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I've had a lot of inquiries lately about how much I charge for the Seraphina's Shawl! Thanks so much for asking! I'm going to work on getting a page up for the shawl, so that folks can see what's available, and what I charge!
Basically, it depends on the guage and the yarn used. A simple acrylic yarn, like you can get at Walmart, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby, in a 'working length' shawl goes for about $50. A normal length shawl in the same yarn will go for $85.
All of my shawls have the wonderful 'batwing' design, meaning that they are not your typical triangular shawls. The batwing allows the sides of the shawl to drape over your shoulders and stay there, as there is extra fabric to keep it in place. I've found that I can do quite a bit of moving around, without the shawl needing to be readjusted or falling off. However, if you need the extra security, you can always use a nice brooch, or even a pretty barrette, to clip the shawl in place.
A word about weights:
Gossamer weight: This is a shawl made out of the finest, softest yarn I can find. It's generally either a cotton, cotton/poly blend, or a lace-weight merino/silk blend. These shawls are luxurious, thin enough for a cool summer evening, but still have a very nice drape to them. I have to use a smaller hook on them, so they are more work than the other shawls, but well worth the extra time and expense. The summer weight shawls are my best sellers, along with the bulky winter weight shawls. These shawls are generally more for looks than warmth, but I try to choose yarns that will serve both purposes nicely.
Summer weight:
These shawls are made out of what is called Fingering or sock yarn. It's a strong, thin yarn, suitable for baby clothes and, you guessed it, socks. When crocheted into a shawl, it makes for a light, airy shawl that hangs well and has a nice weight to it for summer wear. I recommend that if you're using it as a beach cover-up or for vacations where you'll be using it to take long romantic walks at night, you request cotton yarn. It washes well, and keeps you cooler than an acrylic will for summer. It will keep you plenty warm, just not clammy, like acrylic can do in the summer.
Medium weight:
This is the shawl you want when you tend to run cooler than your housemate, but not 'cold'. This shawl is lighter than a winter weight, and drapes nicely. It will keep you warm of an evening, and works very well as a car blanket, as well, for those (like me) who have partners who like to freeze you out of the car! (I swear, the man is part polar bear!)
Winter weight:
awwww.... is there anything more cozy than a thick, chunky shawl when you're cuddled up in front of the picture window, watching the snow fall? Well, besides Grandma's homemade quilt, no. :) At least, I don't think so!
For these shawls, I generally use an acrylic, Lion Brand Homespun yarn. They have some wonderful colors, both sedate and bright, and some terrific variegated yarns. The gray shawl at the top of my Work with Me! page is made from Homespun. There has also come available two new yarns that I've found make a wonderful winter shawl... Plush yarn, and Cotton that looks just like the Homespun, for those that want more natural fibers.
IMPORTANT TIP: If you're wearing the shawl in front of a fire, I recommend the cotton option! acrylic, once heated to the melting point, tends to bond with your skin. It's not pretty. While I love the Homespun, and it's a joy to work with, it should only be used for warmth, and NOT if you tend to hang around a fire in the winter. Cotton, wool, silk, or other natural fibers are the way to go if that's the case.
Below, I will list the yarns I can do, and the prices for that particular yarn/shawl.
Acrylic: $50
Cotton: $60
Acrylic/wool blend: $65
Wool: $75
silk, cashmere, merino, etc.: write to me at craftyd0ni@yahoo.com for pricing. I will need to know what color, size thread, etc, to work up an estimate.
Normal length shawl
This shawl goes from your shoulders to midthigh at the point, and drapes very nicely over your forearms, leaving your hands free. It stays on the shoulders very well, because of my 'batwing' design, but if you want to be sure it stays put, you can use a nice brooch or pin to secure it across the chest. It has a nice weight to it, and will keep you warm, without being too warm. In the lighter weights, it makes a great summer shawl. In the heavier weights, it's great for a winter 'cuddle'.
Note that the prices do not always seem to reflect the weight of the shawl. This is because it usually costs more to make a lighter shawl than a medium weight shawl. It also takes more 'lace' weight yarn to make a gossamer shawl, than to make a medium weight, and the yarn is harder to find. Alternatively, the heavy weight shawls are generally made from specialty bulky yarns, which cost more for me to get than the medium weights.
Acrylic, sport or regular weight:$75
Acrylic, fingering weight yarn (Summer weight): $95
Acrylic, bulky Homespun yarn: $125
Cotton, gossamer weight (summer or specialty use): $125
Cotton, summer weight: $90
Cotton, medium weight: $75
Cotton, winter weight: $125
Acrylic/wool blend: $110
Wool: $125-150, depending on color, availability, and thread size
Bulky, Homespun yarn, winter weight: $125
specialty yarns: contact me for pricing! It will depend on what's available at the time of your order.
NOTE: I am a hand-spinner, and can produce very specific yarns, depending on your need. However, please remember that this adds quite a bit of time, and therefore, expense, to the shawl. I can do merino, silk, cashmere, alpaca, and any blend of those. When blending, I can do it either by plying strands of each type, or by carding the fibers together for strands that are blended. Please realize that a hand-spun shawl takes a lot of time and energy, but has a lot more of 'me' in it. Therefore, you will never see another shawl exactly like it, and it will be made, from beginning to end, specifically for you. Handspun shawls take about two months to complete! Again, pricing depends on the price of materials at the time of your order, and will be based on the weight you want your shawl to be.
Hand-spun shawls start from $350, and go up from there.
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NEW!!!!!!!
Just for my re-enactment friends!
Like the look of a shawl, but can't find crochet anywhere in your research? That's because it's not period for anyone re-creating a time period before the 1700's! Bummer. I know, I'm still working on finding documentation for it, but I haven't been able to find much of anything, and what I have found has been sketchy and unsubstantiated.
Does this mean that you have to continue wearing that bulky cloak, which doesn't always fit your garb, or the situation or weather?
Absolutely not!
I have designed a spranged shawl, that is appropriate for anyone doing Viking and later, for re-enactors and the SCA. I'm currently in the process of spranging the first one, and will put pictures of it up as soon as it's done. It will be a gift for the next queen of Atlantia, Rachel.
For a spranged shawl, I can generally follow the same pricing as above for the crocheted shawls. They take about the same amount of work, but the method is documentably period. The shawl itself might not be strictly period, but the methods used to create it are, and it's a reasonable compromise, unless you're a period nazi. However, various lengths of finely designed sprang are known to exist from the 1300's up, and it's reasonable to assume that if those widths and lengths could have been made for household use, there's nothing to say that a contemporary woman wouldn't have thought to use it for a shawl. There is so little information available about sprang, that it's hard to say exactly what can and can't be used for re-enactment purposes, but I tend to lean more toward the 'creative use of methods' than being strictly 'period' with my work.
I can also do a hand-spun spranged shawl, and can provide documentation for the methods used. I use a hand-spindle, not a spinning wheel, and the spindle was made by a friend of mine, also a re-enactor. When possible, I use wool or other fibers that are sold by small businesses run by SCA merchants or American-owned.
If you are interested in a spranged shawl, please contact me for more information, or with specific questions. Please let me know what period you are re-creating, because some designs are more appropriate than others for this.
(For those that care about such things, I have won several competitions and received two kingdom level awards for my sprang: I was made a Companion of the Order of the Pearl, the kingdom level Arts and Sciences award for the kingdom of Atlantia, and I received the award of the Silver Nautilus for my spranged cap/mittens/pouch set that I entered for Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival this past year. I was also named a KASF Champion for that entry.)
If you aren't interested in re-creating another time, but want something no one else will have, a sranged shawl is for you! Pricing same as for crochted shawls.
If you have any questions about any of this, please don't hesitate to contact me! I'm happy to answer any questions, and welcome your comments/suggestions.
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Keep checking back! I'll be updating this page with lots of pictures, as I can!
