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Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I have 4 out of 8 grandchildren begging me for minion hats for xmas. So I'm busy writing up a pattern as every one I've found wants you to pay......and that is silly as they certainly don't look difficult.

I have a variety of character hats I plan to make and sell. But since these seem so darn popular with my own grandkids.........I was thinking of adding them to the list.

Do you think kids / parents would hop on it? I've already got one fb friend asking for the pattern once it is written because her child wants one. Was thinking 15.00 to 20.00 per hat cuz I'm making small adult sizes for the kids who want them (we have large heads in this family) and it takes more yarn and more time.

Most of the hats are geared for toddlers. Bunnies, Hello Kitty, TMNT (could be child size too), Cars.........but I figured this might be a hit with the older set and I need the extra income.

What do you think?
 

Mattsmom277

Active Member
Heck, I'd order a minion hat for easy child, who is 14. I'm minion crazy. I don't like McD's. But I've been getting happy meals to collect the minions for on my desk. I think they are adorable. I think the hats would sell like crazy on a place like etsy or even at Christmas craft shows in your local area where usually one can have a table for the event for about $25 (at least around here).
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Oh good. My grandkids are sometimes not the best indication of "popular". Alex is currently obsessed with ghostbusters........lol
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I have NO idea what a minion is, lol. I do think, however, that you are going nutsy trying to work full time plus overtime plus taking care of the dogs, yourself and trying to be a full time Mom/Grandma. on the other hand :) I do admire your stamina. Hugs DDD
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Lisa,

I have no idea if any of these craft fairs are in your area, but it might be worth checking out the price for a table and the types of crafts that are sold if they're close enough to you.

http://www.artscraftsshowbusiness.com/shows.aspx?state=OH


Knit and crochet items are VERY popular at craft shows, but they often have trouble getting knitters and crocheters to participate, since the crafts are so inexpensive.
*Trinity
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
DDD minions are from the disney kid movie Despicable Me and this is what they look like:

http://www.lipstiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/minions-film.jpg

I'm making them for several of the grandkids xmas because I'm not sure I will be able to buy them anything. Connor will get a mickey mouse hat.......not sure about oliver, maybe a cars hat for him.

I'm not sure if it's stamina........LOL My sleep schedule is now fixed for work. This means on weekends I still can't go to sleep before at least 3 am. Well, there isn't much going on from 11pm until 3 am whether on tv or online or whatever. And since we're currently having odd spring/fall type weather it is cool enough for me to do some hats right now.

If you think I've got stamina??? My grandma held down 3 jobs at my age and still had 3 or 4 kids (out of 7) at home. My dad never had less than 3 jobs.........and he sold garden produce, coached soft ball ect on the side. Compared to those two major influences in my life I'm a slacker. :rofl:

I have yet to figure out when my dad ever slept..........at least until he "retired". Grandmas were one full time job and 2 part time jobs, so she still had some time to sleep.

Trinity thanks for the link. We have some local craft shows too I plan to sign up for soon as I get some more stock :)
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Just be careful!

Minions and other Disney characters are protected by COPYRIGHT. The Disney corporation has been known to pursue copyright infringement very diligently - even if the person made no profit from the use of the characters. (A daycare was sued for big money after merely painting Disney characters on their walls as decoration!)

Unfortunately - Disney is also one of the tougher companies to obtain a license for...

If I were you? I'd very quietly make a few gifts for the grands....and let it go at that...
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I would make them and sell them. You cannot call them minion hats outright, but you can make them look like minion hats and give them a similar sounding name or just not name them. Esp if you create the pattern yourself.

Heck, why not make the ones for the grands, photo them asap and sell the pattern in time for people to make them using your pattern? It would only need one finished hat and one grand to know about it (or a kid you borrowed from a friend for a few photos), and it is a ton faster to send a pattern by email than it is to sell the hats.

Or you could offer both the hat and yoru pattern.

Given that you knit, have you thought about making Dr. Who scarves in six foot and twelve foot lengths? They have a specific colored stripe pattern and fans pay enormously for them. There are sites with the pattern and one is very reputable and true to the series and I think that one is free. If interested, I can find the link for you. I learned to knit to try to make one for thank you, but I loathe it and no way will I ever get that done.
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Given that you knit, have you thought about making Dr. Who scarves in six foot and twelve foot lengths? They have a specific colored stripe pattern and fans pay enormously for them. There are sites with the pattern and one is very reputable and true to the series and I think that one is free.

FYI - The BBC has been targeting knitters and knitting patterns based upon the Dr Who series....
 

1905

Well-Known Member
How much time do you invest in making the hats? How much does a hat cost to make? I think craft fares would not give you a huge amount of traffic and you would have to pay money to rent the table. My girlfriend made candles and it was never worth her timeto do the craft fairs, think of how many you would have to sell to cover your costs and then how many to make it worthwhile. Make it for your grands and bring one to work with you, take orders for them. Give your easy child one to take to work as well, let her take orders. Do you know anyone else whp can take them somewhere for you to get orders? Take one everywhere and show it to people, you know? Maybe there is a specialy store you can ask if they would be interested in selling them. I knpw your craftsmanship is excellent, they'll sell themselves.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Ba-na-na!

I love minions. I need a couple hundred... I'd love to buy one for Inky, but you will have to be careful since they are copyrighted.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Only thing I've got to say about copy rights...........

Is Disney has far too many crocheters / pattern writers to go after long before they catch up to me. I understand the warning, I'm just not overly worried about it. Maybe because I carry bootlegger blood in my veins. LOL I did a simple search for patterns and came up with a vast number. You can for just about any disney character that could somewhat easily be made into hat form. (not to mention other characters)

The bulk of sales would be in my own small rural area. Doubtful it would get back to Disney.

Step, toddler size it is. :)

Now that I've started on them.........watch overtime kick in........would be my luck. Need to do them for the grands anyway. And so far they're not using much yarn and the original pattern is for adult small. Time it takes to make doesn't matter too much. I need to kill time like right now on the weekends when my body is determined to stick to the schedule and there isn't much else to do.

If I have to rent a table......I won't do it, not at this point. Easy decision. I don't have money to rent a table. lol (craft fairs) Although I know a couple 2nd hand shops that would let me have a spot if they thought it would help bring in customers. :)
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Lisa, I agree that you're probably safe from Disney et al if you stick to craft fairs. You might be in more danger if you try to sell copyrighted material online, as your website is out there all the time.

Other items that sell very well at craft fairs (and are easy -- and FAST -- to whip up) are:
amigurumi figures (fruit, vegetables, small creatures)
little handbags for little girls
crocheted hair accessories (crochet a flower embellishment and use a hot glue gun to attach a simple metal barrette to the back -- I think you can also find self-stick barrettes at craft stores)
crocheted socks (believe it or not, these are very popular)
coasters, mug cosies, tea pot cosies
dish cloths -- if you use soft cotton, these can also be sold as face cloths (call them "Spa" something-or-other and you can charge more for them)

Let me know if you need any patterns. I have patterns for these things coming out my ears.

*Trinity
 
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