crocus58]

If you spent $100 on material, then it's got to be a very good quality blanket. Did she have an idea of the cost of material? Don't underprice yourself. If it's a decent size and more than just double crochet, by all means triple the cost. I've been paid $250 for a double bed size afghan made from Caron pounders! Hand made items can get good prices, just don't be afraid to value your work.

 

Of course, you know your audience better than I do. . . . . .

[claytonclan]

It's a twin size foot pocket blanket, made with three strands of yarn through out...very soft, good yarn. I have never sold any of my stuff, this is new to me!

[sfgwife]

always always always talk about money BEFORE you do something like this please. Unless the lady who asked you to do this knows and understands about what all goes into a blanket or anything craft related in general she will not understand why it took you what it did to just make the blanket much less add in there labor. Ok that said................. I would say no less that 200.00. No it is not necessarily what you want to get out of it but I would start at a higher price then if she balks about the price then explain that since you didn't discuss pricing before hand you could shimmy a tiny amount or something like that.

 

A year ago I made a thread christening set (dress, bonnet, booties, new test cover, bottle cover, pop holder) and blanket, and pillowcase doll. My mother took it to work and showed everyone and this lady wanted the whole set. Well Ma calls me and says howmuch for a set like this. Uh 400. So lady says that is insane. Then she only wants the doll and I say ok 150. Well lady says that is insane too. The doll was embriodered, sewn, and crocheted uh excuse me? In the end I tell Ma to ask the totally ignorant lady what she "wanted" to pay for it being the doll and she says 50 is too much but I will go that high. Uh yeah whatever go make it yourself lady.................so people that don't do this for a hobby or living don't understand what all goes into a project and DO NOT cheat yourself.

[Vickietoria]

Well, I'd say at LEAST $150, but probably $200 is a fair price. I've been trying to sell afghans online, and I haven't sold one yet! I don't charge a whole lot, because the yarn is inexpensive acrylic, but it does take some time to make one. I don't think that people realize what goes into the work.

 

One other thing to point out, is that you shouldn't charge just for the time it took to make that one blanket. The person who is buying this, should think about how long it would take her from RIGHT NOW to make that same type thing. How long it would take her to learn to crochet, figure out and read a pattern (or even make one up) and make the finished afghan as beautifully as you have made it. It's definately something to think about.

 

Good luck, and I'd love to see a picture!

Victoria

[Miss Crochet]

Everything already said is absolutely true: non-crafters don't understand the WORK that goes into a project and, for this lady, her only blanket price reference could be a made-in-Indonesia, mass-produced woollen blanket. And we crochet for fun, right? So this lady might figure she's doing you a favour by giving you a project to crochet (just echoing some of the stuff I've heard over the years...)

 

In short, $200 - $300 sounds like a fair price, but I would begin by saying, "Well the materials alone cost $100..." so she appreciates the costing. Be prepared to take a hit on this one though - you might have to make a loss on the time invested, but next time you do it, you'll be wiser. When I do stuff like this (and I don't do it to make a profit, thankfully I'm in a position where I can do it for pleasure), I try to get the person I'm making it for to come with me to the craft store to pick out the materials. We agree beforehand that they'll pay for the yarn (so they appreciate how much it actually costs - and yes, I make them buy extra just in case) and then charge a nominal fee for my work. As I said, I mostly do it for friends and acquaintances, so I'm not a professional, but it does make people appreciate how expensive yarn is and how much of it goes into a project!

[Monica Kennedy]

When doing for friends in the past, I have said 3x the cost of the materials, unless it was particularly complicated. I agree with all of the above, and just know you will never truly get the value of your piece for crocheting.

[RoseRed]

At the same time realize that it's a 3 strand (probably Q hook) twin size ghan. You're not making it with an I hook.

 

I would say at least $75 in labor plus materials. What yarn are you using?