Do you take commissions? For how much? Sometimes I do in between Ebay sales, but not right now. I'm in school again and it's severely cut my sewing time. I may take a few down the road.
What kind of sewing machine do you use? I have a Brother SE400 which does computerized embroidery and normal sewing. I love it so much and highly recommend it to anyone. It's only slightly more expensive than a good, normal sewing machine. If you want to design your own embroidery, you need a program like Embird, which is what I use. For Embird, you only need the basic program plus the digitizing program which will run you an extra $270. Embird's super easy to use and I designed my first embroidery in a couple hours, which includes getting used to the program for the first time. You don't NEED this program - you can find embroidery designs online. For MLP designs, E the Pony has a bunch on his website: [link] He also has a ton of helpful entries on embroidery in general which helped me learn the ropes. You transfer the designs from your computer to your sewing machine via USB. Oh, and you have to have Windows to have an embroidery program. End of story. The normal sewing features are also awesome. The automatic threader actually WORKS, and it also has an option to automatically backstitch and cut your thread for you after your seam is done, which is amazing. I never knew a machine could do that!
What kind of fabric do you use for your ponies and where can I get some? I use minky for my ponies. I buy mine online because it's extremely difficult to find in stores and no one around me carries it. I get it from a variety of websites: [link] [link] [link] (look for minky cuddle 3)
Why are your plushies so expensive? Here's a controversial topic. First of all, before I list an item on Ebay, I have no idea what it's worth or what I should charge. That's a huge reason why I list on Ebay. I set a base price that is the absolute minimum I'm willing to sell it for so I wouldn't feel cheated out of material/labor costs which is around $45 - $70. People, not myself, increase the price by themselves. But if you think about it, these prices are fair. Material cost is a big factor. I'm slowly transitioning into using minky fabric which runs $13 a yard. Embroidery supplies are VERY expensive (one spool of thread is $5.50!). If you take out material costs, and Ebay/Paypal fees which can be HUGE (probably around 15% by the end of it all), what's left is labor fee. If I sell a plush for $60, take $20 out for material/fees, and if a plush takes me 10 hours to make, that's $4 an hour. That's less than minimum wage. No one would work for that. A huge thing to keep in mind is that this is custom made by one person. Mass produced toys are so cheap because they are mass produced. One person doesn't work on them and actually take the time to make sure they look good/accurate. I mean, have you SEEN the official Twilight plush? Can you see why it's only $20 something dollars? It's not show accurate, they use cheap materials, it's poorly designed, and it's poorly sewn. There are cheaper pony plush options out there. Trust me. If you search, you will find them. But keep in mind, unless you get lucky, you will get what you pay for.
Can you release your pattern, even if I pay for it? Right now, no. As long as I'm selling my ponies I will not release my pattern. You just cannot trust everyone to not sell ponies made from your pattern even if you say 'do not sell.' Trust me, it's already happened with a free pattern here on DA. When I'm done making ponies for money, I will probably release it. There are a couple free patterns out there, I think. Or, just do what a lot of us did, and sit down and create your own pattern.
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