Wedding Etiquette Forum

NWR: How much would you pay...

For a handknit scarf?  Assuming that you can't knit yourself.

My younger sister knit herself a beautiful 12-foot, multi-colored scarf right before Christmas, and posted a picture of it on FB.  She got about six people asking her to make them scarves, and offering to pay her.  She originally thought she would charge $35 plus shipping, but now discovered that each scarf is going to cost her $20 for the yarn.  Since each scarf takes her 4 - 7 days to knit (depending on her work schedule), this means she'll be taking home $15 (about $2.50 per day of work). 

I personally think that is ridiculous.  It's a 12-foot, handknit scarf, and I think that effort is worth more than $15.  She's hesitant to ask for more because she feels that asking for more than $35 total would be greedy.  I don't know if she's off-base, or I am.

What do you think?
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Re: NWR: How much would you pay...

  • My first thought is who needs a 12 foot scarf? I don't live where it is cold, but is it normal to wrap oneself like a mummy in a scarf?

    For something that big, I'd be charging at least $50. But I don't knit, or have any basis for comparison. I'm just bored at work. 
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  • I don't, unfortunately.  I'm looking at her FB page now, and it's not there.  I wonder if she took it down, or put it in a private album or something.

    I wish I did, though, that would probably make this much easier lol.

    It's a 1x1 rib, three or four colors in stripes, with tassels on the ends.
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  • Sarah, I have no idea.  Every knitting book I own says to make the scarf at least the height of the recipient, but I have never gone longer than 6 ft.  My sister loves long scarves, she wraps them like 3 or 4 times around her.
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  • Well, I would pay about $35-40 for a 6 foot scarf.  I have not need for a 12 foot scarf.






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  • I'm cheap and I don't really care if it's handknit if it's not something that was made specifically for me, like as a gift. I can easily go to Target and get a $20 scarf, KWIM?

    But I guess if it was a friend, and it was a super cool scarf and she wasn't the type of friend to just knit a scarf for me, and I really wanted it, maybe $40. 

    I sound like such a terrible person. 
  • Honestly, I think that she should charge more like $50.  It sounds beautiful.
  • I would check Etsy and see what they're going for on there. 
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  • I suggested that she check Etsy for price ideas.

    And I just texted her and suggested cutting the size of the scarves down to cut down on costs.
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  • Yeah, I'd probably pay $50-60 for that, but I'd also just want a six foot (or less) scarf. 
  • I just spoke to a knitter friend and she makes scarves and things for people.

    She thinks that $35 is reasonable - especially to keep it affordable for people.  She did say she could easily charge $40 or a little more. 

     

  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:81fa7e63-d5ed-486a-aa1a-78db6e4511e5">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm cheap and I don't really care if it's handknit if it's not something that was made specifically for me, like as a gift. I can easily go to Target and get a $20 scarf, KWIM? But I guess if it was a friend, and it was a super cool scarf and she wasn't the type of friend to just knit a scarf for me, and I really wanted it, maybe $40.  I sound like such a terrible person. 
    Posted by LDYGTR13[/QUOTE]

    You are a terrible person.  A terrible terrible person who I don't talk to as much as I would like :)
  • My SIL wants one. She said it was based on a scarf from Dr. Who, and she found them selling for about $125-150.

    Honestly, I will never ever knit to sell on Etsy. People don't appreciate how much work goes into something, or how long it may take, and they can't get past the whole "I could buy this at Wal Mart for way cheaper" mentality.

    On a side note, how is your sister not sick of 1x1 rib yet? I wanted to stab myself with my needles when I had a sweater call for 5" ribbed cuffs.
  • I knit, and if I was selling to friends, that's probably about what I'd charge. However, if I were selling on etsy or at a craft fair, I'd charge more. Handmade scarves tend to go for aroun $60-$80 at places like that.

    But honestly, I'm not capable of watching tv without knitting, and fi watches a lot of tv. Therefor, I knit a lot, and don't really care about being compensated for my time, just the cost of materials.
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  • LDY, I don't think you're terrible at all!  It's a matter of preference.

    FTR, I knit, and I could never knit for money or for other people.  I would never be able to say "I'll have it to you by X date" because between work, school, etc. I would never be able to predict when I could do it.  I DO think that $2.50 per day for the time knitting is low.  But that's me, again.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:84ec9843-1e48-457e-9652-c03002825923">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]My SIL wants one. She said it was based on a scarf from Dr. Who, and she found them selling for about $125-150. <strong>Honestly, I will never ever knit to sell on Etsy. People don't appreciate how much work goes into something, or how long it may take, and they can't get past the whole "I could buy this at Wal Mart for way cheaper" mentality.</strong> On a side note, how is your sister not sick of 1x1 rib yet? I wanted to stab myself with my needles when I had a sweater call for 5" ribbed cuffs.
    Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]
    Exactly why I feel like a crappy person lol
  • Special -- I DON'T KNOW.  I have never done a 1x1 rib scarf.  I'd die of the boredom.  My sister loves that sort of thing.  She just sits in front of the TV and gets all meditative.  I'd go insane.

    Incidentally, she made one of those Dr. Who scarves for her ex boyfriend.
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  • She should also consider whether she wants to do this as an actual way to make money, or as a method of getting to knit more without the end results cluttering her house.

    I knit a tremendous amount for other people. I don't really have a need for more scarves or hats, but my family does. I knit socks for a nephew's Christmas present (he wore them for two weeks and cried when him mom wanted to wash them).

    If she looks at it like, "Well, I'm going to do this anyway. I may as well get $15 and some free closet space," it makes sense. If she thinks she's going to start rolling in dough and quit her day job, she needs to adjust her pricing.
  • I mean, if you guys were knitting something and selling them, I'd probably buy them from you, because you're my friends...but because I'm cheap and don't wear many scarves, I couldn't do more than $40 for one. Plus 12' is hella long.
  • I don't think she's concerned about making a ton of dough from it.  She doesn't have a huge amount of stash yarn, so this isn't a "clean out my closet" sort of thing.  She has to go and buy all the yarn.  I think she just was so excited that "wow, people like my knitting and want me to knit for them, how flattering," and then vastly underestimated the costs of yarn.  I suggested Knitpicks.com because sometimes they have discounts if you buy in bulk. 

    I knit only for friends and family too.  Well, not so much family.  My mom is one of those "has no idea how much work goes into a handknit item, says a polite and disinterested thank you, and wears the item once" sort of people.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:02643856-7d40-4c72-a6d1-973d59208256">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: How much would you pay... : Exactly why I feel like a crappy person lol
    Posted by LDYGTR13[/QUOTE]

    <div>It does not make you a crappy person. As long as you are grateful when someone makes you something, you're golden.</div><div>
    </div><div>I crocheted a blanket and made a small quilt for SIL's baby shower. She gave me a strange look, and both blankets were both ruined within six months.</div><div>
    </div><div>As long as you don't use your birthday present to wipe up cat vomit, you are not a bad person.</div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:731e0a4e-2b2b-409d-9124-fc0a5b80928e">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]She should also consider whether she wants to do this as an actual way to make money, or as a method of getting to knit more without the end results cluttering her house. I knit a tremendous amount for other people. I don't really have a need for more scarves or hats, but my family does. I knit socks for a nephew's Christmas present (he wore them for two weeks and cried when him mom wanted to wash them). If she looks at it like, "Well, I'm going to do this anyway. I may as well get $15 and some free closet space," it makes sense. <strong>If she thinks she's going to start rolling in dough and quit her day job, she needs to adjust her pricing.
    </strong>Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]

    Ditto this.  I know I've charged family less than I would a person off the street for the handful of things I've sold.  She doesn't want to start out charging too little and then have to up it later for the same crowd.
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  • Something that someone specifically made for me - especially as a gift - would be treated like gold! I was hoping to learn to crochet/knit before my nephews were born, but that didn't happen. I'd be so mad if someting I made as a gift got ruined like that.

    I made a tie blanket for Dakota 2 years ago for Christmas, it was eaten by their pitbulls when he left it outside =(
  • I love KnitPicks. SIL (not the one who doesn't appreciate things) bought me some blocking mats as a SS gift. 

    My dad and gramma are the best people to knit for. My dad wears his sweater all the time during the winter months, and he did an impromptu fashion show at work when he received his hat/glove/scarf set.

    My gramma will wear anything I make her, regardless of how ugly. She still has slippers I made when I was nine.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:d26ad2a5-8ea5-4ee1-9faa-ceca8d3db3a1">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: How much would you pay... : It does not make you a crappy person. As long as you are grateful when someone makes you something, you're golden. <strong>I crocheted a blanket and made a small quilt for SIL's baby shower. She gave me a strange look, and both blankets were both ruined within six months. As long as you don't use your birthday present to wipe up cat vomit, you are not a bad person.</strong>
    Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]

    Seriously?!  That's awful.  The least you can be is gracious when someone gives you a gift.  ANY gift.  Not just handmade.

    I've been pretty fortunate that most people (aside from my mom) have been really gracious and (at least acted) pleased with the stuff I've handknit them.  H single-handedly demolished the second scarf I knit him (he threw it in the wash and dryer, I almost died when I saw it after), but he was so upset about it that I forgave him and knit another.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:d26ad2a5-8ea5-4ee1-9faa-ceca8d3db3a1">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: How much would you pay... : It does not make you a crappy person. As long as you are grateful when someone makes you something, you're golden.<strong> I crocheted a blanket and made a small quilt for SIL's baby shower. She gave me a strange look, and both blankets were both ruined within six months. </strong>As long as you don't use your birthday present to wipe up cat vomit, you are not a bad person.
    Posted by specialk84[/QUOTE]

    That's terrible!  That makes me so sad that she didn't appreciate them properly! 

     I've crocheted two baby blankets for friends and they both have said they mostly use them for when they want the baby to look cute, like for photos to post on facebook and tag me in them :)
  • edited January 2012
    Especially with baby stuff, it breaks my heart when someone tosses it aside. When I made a blanket for TB, I kept thinking happy thoughts, like how glad I was that the Pandas were being blessed with a baby, and how I hoped he would have a wonderful childhood and grow up to be a great man. 

    With the blanket I made for Edmund, I prayed his further treatments would go well, that he would heal quickly, how lucky he is to have a wonderful mom like Ciara, and that he would also have a wonderful childhood and grow up to be a great man.

    The socks I knit for my nephew? Yeah, I just wanted them to fit, and I wanted him to like them. He's 11. They won't fit in six months. I just wanted him to be happy.

    ETA: Manda and Ciara are excellent examples of how to receive a handmade gift. I wasn't doing it for attention, but they were both very appreciative.
  • Oh, also, I think 35$ is not enough for a scarf that size and with that gauge.

    Especially if its the Dr. Who scarf I'm thinking of.

    Also, she can probably charge more because it's the Dr. Who scarf. Nerds will pay (:
  • Special, I knit a baby hat for one of my friends when she had her first, out of Baby Cashmerino.  It was my first baby hat, so I was nervous about sending it to her.

    She put it on his head for his first baby picture.  And kept putting it on him and taking pictures with it until he was too big for it.  Every time I saw his little picture, with the hat, on FB, it made me so happy. 
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  • MUN1, it's not the Dr. Who scarf, but it was inspired by the scarf that Watson (Jude Law) wears in the second Sherlock Holmes movie.  I'm willing to bet that all her interested buyers are nerds like her.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-much-would-pay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1384023f-32a1-4eee-84a6-bf46e1da8719Post:a525d3c2-42e8-4ec4-8b66-0f59b7e826f8">Re: NWR: How much would you pay...</a>:
    [QUOTE]MUN1, it's not the Dr. Who scarf, but it was inspired by the scarf that Watson (Jude Law) wears in the second Sherlock Holmes movie.  I'm willing to bet that all her interested buyers are nerds like her.
    Posted by baystateapple[/QUOTE]


    Oh, i know that scarf too.

    I'd prefer the Dr. Who one :P

    I just outed myself (yet again) as a total nerd.

    But i'd bet as well that all interested parties are nerds.
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