I have asked an acquaintance to knit me a pair of bi- color crew socks. I specifically said I would expect to pay her and she said she would “just do it” . I want to pay her as I would expect to be paid. She is going to use Caio marino wool.
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I’ve paid $20-35 CAD for wool socks, depending on length.
I have to say though, I really enjoy making things as a gesture of friendship & love & I would not like it if I specifically declined $ but still had someone insist on paying me.
Maybe that’s just me though.
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The Knitter is part of my husbands gaming group. I told him I would be messaging her privately and his response was to talk to her now because she heard me through his open microphone. The entire group heard me. I asked if she would be willing to knit me socks and that I expected to pay for them. She said she would probably just do it. I want to pay her for her work and should anyone else in the group want something they know to pay her. I did not want to put her in a position where the group could pressure her into knitting for free. We have messaged since and not mentioned price. I will pay whatever she asks or if she would like to trade for craft for craft. I wanted an idea of price so I could invest same in a project for her. I won’t push either way.
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I would suggestion bringing up the idea of payment again. Something like “I appreciate you making these socks and would love to repay you in some way. I do x craft or what yarn shop do you like” that offers some ideas other than cash if that makes her feel weird. She may still say no thank you.
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No yarnie can resist yarn, that is an excellent offer actually. Really brilliant.
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I knit socks and they are a labor of love in my opinion, even a basic pair. I’m not the fastest of knitters, but a basic pair, would maybe take me 25 - 30 hours to make. It’s not so much the cost of the yarn, but more so my time, especially since I have a full time job. I have made socks for gifts but those are for my mom or husband.
I once had someone ask me to make them a pair of socks. I didn’t know them THAT well, and they thought offering me $40 was generous. I laughed. A skein of fancy, hand dyed quality wool sock yarn is at least $30 now. I told this person it would be more like $400, due to my labor. That stopped any interest.
If your acquaintance won’t take payment, then I suggest getting her a nice gift in return - at least some sort of token of appreciation.
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Yeah, knit prices are hard, because there’s so much time involved, and a lot of us have trouble with setting a fair labor cost to something we do as a hobby. I would definitely offer craft trade or a yarn shop gift card, or talk to the knitter one-on-one about how much time she’s spending on this (possibly leaning into you being someone who also understands how crafting takes lots of time) and see if you can work out something you’re both comfortable with.
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I agree with this 100%
She has sent me pictures of yarn ( shared from a website) that I assumed she was purchasing when they might have been only for choosing colors. She has previously sold her work at craft shows and in my husbands words bought a knitting machine. She thanked me for giving her an excuse to go to the locally owned yarn store this weekend. I will wait for her to update me.
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