AITA for telling my cousin that I would not make a blanket for her kid for free?

A Reddit user, a university student who crochets in her free time, shared a story about her cousin asking for a handmade blanket as a birthday gift for her child. The user declined to make the blanket for free, explaining that crocheting a blanket is both time-consuming and expensive due to the high-quality yarn she uses.

She offered to make one as a paid commission instead, but her cousin and father felt she should do it for free, especially for family. Was the user wrong to ask for compensation for her hard work, or was she right to set boundaries around her hobby? Read the full story below to decide for yourself.

‘ AITA for telling my cousin that I would not make a blanket for her kid for free?’

So some context: I am a uni student and in my free time I crochet a lot. I was spending a week at my grandma’s to help her wash the windows and do some cleaning. My cousin (31F) came for a visit and asked me to show her what I was working on.

Currently, I am making a starburst granny-square blanket (pattern for anyone interested) so I showed her the squares I’ve made so far and told her that it was to be my first king-sized blanket for my and my bfs first shared apartment (we will be moving in next year)

She told me that in all that time I could make a second blanket and give this one to her daughter as a birthday present. I told her that I absolutely would not do that because it is hard work to make a blanket and also very expensive since I am using good quality yarn.

I told her that I’d be happy to put my own project aside and make one for her kid as a commission, but that I wouldn’t do it for free as I couldn’t afford that My dad thinks that I should have asked them to cover the costs of the yarn and make a free blanket but I disagree considering how much work goes into a blanket

EDIT: The price for my work that I gave her is my family rate, very symbolic costs + 1$/hour

See what others had to share with OP:

LoveBeach8 −  NTA. As a crocheter myself, I totally agree with you. It takes hours and hours to make a full-size blankie and much longer to make a king-size one. The yarn can be very expensive but just because someone pays for the yarn, doesn’t mean it’s any less work. Stick to your guns! You never offered a free gift and it’s rude for anyone to expect a free gift.

grindelwaldd −  NTA. I don’t personally crochet or knit but my mother does, *a lot* of time goes into making blankets. You deserve to be paid for your labour.

RoyallyOakie −  NTA…People who can’t do art, somehow think that your time and effort should be free–not so! Your response was spot-on. A beautifully crocheted blanket is worth the money.

Weskit −  NTA. Apparently they want to make you look like the rude one, but what is ruder than telling someone what they have to give their child as a gift, regardless of the expense (time/money) to you?

doublestitch −  NTA another crocheter here. Both your cousin and your father are entitled and rude. Of course both of them already have a clue what an enormous request that was. Offer to teach them to make starburst granny squares and watch their reactions.

CatteHerder −  NTA- I’m a designer/instructor/spinner.. And no. Just no. Your skill is not free. Your labour is not free. No one is entitled to it. Don’t let other people’s absence of appreciation for the skills you’ve worked to acquire, affect how you value them.

This isn’t any different from asking an architect, contractor, or coder to just give you free labour because hey, if you’re doing it anyway then it really isn’t worth anything, right? Sorry, but your father is really, really in the wrong here.

[Reddit User] −  NTA that was a bold demand she made there haha

nannylive −  NTA, tell your dad to make her one.

DannyBigD −  NTA. It’s your time, you can value that however you want to.

Pickles_milk −  NTA is takes a long time to make a blanket and as you said the yarn you’re using is expensive, “She told me all this time that i could’ve made a blanket for her daughter” she sounds entitled in my opinion, she should’ve commissioned you if she wanted one

Do you think the user was right to ask for compensation for such a time-consuming project, or should she have agreed to make the blanket as a gift for family? How do you balance setting boundaries with supporting loved ones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!