I've started making hats as its kinda fun and a good use for leftover fabric that's too small to really make anything aside from bags maybe. Anyways after making 9 I took them to a tourist trap park and just sat reading a book until people asked, ended up making 50 bucks yesterday and I'm thinking of making it a regular thing where I sell hats on the weekend as a side hustle. I felt like I could charge more but it was my first time and I wanted to make sure I sold something but I'm gonna make berets as well. Maybe bags too, but if I can turn fabric scraps into cash, that's awesome, I don't think it'll ever really be a serious thing though.
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Anonymous05/13/26(Wed)08:12:50
This is a neat idea and $10 sounds like a bargain, I'm sure you'll ask for more next time. Any plans to make other styles like bucket hats? Having a brim on a sunny day is something tourists may look for.
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Anonymous05/13/26(Wed)21:06:53
>>2990023(OP) $10 for a handmade hat? it's either shit, or you aren't even covering your costs.
also most people think handmade stuff is shit, and when you charge for your time and material costs it's way more than they will pay.
My wife tried sewing as a business. people wanted everything for nothing. she barely broke even.
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Anonymous05/13/26(Wed)21:16:59
>>2990519 I'm thinking of doing other styles, I'm doing some berets for women, I'm thinking of doing cadets caps and maybe bucket hats. >>2990608 I had a bunch of scrap material from other projects ie I make a jacket and I have like half a yard of fabric left, too small for anything really but I can make a hat from that much. I'm also thinking of upcycling clothes, which might be kind of sketchy.
Anyways I'm charging 20 next time I go out as I've used the proceeds from my first go around to buy materials for the next hats.
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Anonymous05/14/26(Thu)06:20:59
>>2990608 I think part of it is that people don't understand that most clothing is basically made via child slave labor, so the prices you pay at walshart are only that low cause of 3rd worlders. Just tell people who complain about the price that you ritter pay with your conscience or your wallet.
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Anonymous05/15/26(Fri)15:05:50
>>2990023(OP) That's pretty dank actually. >Bags If you can figure out how to make a GOOD laptop bag you might be able to pay your internet just from the bags.
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Anonymous05/15/26(Fri)19:42:03
>>2990917 A laptop bag is actually pretty easy, it's mostly just patience. I could make something like pic related, but canvas instead of the leather bits, all the metal bits are at hobby lobby. Which would also go really well with the hats. Thanks for the idea anon. Maybe do a deal where it's 100 for a bag and hat to go with it.
>>2991084 >>2991085 It might be easy but the good ones are completely extortionate. 100 might be fine for something quality.
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Anonymous06/10/26(Wed)18:55:51
>>2990711 theres no bearing on conscience because it's a fair wage in third world
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Anonymous06/10/26(Wed)19:08:46
>>2990612 >>2990023(OP) why not make hundreds of pieces of the best one and give it to a somebody
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Anonymous06/11/26(Thu)05:09:39
>>2990608 i understand the cost of custom fashion but I can't find anyone that can make the designs I like locally
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Anonymous06/11/26(Thu)13:03:51
>>2990023(OP) not a real business and frankly kinda childish
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Anonymous06/11/26(Thu)14:19:11
>>2990023(OP) Unless you're pumping them out in 15 minutes each, that's less than minimum wage for 10$ per hat I still applaud your skills and entrepreneurship though
>>2990023(OP) >>2990608 There has been a pretty significant cultural shift, at least here in Australia, towards supporting local business because people recognize that the working class needs to hold eachother up at this point. "If I want a fair wage for my labour, I must recognize that this person's time is also worth the money." (We also respect trades as necessary high-income services.)
I was posting some of my little bits and pieces in the /sew/ thread when I started this specific business venture a year or so ago and I'm doing pretty well right now. I've proven that I could earn more than I do from my current full-time job if I had the focus to actually work on my own stuff full-time, but there's some circumstances getting in the way of that right now so I'm just doing what I can while holding that employment for as long as possible (probably going to have a kid in a year or so.)
But yeah, it took a year of consistent sales before I went from charging only for new material base-cost, to charging only for my labour time, to actually pricing my products at a point that covers everything - Overheads, materials, labour AND a profit margin to put back into the store. It's really fucking hard to overcome the 'imposter syndrome' especially because I am outside of my own target audience. I grew up too poor to drop hundreds of dollars on artisanal home decor lmao.
The biggest obstacle right now is that I'm too autistic/schizotype to engage with social media, and that is THE front line customer service for a business in 2026. I have less than 200 IG followers while the nearest artists' to what I do have 20k+ and I'm over here literally sweating at the thought of having to reply with a basic "Thank you so much!!!" to a nice complimentary comment.