Week 3: January 14th- January 20th, 2007
New Habit: Crafting to Save Money
Frugal Habit? Yes, if you let it be!
Crafting is not a cheap hobby. American women spend enough on crafting supplies
every year to finance several Third World countries. Stores like Michael's and Joann's
fill millions of square feet with nifty merchandise catering to every imaginable creative
pursuit--very little of it cheap and almost none of it necessary.
Ironically, our ancestors crafted to save money, not to fill in that long hour between
American Idol and bedtime. The whole point of crafting was to turn discarded objects
into needful things like quilts, rugs, and apparel. This is a far cry from the kind of
crafting I am used to, which is basically self-entertainment with a cool souvenir at the
end.
I decided to adopt the pioneer spirit and see how I could apply my average crafting
skills productively. There are a few items I have been seeking but unable to find for
the price I am willing to pay. They include:
--a warm hat for my 4-year-old daughter
--a nicer comforter for my 11-year-old son's bedroom
--a large area rug for the nursery
The hat was easy. I had about a quarter of a $4 ball of yarn leftover from another
crocheting project... just enough to make a lacy crocheted beanie. I found another
scrap of yarn that was just enough to make a little elephant to adorn the front. My
daughter was thrilled; where else could we have found a feminine but warm hat with
her favorite animal on it? At $1, homemade beat even the Goodwill in the financial
arena.
Then there is the matter of the comforter. My son has a tye-dyed comforter that is
falling apart. The filling is fine, but the cover is turning to shreds. I also have two
grocery sacks of clothing my son outgrew during his last growth spurt, and a few
mismatched sheets. Can you see where I'm going with this? The plan is to make a
simple quilt. We have ten t-shirts that are a little too faded or stretched out for resale
that will make nice square blocks, and two pairs of pants in denim and camouflage
prints that can fill up the space between. The backing will be a navy blue top sheet
that lost the rest of its set. Once I started laying everything out, I realized that this was
going to be not just frugal, but a true showpiece item, something my son will treasure
as long as he owns it. It will take a bit of sewing and a borrowed machine, but we will
end up with a product far nicer than anything I might have bought with the $25 I had
budgeted. The cost? About a buck's worth of thread. Try finding a cool preteen
ANYTHING for a dollar.
The area rug project was temporarily set aside for lack of materials. I read about
homemade braided rugs in the Tightwad Gazette and have wanted to make one ever
since. I already know how to braid quickly, so this would be an ideal project. However,
a large rug requires yards and yards of cloth and we currently don't have anything in
nursery colors that isn't in good condition. I am going to ask around and begin a
stockpile of torn and unusable pastel clothing and sheets.
Obviously crafting, even with limited skills and materials, has a place in the frugal
home. Is there a use, then, for all of the crafting stores? Definitely! Like most of you, I
am always on the lookout for fun, personal, and low-cost gifts. I was thrilled to find
two nice embroidery kits in the clearance section of a local store for four dollars each.
Once completed, they will make wonderful birthday presents for two women in my
family.
Many Martha-haters claim that crafts are a giant waste of time. So what if you saved
ten bucks... or even fifty! You spent forty hours hunched over a sewing machine!
They have a point. Housewives are notoriously low on spare time; why not spend
these hours vacuuming or napping? However, consider: I do most of my crafting
while watching Dr. Phil or attending various children's sporting events. That hour is
going to pass whether I crochet or not. If you try to fit creative activity into time that is
currently nonproductive, there will be no net loss.
Dying to make a start on your own creative venture? In general, the cost of a
homemade item should be a fourth or less than that of the version you would have
bought in order to be worth your energy. Avoid buying anything, except for cheap
and/or reusable items such as thread or needles. Find your patterns and advice on
the internet or at your local library. Last, don't get in over your head by beginning a
project that is obviously beyond your skill level or by working on multiple projects at a
time.
NOTE: I am absolutely not criticizing crafting as a hobby or implying that it is not a
frugal choice. Homemade items are worth every minute and every penny we spend
on them! My intent is to show how these skills can be used to save money.
Amount Spent: $10 ($1 for 1/4 of yarn ball; $1 worth of thread; $4
each for two embroidery kits)
Amount Saved: $60 ($5 hat, $25 comforter, and 2 $20 gifts minus
amount spent)
Difficulty on Scale of 1-5: 4 (definitely some skill involved)
Time: Hours and hours... But they would have been spent anyway.
Next week's habit: Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Check out the Frugal Habit of the Week Archives
New Habit: Crafting to Save Money
Frugal Habit? Yes, if you let it be!
Crafting is not a cheap hobby. American women spend enough on crafting supplies
every year to finance several Third World countries. Stores like Michael's and Joann's
fill millions of square feet with nifty merchandise catering to every imaginable creative
pursuit--very little of it cheap and almost none of it necessary.
Ironically, our ancestors crafted to save money, not to fill in that long hour between
American Idol and bedtime. The whole point of crafting was to turn discarded objects
into needful things like quilts, rugs, and apparel. This is a far cry from the kind of
crafting I am used to, which is basically self-entertainment with a cool souvenir at the
end.
I decided to adopt the pioneer spirit and see how I could apply my average crafting
skills productively. There are a few items I have been seeking but unable to find for
the price I am willing to pay. They include:
--a warm hat for my 4-year-old daughter
--a nicer comforter for my 11-year-old son's bedroom
--a large area rug for the nursery
The hat was easy. I had about a quarter of a $4 ball of yarn leftover from another
crocheting project... just enough to make a lacy crocheted beanie. I found another
scrap of yarn that was just enough to make a little elephant to adorn the front. My
daughter was thrilled; where else could we have found a feminine but warm hat with
her favorite animal on it? At $1, homemade beat even the Goodwill in the financial
arena.
Then there is the matter of the comforter. My son has a tye-dyed comforter that is
falling apart. The filling is fine, but the cover is turning to shreds. I also have two
grocery sacks of clothing my son outgrew during his last growth spurt, and a few
mismatched sheets. Can you see where I'm going with this? The plan is to make a
simple quilt. We have ten t-shirts that are a little too faded or stretched out for resale
that will make nice square blocks, and two pairs of pants in denim and camouflage
prints that can fill up the space between. The backing will be a navy blue top sheet
that lost the rest of its set. Once I started laying everything out, I realized that this was
going to be not just frugal, but a true showpiece item, something my son will treasure
as long as he owns it. It will take a bit of sewing and a borrowed machine, but we will
end up with a product far nicer than anything I might have bought with the $25 I had
budgeted. The cost? About a buck's worth of thread. Try finding a cool preteen
ANYTHING for a dollar.
The area rug project was temporarily set aside for lack of materials. I read about
homemade braided rugs in the Tightwad Gazette and have wanted to make one ever
since. I already know how to braid quickly, so this would be an ideal project. However,
a large rug requires yards and yards of cloth and we currently don't have anything in
nursery colors that isn't in good condition. I am going to ask around and begin a
stockpile of torn and unusable pastel clothing and sheets.
Obviously crafting, even with limited skills and materials, has a place in the frugal
home. Is there a use, then, for all of the crafting stores? Definitely! Like most of you, I
am always on the lookout for fun, personal, and low-cost gifts. I was thrilled to find
two nice embroidery kits in the clearance section of a local store for four dollars each.
Once completed, they will make wonderful birthday presents for two women in my
family.
Many Martha-haters claim that crafts are a giant waste of time. So what if you saved
ten bucks... or even fifty! You spent forty hours hunched over a sewing machine!
They have a point. Housewives are notoriously low on spare time; why not spend
these hours vacuuming or napping? However, consider: I do most of my crafting
while watching Dr. Phil or attending various children's sporting events. That hour is
going to pass whether I crochet or not. If you try to fit creative activity into time that is
currently nonproductive, there will be no net loss.
Dying to make a start on your own creative venture? In general, the cost of a
homemade item should be a fourth or less than that of the version you would have
bought in order to be worth your energy. Avoid buying anything, except for cheap
and/or reusable items such as thread or needles. Find your patterns and advice on
the internet or at your local library. Last, don't get in over your head by beginning a
project that is obviously beyond your skill level or by working on multiple projects at a
time.
NOTE: I am absolutely not criticizing crafting as a hobby or implying that it is not a
frugal choice. Homemade items are worth every minute and every penny we spend
on them! My intent is to show how these skills can be used to save money.
Amount Spent: $10 ($1 for 1/4 of yarn ball; $1 worth of thread; $4
each for two embroidery kits)
Amount Saved: $60 ($5 hat, $25 comforter, and 2 $20 gifts minus
amount spent)
Difficulty on Scale of 1-5: 4 (definitely some skill involved)
Time: Hours and hours... But they would have been spent anyway.
Next week's habit: Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Check out the Frugal Habit of the Week Archives
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