I thought hard about what to write for the prompt ‘Good to Know’. I thought about sharing the crocheters who inspired me or links to websites which have taught me how to crochet but I thought I’d talk about time.
Time. It’s a somewhat strange concept, especially when crafting something. I think so many people see the finished product and don’t appreciate how long it takes to make.
Some of my pieces might take a few hours to make, such as these cacti.
But other pieces, such as my dolls, might take me over 10hours to finish. To give you an idea, I was commissioned to make Ariel and to thread and style her hair took me over 2.5hours. That was just her hair!
I designed this baby Yoda (or Grogu and we now know). I can’t remember how long it took me to design and make him so I was happy, but there was a lot of ripping out and starting again. The finished Grogu is relatively small, perhaps only 12cm but takes me approximately 5hours to make from beginning to end.
I sent a dear friend a message over the weekend, giving him a sneak peek at a small crochet project I’m currently working on. I’ll share the finished piece soon but my friend was really excited and said his wish for me was that I could make a sustainable business from selling my crochet pieces. I said whilst that’s my dream, the reality is sadly slightly more depressing. I’ve been crocheting for over 4years now, and whilst I wouldn’t like to guess how much time has been spent ‘hooking’, and I’ve watched a LOT of tutorials for different techniques and tried different things. The minimum wage in the UK is currently £8.72 per hour so to make Grogu should cost £43.60 BEFORE adding materials or postage. Who would pay that for a small toy? Especially when you can buy Grogu in the Disney Shop for £21. Sadly the cost of labour doesn’t make it sustainable. In order to make myself competitive, I need to reduce my hourly rate significantly which may make it unsustainable.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to crochet and accept commissions as I love making things and seeing peoples faces when they receive them but was I do ask when next time you buy something handmade, think about the time it’s taken for a small maker to create it.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram to see more of my makes. I’m always open to Commissions, just or have a look in my Shop to see some of my other makes.