By the Numbers, 2025

Each year, I find I reflect on the time and money I put into creating millinery pieces. My hope is to help others understand what it takes to go from a hank of straw to bonnet or hat, and the prices I place on my work. This year, I am going to try to let the numbers speak.

Straw Bonnets ca 1840-1860s

Original bonnet block – approx $80 to $200 each
Straw hank – $23-45 (generally enough for 2 ca 1840-1860s bonnets)
Approx 10 to 12 hours of hand-sewing, blocking, & wiring depending on plait width

Straw Bonnets ca 1800-1830s

Straw hank – $23-45 (generally enough for 1 larger bonnet)
Approx 10 to 16 hours of hand-sewing, blocking, & wiring depending on plait width – over multiple days depending on bonnet shaping needs.
Reproduction millinery blocks – $50-$150 (in some cases 2 are needed)

Straw Hats ca 1850s-1880s

Straw hank $23-$45 (generally enough for 2 hats)
Approx 8 hours to 12 hours of hand-sewing, blocking, & wiring depending on plait width – over multiple days depending on shaping needs.
Original and reproduction millinery blocks – $25-$150 each

Additional Costs:

Sizing
Wire
Brushes
Needles
Thread
Plastic wrap
Massages to keep hands functional
Pain patches and creams for hands
Research – Original straw millinery
Research – Original images, photos, ephemera

I did a little breakdown of a $100 item at the beginning of the year for myself. It looks like this:

$100 Item
10% discount 80+% of buyers use – $10
Shipping beyond $6 – $4-$10
Etsy fees 6.5% + 3% +.20 – $13
Shipping materials – $1
Item materials – $20

Total – $48 to $54
Remains – $46 to $52 –>At 10 hours = $4.60 to $5.20/ hour

(If I actually paid myself a living wage of $25/hour, this $100 item would need to be closer to $250 to $326.)

For those who don’t know, straw millinery was meant to be a hobby. Instead, it became a financial necessity as an Etsy business following my full-time day job. After a full day of work, I put in 3 to 5 hours of sewing, blocking, photographing, packing, etc, each week evening with an additional 10-12 hour days on the weekends.