What is the real cost of making crafts?
I’m working on an Amigurumi hockey player right now. It’s adorable and fun and I hope to make a whole team of players.
On occasion, I get asked to sell something homemade to someone and while I’m flattered, the answer is always going to be “Thanks, but no.” For starters, I’m not that good! I’m sure you can find something done better on Etsy, from someone who regularly crafts for sale. Second, while I do give a lot of my creations away to dear friends (otherwise I’d be suffocating in them!), it simply isn’t viable to sell them at a reasonable price.
But what is reasonable? $20 for a doll? I can’t even afford to buy the MATERIALS for $20. Here’s a breakdown of one hockey player:
- Materials: I was low on supply when I started, but I had enough odds and ends for the little bonus touches, and one color of the pattern (a $4.99 skein). I needed to buy 5 colors I didn’t have @ (regular price) $4.99/color + $7.99 shipping. I got some of the colors on sale, but had to buy the out-of-stock color at another store for more. I had a bunch of stitch markers (reusable) ($6.50), sewing scissors, a darning needle, and an ergo glove (reusable) ($9.99) already but needed a crochet hook size (reusable) I didn’t have ($2.99). I’ve also got a bunch of safety eyes I bought recently ($11.99) and a big mostly full bag of Polyfill ($15). Not counting what I already had, I’ve already spent $32 + what I had on hand. And that’s not counting the $5 I spent on the pattern (reusable) on Etsy. That’s enough yarn to probably make 3+ hockey players but if I were to make a custom one, I’d have to buy more colors and even if I only used 1/3 of a skein, I’d have to buy a full skein. All in all, call it about $20 – $25 of material per doll if I’m making several similar dolls. If I was just making one, it would cost $100.33 to get everything I needed.
- Time: Gosh, I don’t even know how long it’s gonna take me to make one or what my time is worth. Should I charge how much I get paid an hour at my day job or some magical formula? It took me over an hour to find the pattern I wanted, and to learn and understand it. I’ve been working on the first part of ~11 parts + assembly. I’m an hour in and I’m a little over 1/2 through. Assuming I kept up this pace, maybe I can finish one in 15-20 hours? At $7 minimum wage, that’s $100-$150.
- Knowledge: I’m still learning, and I have to stop and look things up on occasion, but isn’t my skill worth something? Should I just barely break even and charge the cost of materials only?
- Shipping: Maybe it costs $3-$10 to ship, but that means leaving my house during a pandemic to stand in line at the nearest post office. Which, honestly, you couldn’t pay me enough to do right now. And with the current state of the post office, it might never even arrive, which means using FedEx or UPS instead, which would cost significantly more.
I craft because it’s fun. Sometimes I’m making things for me. Sometimes I’m making gifts for friends. But I can’t see me selling crochet crafts anytime soon.
