Handmade Life - Tumblr Posts
literally anything handmade is so dope. idc what it is it could be anything. a quilt, a painting, a basket, a sweater, a wooden table, a shed, a meal. how magical
the PERILS that this cardigan has put me through!!
I ran out of yarn for the second sleeve and only then realized that the chunky pink yarn I was using (Knit Picks Might Stitch Super Bulky) is HELLA discontinued and had to frantically scour the internet to get some. Thankfully someone was happy to sell me some from their stash but WOW what a tense time. If I hadn't been able to get some I would be so distraught, this thing is three years in the making and being stopped six inches away from completion would make me feral.
literally anything handmade is so dope. idc what it is it could be anything. a quilt, a painting, a basket, a sweater, a wooden table, a shed, a meal. how magical
literally anything handmade is so dope. idc what it is it could be anything. a quilt, a painting, a basket, a sweater, a wooden table, a shed, a meal. how magical
the PERILS that this cardigan has put me through!!
I ran out of yarn for the second sleeve and only then realized that the chunky pink yarn I was using (Knit Picks Might Stitch Super Bulky) is HELLA discontinued and had to frantically scour the internet to get some. Thankfully someone was happy to sell me some from their stash but WOW what a tense time. If I hadn't been able to get some I would be so distraught, this thing is three years in the making and being stopped six inches away from completion would make me feral.
the PERILS that this cardigan has put me through!!
I ran out of yarn for the second sleeve and only then realized that the chunky pink yarn I was using (Knit Picks Might Stitch Super Bulky) is HELLA discontinued and had to frantically scour the internet to get some. Thankfully someone was happy to sell me some from their stash but WOW what a tense time. If I hadn't been able to get some I would be so distraught, this thing is three years in the making and being stopped six inches away from completion would make me feral.
the PERILS that this cardigan has put me through!!
I ran out of yarn for the second sleeve and only then realized that the chunky pink yarn I was using (Knit Picks Might Stitch Super Bulky) is HELLA discontinued and had to frantically scour the internet to get some. Thankfully someone was happy to sell me some from their stash but WOW what a tense time. If I hadn't been able to get some I would be so distraught, this thing is three years in the making and being stopped six inches away from completion would make me feral.
the PERILS that this cardigan has put me through!!
I ran out of yarn for the second sleeve and only then realized that the chunky pink yarn I was using (Knit Picks Might Stitch Super Bulky) is HELLA discontinued and had to frantically scour the internet to get some. Thankfully someone was happy to sell me some from their stash but WOW what a tense time. If I hadn't been able to get some I would be so distraught, this thing is three years in the making and being stopped six inches away from completion would make me feral.
Cardigan Patterns // Geunessse
knitting myself ankle socks and the pattern called for an afterthought heel...
I obliged but I think I prefer the trusty heel flap & gusset :'o)
thinking about how I had a few folks at my last market suggest to me (kindly and with good intentions) that I make and sell some versions of the hand knit cardigan I was wearing because people would "totally pay $300 for that!"
I appreciated the sentiment, but people don't understand what goes into handmade clothes! I don't use a knitting machine. Every stitch in that garment is created by hand on needles, and the sleeves were brioche. Even using inexpensive acrylic yarn for the whole project, and accounting for the HUGE sleeve stitches (saving me time making the sleeves)—the material cost was $55 and the labor was well beyond that.
Let's conservatively estimate the cardigan took me 30 hours to create. Currently, when pressed to put a dollar amount to my time, I use the living wage as a baseline and then go up from there $1/hour for every year I have been actively practicing that particular skill. In the case of knitting that would be 11 years, and the current living wage in my area is approximately $23/hour. Setting aside the fact that this is calculated based on a 40 hour work week and I don't believe that is ethical or sustainable, we'll just leave it at $34/hour. That would make labor alone $1,020.
This brings the "production cost" to $1,075.
Items are not sold at production cost because that would leave your profit margin at 0%. This is not sustainable because it costs money to run a business (think things like paying for computer repairs, buying tools, the tablecloth you use at markets, paying for a website, etc.). Realistically to cover business costs and still come out with a 7% "net" profit margin, which is just a number pulled from averages in the clothing retail business...
... I'd have to sell that cardigan for $1,350.
So yeah! Something to think about when you see the price of clothes that are handmade. :o)
I love you handmade toys, I love you tiny pillows made by someone's grandma, I love you ornaments passed down for generations, I love you dog shaped bookshelf my great grandfather made, I love you vintage rabbit dolls that were made to last decades and decades, I love you sweet little heirloom objects tucked away into homes that bring joy whenever you see them I love
Cardigan Patterns // Geunessse
Cardigan Patterns // Geunessse
knitting myself ankle socks and the pattern called for an afterthought heel...
I obliged but I think I prefer the trusty heel flap & gusset :'o)
knitting myself ankle socks and the pattern called for an afterthought heel...
I obliged but I think I prefer the trusty heel flap & gusset :'o)
knitting myself ankle socks and the pattern called for an afterthought heel...
I obliged but I think I prefer the trusty heel flap & gusset :'o)
knitting myself ankle socks and the pattern called for an afterthought heel...
I obliged but I think I prefer the trusty heel flap & gusset :'o)
thinking about how I had a few folks at my last market suggest to me (kindly and with good intentions) that I make and sell some versions of the hand knit cardigan I was wearing because people would "totally pay $300 for that!"
I appreciated the sentiment, but people don't understand what goes into handmade clothes! I don't use a knitting machine. Every stitch in that garment is created by hand on needles, and the sleeves were brioche. Even using inexpensive acrylic yarn for the whole project, and accounting for the HUGE sleeve stitches (saving me time making the sleeves)—the material cost was $55 and the labor was well beyond that.
Let's conservatively estimate the cardigan took me 30 hours to create. Currently, when pressed to put a dollar amount to my time, I use the living wage as a baseline and then go up from there $1/hour for every year I have been actively practicing that particular skill. In the case of knitting that would be 11 years, and the current living wage in my area is approximately $23/hour. Setting aside the fact that this is calculated based on a 40 hour work week and I don't believe that is ethical or sustainable, we'll just leave it at $34/hour. That would make labor alone $1,020.
This brings the "production cost" to $1,075.
Items are not sold at production cost because that would leave your profit margin at 0%. This is not sustainable because it costs money to run a business (think things like paying for computer repairs, buying tools, the tablecloth you use at markets, paying for a website, etc.). Realistically to cover business costs and still come out with a 7% "net" profit margin, which is just a number pulled from averages in the clothing retail business...
... I'd have to sell that cardigan for $1,350.
So yeah! Something to think about when you see the price of clothes that are handmade. :o)
thinking about how I had a few folks at my last market suggest to me (kindly and with good intentions) that I make and sell some versions of the hand knit cardigan I was wearing because people would "totally pay $300 for that!"
I appreciated the sentiment, but people don't understand what goes into handmade clothes! I don't use a knitting machine. Every stitch in that garment is created by hand on needles, and the sleeves were brioche. Even using inexpensive acrylic yarn for the whole project, and accounting for the HUGE sleeve stitches (saving me time making the sleeves)—the material cost was $55 and the labor was well beyond that.
Let's conservatively estimate the cardigan took me 30 hours to create. Currently, when pressed to put a dollar amount to my time, I use the living wage as a baseline and then go up from there $1/hour for every year I have been actively practicing that particular skill. In the case of knitting that would be 11 years, and the current living wage in my area is approximately $23/hour. Setting aside the fact that this is calculated based on a 40 hour work week and I don't believe that is ethical or sustainable, we'll just leave it at $34/hour. That would make labor alone $1,020.
This brings the "production cost" to $1,075.
Items are not sold at production cost because that would leave your profit margin at 0%. This is not sustainable because it costs money to run a business (think things like paying for computer repairs, buying tools, the tablecloth you use at markets, paying for a website, etc.). Realistically to cover business costs and still come out with a 7% "net" profit margin, which is just a number pulled from averages in the clothing retail business...
... I'd have to sell that cardigan for $1,350.
So yeah! Something to think about when you see the price of clothes that are handmade. :o)