My $17 Bunny Lovey Would Cost $97 With Labor, So I Charged $25

Earlier this year, I made a bunny lovie for a friend of mine. She was going to give it to her granddaughter. I made it out of Lion Brand Cotton 24/7 yarn.

I love that yarn. I think it's much better than some of the yarns you can buy in big box retail stores.

This lovey was an adorable pattern that I bought on Etsy. It was all made out of cotton yarn. I love it.

It was one of those patterns that list the number of stitches you should have after each round, which I really appreciate, and that way I don't get too lost.

Two Skeins of Cotton 24/7 on Sale at Michael's

I used Lion Brand Cotton 24/7 yarn. I bought it at Michael's. It's regularly about $6.99 per skein, but I got it on sale for $5.49 per skein.

I used almost two full skeins for the body and a little bit of the pink.

Let's say the total for the yarn was $16.47. Not too bad! I love a good yarn sale!

Two Hours a Night for Four Nights

I spent about two hours a night, over four nights, so that would be eight hours making this lovie. That includes embroidering and sewing it all together. It was fairly easy.

The Calculator Said $97.47, Etsy Said $21 to $74

Let's figure out how much it costs to make and how much a shop version would cost. Since I haven't sold anything online in quite a while, I googled what to charge for labor when making handmade items to sell. According to the American Crochet Association, you should set an hourly rate for your time.

In other words, what would you expect to earn per hour if you were working a regular job?

For something like this, I would say maybe $20 an hour. If I crocheted for two hours a night, times four nights, that is 8 hours, and 8 hours x $20/hr = $160. Well, that's pretty expensive!

So let's bring it down to $10 an hour. That would be $80, which is still quite high.

The American Crochet Association has a free crochet project price calculator. I entered a rate of $10 x 8 hours = $80, plus materials that were $17.47. (Not even counting the poly-fill that I used, which was very little, or tax and shipping.) The total comes to $97.47.

I went on Etsy.com and looked at the price of crocheted bunny lovies that were similar to what I made, and they range in price from $21 to $74.

So, let's go with the middle-of-the-road price of $40. That's a difference of $57.47!

That's a big difference!

Why I Charged My Friend $25, Not $97

I completely understand that crochet is WORTH that much, and then some. It isn't easy to sit and crochet something so beautiful, and it isn't cheap to make, either.

It really bothers me that crochet artists can't get the value they deserve for items they're trying to sell. With times being tough as they are, I'm sure it's hard to sell a lovie for $97. People are more likely to buy one at a lower price.

For the bunny lovey I made for my friend, I charged her $25. She was a friend, so I didn't feel like I needed to charge her a lot of money. But I certainly wouldn't have charged $97 even if I were selling it online.

That just seems like a very unrealistic price. Please understand that I believe it is totally worth that much, but people will probably not buy them if they are listed that high.

Coworkers Who Balk at the Price

I've had coworkers and acquaintances ask me to make things for them, and when I tell them what it might cost, even when I'm being fair about the price, they balk at it. People just don't understand unless they've had to do it themselves.

I tried to explain that materials cost money and that making something takes time and effort. It's hard on your hands, and it's hard on your back.

But we also need to make things somewhat affordable, or people will never buy them.

Why I'll Keep Crocheting for Friends, Not Online Buyers

I don't know if I would sell handmade items online at this point in time. I do know several people who are very successful at it and do quite well. To me, it seems like a lot of hard work, and you don't always get paid what you're worth.

I do love making things for friends and family as well as for gifts and donations, but I don't think selling online is for me.

I'm glad that there are people who are willing to do this. They keep this craft alive. I'm also grateful that there are people who want to buy these products.

They truly are worth so much more than people charge for them. So next time you're looking online at homemade items, remember the time and effort that person put into crafting the item. A lot of love, hard work, and talent were poured into that item.