...and why more craft people should have stronger boundaries.

Since the holidays are coming up soonish and I’m sure the evergreen “can you just make this for me” will enter many crafters’ lives, I’m here today to break down why an innocent request is actually not that innocent. (If you read the last words to the beat of Oops…I Did It Again by the one and only Britney, you’re my kind of a vibe.)

This post was originally written as a draft a couple of years ago after someone in my life (accidentally) pissed me off by requesting I should make them a sweater just because. I say accidentally because I want to give them grace for not understanding what goes into making a sweater, as they don’t knit themself.

Several people seem to think that me having the skill to make my own clothes somehow makes them entitled to that as well. Well, I hope you have years of time and patience to learn because that’s what it took me to be at the current level. This is the price I pay for having exactly the items I want; it takes time, effort, patience and some knowledge. If you want to borrow my skills to have something, your responsibility is to compensate accordingly.

“But since you like making stuff, what’s one more thing to make?” 

While yes, in theory that’s how it goes, and maybe the me a few years ago went with that because knitting was my only therapy and lifeline… That doesn’t mean things can’t change, and I actually think I was a bit wrong in operating like that. Because then I made people think it’s an easy little sidequest for me rather than hours and hours of commitment.

Simple math for those who don’t get it:

Planning a project alone can take days, when you include finding the right pattern(s), possibly altering things, finding the materials and possibly then re-altering a pattern to match the yarn. 

So let’s say I take around 5 hours over a few days to figure out a pattern and materials. I wouldn’t work under 15 Euros/hour when it’s on top of everything else I have going on, with the skillset I have for the job. (I have 25 years of experience so I could and should charge even more, and it wouldn’t even be unfair.) So it’s 15€ x 5 = 75 Euros on planning alone.

Oh, and in case the pattern ends up to be something I need to buy especially for the project, that would also be included in the price. This could be anything from a few Euros to 20-ish Euros, depending a lot on how big of a project we’re talking about, how intricate the pattern/instructions are, and how well-known the designer is that I’d be buying from. 

Depending on the project, the materials can easily cost anything from a few euros to over 100 Euros, but let’s assume this project is a wool blend sweater. On average, the kind of materials I choose will make the materials around 70 Euros, assuming that the yarn is all I need, and I don't have to get new needle sizes for the project. 

So even before knitting a single stitch, the monetary value of a sweater can be around 150 Euros plus possible pattern purchase. 

Knitting an item can take anything from a couple of nights to weeks and months, depending largely on the material and complexity of the project (but also can vary due other things). Let’s assume this project is somewhat easy and made from semi-thick, easy-to-work yarn, and it takes roughly a week to knit, 4 hours per day. (Highly optimistic, because I don’t have 4 hours in a day for knitting apart from random days off.)

Work would cost 4h x 7days x 15€/h = 420 Euros.

So the whole “just a sweater” can cost me roughly 570 Euros worth of resources when I give a reasonable price for my knowledge and work. Again, plus the pattern if such needs to be bought for the project.

And “it’s just a pair of socks” based on a simple pattern with decent yarn will be 1 hour of planning, 8 hours of work and 15€ of materials, which equals to 15€/h x 9 h + 15€ =  150€ when counting in the work. And once again, plus the pattern if such needs to be bought for the project.

So please, next time you want to ask someone to “just make you something”, be ready to pay for it too. And generously. Even more if there’s a deadline that makes the crafter need to arrange other aspects of their life to get the project done in time. Respect the fact someone still learns and upkeeps an old craft in the time of shortcuts, fast fashion and AI slop. That’s the least you can do.

I know this sounds unfair as not everyone has the skills, and yes, learning can be hard, and yes, not everyone can afford the high end price that everything handmade should (in my opinion) have. But the unfortunate fact is: Life is not fair. I wish it was. But what you are demanding if you only want to pay the materials or little more than is that the crafters would essentially gift you slave work. I personally think craftsmanship and time should get compensated. Especially time, as it's the one resource you can have back even with money.

When it comes to me, the only people who can ask me for a free project are my grandma, my parents, my partner, my bestie and like three of my closest friends. That’s my boundary, and I don’t care who gets mad about it. I may have been more lenient in my younger years, when I had less going on, but especially now with two jobs, gym and 15 other hobbies, I simply can’t spare hours into extra projects. Unless you pay me A LOT.

That’s it. That’s the post today. If you’re a fellow crafter, please know the worth of you and your skills, even when you enjoy making things for people. I do too, but I also know not everyone deserves the craft made with love and care from me. Because not everyone appreciates what goes into it.