Been there, done that?

General Knitting
1

A couple years ago some of the members were discussing the selling of their knits, etc…and people who ask you to knit something for them…and they’ll ‘pay you’. :doh:

So here is an example of how this ‘conversation’ usually rolls:

[COLOR=Blue]“Oh that is [U]such[/U] a beautiful sweater! Where did you find it?”
“Thanks! I knit it myself!”
“Oh no, you didn’t! Would you knit this sweater for me, too??
I’d be [I]happy to pay you!”[/I][/COLOR]

Sound familiar? Don’t you feel complimented? I would!
So the conversation continues:

[COLOR=Blue]“Well, [I]I guess[/I] I could. I don’t have a lot of time to knit, but I guess I could [I]make time[/I].”
“How much do you charge?”
“Well, I don’t know…how much do you want to pay?”
“Oh no, [I]you tell me[/I] how much you charge. I mean, I’d even pay you $50 for it!”[/COLOR]

Don’t ya just hate this phase of the ‘wheeling and dealing’?
You and I both know that it took us weeks and weeks of faithful knitting time, the cost of the pattern or book, and the yarn cost $80 by itself!

So you gulp, and say
[COLOR=Blue]“Well ma’am, the yarn for this sweater is $80 alone.”
“EIGHTY DOLLARS??!!” she gasps. “Well, thanks for your offer to knit it for me, but I could get this at Walmart for $20.”
[/COLOR]
Now don’t ya just want to strangle her, or hang yourself? :teehee:

I have a better solution for this conversation!

So let’s start the conversation over, much shorter this time:

[COLOR=DarkRed]“Oh that is [U]such[/U] a beautiful sweater! Where did you find it?”
“Thanks! I knit it myself!”
“Oh no, you didn’t! Would you knit this sweater for me, too?
I’d be happy to pay you!”
“Why thanks! Here is my card with a rundown of my prices!
Give me a call in a few days and we’ll discuss your sweater!”[/COLOR]

What card? you ask. :??

[B]The 3x5 card (in your purse) with your name and tel number on the front, and with your prices on the reverse side.[/B]

EXAMPLE of the reverse side:

[COLOR=Navy]Woman’s [U]Sizes 34-48[/U] at the prices below:
Woman’s Cardigan: $200 plus cost of yarn & buttons.
Woman’s Pullover: $185 plus cost of yarn.
Woman’s 3/4 Coat: $300 plus cost of yarn & buttons.
Woman’s Tank Top or Shell: $100 plus cost of yarn.
Woman’s Scarf: $85 plus cost of yarn.
Woman’s Hat: $75 plus cost of yarn.

Some specialty knitted items: $50 per hour plus cost of all materials.
All hand knits must be pre-paid, with yarn in hand before measurements are taken and knitting begins. Specialty items at the hourly rate will require a non-refundable deposit of $500 for labor, with add’l draws when that’s exhausted. Written estimates will be supplied prior to deposits.
[/COLOR]
No more dickering. No more hurt feelings. You can now say [I][B]"[/B][B]YES! I’ll knit it for you![/B][/I]"…and [U]feel good[/U] about it, whether you get the job, or whether you never hear from her again! It’s a win-win! :teehee:

PS: the prices for labor that I gave (as an example) are a bargain considering the hours you will knit! raise those prices if you want! you can [U]never go up[/U] in price, but [U]you can lower[/U] prices! if you get a string of customers who pass you around to knit for them, it would be hard to start raising prices, cuz they compare notes!

2

I LOVE IT !!

3

ME TWO!!!

4

What a great idea. I’ve been there with a woman wearing a mink coat asking for a handknit sweater and not wanting to pay over $50. Go buy it at Walmart then. We both ended up annoyed, this would save aggravation at least on the knitters side.

5

Kinda like the fella that walked into the shop last week and complained about the price of spark plugs for his $40,000 pontoon! Oh yeah and he lives, with his wife in a 5,000 sq.ft. house that’ll cost ya over $500,000!

6

This is brilliant! For me it would be great because people would say, well, I’ll have to think about it and I’d never hear from them again!

7

I can’t say I’ve ever had this problem but I will keep your advise in mind just in case… :teehee:
TEMA:thumbsup: [/COLOR]

8

My sister just laughs and tells people they couldn’t afford to pay for the time. But if they’d like to buy the yarn she’ll gladly allow someone to enable her addiction and get to making their item eventually.

I’ve found I don’t like doing things for others, too much pressure. So I can simply say, "No, but I’ll teach you how."
I can only make something I have no use for and figure out who gets it afterwards.

9

Yes, Mike, I’ve said that many a time, too!

You know what the responses are:
a) “Oh, I haven’t got the time to knit”
b) “Oh, I haven’t got the patience to knit.”

The real answer is: “Oh, I don’t have the desire to knit, just the desire to own fine knits at a Walmart price!” :roflhard:

10

What a great idea ! Hubby will find it very amusing that i have a business card lol :slight_smile:

11

I love the card and the prices are good! People don’t realize all the time and work that goes into making a handmade item. My family does and I bet yours do also and appreciate all you make for them. Walmart doesn’t have the specialty yarns or better yarns we use!

12

What a great idea!!

I really get frustrated with people asking me to knit things for them. I wish I had the time because I love knitting and giving but most who ask really have no idea what time, effort and yes MONEY goes into a hand knitted item. I usually just laugh and say my knitting que is so long now I would be a very old woman before I got around to it. Which is true, last night I was looking at my binder of MUST KNIT patterns and realized I MUST STOP looking at patterns.

13

Great idea. Gonna make my card today. Thanks for the help. :knitting:

14

That’s too funny. A related story, I have a coworker whose 90 yr old mother had been collecting yarn throughout her younger years. Apparently, bags and bags full in the garage. She found out that I knit, and I asked that since we (a couple of my coworkers and I) knit for donation, would her mom be willing to donate some of the yarn. She responds, “oh, that’d be great. But my mom would absolutely LOVE it if you made my dad a sweater.” At that time, one of the knitters was standing there during the conversation. We looked at each other and said, “uh…” and kind of stopped. Needless to say, we haven’t received any yarn, nor have we asked again. It’s very difficult for those who don’t knit to understand how much time it takes to actually make something. In many ways, unless you give a hand knitted gift to someone who knits themselves, the recipient won’t truly understand the significance of the gift itself.

15


SO TRUE!

I don’t knit for money, nor do I really want to, but IF a very well-heeled person wanted to hire me, I’d try it. But not for chump change.

The only problem I could foresee with knitting for money is picky, OCD, needy customers. My brother is a contractor, mostly home remodels, and I get an EARFUL from him about customer relations…enough to fill an encyclopedia with the do’s and don’ts! I don’t wanna be one of the dummies on Judge Judy! :teehee:

I knit out of love, :heart: and give it away for free!

My recipients don’t have a clue about the money and the time that goes into my handknits, but all my recipients APPRECIATE my knits so much, it is better than any amount of money! :happydance:

16

So True, so True!

My little pumkpin hats are usually a real hit and whoever I have given them to they always say I should sell them due to all the compliments their little pumpkin gets wearing it. It is very flattering ad makes me feels good to hear that. Well I worked it out one time and I’m not the fastest knitter alive (especially with one husband and 3 kids distracting me LOL) so it takes me a good 10 hours a hat. Even at minimum wage that’s $70. Or how about “babysitting” wage that’s $50. That is not including yarn. But let’s say I used very simple inexpensive polyester yarn, anybody want to shell out $50 for a polyester baby hat? LOL
In the LYS the other day a customer was complaing about how she would have to charge $40 for her pair of socks if she bought the yarn the lady was recommending. She went on and on “who’s gonna buy them?” I felt so sorry for the worker, she asked her the best yarn for socks and she was just telling her.

17

Yes, I do agree with you! Babysitting would be more profitable than knitting!

I’ve always told my friends who say I should sell my knitting:
“I knit for love, I sell ART for a paycheck!”

And believe me, I sometimes think the ART CONSULTANT (that’s me) makes more money per piece of art than the most talented artist does. That is [I]another[/I] vocation that is entirely underpaid as a whole!

Not many make it to the big time in their lifetime!

18

If she would have to charge LESS than $40 per sock not including yarn she must not value her time at all.

19

What’s a brilliant idea, Artlady, thnsk for sharing it

20

I totally agree with you!! I don’t think I could do anything for hire, I’d worry too much about it being “just right”.

A funny story, though - many years ago (mid 1980’s) a friend asked me to knit a sweater for her from a pattern she saw and liked. I told her I would. She bought the yarn which was VERY expensive, and I ended up needing even more, and I think it ended up being over $100 back then. I remember knitting the thing, and being really unhappy with the way it turned out, and thinking that if I were her I would never wear it. I only see her now every couple of years or so, and when I saw her a few months ago, she reminded me of that sweater, and told me she was still wearing it!! Good grief! Turns out she thought it was wonderful, and she loved it! I don’t even remember her saying much to me at the time. I guess I was feeling too guilty because I didn’t think I had done such a good job. I guess you just never know!