The acrylic yarn conversation is not one I was ready for when I started crocheting but it’s so cheap and I have at most $20 to spend and I’m a plus sized woman who loves to make full sweaters, I can’t afford the better fibers in the quantities I need for my sweaters. I’m glad I have people in the community that don’t shame me for that 💜💜💜
Yo this is so important. I don't buy acrylic yarn--I just don't like it--but I am also plus sized, and knitted clothing materials are f***** expensive! I need so much yarn for my body, and I definitely had to rely on acrylic before I settled into my current job. And secondhand yarn is great when you can get it, but it is hard to find what you need in sweater quantities. Honestly, buy acrylic if that's what you can afford! Sustainability is important, but so is being a human being with joy in their lives. It's easier to make a difference in areas you care about if you're happy.
Don't feel pressured to buy only natural fibers. There are bacteria and animals, like crabs and some types of grubs, that are starting to be able to break down plastics into basic things other bacteria and animals can break down further. Microplastics are becoming much less of an issue (compared to how the media makes it seem) Of course, you can buy second-hand yarn, yarn that would be tossed in the trash can be a good thing, but don't feel guilty for using it/buying new anyway. Unless everyone starts raising sheep, I don't think everyone should only use natural fibers ever. Cause a sheep and plants can only make so much fiber 😅
I hate when people judge others for using acryllic yarn, not just because of prices but also because I have sensory issues. Acryllic is a material that I can comfortably work with for long periods of time without making my skin crawl. Cotton is too soft for me and wool is often too rough. Idk, at least the brands that I know and love are in that happy medium that I can deal with.
Same!! I’m so afraid to buy yarn online bc I can’t feel it before I buy it, but I have limited options for buying yarn near me. Do you have any faves that you recommend?
@@Sarah-ic4yu I've been mostly using Caron One Pound and Loops and Threads. They're probably not for everyone, but I love them. They're also cheaper than most brands while still holding up really well even after washing. I will say Loops and Threads has a more limited color selection but, aside from that, I have no complaints because Caron picks up the slack for me on that front. But like any other acrylic yarn, they're a bit bulky, so just keep that in mind when you're thinking up projects. Good luck, I hope you find something you like!
Hot take- I HATE when people see me crocheting in public (school mainly) and come up to me and ask me if I can make them something. It’s so disrespectful in my opinion, ESPECIALLY when they don’t expect to pay for it, or expect to pay $5-$20 at most😭. Might be controversial, but I think it could also be a common thing because I’ve experienced it so many different times. Part of me finds it nice still that someone wants me to make them something, but even if they don’t understand the making process I still end up feeling a bit disrespected.
Totally agree. They will also expect you to make something entirely outside of your wheelhouse. For example, I do portraits in watercolour, but people are constantly asking me to design them tattoos with skulls and roses and shit because they think all drawing is the same. Always left with an awkward convo like "well, this is portraiture, what you're asking for is a tattoo design, those two are infact not the same, if you want a portrait tatoo, plenty of tattoo artists who do portraits can do that themselves and would likely prefer it than have some random watercolourist do their job for them"
I also work at a tattoo shop and the whole “charge your worth” is definitely a topic of conversation there too. Your worth ISNT measured by how long you’ve been doing your craft or even necessarily how quickly you can do it, it’s based off of skill. You can have someone in the industry for 10+ years and they can bust out something amazing and high quality super quickly and then have someone in the industry for the same amount of time who takes forever and their work barely stands the test of time. If they were charging equally by the hour the second guy would be making more money on less quality work. I gave away my first beanie that i made, took me like 2 days to complete and I’m glad I didn’t charge because that thing is falling apart. Now i have the skill to make things last but it takes me almost 2 weeks to make one beanie. So now there’s the math of answering what is my time actually worth and what is both fair to my customer, to me, and to future customers & me when I get better and raise my prices.
The "frog or sell if you don't use it within 3 years" idea is interesting! I can totally see why it would work for people -- I have a similar philosophy for donating store bought clothes -- but for fiber arts, I love having tangible proof of where I started and how much my skills have improved. Definitely worth the extra money spent on vacuum-seal bags and totes haha, but again, I understand why frogging/selling would be more appealing to others
I just can't fathom how people are frogging complete items with woven in ends. Once my ends are woven in, nothing can be frogged past that point without hacking away at the section with scissors. I half frogged a solid grey sweater and couldn't get past a certain point where the yarn must have ended and started again, I ended up cutting out and entire row of stitches to find the end of the yarn again and wasted so much yarn doing so.
For me, clothing tends to be easier to crochet but take a lot more time, amigurumi takes a way shorter time to make because they tend to be smaller (I lean towards making smaller plushies usually), though the patterns/making my own patterns tend to be a lot more complicated
I support a big yarn stash. I ordered all my yarn in bulk in 2020 and now 2023 I'm down to like 10 skeins. It really pushed me to color coordinate and to even put random colors together. Once I fully run out I"m going to bulk order again but from a different yarn site than the last one.
Totally! if your using it there is nothing wrong with getting it in bulk. it's 2023 and bulk buying is cheap and easier (also less planes to fly in shipping)
Wow that’s great! I have SO MUCH yarn I need to use up . I did a few big bulk buys in 2020, I was selling a heck of a lot of plushies at the time and I was also doing blankets. But then real life got in the way, no one wanted plushies for a while and then the new stuff I wanted to make needed like 8 skeins of one colour so I’d have to keep buying. But now I’m really trying to only use what I have! I am going to donate a couple bags of yarn to my sons school, they make pompoms and weaving on cardboard looms etc
if i see yarn i like and its in my budget ill buy some, i dont get the issue with having a yarn stash, alot of the time the yarn in my stash is also my inspiration for projects
I don't gauge swatch for crochet, as it's relatively simple to adjust. But I plan on doing so once I start knitting - partially just because I love the idea of having a whole collection of swatches.
I’m exactly the same with gifts! I saw the Stone Knits herding cats socks and showed them to one of my best friends who loves cats. She was like omg those are so cute I would love a pair, and I was just like “you’ll get one, when you least expect it and not for an occasion. Suddenly I’ll get the urge and just need to make them for you instantly. You’re not allowed to ask for them though!”
To the sustainability hot take: nobody is going to be perfect. One person cannot solve the issues within the fiber industry--and that's why we all do what we can! Community, innit? I feel like it's more important to be aware of the sustainability factor and make informed choices about what you can and cannot do and then go from there, because making sustainable buying choices is a privilege not everyone has. The information itself is hard to get ahold of too; there are so many opinions and greenwashing marketing campaigns and bullshit floating around, we really need to be gentle with each other about making informed choices and allowing people the autonomy to make their own (and respecting the choice they make, granted it's not, like, killing someone).
personally, I agree with what you said about the last take with being mindful about what it is you’re actually selling while you price it. However, I also think that if someone believes they put in a lot of hours and made a good quality product I think they should price it however they want, and if you think it’s too expensive, simply don’t buy it
Agreed. Some of my embroidery projects would be impossible (for me anyway) to sell for a price that pays me minimum wage to make them, but I'm also happy to not sell them if if nobody want to buy them, I wouldn't begin these projects if selling them was the plan. I prefer to work on large scale, creating things that wouldn't sell for exactly that reason, because otherwise they wouldn't exist.
I have a problem with people sending me someone else’s work asking if I can make it and charge less than the original artists work, as if I’m some sort of discount store! 🤦♀️
When it comes to “time” it takes to make a pattern, I always use “active time” I have a couple apps on my phone to help keep track of time I have on each project. When I sit down, I start my timer and when I put it down I stop. If it’s something I’ve made only once, I usually go off on that time for pricing unless it’s a ridiculous amount of time.
it took some practice for me to get the magic ring, but it wasn't as insanely hard as everyone makes it out to be. feel like it makes people intimidated before they even try it. but if you've tried and find the chain ring easier, more power to ya!
Regarding big yarn stashes: my point of view is that yarn is more than just what you make of it. The value of yarn is bigger than the potential makes: yarn is decor, yarn is pillowy goodness that you can touch and smell and feel comforted by. Yarn is possible to collect and admire and I don't see people using large yarn stashes as flexes. I see some people being proud, happy and living their best yarn life, and I see people feeling ashamed and feeling the need to apologise for having large amounts of yarn. Just having a thing whether it is yarn, stuffed animals, paintings, instruments, whatever: those things mean something to the people having them. Yarn is something that I love, and I think it is bonkers to shame och criticize someone for spending money (and time) on something they love that is not in any direct way hurting anyone else. Let people love the things they love.
my hot take is that if you're going through the trouble of crocheting a whole sweater you might as well look up how to shape it instead of just making 4 rectangles. like i can kinda get behind not shaping the armholes but shaping the neck really isn't that hard and looks so much nicer
My biggest hot take is that people need to Chill OUT about leftovers and scraps! ‘I only have half a skien left,’ ok and? Colorwork accent color, embroidery, waste yarn, stuffed animals, ect. I’m making a shawl with feathers that calls for a lot of colors, am I buying all new skeins? No! I’m using a lot of scraps in the same weight(ish) and it’s working perfectly because I only need a little of each color! Try out new patterns in leftover yarn if you don’t know them yet or make items that incorporate them without making the 6 yarns at a time ugly scrap projects.
i do think it's absolutely difficult to gauge pricing. everyone deserves to get paid for their labor and shouldn't be paid less than minimum wage, but at the same time we do also have to be reasonable about what people are actually willing/able to pay. at the very least, i like to know what the piece _would_ cost when factoring in cost of materials and labor time because then i can tell people when i'm giving them gifts i've made that they're getting a $500 pair of socks, or whatever.
i get a lot of hate for using acrylic, but i have a horrible wool allergy, and my hands break out in hives when i knit/crochet with it, so i have no choice but to use acrylic. i do try my best to get hemp/cotton/bamboo when i can, but its not always feasible. also, running a small business, i already have a hard enough time convincing people of the value of my stuffed animals, it would be worse if i had to buy more expensive yarn and thus increase my prices.
So many thoughts! I enjoy these kind of videos for sure. So first, I don't gauge simply because I mostly make amigurumi, and the clothes I do make I make for me, and I know how big to crochet things to fit. Also, I loooove granny squares too. They're so soothing and easy, and there are soooo many different symbols, stitches, colors to use! I don't see any problems with having a large yarn stash as long as you're not someone who blatantly shoves it into other people's faces? It's the humble brag type of thing that makes it gross. Otherwise, it's your own money, spend it how you like, you know? I don't care how much yarn someone else has and I don't see why anyone would care about how much I have either. I learned amigurumi first and have been making them for about 2-3 years now, and I definitely think making clothes is harder. It takes waaaaaaaaaaaay longer, and you need to be pretty much exact on the measurements or else it won't fit the intended person (whether that's yourself or someone else). In the last 6 months I've started crocheting clothes, and I stand firm that ami is easier lol. I haaate weaving in ends soooooooooo much. If I can hide them I definitely will lol. And as for the pattern prices, YES. I see so many mushroom ami patterns (for example), and some of them are $2-4 (reasonable) while others are legit $8+ (which is INSANE - I genuinely don't see how they make any sales). Especially when quite a few animals/fruits/etc amigurumi patterns are free on blogs and TH-cam and easily searchable on Google.....
Buckle up, I have a lot of opinions here 👀 Granny squares: I love the look but personally hate color changes (and weaving in the ends from each row). But what I hate most is seaming them together! Maybe I just haven’t found a good seaming method yet? Yarn stash: I gift a lot of items but also don’t have a ton of extra money, I tend to stock up when I can take advantage of an awesome sale (Hobby Lobby I’m looking at you!). Sometimes I buy yarn without a plan, but I love to look at it and squish it until I find the right inspiration! Magic circle: was so hard for me to grasp! I had to watch several different videos before I found someone to explain it to my brain properly. I love it because I can close it up tight! Ch4 method does not compute. Ami vs clothes: clothing is so intimidating to me! I started a cardigan a few months ago for my daughter but am worried about the outcome and can’t make myself finish it yet. I love amigurumi but, again, I hate sewing pieces together. Content: I watch different content creators for different reasons. I love listening to you as I’m doing other things (crocheting, housework, etc). I have others that I prefer their tutorials over. Not one creator should be expected to do it all! I’m a 30 year old wife and stay at home mom of four, sometimes I just want to hang out with my “TH-cam friends” while I get stuff done. I get excited when I see that you’ve posted since it’s not on a schedule right now, it’s like a little surprise! Thank you for taking time from school to entertain us!
Adding to the "sell your worth" thing: imo you should not only keep the item you're making in mind, but also your skill level. A beginning knitter's items aren't going to be the same quality as someone who's been knitting seriously for 10+ years, and should be priced accordingly. It's interesting witnessing the conversation about pricing among fiber artists as someone who saw very similar discussions happening among digital artists in the 2010s
I’ve nearly left a couple of FB groups because people ask such basic questions in a demanding tone that they could easily google. & people insist they followed the pattern & demand someone explain how to fix their make with nothing but a photo & insistence that they followed the pattern…thousands of people also followed the pattern & didn’t have the issue…
Okay so I'm definitely under charging for my crochet 😂, but I also want to be someone who has affordable options. I also hate when someone sends me something (usually knitted when I crochet) then tell me they wan it. Like good for you, but I don't have time to make that currently. I've had to set specific boundaries for myself.
i agree sm with your take on sustainability. i use acrylic for the colors, some is scratchy but sometimes it costs less even to get a softer version of the same color. i use up every single bit of my yarn, acrylic, cotton, polyester, i use up every scrap, either in stuffing or whatever, i dont throw out scraps i find every little way to use up that 3 yards of lime green i used on a project 3 months ago
I'm not sure if it is what they meant, but weaving in ends is much, much easier with a bent tip needle. I saw TLyarncraft suggest it and I thought it couldn't possibly be that much of an improvement, but I got one and the little bent tip makes a a huge difference. It doesn't make it fun, but it makes the weaving faster. Also, doing the weaving as I work is a pain, but it's a small annoyance that saves my future self a big irritation.
Stash: My stash is there because of projects that I abandoned or just flat out never started but planned to, these are all ombre, mandala or variegated yarns though because like who is just able to randomly sub those anywhere? Color yarns get used immediately if that projects not there, but all my other skeins need a project that calls for them so in the stash they sit. Its just the nature of creating, I have very large canvases I never oil painted on either but totally planned to so in my art stash they sit waiting for a project Acrylic: I'm going acrylic free for personal sustainability reason and I feel like that should be a personal choice everyone needs to make. Many people are walking into B&M stores not going to wecrochet or hobbi and having to choose between Acrylic, a nearly empty cotton section and wool blends that are 80% acrylic anyway. Its none of my business why anyone uses the fiber that they do
I have a large yarn stash only because someone I know buys a lot of yarn and if they don't use it will throw it away, so I take all these and I'm slowly working through it
For the "frog/sell everything you don't wear X amount of times in Y timeframe", I kinda do that, but subconsciously. Like if something sits around for a long time and I never wear it, there will be a point in time when I am going to look at it and either try wearing it, modify it and then try to wear it, see if someone else wants it, or just frog. Sometimes the time period is like three months, sometimes over a year. I see why someone would recommend this because it can get discouraging when I see all the things I made laying around - I start thinking about _why_ I am not wearing them, looking for the bad fits (fellow anti-gauge person here), the inconsistent stitching, feeling like I am wasting my time and money... it can spiral quickly. The benefit of frogging is also that you can re-use the yarn for something else, which can cut down on the expenses. About the yarn stash, I wonder if the person meant like the _dormant_ part of the yarn stash - the skeins we buy because they are on sale, or because they caught our eye, or because we _want to,_ damnit, but that we ultimately have no plans for so they essentially just catch dust. If so, I can agree with that. I call myself a hoarder of yarn semi-lovingly but I start to sweat every time I think about how much of it I actually have. It can become a source of genuine stress. I agree with your take on clothing vs. amigurumi difficulty, but I will say one thing - amigurumi will almost always be harder on the hands because the tension needs to be tight, which is something you often (or mostly) don't want in clothing.
Hi Anna Kallajian right now I am working on my cottage core mosaic blanket and granny squares blanket and half double crochet blanket and I love your channel and your videos and if you keep making videos I will keep watching them and what is your favorite crochet project to work on right now and favorite types of yarn to used when crocheting and keep up the great work on your TH-cam channel and keep up the great work on your crochet projects
idk how i feel about patterns because i dont buy them but i am also upset with time = money w pricing things. because it's like... i don't know. people wanna go on about 'ppl in factories get paid almost nothing for things!' but its also. the output is not the same. factories make things faster, have more skilled workers because of their output, etc. etc. also if you're knitting or crocheting you're competing with literal knitting machines? basically what im saying is that even if everyone in a factory was being paid a fair wage they *still* would be making far less than what one crafter makes for the same item. If it is a custom made thing (i.e. completely new design the crafter has never made before) i think you can charge as much as you want, but if you're making a bunch of the same plushies, it is something worth considering! when someone says 'you have as many hours in the day as beyonce' they never consider that because of wealth and technology, actually? she has a lot more than that.
As far as pricing patterns, I agree there is a lot of nuance to it. But specifically for things that are just granny squares sewn together, I totally agree with that person. I can see that there may be some value to a beginner in a written granny square pattern but it feels bad to me because no one really owns granny squares (in the traditional groups of double crochets sense). So it feels weird to me when people create patterns entirely made of this very basic square and charge for it.
21:33 yeah of course people are gonna be upset. We’ve been taught not to value our labor or other peoples labor. We’ve been taught to always go cheap. We’re not used to fair wages. But if I’m gonna sell crochet pieces you bet your ass I’m timing myself and charging $20/hr cuz everyone deserves a living wage. (I’m not really inclined on selling my crochet though if I do it would just be to get rid of stuff this is more a hypothetical selling crochet for a living situation)
I feel like the charge your worth conversation is one that's very hard to have without offending people, but I do genuinely believe that some people overcharge. I don't think people should be selling their garments or big plushies for less than 20 bucks, but I also think some people are a little entitled. As a somewhat beginner crocheter I understand how much time these pieces can take, but I also think people need to realize that people aren't made of money. I remember seeing someone say they were charging over $900 for a granny square trench coat and lost my mind. Because while it probably took them a long time, I seriously cannot forsee anyone paying over $200-300 for a jacket, no matter how much time it took the artist to make. And when you could buy a low end computer for the amount you're charging for a jacket, I think it's time to rethink.
I mean it’s handmade and can only ever be handmade it can’t be replicated by a machine therefore 900$ isn’t crazy honestly if Louis Vuitton and all these other high luxury brands can sell a machine made purse for 5000$ and there’s still people that buy it even though most people can’t afford it. I think it’s safe to say there is always going to be someone that is going to value your product no matter how ridiculous you think the price is .
on the last take, i kinda agree with you. this might be very controversial but i think pricing should reflect the originality of product more than the labour it took to make it. like i think if you have a distinctive style or fit or you use techniques or design elements that make your product unique and it's very much YOUR brand/aesthetic and that has a lot more value to a consumer than that something literally anyone could make with a free pattern and a beginner knowledge or knitting/crochet. that being said, the cost of labour should be unquestionably valued. no handmade item should be remotely close to the cost of fast fashion prices, but (and i get that it might be hard for fibre artists to objectively judge the value of their product) overpricing basic pieces seems like they're overvaluing their skills/labour without considering if it's truly a fair price for the customer to pay
I think Amigurumi is easier than clothing because you don’t have to worry about matching a swatch. It’s pretty much crochet as tight as you can. Whereas clothing, I think every designer can have a different crochet style and because of that I feel like I have to adapt how I crochet to their style and that gets tiresome.
Just bc you’re an artist doesn’t mean you’re an educator. It’s great to pass down knowledge, but no one should feel entitled when there are other resources available.
old video but the acrylic yarn thing. I am noticing a lot more recycled acrylic, the works have their own range now. If you want to be more sustainable there are options. second hand yarn and reclaimed yarn exist too!
Interesting… this was some good topics. Especially pricing crochet based on minimum wage per hour I strongly disagree with. I suggest makers fee, profit margin plus supplies.
I don’t think the point was that a big stash is bad. It was saying it’s not a flex. Being like “look at me, look at my stash, are you really a fibre artist if you don’t have a whole wall of yarn?” like yes you are. You’re a fibre artist if you’ve got just 1 ball. Half a ball even. Nothing wrong with a stash, especially if this is your career and your art. But people shouldn’t feel the need to have a crazy big collection they aren’t even using it. You don’t have to buy it just to say you have it
My hot take - garter/purl stitch is UGLY AF 😅 to me it always looks like the "wrong"/back side of the work. I just can't bring myself to knit anything that shows it. A shame because some things like the famous Sophie scarf are really popular and I like the concept, but I just can't get past how ugly it looks with all that garter stitch 😅
What do u do if you're trying to match a Guage swatch and using a different weight of yarn? Change hook size and tension? I wanna make clothes but I prefer sport and sock weight yarn because it's more comfortable for me but a lot of patterns I see use 3 and 4 weight yarn. I am not experienced enough to where I can just freehand stuff or improvise yet
I hate the idea of "not having a stash" About once maybe twice a year i buy like $150ish worth of mostly acrylic yarn in pretty colors and get rid of stuff i know im just not gonna use. I use my yarn balls and scraps all the way down to stuffing animals and pillows.
honestly i’m sick of the dialog about overconsumption when it comes to yarn. This is gonna sound dumb but My yarn is a huge part of my identity… it’s a decoration for my space, it’s how I give my craft room personality. it’s what i collect, and I also use a lot of it. I love my stash and the happiness it brings me should be good enough and I’m tired of people trying to be so controlling about others buying yarn. Granted i’m not buying yarn and then getting rid of it, i hang on to it. Are people really buying yarn and then throwing it away or donating the majority? I highly doubt it’s the case that someone is buying hundreds of dollars of yarn and then throwing it away. just my opinion!
21:03 in Don’t understand this comment. If you’re a beginner and you feel confident enough to sell pieces you’re not supposed to be paid for your labor???
The "frog it if you dont wear it" take is weird. Loke my boyrfriend does beadwork crochet, he makes whole sweaters covered in glass beads, some of them are so delicate that they can only be worn once or twice, but frogging them would be an insane waste and the beads would make it almost impossible because they lock the stitches closed.
Don’t like granny squares, at least not the “traditional” ones. I made I swirly one once, that’s the only one I’ve ever seen and actually liked. Idk, I just don’t get the hype
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The acrylic yarn conversation is not one I was ready for when I started crocheting but it’s so cheap and I have at most $20 to spend and I’m a plus sized woman who loves to make full sweaters, I can’t afford the better fibers in the quantities I need for my sweaters. I’m glad I have people in the community that don’t shame me for that 💜💜💜
I can also recommend looking for second hand yarn :)
@@Theresa3251 agreed!! So many people who have big boxes of yarn of any kind to give away/sell 😊
Yo this is so important. I don't buy acrylic yarn--I just don't like it--but I am also plus sized, and knitted clothing materials are f***** expensive! I need so much yarn for my body, and I definitely had to rely on acrylic before I settled into my current job. And secondhand yarn is great when you can get it, but it is hard to find what you need in sweater quantities. Honestly, buy acrylic if that's what you can afford! Sustainability is important, but so is being a human being with joy in their lives. It's easier to make a difference in areas you care about if you're happy.
Don't feel pressured to buy only natural fibers.
There are bacteria and animals, like crabs and some types of grubs, that are starting to be able to break down plastics into basic things other bacteria and animals can break down further.
Microplastics are becoming much less of an issue (compared to how the media makes it seem)
Of course, you can buy second-hand yarn, yarn that would be tossed in the trash can be a good thing, but don't feel guilty for using it/buying new anyway.
Unless everyone starts raising sheep, I don't think everyone should only use natural fibers ever.
Cause a sheep and plants can only make so much fiber 😅
Right?! I had to use klarna to pay in 4 for lion brand hue + me 20% wool and it was $100😢
I hate when people judge others for using acryllic yarn, not just because of prices but also because I have sensory issues. Acryllic is a material that I can comfortably work with for long periods of time without making my skin crawl. Cotton is too soft for me and wool is often too rough. Idk, at least the brands that I know and love are in that happy medium that I can deal with.
Same!! I’m so afraid to buy yarn online bc I can’t feel it before I buy it, but I have limited options for buying yarn near me. Do you have any faves that you recommend?
@@Sarah-ic4yu I've been mostly using Caron One Pound and Loops and Threads. They're probably not for everyone, but I love them. They're also cheaper than most brands while still holding up really well even after washing. I will say Loops and Threads has a more limited color selection but, aside from that, I have no complaints because Caron picks up the slack for me on that front. But like any other acrylic yarn, they're a bit bulky, so just keep that in mind when you're thinking up projects. Good luck, I hope you find something you like!
I use metal needles to weave in my yarn, it’s so much easier
Hot take- I HATE when people see me crocheting in public (school mainly) and come up to me and ask me if I can make them something. It’s so disrespectful in my opinion, ESPECIALLY when they don’t expect to pay for it, or expect to pay $5-$20 at most😭. Might be controversial, but I think it could also be a common thing because I’ve experienced it so many different times. Part of me finds it nice still that someone wants me to make them something, but even if they don’t understand the making process I still end up feeling a bit disrespected.
i totally agree, ive had similar experiences (mostly at school) as well.
Totally agree. They will also expect you to make something entirely outside of your wheelhouse. For example, I do portraits in watercolour, but people are constantly asking me to design them tattoos with skulls and roses and shit because they think all drawing is the same. Always left with an awkward convo like "well, this is portraiture, what you're asking for is a tattoo design, those two are infact not the same, if you want a portrait tatoo, plenty of tattoo artists who do portraits can do that themselves and would likely prefer it than have some random watercolourist do their job for them"
I also work at a tattoo shop and the whole “charge your worth” is definitely a topic of conversation there too. Your worth ISNT measured by how long you’ve been doing your craft or even necessarily how quickly you can do it, it’s based off of skill. You can have someone in the industry for 10+ years and they can bust out something amazing and high quality super quickly and then have someone in the industry for the same amount of time who takes forever and their work barely stands the test of time. If they were charging equally by the hour the second guy would be making more money on less quality work. I gave away my first beanie that i made, took me like 2 days to complete and I’m glad I didn’t charge because that thing is falling apart. Now i have the skill to make things last but it takes me almost 2 weeks to make one beanie. So now there’s the math of answering what is my time actually worth and what is both fair to my customer, to me, and to future customers & me when I get better and raise my prices.
The "frog or sell if you don't use it within 3 years" idea is interesting! I can totally see why it would work for people -- I have a similar philosophy for donating store bought clothes -- but for fiber arts, I love having tangible proof of where I started and how much my skills have improved. Definitely worth the extra money spent on vacuum-seal bags and totes haha, but again, I understand why frogging/selling would be more appealing to others
I just can't fathom how people are frogging complete items with woven in ends. Once my ends are woven in, nothing can be frogged past that point without hacking away at the section with scissors. I half frogged a solid grey sweater and couldn't get past a certain point where the yarn must have ended and started again, I ended up cutting out and entire row of stitches to find the end of the yarn again and wasted so much yarn doing so.
For me, clothing tends to be easier to crochet but take a lot more time, amigurumi takes a way shorter time to make because they tend to be smaller (I lean towards making smaller plushies usually), though the patterns/making my own patterns tend to be a lot more complicated
I support a big yarn stash. I ordered all my yarn in bulk in 2020 and now 2023 I'm down to like 10 skeins. It really pushed me to color coordinate and to even put random colors together. Once I fully run out I"m going to bulk order again but from a different yarn site than the last one.
Totally! if your using it there is nothing wrong with getting it in bulk. it's 2023 and bulk buying is cheap and easier (also less planes to fly in shipping)
Wow that’s great! I have SO MUCH yarn I need to use up . I did a few big bulk buys in 2020, I was selling a heck of a lot of plushies at the time and I was also doing blankets. But then real life got in the way, no one wanted plushies for a while and then the new stuff I wanted to make needed like 8 skeins of one colour so I’d have to keep buying. But now I’m really trying to only use what I have! I am going to donate a couple bags of yarn to my sons school, they make pompoms and weaving on cardboard looms etc
Where do you bulk buy from?
if i see yarn i like and its in my budget ill buy some, i dont get the issue with having a yarn stash, alot of the time the yarn in my stash is also my inspiration for projects
I don't gauge swatch for crochet, as it's relatively simple to adjust. But I plan on doing so once I start knitting - partially just because I love the idea of having a whole collection of swatches.
I’m exactly the same with gifts! I saw the Stone Knits herding cats socks and showed them to one of my best friends who loves cats. She was like omg those are so cute I would love a pair, and I was just like “you’ll get one, when you least expect it and not for an occasion. Suddenly I’ll get the urge and just need to make them for you instantly. You’re not allowed to ask for them though!”
To the sustainability hot take: nobody is going to be perfect. One person cannot solve the issues within the fiber industry--and that's why we all do what we can! Community, innit? I feel like it's more important to be aware of the sustainability factor and make informed choices about what you can and cannot do and then go from there, because making sustainable buying choices is a privilege not everyone has. The information itself is hard to get ahold of too; there are so many opinions and greenwashing marketing campaigns and bullshit floating around, we really need to be gentle with each other about making informed choices and allowing people the autonomy to make their own (and respecting the choice they make, granted it's not, like, killing someone).
personally, I agree with what you said about the last take with being mindful about what it is you’re actually selling while you price it. However, I also think that if someone believes they put in a lot of hours and made a good quality product I think they should price it however they want, and if you think it’s too expensive, simply don’t buy it
i agree. it is all up to the person at the end of the day
Agreed. Some of my embroidery projects would be impossible (for me anyway) to sell for a price that pays me minimum wage to make them, but I'm also happy to not sell them if if nobody want to buy them, I wouldn't begin these projects if selling them was the plan. I prefer to work on large scale, creating things that wouldn't sell for exactly that reason, because otherwise they wouldn't exist.
I have a problem with people sending me someone else’s work asking if I can make it and charge less than the original artists work, as if I’m some sort of discount store! 🤦♀️
When it comes to “time” it takes to make a pattern, I always use “active time” I have a couple apps on my phone to help keep track of time I have on each project. When I sit down, I start my timer and when I put it down I stop. If it’s something I’ve made only once, I usually go off on that time for pricing unless it’s a ridiculous amount of time.
it took some practice for me to get the magic ring, but it wasn't as insanely hard as everyone makes it out to be. feel like it makes people intimidated before they even try it. but if you've tried and find the chain ring easier, more power to ya!
Regarding big yarn stashes: my point of view is that yarn is more than just what you make of it. The value of yarn is bigger than the potential makes: yarn is decor, yarn is pillowy goodness that you can touch and smell and feel comforted by. Yarn is possible to collect and admire and I don't see people using large yarn stashes as flexes. I see some people being proud, happy and living their best yarn life, and I see people feeling ashamed and feeling the need to apologise for having large amounts of yarn.
Just having a thing whether it is yarn, stuffed animals, paintings, instruments, whatever: those things mean something to the people having them. Yarn is something that I love, and I think it is bonkers to shame och criticize someone for spending money (and time) on something they love that is not in any direct way hurting anyone else. Let people love the things they love.
my hot take is that if you're going through the trouble of crocheting a whole sweater you might as well look up how to shape it instead of just making 4 rectangles. like i can kinda get behind not shaping the armholes but shaping the neck really isn't that hard and looks so much nicer
My biggest hot take is that people need to Chill OUT about leftovers and scraps! ‘I only have half a skien left,’ ok and? Colorwork accent color, embroidery, waste yarn, stuffed animals, ect. I’m making a shawl with feathers that calls for a lot of colors, am I buying all new skeins? No! I’m using a lot of scraps in the same weight(ish) and it’s working perfectly because I only need a little of each color! Try out new patterns in leftover yarn if you don’t know them yet or make items that incorporate them without making the 6 yarns at a time ugly scrap projects.
i do think it's absolutely difficult to gauge pricing. everyone deserves to get paid for their labor and shouldn't be paid less than minimum wage, but at the same time we do also have to be reasonable about what people are actually willing/able to pay.
at the very least, i like to know what the piece _would_ cost when factoring in cost of materials and labor time because then i can tell people when i'm giving them gifts i've made that they're getting a $500 pair of socks, or whatever.
i get a lot of hate for using acrylic, but i have a horrible wool allergy, and my hands break out in hives when i knit/crochet with it, so i have no choice but to use acrylic. i do try my best to get hemp/cotton/bamboo when i can, but its not always feasible. also, running a small business, i already have a hard enough time convincing people of the value of my stuffed animals, it would be worse if i had to buy more expensive yarn and thus increase my prices.
So many thoughts! I enjoy these kind of videos for sure. So first, I don't gauge simply because I mostly make amigurumi, and the clothes I do make I make for me, and I know how big to crochet things to fit. Also, I loooove granny squares too. They're so soothing and easy, and there are soooo many different symbols, stitches, colors to use!
I don't see any problems with having a large yarn stash as long as you're not someone who blatantly shoves it into other people's faces? It's the humble brag type of thing that makes it gross. Otherwise, it's your own money, spend it how you like, you know? I don't care how much yarn someone else has and I don't see why anyone would care about how much I have either.
I learned amigurumi first and have been making them for about 2-3 years now, and I definitely think making clothes is harder. It takes waaaaaaaaaaaay longer, and you need to be pretty much exact on the measurements or else it won't fit the intended person (whether that's yourself or someone else). In the last 6 months I've started crocheting clothes, and I stand firm that ami is easier lol.
I haaate weaving in ends soooooooooo much. If I can hide them I definitely will lol. And as for the pattern prices, YES. I see so many mushroom ami patterns (for example), and some of them are $2-4 (reasonable) while others are legit $8+ (which is INSANE - I genuinely don't see how they make any sales). Especially when quite a few animals/fruits/etc amigurumi patterns are free on blogs and TH-cam and easily searchable on Google.....
Buckle up, I have a lot of opinions here 👀
Granny squares: I love the look but personally hate color changes (and weaving in the ends from each row). But what I hate most is seaming them together! Maybe I just haven’t found a good seaming method yet?
Yarn stash: I gift a lot of items but also don’t have a ton of extra money, I tend to stock up when I can take advantage of an awesome sale (Hobby Lobby I’m looking at you!). Sometimes I buy yarn without a plan, but I love to look at it and squish it until I find the right inspiration!
Magic circle: was so hard for me to grasp! I had to watch several different videos before I found someone to explain it to my brain properly. I love it because I can close it up tight! Ch4 method does not compute.
Ami vs clothes: clothing is so intimidating to me! I started a cardigan a few months ago for my daughter but am worried about the outcome and can’t make myself finish it yet. I love amigurumi but, again, I hate sewing pieces together.
Content: I watch different content creators for different reasons. I love listening to you as I’m doing other things (crocheting, housework, etc). I have others that I prefer their tutorials over. Not one creator should be expected to do it all! I’m a 30 year old wife and stay at home mom of four, sometimes I just want to hang out with my “TH-cam friends” while I get stuff done.
I get excited when I see that you’ve posted since it’s not on a schedule right now, it’s like a little surprise! Thank you for taking time from school to entertain us!
I swear, we must have the same brain because this is exactly what I think with my crocheting!😮
Adding to the "sell your worth" thing: imo you should not only keep the item you're making in mind, but also your skill level. A beginning knitter's items aren't going to be the same quality as someone who's been knitting seriously for 10+ years, and should be priced accordingly. It's interesting witnessing the conversation about pricing among fiber artists as someone who saw very similar discussions happening among digital artists in the 2010s
I’ve nearly left a couple of FB groups because people ask such basic questions in a demanding tone that they could easily google. & people insist they followed the pattern & demand someone explain how to fix their make with nothing but a photo & insistence that they followed the pattern…thousands of people also followed the pattern & didn’t have the issue…
Okay so I'm definitely under charging for my crochet 😂, but I also want to be someone who has affordable options. I also hate when someone sends me something (usually knitted when I crochet) then tell me they wan it. Like good for you, but I don't have time to make that currently. I've had to set specific boundaries for myself.
i agree sm with your take on sustainability. i use acrylic for the colors, some is scratchy but sometimes it costs less even to get a softer version of the same color. i use up every single bit of my yarn, acrylic, cotton, polyester, i use up every scrap, either in stuffing or whatever, i dont throw out scraps i find every little way to use up that 3 yards of lime green i used on a project 3 months ago
I'm not sure if it is what they meant, but weaving in ends is much, much easier with a bent tip needle. I saw TLyarncraft suggest it and I thought it couldn't possibly be that much of an improvement, but I got one and the little bent tip makes a a huge difference. It doesn't make it fun, but it makes the weaving faster.
Also, doing the weaving as I work is a pain, but it's a small annoyance that saves my future self a big irritation.
Stash: My stash is there because of projects that I abandoned or just flat out never started but planned to, these are all ombre, mandala or variegated yarns though because like who is just able to randomly sub those anywhere? Color yarns get used immediately if that projects not there, but all my other skeins need a project that calls for them so in the stash they sit. Its just the nature of creating, I have very large canvases I never oil painted on either but totally planned to so in my art stash they sit waiting for a project
Acrylic: I'm going acrylic free for personal sustainability reason and I feel like that should be a personal choice everyone needs to make. Many people are walking into B&M stores not going to wecrochet or hobbi and having to choose between Acrylic, a nearly empty cotton section and wool blends that are 80% acrylic anyway. Its none of my business why anyone uses the fiber that they do
I have a large yarn stash only because someone I know buys a lot of yarn and if they don't use it will throw it away, so I take all these and I'm slowly working through it
I mind I asked an old mutual about yarn, never got an answer for days so went out and found it, posted about it, and they softblocked me lmaooooo
that's just so unnecessary like hello
For the "frog/sell everything you don't wear X amount of times in Y timeframe", I kinda do that, but subconsciously. Like if something sits around for a long time and I never wear it, there will be a point in time when I am going to look at it and either try wearing it, modify it and then try to wear it, see if someone else wants it, or just frog. Sometimes the time period is like three months, sometimes over a year. I see why someone would recommend this because it can get discouraging when I see all the things I made laying around - I start thinking about _why_ I am not wearing them, looking for the bad fits (fellow anti-gauge person here), the inconsistent stitching, feeling like I am wasting my time and money... it can spiral quickly.
The benefit of frogging is also that you can re-use the yarn for something else, which can cut down on the expenses.
About the yarn stash, I wonder if the person meant like the _dormant_ part of the yarn stash - the skeins we buy because they are on sale, or because they caught our eye, or because we _want to,_ damnit, but that we ultimately have no plans for so they essentially just catch dust. If so, I can agree with that. I call myself a hoarder of yarn semi-lovingly but I start to sweat every time I think about how much of it I actually have. It can become a source of genuine stress.
I agree with your take on clothing vs. amigurumi difficulty, but I will say one thing - amigurumi will almost always be harder on the hands because the tension needs to be tight, which is something you often (or mostly) don't want in clothing.
my day always gets better when i hear “hi hello how are we?” it’s a comfort channel 😁
A magic ring is super easy. You just start making a slip knot and dont finish
Hi Anna Kallajian right now I am working on my cottage core mosaic blanket and granny squares blanket and half double crochet blanket and I love your channel and your videos and if you keep making videos I will keep watching them and what is your favorite crochet project to work on right now and favorite types of yarn to used when crocheting and keep up the great work on your TH-cam channel and keep up the great work on your crochet projects
idk how i feel about patterns because i dont buy them but i am also upset with time = money w pricing things. because it's like... i don't know. people wanna go on about 'ppl in factories get paid almost nothing for things!' but its also. the output is not the same. factories make things faster, have more skilled workers because of their output, etc. etc. also if you're knitting or crocheting you're competing with literal knitting machines? basically what im saying is that even if everyone in a factory was being paid a fair wage they *still* would be making far less than what one crafter makes for the same item. If it is a custom made thing (i.e. completely new design the crafter has never made before) i think you can charge as much as you want, but if you're making a bunch of the same plushies, it is something worth considering! when someone says 'you have as many hours in the day as beyonce' they never consider that because of wealth and technology, actually? she has a lot more than that.
As far as pricing patterns, I agree there is a lot of nuance to it. But specifically for things that are just granny squares sewn together, I totally agree with that person. I can see that there may be some value to a beginner in a written granny square pattern but it feels bad to me because no one really owns granny squares (in the traditional groups of double crochets sense). So it feels weird to me when people create patterns entirely made of this very basic square and charge for it.
21:33 yeah of course people are gonna be upset. We’ve been taught not to value our labor or other peoples labor. We’ve been taught to always go cheap. We’re not used to fair wages. But if I’m gonna sell crochet pieces you bet your ass I’m timing myself and charging $20/hr cuz everyone deserves a living wage. (I’m not really inclined on selling my crochet though if I do it would just be to get rid of stuff this is more a hypothetical selling crochet for a living situation)
I feel like the charge your worth conversation is one that's very hard to have without offending people, but I do genuinely believe that some people overcharge. I don't think people should be selling their garments or big plushies for less than 20 bucks, but I also think some people are a little entitled. As a somewhat beginner crocheter I understand how much time these pieces can take, but I also think people need to realize that people aren't made of money. I remember seeing someone say they were charging over $900 for a granny square trench coat and lost my mind. Because while it probably took them a long time, I seriously cannot forsee anyone paying over $200-300 for a jacket, no matter how much time it took the artist to make. And when you could buy a low end computer for the amount you're charging for a jacket, I think it's time to rethink.
I mean it’s handmade and can only ever be handmade it can’t be replicated by a machine therefore 900$ isn’t crazy honestly if Louis Vuitton and all these other high luxury brands can sell a machine made purse for 5000$ and there’s still people that buy it even though most people can’t afford it. I think it’s safe to say there is always going to be someone that is going to value your product no matter how ridiculous you think the price is .
on the last take, i kinda agree with you. this might be very controversial but i think pricing should reflect the originality of product more than the labour it took to make it. like i think if you have a distinctive style or fit or you use techniques or design elements that make your product unique and it's very much YOUR brand/aesthetic and that has a lot more value to a consumer than that something literally anyone could make with a free pattern and a beginner knowledge or knitting/crochet. that being said, the cost of labour should be unquestionably valued. no handmade item should be remotely close to the cost of fast fashion prices, but (and i get that it might be hard for fibre artists to objectively judge the value of their product) overpricing basic pieces seems like they're overvaluing their skills/labour without considering if it's truly a fair price for the customer to pay
I love Balaclavas for those -20 degree days here in Wisconsin.
My favorite needles are the metal ones with bent ends :)
I think Amigurumi is easier than clothing because you don’t have to worry about matching a swatch. It’s pretty much crochet as tight as you can. Whereas clothing, I think every designer can have a different crochet style and because of that I feel like I have to adapt how I crochet to their style and that gets tiresome.
Girllllllll.... I agreed with every single one of your opinions.
Just bc you’re an artist doesn’t mean you’re an educator. It’s great to pass down knowledge, but no one should feel entitled when there are other resources available.
old video but the acrylic yarn thing. I am noticing a lot more recycled acrylic, the works have their own range now. If you want to be more sustainable there are options. second hand yarn and reclaimed yarn exist too!
Here to say I watch your videos too have entertainment while I crochet my own things ❤
💕💕💕
Interesting… this was some good topics. Especially pricing crochet based on minimum wage per hour I strongly disagree with. I suggest makers fee, profit margin plus supplies.
I love the civil hot takes
7:43 I’m always at work so I can’t wear what I want most times. That just seems… undoable for me
I love making gifts for people but they never apprieciate them:/
First!! I love your vids so much ❤️❤️
I don’t think the point was that a big stash is bad. It was saying it’s not a flex. Being like “look at me, look at my stash, are you really a fibre artist if you don’t have a whole wall of yarn?” like yes you are. You’re a fibre artist if you’ve got just 1 ball. Half a ball even. Nothing wrong with a stash, especially if this is your career and your art. But people shouldn’t feel the need to have a crazy big collection they aren’t even using it. You don’t have to buy it just to say you have it
My hot take - garter/purl stitch is UGLY AF 😅 to me it always looks like the "wrong"/back side of the work. I just can't bring myself to knit anything that shows it. A shame because some things like the famous Sophie scarf are really popular and I like the concept, but I just can't get past how ugly it looks with all that garter stitch 😅
What a lovely video!
What do u do if you're trying to match a Guage swatch and using a different weight of yarn? Change hook size and tension? I wanna make clothes but I prefer sport and sock weight yarn because it's more comfortable for me but a lot of patterns I see use 3 and 4 weight yarn. I am not experienced enough to where I can just freehand stuff or improvise yet
I hate the idea of "not having a stash"
About once maybe twice a year i buy like $150ish worth of mostly acrylic yarn in pretty colors and get rid of stuff i know im just not gonna use. I use my yarn balls and scraps all the way down to stuffing animals and pillows.
For me I find clothing too repetitive, as someone with adhd agurumi is a lot more focus and brain work for me
Blanket? Acrylic.
Socks? Wool.
Gatekeeping any patterns that aren’t your own is not acceptable at any time because it’s not even your work
honestly i’m sick of the dialog about overconsumption when it comes to yarn. This is gonna sound dumb but My yarn is a huge part of my identity… it’s a decoration for my space, it’s how I give my craft room personality. it’s what i collect, and I also use a lot of it. I love my stash and the happiness it brings me should be good enough and I’m tired of people trying to be so controlling about others buying yarn. Granted i’m not buying yarn and then getting rid of it, i hang on to it. Are people really buying yarn and then throwing it away or donating the majority? I highly doubt it’s the case that someone is buying hundreds of dollars of yarn and then throwing it away. just my opinion!
also not directed to you Anna ilysm ❤ just a general opinion haha
21:03 in Don’t understand this comment. If you’re a beginner and you feel confident enough to sell pieces you’re not supposed to be paid for your labor???
The "frog it if you dont wear it" take is weird. Loke my boyrfriend does beadwork crochet, he makes whole sweaters covered in glass beads, some of them are so delicate that they can only be worn once or twice, but frogging them would be an insane waste and the beads would make it almost impossible because they lock the stitches closed.
Do you not know Google exists lmao same
Don’t like granny squares, at least not the “traditional” ones. I made I swirly one once, that’s the only one I’ve ever seen and actually liked. Idk, I just don’t get the hype
I charge $1 per hour + materials. That's the most I can get people to pay.
respectfully, hating granny squares is a crime!!!!!
20:40 $10 for a pattern sounds pretty cheap tbh