Can you make money at sewing/knitting handmade items?

So, the question is, Can you make money from creating handmade items? No. At least, not if you do what I do.  If you sell online you have to pay a fee. Now, I believe Etsy has the lowest fee along with Ebay, but the problem is that people generally do not buy handmade items.

If you sell at Craft Shows you need to pay a $30-$50 fee. A lot of the time you don't even break even. (payed $30, didn't even sell $30 worth of items)  

When I went to the craft show I paid $30 for 1 table. I sold Hotpads and Cat toys. I didn't sell anything else. ($4 for hotpads and $1 for cat toys)

                                                              Both from my Etsy shop

Needless to say, this is why I believe that you cannot make money at this. Not unless you have patented your own brand of item. Which I refuse to do. It is ridiculous to restricted others from creating that same item. Your item is popular, that is great, so why can't others make the same item? It is likely that they won't make it the same way as you and if you already have loyal customers then you shouldn't be afraid of some competition. 

The other way you could make money at this is if you are not the one doing the work and are paying some poor soul 50 cents an item that they make. 

But handmade in the USA by one person isn't worth the money?  Allow me to tell you the time it takes for each item.

Hotpads: I take 1 day to cut the fabric and middle. Then I take an entire second day to iron and pin. Sometimes it takes a third day to sew all the hotpads. Once I made 150 hotpads in a week, but my fingers were bruised.

Pillowcases: I can make four a day. But that is with my mother's help. She cuts the fabric to the correct size that I need and then I iron and pin. I can have 15 pinned but it can take up to two weeks to get them all done.

Cat toys: These didn't take much time, my mom had 10 crocheted in 15-20 minutes.

Knitted items: These can take between 1 week and 6 months, depending on what it is. The Doctor Who scarves took up to 2 months. The blankets took 1 week through 3 weeks. The regular scarves took between 10 days and 1 month.

Fleece Blanket (I will soon have a made to order thing in my Etsy shop for these)- This took a lot longer then it should have. But it was 3-8 months. My fingers have been bruised and cut from this and I will be finished with this blanket sometime this week. (Lord willing)  The poor man has been waiting forever since he first ordered it.  I only asked for $75 from him, but he is a family friend. In the etsy shop it will be at least $100. (Custom made blanket)

I hope you can see my point of view.

Preemie Baby Blanket. Handmade.

Hand Knitted Baby Blanket: Etsy

This is a handmade preemie baby blanket. I made this by hand and in my Etsy shop it is 24.99, otherwise known as $25. I used a baby doll to show that it could wrap around a regular sized baby, but I think it would be ideally used for a preemie. 

This would be a perfect New Baby gift. I would suggest a baby girl as the recipient for this gift. This took around 8 days to make and 40 hours or more. I was at my Great Grandma's house, so while I took care of her I also knitted the blanket. I have started a 2nd one of these, but it may be smaller so I will list it separately. 

Thanks for reading! Please go check out the link and view other things in my Etsy shop as well.

Sewing. Hard or easy?

I have had many friends over the internet ask if I find sewing hard or easy. I suppose it is a matter of perspective. I find it hard but many other friends that I know who sew find it easy.

If you can knit and sew I will give you my perspective on both, listing both good and bad things about each.

With sewing it requires a lot of math (or so they tell me) and measuring. The measuring and ironing can become very tedious if you do it for an extensive amount of time. But the end result is very nice. The other downfall is that if you make a mistake you can spend hours seam ripping one item, which can set you back a few days.

With knitting it requires a lot of memory. You need/can memorize a pattern and forget where you are. Then you need to count all the stitches with the pattern in mind. Or you can loose a stitch and not notice it until three or four rows later. By then its too late and you need to pull it out and redo it.

Both can be very difficult, depending on how you look at it. In my opinion knitting is relaxing and sewing is a little more stressful.

Where the Wild Things are

Etsy product

This hotpad is made from fabric that I intended for a pillowcase. I have more of this fabric somewhere in my room, but at the moment I cannot locate it. I saw this fabric for sale on Black Friday at Joannes and it made me smile. I used to love that story when I was little and it was a rather large bolt, looking like it had not been chosen yet. 

I was happy to be the first. I found the fabric again recently and saw it was cut into the correct size squares for a hotpad. And since I am the only one that sews I knew it wasn't meant for a quilt. I made the hotpad and decided to charge a little more for the hotpad then I would for others. Since Licensed fabric costs more it is better to charge a little more for the product then when you normally would.

The link above leads to my product in my Etsy shop. It is $4.50 and there is only one. It doesn't have any favorites on the product itself, but on Twitter I have gotten lots of positive feedback about it.

This would be the perfect gift for a person who loves the Wild Things book. 

Bright Pink Paisley Pillowcase. Standard Size.

Bright Pink Pillowcase: Etsy

This standard size pillowcase is perfect for anyone who loves Paisley or adores the color pink. A beautiful addition for your household. Can be used in your bedroom, your teenagers bedroom, your guest room, or even your child's room! 

The sharp contrast between pink and green make this pillowcase visually stunning. 27 inches used for the body, 2 inches used for the accent, 13 inches used for the cuff.

Patriots Fleece Scarf.

Patriots Fleece Scarf.

This scarf is excellent for those who love the New England Patriots. These scarves were easy to make and are very warm. They are good for people who do not like the itchy of the knitted scarves. Fringed at the ends and has a wonderful soft feel.

Football fans will love these and they are for a very cheap price on my Etsy shop. $4 per a scarf. Only 3 in my inventory, but the pattern is perfect for any Patriots lover. 

The link above goes to my Etsy shop. Please feel free to look around at all the scarves and such that I have available. 

Doctor Who Inspired Scarf

Doctor Who Inspired: Etsy

This is my second Doctor Who inspired scarf. I do not in any way, shape, or form own Doctor Who. I am not a distributor and I made this by hand. 

Now that the proper disclaimers are over, I will go on to tell the story of the amazing scarf. I first got this idea after seeing it on Etsy. I realized it might be a good idea and looked up what I should do.

I altered the pattern drastically. I lowered the stitch count to 36 and chose my own colors. The bright yellow was some I wanted to get rid of. The Variegated green was a color my mom got me. That isn't in the pattern at all. 

It is close to $37.00 in my Etsy shop. It is quite a bit shorter then most I have seen out there, but it is almost my height, which is 5ft 3in/5ft 4in.   It took 7 days to make, because I worked on it every day.

Thanks for reading!

Sam 

Wedding Gift Pillowcase

Wedding Gift Pillowcase.

Wedding Gift Pillowcase: Etsy

I got this fabric on Black Friday. It wasn't on sale that day, but we still bought it because of its elegance. We also bought the white strip and the blue cuff at the same time. 

The reason I thought this would be a good wedding gift is because it has those colors. The ones that are usually used in a wedding. Navy/Blue and white. It makes it look very elegant. 

An excellent price at $10 makes it an ideal wedding gift. Cheap but still beautiful. Made with a French seam, handmade by me, and was made in a Pet free and Smoke free environment. 

Thanks for reading!

Sam

Care Bear Pillowcase

Care Bear Pillowcase

Care Bear Pillowcase: Etsy

The above link goes to my Etsy shop, like always. (=

This Care Bear pillowcase started as an idea for a Travel sized pillowcase. I wanted to do these when I was 14, but as I kept trying the worse my sewing got. So I stopped and saved the fabric, in case I found anything else to do with it.

Four years later I discovered the fabric again and measured it. It was actually enough for a standard size pillowcase. I found the blue fabric and bought some yellow to match it. It is a very cute pillowcase, but I am not sure how well it will do.

I don't actually know anyone that likes Care Bears anymore. I am hoping that I stumble across someone that collects it. 

I found this fabric in Justin, Texas. I used to live there and we went to that Walmart, looking for fabric. We then went to the place where they keep the last pieces and picked it up. At the time I thought Care Bears were cute, and my favorite one was the grumpy one.

I bought it and was happy to find it again. Most of the fabric I buy ends up in my fabric hoard. Once I find projects it is good for the cleanliness of my room.

Once again, Thank you for reading.

Sam 

How my Shop started

My Shop

The link above goes to my Etsy shop. This is the story about how my Etsy shop began and why I decided to try Social Media to improve views and sales.

I had wanted to try an Etsy shop when I was 16. I found out I had to be at least 21. For a while I had forgotten all about Etsy until I was 18.  Why then? Well, I discovered when you have no previous job experience, it is sort of hard to find a job.

But I knew I was good at one thing. And that was sewing. I started with hotpads. 

Hotpads: Etsy

Once again, the above link goes to Etsy.

I made close to 200 for a church thing, then I had realized that I could sew the hotpads and sell them. I started building inventory when I was 17, knowing that I wanted to try Etsy when I was 18.

It was a while before I realized that pillowcases could even be an option.

Pillowcase: Etsy

This was not my first one, but my first ones where gifts. And I find this blog much more worth while as an advertising tool.

I started with about...5-10 pillowcases. The first one I messed up, I believe I still have that one in my room somewhere.

I re-watched the tutorial and it clicked. It is now much easier then almost anything else.

Fleece scarves were very much one of my friend's idea. She said they were easy and sold well. That proved to be correct.

This one was sold to a friend. The person in the picture is my sister.

These were a stroke of genius. I sold 5 or 6 of these, they are actually doing better then what I set out to sell. But I am not complaining.

Knit scarves never even crossed my mind until someone gave me knitting needles. Then I thought about my Great Grandma. She knew how to knit, surely she would teach me.

She was reluctant at first, as she had tried to teach my Mom, Nana, and a couple cousins. But as she showed me it suddenly started to click on in my head, like the pillowcases. 

I learned close to the end of last year. It's only been 3 or 4 months, but I am already making patterns. 

Once again, thanks to a friend, I realized I could sell those too. They are a little more expensive, but I plan on selling them for less.

Orange Knit Scarf: Etsy

I made this one at my Great Grandma's house. I believe it is 40 stitches wide. I find knitting very relaxing, a lot more relaxing then sewing.

The Fringe blankets were my mom's idea. She saw them in Jo-anns and thought they might be a good idea. They were more of an experiment, and so far, I am not planning on making anymore, unless they sell.

Camo Fringe: Etsy

I like them, personally, but I am really hoping they sell. My room is starting to get a little messy. (=

The cat toys were sort of an accident. A friend ordered a custom made fleece throw. When we cut off the salvage my mom started to crochet them with her thumb. She can do it with her thumb, but not with a tool. Mom looked at me and commented, "These would make good cat toys."  I looked at them again then looked it up on the computer. Since fleece was deemed safe, we decided to give them a shot.

They are our most popular item so far.

Cat Toys: Etsy

At $1 a piece, they are fairly cheap. A lot of the cat toys are more expensive, but since we were just going to throw these away anyways, $1 seemed like a reasonable price.

Social Media

Well, I first decided to use this because Etsy suggested it. But I wasn't sure which social media site to join. For a while I ignored the subject, hoping that I would figure it out.  First I decided on Twitter. (GodsGraceSewing is the easiest way to find me.)

Twitter was confusing at first, the 200 character count annoyed me. But it made me think and type creatively. That has helped my views on my Etsy shoot through the roof. The most views I had ever gotten was 43, with Twitter it shot up to 50+.

Then I thought about Tumbler. I decided not to go with that. It isn't my favorite site and I would rather not give them my soul. (I am weird, its how it feels to me)

Then I remembered that my dad had a Google blog. I really thought about that then remembered I had signed up for You-tube, therefore making the Blog available to me. I started a Google+ account then went right to the blog.  

Thanks for reading!

Sam

Fleece Cat Toys

Fleece Cat Toys

Cat Toys: My Etsy shop

These are the Cat Toys that my mom made. She used her thumb and crocheted these out of the salvage of the fleece. 

They were fairly simple and seem to hold up fairly well. The link that I put in here goes to my Etsy shop, where they are listed.

They are only $1 each. The shipping price depends on where you are in the world. If you live in America, naturally, it will be cheaper. If you live in, lets say, England, it would cost more.

Charlie Brown Pillowcase

Charlie Brown Pillowcase

I do not own Charlie Brown in any way, shape, or form. I only made the pillowcase that is shown here.

I got this fabric on Black Friday. We had ordered fleece online and figured we could buy the cotton fabric inside the store. 

We had trouble matching a middle piece for this fabric, but when we found the Reindeer we decided that it would work.

This would be perfect for anyone who loves Charlie Brown, Linus, or Snoopy. Very Christmas, I would recommend it for anyone who loves to decorate their home.

Classic Pooh Bear pillowcase

Pooh Bear Pillowcase

Etsy Shop

This pillowcase was a little difficult to make. I hadn't realized it was panels until we got to the cutting table. I still took them, I figured I could sell it. As you can tell by the date, I believe I was wrong. 

The panels were a little more expensive then the normal fabric. 

I still bought the fabric in hopes I could sell it as a pillowcase. This one has had the most views, but I have never sold one. 

Classic Pooh is very collectible. This is a Licensed fabric, I do not own any rights to the fabric itself. I made the pillowcase myself.  It almost looks like it could be quilt squares, but I assure you it is not.

Doctor Who Inspired scarf

Doctor Who Inspired scarf.

I am making a Doctor Who inspired scarf for my Etsy shop. As I am doing this I noticed that their are several different ways to make this. The one way that is usually suggested can be improved.

I am working on mine with 36 stitches. The base for the scarf I am doing is purple. A dark plum purple.

This is the first one I attempted to make. It isn't perfect and the next scarf will look much different. I didn't follow a exact pattern, as I said before, I made my own.
I used Burgundy, Green, Purple, dark green, Variegated green, Dark blue, light blue, black, cream, and brown.
For the tassels I mixed and matched them, making it look like a true Doctor Who scarf.