You cannot make granny squares via machine. This is especially important to Target’s shit because it’s ALL granny squares.
I crochet very quickly. I can make a 4-round granny square in about 15 minutes. Now, given, that’s a single-color square, and all of Target’s stuff is multi-color because multi-color granny squares look really cool. So, if I were doing a color change every round, I’d say it’d take about 20 minutes, and that includes dealing with the joining ends that will need to be tucked away.
This does not count for any joining work between squares. Keep that in mind as we go through Target’s collection. For the sake of brevity, I’m only using one photo of each item. They did multiple colorways of each.
Also, I wanna be clear on something: I am NOT judging the Target prices on minimum wage or a living wage in the United States. I’m judging them based on the fact that they are 1) a fast fashion brand and 2) that means they are working outside of the US. This means that a living wage or an expected wage can be very different. Keep that in mind as we go.
Lastly before I get into it: A quick google search tells me average clothing markup is twice the price of making it (which includes materials and shipping along with the time to make it). This will be my base for breaking down costs.
This hat, regular price $12.00:
We can’t see the back, but based on the shape of it, likely it’s six granny squares. Each of those squares would have to be made separately. Then, they’d be seamed together in the black, then the band would be added, then the pom pom would be attached. The pom pom is likely machine made. So, we’ll cut it from the workload.
Six granny squares at 20 minutes a square is 2 hours.
Joining all the squares--assuming my own very fast rate of work--could take up to an hour (I’m assuming this is as a join as you go just based on the look)--so we’ll say 1 hour.
For the brim, I’ll say 30 minutes because that’s how fast I could make it.
So, for this hat: 3.5 hours of work.
Assuming that $12.00 price tag is a double of the price of materials and shipping and general overhead AND the work time, it can’t be more than $6.00 total to make.
To make this hat for $6.00, the absolute most a person could be making is $1.71 an hour.
But they’re not. Because that $6.00 also has to cover materials, shipping, and overhead like a building for people to work in and the associated costs of that.
No fucking way did anyone make $1.71 an hour making this hat for Target to sell it for $12.00.
For comparison, from me, an American crocheter, this is a $60 hat. Not just because it’s skilled labor to make it but because I gotta make that pom pom by hand, and that’s extra work.
Keeping all this in mind, let’s continue:
Headband: Regular price $10.00
This is likely five granny squares based on this image. It’s got the same join to the hat and upper and lower rows of edging.
Squares at 20 minutes each makes the squares alone 2 hours and 40 minutes of work.
This is likely another join as you go (I’m using that, by the way, because 1) that’s really what it looks like, and 2) it’s the most time efficient). For this join and trim, I’d say an hour.
So, 2 hours and 40 minutes. For the sake of my math skills, let’s say 2.5 hours.
Total cost to make to meet the double-the-price markup for clothes: $5.00.
Total cost for just the make of this by dividing the cost by the hours: $4.00.
Again, this number does not include an estimate of how much overhead was counted towards the cost. But odds are it wasn’t just a dollar an hour.
My price? $20 if I like you. At least $30 if you’re a stranger because I won’t work for less than $10 an hour for someone I don’t know. (Pro-tip: Do not ever assume an artist likes you enough to work cheap.)
In a noted difference to the other items so far, the back and thumb of these mittens are clearly machine-knitted, and I think the edge may be machine-knitted as well. I don’t know the common hourly rate for machine-knit, but it definitely takes less time than hand knitting. Which is why it’s such a common way to make clothes.
That being said, there’s still 4 squares to make a set of mittens. And that means 1 hour and 20 minutes just for the squares.
These mittens have to cost $5.00 total to make to account for markup. If you divide 5 by 1.3 (an hour and a third), you get $3.84. Which means that the very little left should account for the rest of the making and putting together and overhead. Which is literally nothing. Even with machine knitting costing less than hand knitting, you still need a skilled worker on the machine.
And now, to the especially egregious shit in this line:
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME
Based on the other photos, these two columns are the only crochet on the item. So, two columns, 3 squares tall. 6 squares.
BUT ALSO, this is not a general granny square. This is a specialty granny square. You see how it looks like a flower on a background? Yeah. That’s a special granny square that takes extra time to make correctly.
The squares ALONE, take 30 minutes each. Period. 3 hours of work JUST for the squares. Not counting the joining or the material plus work to sew and attach all the rest of the bag.
The most this could cost is $7.50 an hour. Based on that, the absolute highest wage for the crochet work $2.50 an hour.
But also consider the extra amount of work/cost to buy and ship different material, and then pay people to attach the crochet to that separate material.
And, also, I didn’t add the joining time into that. Because do I really need to at this point.
THIS FUCKING SWEATER FOR $35.
Fuck the math. You can figure it out. No fucking way anyone could make this sweater ethically for thirty-five goddamn dollars.
Of further note: In order to find this shit on Target’s website, you have to search “Wild Fable crochet.” If you search just “crochet” (which I did yesterday when I first started looking at this stuff), you literally only get crochet books and none of the clothes that have CROCHET prominently in their name.
I’m gonna end this on a positive note by telling you a couple of brands you can buy from who are ethical in their methods:
Theseriesny - They use only recycled crochet and knit products to make new products.
Lirika Matoshi - She has knitters and crocheters in Kosovo make her items as they’re ordered because she wants to uplift creators from her home country and especially focuses on hiring women so they can have independence.
You can also reach out to indie creators. They’re all over etsy and here on tumblr and insta. I won’t tell anyone else what to charge for their work, but also, consider asking for a general number of hours for someone’s work and doing some math to make sure you’re being fair if you can. A lot of artists undersell their work by a LOT because of shit like this from Target that teaches them to devalue their craft and ESPECIALLY teaches potential customers the work shouldn’t cost so awfully much.
“But, Gayle, I did the math, and that shit is expensive.”
Yeah. Because we make it by fucking hand. And if you wanted to or could make it yourself, you wouldn’t be asking.
