Need the opinion of the fiber geeks out there

[baronessekat]

One of my co-workers has commissioned me to make a scarf for her niece.

I just don't know how much to charge her.

The yarn will cost between $5-$8. (I'm going tonight to get it).

Is $15 a reasonable amount to ask for her to give me for it? Or should I ask for more or less?

I'm always lousy at figuring out how much to charge for work I do.

Opinions greatly accepted.

Comments

[goodscagirl.livejournal.com]

Ask 20 (Heck its homemade and commisioned) and be willing to take 16.

[damedini.livejournal.com]

Yah, thereish.

[much-ado.livejournal.com]

i presume you're knitting this scarf, but i've been doing commission sewing in the SCA for almost twenty years, and the standard rule of "value for time" i apply, based on other commission-work people i know in the SCA, is the "Materials + $10/hr" algorithm.

the biggest problem people have when doing work for others is they undervalue their own time. seriously, you have a skill that someone else does not (otherwise, they'd be doing their own knitting or sewing), so never be afraid to charge real value for real skill. if someone doesn't like that idea, it's because *they're* hoping to get away with getting something nice for cheap... and you're just selling yourself short as a creator, that way.

so... how long does it take you to hand-knit a scarf? figure out that, then give that price to your co-worker. if s/he balks at the price, then maybe s/he shouldn't be considering hand-knit handicrafts as gifts in the first place, and go back to WalMart where she'll get exactly what she pays for.

Value Value Value!

[dicea.livejournal.com]

YES!

Since you'll probably be making it mostly at work, I'd say maybe down to $8/hr, since it's subsidized knittage, but don't you dare charge this woman less than $35 or she's not going to realize what it is that she is buying.

You make good handcrafts. You don't ignore dropped stitches and you finish everything perfectly neat and clean. Ask for what it is worth, give her what she pays for it. It's custom, well-made, and durable.

Anyhow, your coworkers are shit-heads, mostly.


Oooh, alternately, trade the scarf for three months of all of the co-worker's "squares".

Heheheheheh.

Re: Value Value Value!

[deadised.livejournal.com]

I'll throw in with the "value your time" group. I know that you do very good work and that I would say that $10 is the minimum. A lot of "professional" crafts people calculate on the $50/hour formula. Ever look at what a 1'x3' scarf goes for at a "craft fair"?

[ovantravers.livejournal.com]

Knitting needles: $3.00

Yarn: $7.00

Knitting time: $30.00

Hand-made warmth on a frigid day? Priceless.

$35.00 seems fair to me. God bless.

[knighthawkrp.livejournal.com]

I actually just went through this with my mother truth be told. She's always made scarves and afgan's a plenty (read: there are stacks of them in the house) and she generally gives them out to new moms and friends and whatnot. A short time ago, someone commissioned a few things from her, and someone listening in asked the same, and it went downhill from there.

In the end, we figured out materials plus 10x an hour to start. From there its going to be modified because of how well you know the person and how much you think they can afford, and how much of a pain in the ass the actual task will be.

She had a hard time charging much for something that she was probably going to do anyways, since she does it to relax at night, but you gotta go with something. We looked at a few places online where you can buy home made crafts,a nd figured that most people charge about 10-15 bucks an hour minimum.

[ladybriant.livejournal.com]

(this is not the Briant you are looking for, I'm a figment of your imagination....)

$35 is good. I get a LOT of compliments on the scarf you made for me. Everyone loves it.

my two pence.

[keastree.livejournal.com]

Materials + $10/hr. Exactly what I was going to say. :)

$10/hr is a fair price for commissions done in an art you like to do. If it becomes a PITA or even more fun, then you adjust up or down accordingly.

A dissenting voice

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

I knit scarves for OES to sell at the local craft fair. I charge twice what the materials cost at full price, regardless of how much time it takes to make. Probably a stupid, but no ever accuses me of money grubbing.