Cat lovers would you buy this at a craft fair?

[LauraSaidIShouldBeNicer]

I am doing my first craft fair in December I make dog and cat collars. I also plan on doing some low cost items aswell like treats and toys and blankets ect.

This is a cat mat it's thicker than a blanket and can save a sofa or bed getting too hairy?

Is this something that would interest cat owners? What price would you pay for something like this I was thinking £5? I don't want to make a few up if they are useless.

Im not looking to make a huge profit just cover costs and maybe some extra. It's just a hobby for me and not needed to pay the bills.

Ps the lighting is crap this evening its a blush pink.

Is the yarn you have chosen able to be washed at higher temperatures? I'm thinking over 40°c in order to properly sanitise the blanket.

I think is a little too small. My cats would nestle into the fold of the settee so I would want a blanket that could cover some of the back as well as the seat

I don't know where you are in the U.K. but for our area (Greater London) I think that's priced too low. £5 would make me think it was bargain store, massed produced quality rather than a handmade craft item. I think slightly larger and £12.50 or £15 would be more useful and reflect the quality better.

I crochet, knit and sew and sold at craft fairs and online for a couple of years. My thoughts are:

It's too cheap. You say £5 only just covers the yarn costs. What about craft fair fees, liability insurance, display costs, travel costs, bags, etc?

The cat's claws would get caught in the holes.

My experience tells me that you will probably be working at a loss, but as long as you know that then it's fine as a hobby. The general public don't really appreciate hand made items when they are more used to paying mass produced prices.

I was very happy making doing craft fairs for a while as it can be a lot of fun, however I now enjoy making things for my own pleasure without the pressure of having to stock a full table and the time and trouble involved.

I would encourage you to give it a go, but I think you might need to charge more and be realistic about making any money at all after overheads..

OMG OP, I love the sound of a 'winter walkies' set! I would pay seriously good money for a jumper/coat for my hound that came with matching fingerless gloves and a hat for me! (Goes off to excitedly Google if this is already an actual 'thing'......)

Our dogs favorite blanket was a crochet one he stole repeatedly, making it a bit raggedy until it was his. I love knitted and crocheted pot holders and mats and dish cloths, sadly I am unskilled in knitting or crochet, and so I try to buy them at craft fairs. Sounds like you could make those too. And pram blankets. I have 6 little red green & white knitted stockings, thumb size, and hang them on the Christmas tree.

My cat almost exclusively uses things not bought for her - anything designed for cats is sniffed disdainfully and then ignored forever. Luckily she does at least use a litter tray but she only deigns to sit on human blankets/clothing/bedding.

Dogs seem to be much more grateful and accepting of dedicated items so I'd focus on them. Most cat owners I know would wistfully look at pretty cat things but walk away, no matter the price. If you make a windowsill runner, lovely idea but I can guarantee my cat would sit right next to it but not touch it, unless it was to shove it off her windowsill.

Is this too small for a windowsill mat thing? Can add some sides to make it a bit basketry?

It probably needs to be long and thin for cats that like to stretch out to their full length rather than curl up.

This is lovely and clearly very well made but please do charge for your time, you deserve it :)

I echo a PP by saying that even though it's just a hobby for you, for the sake of people who are trying to make a living doing it, please price your items properly so you don't unintentionally harm their chances of selling.

If you'd like to keep your prices lower, you could look at things like buying fabric/wool in bulk and trying to create processes for batch-making certain parts at the same time so you're more efficient with your time (eg. cut all the fish fabric shapes in one go, sew them all in one go, stuff them all in one go, sew the eyes on them all in one go etc). Hope that helps and good luck at the fair :)