Can you make me one of those? I'll pay!

[Feederofthepack]

Well I guess I've reached a crochet milestone. Friends seeing my work and asking to buy it. Now I'm between an advanced beginner and intermediate so I make simple things. A teacher I gave a scarf to last christmas asked me for another to buy. I took DD to school this morning wearing her Mohawk hat and every one went nuts for it. I always have trouble pricing stuff I make because it's my hobby. I don't want to go into business. I'm too slow!

[Nikka_hotpinkpixy]

i've done the same thing. people are asking to buy stuff from me, and i'm not even very good! usually what i do if they insist, i go and i take a look at stuff on ebay and such. i decided that in order to be competitive i'd charge less than those other people. that way if i do want to sell things, they'll want to come back to me because i sold them a good product and at a reasonable price.

[bigfunfam]

LOL, people have asked me for things I make too. Even strangers when I'm out doing errands, lol. I don't have time to make things to sell with 7 children and homeschooling So, it always makes me uncomfortable when someone asks me to make them something to buy.

[Lisaizme]

If I'm asked to make something and I really don't want to do it.. I make the price high.. then they usually decide that they don't want the thing after all.

 

The one time I actually sat down and figured my costs and my time.. even placing my time at below minimum wage.. and told someone the realistic price.. it was more than they wanted to pay.

[magiccrochetfan]

I always have trouble pricing stuff I make because it's my hobby. I don't want to go into business. I'm too slow!

 

"Just say NO!":lol:lol

[SlowCrocheter]

I have tried once to make something that someone bought. I did not enjoy making it at all and well not ever do that again.

[Wiste]

I make a pretty high hourly rate so it's not really worth it to me to make items to sell. I'd rather spend what free time I have making things I enjoy. I also like being able to go at my own pace so having someone who is waiting for me to complete a project makes it less fun to work on. I have enough deadlines at work. I don't want them at home too.

[chichiwawa]

This happened to me recently. I gave a gift to my best friends 1 yo dd. A guest at the party loved it and asked me if I could make one for her. I said that I had a hard time doing that because I never know what to charge. She then offered me twice the price that I had been thinking of in my head, so I said yes. But I noticed that it felt more like work while I was making it rather than the "fun" that I usually have.

[Selune]

Well, it's great that they are at least willing to pay for it. Everyone I know expects me to whip them up a scarf for free.

 

It's great to have your work appreciated, though.

[smuchez1317]

Well, it's great that they are at least willing to pay for it. Everyone I know expects me to whip them up a scarf for free.

 

It's great to have your work appreciated, though.

 

Totally know what you mean. They seem to think that yarn is free. My sister in laws boyfriend asked for me to make him a hat and I agreed. He obviously had no intention of even offering to pay for the yarn. I told him that I'll make people that I know only one thing for free that they request and he had the gall to say that he'll only ever want one thing! Let's see what happens when his hat gets worn out. I'll have the last laugh yet!

[angelsmith52]

I have made things that people requested but it is usually things that they have seen that I made and it is something I enjoy making. I probably underprice my things but the way I figure is if I am going to make something anyway and I don't have another project I want or need to work on, I might as well get paid to do it!

 

I guess it all depends on the other projects that you need to do. I will also make stuff for family or friends, if they buy the yarn, for free

[Miss Crochet]

T I told him that I'll make people that I know only one thing for free that they request and he had the gall to say that he'll only ever want one thing! Let's see what happens when his hat gets worn out. I'll have the last laugh yet!

 

Oy! Cheeky guy!

[KHamblin38]

I know what you mean. The Chinese make things fast and cheap. We can't compete. Handmade items are beautiful. I have asked friends to make things and they laugh. You must do it yourself. It takes three months for an afghan. What is that, $15,000? LOL. They won't pay that.

[CrochetinMama]

That's a COMPLIMENT in itself..Making something so someone else wants to buy it..GOOD FOR YOU...And I also know about crocheting for hobby and not profit..But I have to tell you I made my daughter's water bottle holders and kids at school wanted one..So now before the season gets here I'm gonna make some so it doesn't get soooo tedious...Take care...

[cgd]

I don't sell things, but in some cases I make them for Christmas and birthday gifts in lieu of buying something. I usually only do this for ones who have requested a certain item, such as placemats or an afghan. I wouldn't enjoy doing this for money on top of my day job.

[~Elise~]

I had 2 people at work ask me to make them a scarf...I told 'em $15 and they didn't blink an eye...I can whip one of those out in an evening or two. I'm down with it.

 

Elise

[yarnkitty]

Well, it's great that they are at least willing to pay for it. Everyone I know expects me to whip them up a scarf for free.

 

It's great to have your work appreciated, though.

 

I dont think people realize the amount of work it really is. People are more familiar with knitting and there are knitting machines so stores sell items priced at that rate. while there isnt a crochet machine so all crochet items you see are hand made.

[RusticOkie]

Its a great compliment that people want to buy something you've made but I understand about not wanting to add another task to your to do list.

 

I have to be very careful when I agree to make something for someone because I often find myself wanting to work on anything but that particular item. lol

[rascalsmom]

I made each of my daughters an earflap hat (free pattern from Lion Brand) and they have BOTH had friends says they wanted one, too.....however nobody offered to 1) buy the yarn or 2) pay for it!

 

Yeah, like I'm going to make them FOR FREE. That particular hat was made with four strands of Microspun held together, so it wasn't a cheap hat to make, and using an S hook, which was awkward. No thanks, although I do appreciate that my work was admired!

[crochetbycharlene]

I have given my son's 2 friends free hats. I had the yarn n hand, so not a problem. I do sell to other poeple and yes I overprice it is I really do not want to make it lol. You often do not hear from that person again!

[Alaina]

I always have trouble pricing stuff I make because it's my hobby. I don't want to go into business. I'm too slow!

 

The best way to handle the demand is to say, I really only crochet as a hobby, but I sometimes make things I can't use. When I have those things available, I'll let you know. And then work on creating a stash of easy-sell items (scarves, hats, baby blankets).

 

Price them to at LEAST get your yarn $$ back (1.5 to 2 times the price of the yarn) and compensate you for your time. I use these various methods to price my work for time:

 

1. Count the # of stitches, then a penny or nickel per stitch (depending on what seems reasonable), this works well for rounded items like hats, mittens, etc.

 

2. For blankets or scarves (things that are square/rectangular and easy to measure), do a penny or nickel per square inch (ie: a 30x30inch baby blanket would be $45 if you charged a nickel per square inch, or a 64x5 scarf would be $16 at the same rate)

 

Methods 1 or 2 give you a more reasonable figure than trying to determine how much per hour (especially if you're a slow crocheter).

 

So you double (or take 1.5 times) the price of your yarn and then add the figure from Method 1 or 2 above then that's your price.

 

If that seems reasonable to you, charge that. Don't be afraid to ask for it. You would be surprised at what people are willing to pay. Unfortunately, you will also be appalled at what people AREN'T willing to pay for your creative handwork, but you don't want to sell to those people anyway!

 

But the key here is to NOT ever get into the process of crocheting for pay based on customer ORDERS. It becomes WORK and loses the FUN almost immediately!

 

Commit to creating 1-2 crochet items per week (or more if you're faster or the projects are small) and at the end of the month, decide what you wish to sell and price accordingly. People will be eager to see what you created that month (with no pressure on you to fulfill promises or orders) and you will make some cash to purchase your yarn and feed your habit for the next month!

 

Just have fun with it and take the pressure off yourself!

 

Alaina

[Alaina]

I know what you mean. The Chinese make things fast and cheap. We can't compete. Handmade items are beautiful. I have asked friends to make things and they laugh. You must do it yourself. It takes three months for an afghan. What is that, $15,000? LOL. They won't pay that.

 

You could never price an afghan based on a per hour fee! It would be exorbitant even for the most accomplished crocheter!

 

Afghans are generally sized to fit over a bed. Based on these sizes and charging a nickel per square-inch, you would have a base price (not including getting your money back for the yarn) of:

 

Crib ~ 30 x 30 inches ~ $45

Twin--39 x 75 inches ~ $146.25

X-Long Twin--39 x 80 inches $156.00

Full--54 x 75 inches ~ $202.50

Queen--60 x 80 inches ~ $240.00

King--76 x 80 inches ~ $304.00

California King--72 x 84 inches ~ $302.40

 

Now, if the project is done with a large hook (N, P, Q) and is very zippy and speedy, you can do the same measurements as above, but charge a penny per square-inch, since it didn't take you that long to complete:

 

Crib ~ 30 x 30 inches ~ $9.00

Twin--39 x 75 inches ~ $29.75

X-Long Twin--39 x 80 inches $31.20

Full--54 x 75 inches ~ $40.50

Queen--60 x 80 inches ~ $48.00

King--76 x 80 inches ~ $60.80

California King--72 x 84 inches ~ $60.48

 

Don't forget to take the cost of your yarn and at least get it back by adding in that cost, or make a little off of it by charging 1.5 to 2 times and adding THAT cost into the estimates above.

 

Good Luck and most of all have fun! True, we can't compete with China, but we aren't trying to mass-produce like China either.

[Alaina]

I make a pretty high hourly rate so it's not really worth it to me to make items to sell. I'd rather spend what free time I have making things I enjoy. I also like being able to go at my own pace so having someone who is waiting for me to complete a project makes it less fun to work on. I have enough deadlines at work. I don't want them at home too.

 

My sentiments exactly!

[angiew75]

I know what you mean about makeing items for people, my aunt asked me to make her a set of 3 doilies so i did. But when i was finished with them after using 5 skiens of yarn to make them she didn't want to pay what i had in them (money and time). So i had to drop my price just so i could sell them, i believe i only made half of what i had in them.