Pricing Hand Knit Items

One day not so long ago I knit myself a lovely beret and wore it to school.  I got many compliments on it, and when I said that I had made it myself, everyone oohed, aahed, and of course wanted one.  And then I brought up the cost of making one and pulled numbers out of thin air, and soon everyone was upset that I wouldn't make them one for nothing.  After all, I was their friend.

Do not fall into this trap.

Knitters put a lot of time and effort into their pieces and it's not worth knitting for free (unless it's a gift, of course).  Your work is worth more than that.  I realized this too late.  But it's not too late for you.

In my case, I'm not into knitting for the money.  I don't want to sit in a studio and create patterns for a living because knitting is my hobby and I'd like to keep it that way.  (Although I do appreciate and admire those who do this!)  However, if a friend does want me to knit them something, I want to be able to do so without being out a lot of money and time.  To figure out this balance for me, I headed to the internet for some answers.

Etsy suggested the following formula for determining costs:


Cost Price (Labor + Material Cost) * 2 = Your Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price * 2 = Retail Price


So I tried it out.  My beret costed me $6 to make and took me approximately 10 hours.  After consulting other resources, I decided to make my labor cost $10/hour (this seemed modest compared to what I saw).  So, after plugging in the numbers:

(100 + 6) * 2 = $212

212 * 2 = $424

Okay, the beret is cute, but not $424 cute.  And not even the wholesale price of $212 cute.  Nobody is going to pay that ever.  Or at least, nobody who's thinking straight.

So I did some more research.  When hand crafting any item, it is always always always a good idea to check Etsy prices.  Find similar products to the ones you are making.  In my knitting predicament, I looked at knitted items, of course.  I looked at other hats.  I noticed that chunky ones sell for around $40-$50, and finer knitted ones can go even higher.  But also keep in mind that anyone can list any item for any price.  Look at the feedback to see what people are actually buying, if they're satisfied, and any comments they might have about the product.  Also find out what kind of yarn (or other material) the person is using.  (Hand-dyed?  Machine washable?)  Finding other products similar to the ones you make is helpful.

So, in short, hand made items are not made in factories overseas.  They are made by real people who have real time and they should cost more.  Check out your market to be sure your prices are fair, and make sure you stick with them and aren't lured to go down by people who would rather pay a big store's price.  Happy knitting!