So I was showing off some armwarmers I’d just finished making (this pattern, though adjusted to some degree since I was using a thicker yarn so the gauge was different), and one of the people wanted to commission me to make a set for her.
…and I realized that I have [I]no idea at all[/I] how to price things. I mean, obviously I want to cover the cost of the yarn; do I just charge cost, then, or charge something over it, and if so what? or do I say “whatever you feel like paying as long as it’s at least cost”? or, uh. flail
Advice?
(If it affects things, it’s a friend, not random stranger.)
I think you should defenitely charge the yarn cost. I don’t know how much time it took you to knit it. I would think of a charge per hour and add that too. If it’s someone who is not a stranger, as you mention, i would probably give a discount and not charge all of the hours spent. That’s why hand knit items are so expensive - the hours put in them are sometimes many. I think I would charge 3-5$ per hour, because if you charge more, it will be so expensive no one would want it:?? . HTH
Anyway, it’s great someone wants to buy your work!
Charge whatever it is worth to you to make it. For a stranger, I would pay myself more than minimum wage, plus the cost of materials, and would have to quote a price that in all likelihood, would be more than anyone is willing to pay. For a friend, I would gift some of the labour, perhaps all of it plus materials, e.g. for a birthday. Make sure the person understands that these items are not made in 40 minutes while watching telly.
Hi Isabeau, IMHO… I think it’s most fair to charge per knitted yard. Charging per hour opens up the possibility for biased fees in that quick knitters could “undercharge” and slow knitters could “overcharge”. In addition to cost of yarn, your per yard rate could be between $0.10 and $0.25:
[INDENT]$.10 - really easy garter with no shaping[/INDENT][INDENT]up to [/INDENT][INDENT]$.25 - complicated cables or lace work
[/INDENT]By no means am I an expert, but I did some internet surfing about the topic a couple years ago - which lead me to the per yard school of thought. (I might have even posted about it on KH; I can’t remember :oops: ) Anyhoo … it’s all very subjective to each knitter, but I hope this helps in some way.
Laptop Knitter - thanks for the referral!! I appreciate it very much.
I have a friend who knits and her general charge is (cost of yarn)+15%=(cost of item) for simple things and up to 25% for more difficult things. And she always takes into account things like if she likes the person she’s knitting for, if it is something that is going in a shop and if she enjoyed the process.
I’ve been making wrist warmers for sale too. Generally I’ve been charging $25 base price for 6" pair, plus $3 for every inch longer, so if someone wants 7" wrist warmers they pay $28. This is my way of stopping people from asking for 10" wrist warmers.
:roflhard: Too cute! A 10" wrist warmer is no longer a wrist warmer. That would be called an arm warmer … or … perhaps a three quarter SLEEVE. :teehee::teehee::teehee: hehehe
