Crafting Etiquette

[Garden Goblin]

1 - Do not touch a work in progress without first clearing it with the creator.  Before asking permission to touch, be sure your hands are clean.
2 - Do not say 'well I could do that' in a snotty voice.  It's rarely as easy as it looks.
3 - Be cognizant of the fact that hours and hours of time goes into making many crafts before offering to generously purchase one.
4 - Giving someone materials or a book so they can make something for you is not a 'gift', it's a commission.
5 - If you are given a handmade item, appreciate it.

[Animala]

6- Don't assume the crafter will teach you how to do their craft for free.

[lalala]

In addition to not touching other people's projects, don't decide to "help" by working on someone else's project.

[Wulfie]

7. If you see someone making a crafty item that you would be interested in. ASK nicely, don't DEMAND that they make one for you. Be prepared for them to say no.

[Amava]

Don't say: "Oh, how cute, I used to do that when I was little!"

[Suze]

on the other hand though -- you can say

Oh I tried to do that and it was HARD -- I gave up.

which can be followed with

"How much is it?" 

but never with --

You want HOW MUCH for that -- I could make it myself.

[ginlyn32]

also be aware that many crafts take hours and hours to create. Some take weeks. Be aware of this fact before commissioning the craft for any birthday/holiday/special event.

9) Pay for your product! It isn't fair to the artist/crafter to always have to give a discount because you're "family".

10) Yes, you could probably buy the item for cheaper at Walmart or other dept. store. But be aware that it won't look as nice or last as long.

11) If you want a 7ft scarf knitted for you out of cashmere wool, you should be aware that this is VERY EXPENSIVE. (seriously thought about crocheting me one until I saw how expensive the cashmere was! I had a heart attack in the yarn aisle. I was also very tempted by the yarn but resisted.) This is just to say that not all craft supplies are cheap. This is why that nice scarf/painting/necklace you saw at the last Craft Fair was so expensive. Because the artists paid for their supplies out of their OWN POCKET!

Yes, there is an artist in my family. My father is an artist. Has been for the last 40 years. He paints, does woodburnings and had graduated into making furniture. He's made me some very nice bookshelves and my mom a really nice cupboard for her dining room. His favorite thing is to paint on sawblades that he finds at yard sales or flea markets.

ginlyn

[KeenReader]

12.  Offer no unsolicited opinions on someone else's project other than "That looks fantastic!  I think this is great."

[Maria DD]

1 - Do not touch a work in progress without first clearing it with the creator.  Before asking permission to touch, be sure your hands are clean.
2 - Do not say 'well I could do that' in a snotty voice.  It's rarely as easy as it looks.
3 - Be cognizant of the fact that hours and hours of time goes into making many crafts before offering to generously purchase one.
4 - Giving someone materials or a book so they can make something for you is not a 'gift', it's a commission.
5 - If you are given a handmade item, appreciate it.

Nope, sorry, the bolded part is not an etiquette rule. Handmade items given as gifts do not hold higher standing than any other kind of gift. People are required to accept them graciously and thank the giver appropriately. After that, it's their's to do with as they choose, and that includes throwing it out, shoving it in a closet, or donating it to the Salvation Army.

I absolutely despise getting handmade gifts. Most of the time they are not to my taste, but people who give handmade gifts are hurt if they don't see it displayed anywhere. Whenever someone gives me a handmade gift, I accept it and thank them appropriately. I am soooo not required to appreciate the item.

[Dogzard]

1 - Do not touch a work in progress without first clearing it with the creator.  Before asking permission to touch, be sure your hands are clean.
2 - Do not say 'well I could do that' in a snotty voice.  It's rarely as easy as it looks.
3 - Be cognizant of the fact that hours and hours of time goes into making many crafts before offering to generously purchase one.
4 - Giving someone materials or a book so they can make something for you is not a 'gift', it's a commission.
5 - If you are given a handmade item, appreciate it.

Nope, sorry, the bolded part is not an etiquette rule. Handmade items given as gifts do not hold higher standing than any other kind of gift. People are required to accept them graciously and thank the giver appropriately. After that, it's their's to do with as they choose, and that includes throwing it out, shoving it in a closet, or donating it to the Salvation Army.

I absolutely despise getting handmade gifts. Most of the time they are not to my taste, but people who give handmade gifts are hurt if they don't see it displayed anywhere. Whenever someone gives me a handmade gift, I accept it and thank them appropriately. I am soooo not required to appreciate the item.

I would possibly amend that rule to "appreciate the effort that went into it".  You're absolutely not required to keep and appreciate a gift that isn't to your tastes or that you just don't like.  I do think though, that you should be appreciative of the time and effort the gifter put in to create the gift.

[Garden Goblin]

I would possibly amend that rule to "appreciate the effort that went into it".  You're absolutely not required to keep and appreciate a gift that isn't to your tastes or that you just don't like.  I do think though, that you should be appreciative of the time and effort the gifter put in to create the gift.

What Dogzard said.

Handmade gifts tend to cost more than the equivalent store bought version, and include hours and hours of the maker's time.  Even if you do not like the finished product, recognize what went into it's creation.  Most crafters only hand-make for people they care about.  Otherwise, it's much easier and cheaper to just pick something up at the store.

And to follow up, if you greeted a handmade gift poorly and tossed it aside, and later you see something made by the giver that you do like and want, recognize that you probably blew your chances of being considered craft-worthy.

I made knit hats for the family one year, and for the most part they were appreciative.  Except one person, who rolled her eyes and made a comment about me 'cheaping out' on the gifts.  Later, she spotted a pattern for a cardigan and decided she wanted it and asked if I'd make it for her.  Guess what my answer was?

[Yarnie]

Don't say "This is almost as nice as store bought!"

(That person's children do not get knitted items.  The sweater in question was a dale of norway, cabled sweater, knit on size 3 needles.)

[Elfmama]

Realize that because the item takes hours and hours to make, you cannot commission the artist to make you one just like it, only in purple, by  Saturday.  Even if you are willing to pay the full asking price, or even a bit more.  Yes, I can crank out a simple strip-pieced split-rail baby quilt in a week or so.  A queen-sized applique quilt can take a year or more.  (I have been working on the Neverending Hawaiian Quilt Project for 4 years, off and on.)

[lisastitch]

I absolutely despise getting handmade gifts. Most of the time they are not to my taste, but people who give handmade gifts are hurt if they don't see it displayed anywhere. Whenever someone gives me a handmade gift, I accept it and thank them appropriately. I am soooo not required to appreciate the item.
 
Okay, you're not required to appreciated it, but please recognize that if someone gives you a handmade gift, that person has given you a chunk of her life.  If you don't like it, please be polite, and offer it back to the person who gave it to you ("This is lovely, but it just isn't working with my colors") rather than just giving it to Goodwill. 

And please let the people who might give you a handcrafted gift know that you don't like those gifts.   It doesn't matter how much I love you--I don't want to spend hours knitting something for you to have you turn around and give it to Goodwill.  There are only a few people in my life that I am willing to knit for.  This now includes my father, who has mentioned several times this year how much he loves the wool socks I knit for him last year.  So, yes, I am willing to spend the 40+ hours that it will take to knit him another pair of socks.  Otherwise, no way.  I'll knit another pair for myself, since I know I love them.
 

[Ereine]

I would possibly amend that rule to "appreciate the effort that went into it".  You're absolutely not required to keep and appreciate a gift that isn't to your tastes or that you just don't like.  I do think though, that you should be appreciative of the time and effort the gifter put in to create the gift.

What Dogzard said.

Handmade gifts tend to cost more than the equivalent store bought version, and include hours and hours of the maker's time.  Even if you do not like the finished product, recognize what went into it's creation.  Most crafters only hand-make for people they care about.  Otherwise, it's much easier and cheaper to just pick something up at the store.

I don't know, I give mostly handmade gifts but I don't really see them that special compared with bought gifts. You should thank for them and not destroy then in the sight of the crafter but they're still gifts. I'm of the view that I choose to make the gifts (partly because I'm cheap and couldn't buy anything as nice) and if the receiver doesn't like it's more my fault than theirs. It's hardly their fault that I decided to spend so much time on their gifts. That also means that I only make gifts that are fun to make so that they're part of my regular crafting, not an effort I make because I love the receiver that much. I don't think that anyone could appreciate the gift enough for me then.