How to Price Crochet and Knitting
Crochet and knitting have cheap materials and a lot of hours, so the price question is really about your time. Here is how to cost a make, and what to do when the honest price looks too high.
What goes into the cost of one make
- Yarn by the gram: weigh the finished piece and cost the grams used, not whole skeins.
- Stuffing, safety eyes, buttons, labels.
- Your time: every hour, at a rate you would accept for skilled work.
- Overheads: hooks, needles, patterns, fees.
Worked example: a 20 cm amigurumi bear
Yarn, stuffing, safety eyes and a label come to $5.35. Four hours at $20 an hour adds $80, so the bear costs $85.95. Sold at $45, you lose $45.67 against that cost, which means your time earns $8.58 an hour. The lowest price for a 35% margin is $155.68.
What to do when the real price is too high
- Make faster designs: smaller sizes or simpler stitches for your lower-priced range.
- Price signature pieces at their real cost and sell fewer of them.
- Sell patterns as well. A pattern earns again without new hours.
- Decide your minimum hourly rate before you set any price.
The spreadsheet for crochet and knitting
The Crochet & Knitting Cost & Pricing Calculator costs yarn by the gram, has a yarn usage helper (grams to metres and skeins) and shows what your time really earns at your current price (Excel and Google Sheets).
Work out your own price
Try your numbers in the free handmade pricing calculator, one product at a time. The general method is on How to Price Handmade Products.
Example figures use $20 an hour for your time, $120 a month of overheads spread over 200 items, the 2 × 2 wholesale/retail rule, and Etsy-style fees of about 9.5% + $0.45. Your supplier prices will differ.