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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be shocked at the price of knitted hats for newborns

28 replies

Belini · 19/10/2011 18:45

I was out shopping today for my twins due in Jan and found only a couple of shops that sell knitted hats for newborns. They both had them priced at £15.99. AIBU to think this is expensive or is this the norm?

OP posts:
SecretNutellaFix · 19/10/2011 18:46

£15.99?

Were they hand knitted by Peruvian virgins from spider silk?Shock

Mothercare sell plain white knitted hats for newborns for £3.50.

Kytti · 19/10/2011 18:49

WTF?! Get yourself to Mothercare! eBay! Where were you shopping? Harrods? My twins were perfectly happy with a boy / girl set from eBay. £2.50 each.

Flisspaps · 19/10/2011 18:50

Go to a charity shop or to your local hospital (who will probably have a shop) where you can buy hats hand-knitted lovingly for a couple of quid.

Original poster
Belini · 19/10/2011 18:53

Grin @ secret. Thankyou at least 2 other people on my wave length. My mother suggested if I couldn't afford to buy them hats I couldn't afford to have them. I really did think that it was overly expensive i'm off to have a look on mothercare website or teach myself to knit.

OP posts:
colken · 19/10/2011 19:24

If you haven't had your babies yet, why don't you get down to work and knit things for them? A baby hat would take about an hour. If you don't know how to knit, you must know someone who can!

Why does everything have to be bought? Buy a handknitted cardigan from a jumble sale and undo it for the wool.

colken · 19/10/2011 19:25

Well at least it wouild be cheaper than new wool.

ThePumpkinKing · 19/10/2011 19:27

They sell nice ones in hospitals usually.

In the 'Friends' shop.

BabyDubsEverywhere · 19/10/2011 19:28

Make friends with someone old, all old ladies knit Grin

ScaredBear · 19/10/2011 19:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 19/10/2011 19:39

Hey, it's not just old ladies that knit! I'm not quite 30 and I love knitting! In fact, all friends/relatives/people I vaguely know receive a knitted hat, pair of booties, cardigan and blanket all made by me when they have a baby. I love knitting baby hats, and would never charge £15.99 for one! Obviously the people I give them to get them free, but if I were to charge I don't think I could justify charging more than 2 or 3 pounds at the most!

twoandtwins · 19/10/2011 20:02

If you like knitted hats then have a look a a website called folksy.com. It where people sell their own hand made goods from pictures to earrings etc. Last year i bought two hand knitted Christmas hats for £5 each! x

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 19/10/2011 20:12

Ooh, I could undercut folksy and do them for half that price!

twoandtwins · 19/10/2011 20:19

You could have a nice little business! Do little mittens too :)

MrBloomsNursery · 19/10/2011 20:24

I bought a set of knitted hat and mittens for a newborn from Next Clearance for....£1 Grin

herbietea · 19/10/2011 20:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

RantyMcRantpants · 19/10/2011 21:21

Ask on the Arts and Crafts board I am sure one of the lovely ladies on there will knit you a few hats.

HollywoodAgentForTheLivingDead · 19/10/2011 21:25

I asked in our local knitting shop, that also sells baby clothes, whether they had any knitted gloves when DD2 was a newborn a couple of years ago.

The owner said her sister would take great pleasure in knitting her a pair, and to call in for them the next day.

They only charged me £1.50 Smile

Although that can't beat my auntie, who kitted her out with a whole knitted outfit for free Grin

Both bloody lovely!

angelpantser · 19/10/2011 21:28

I knit and I think that's outrageous. There was a thread in Arts & Crafts earlier this week about charging for your time for handcrafted items and even factoring that in I couldn't justify charging that much.

Happy to help if you want a handknitted ones. I do mittens too!

ChippyMinton · 19/10/2011 21:28

All my babies were cleaned up and handed to me already wearing hand-knitted hats courtesy of the hospital friends. Blue for the boys, pink for DD Smile. Maybe yours will too?

Sparklees · 19/10/2011 21:33

Lots of the more fancy knitted ones are often used as photography props (and are actually often quite impractical as "proper" hats) so maybe some of the high prices are for that reason?

For a bog standard knitted hat with no frills, that is an excessive price though.

weevilswobble · 19/10/2011 21:43

I love that story hollywood! £1.50!! Thats fab! Smile

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 19/10/2011 21:51

I am also available for all your knitting needs! Seriously, I love getting orders for knitted things. Especially at the moment as my husband is working away for the next 6 months or so and I like to have knitting to do in the evenings when it gets a little lonely.

Marymaryalittlecontrary · 19/10/2011 21:53

Oh, I meant to add I have photos that I can email to people to show them the things I have previously knitted to prove I am not completely rubbish! Grin

HollywoodAgentForTheLivingDead · 19/10/2011 21:55

Thanks weevils Smile

There are two other baby clothes shops in our very small town, and both of them sell over priced, delicate clothes.

Stuff to wear for extra special best, plus top of the range toys and baby essentials, and I've never worked out how they survive.

They're surely missing a trick not catering for 'normal' priced things all the mums in the town need.

I don't want to give my cash to the big supermarkets, but I've got no choice.