Questions for Making AB/DL items

Hello everyone, I'm planning on making an Etsy store to sell items targeted towards this community, but I'd like to get a bit of insight from yourselves first so I can cater towards peoples needs.

I love making blankets, especially baby blankets, so knowing I can make even adult sized ones sounds great to me! But I need to know a few things first, and I'm also interested in a few other aspects that I see within the community.

1) What do you look for in blankets? Are there particular fabrics that you look for?

2) Are taggie blankets an item that anyone would be interested in?

3) How customizable would you like to have your blanket? Perhaps having things like buttons or plush paw prints or bells on them?

4) Are cloth diapers an interest in the community? If so, are there particular builds or forms of cloth diaper that one looks for?

That's all the questions I have for now, if I can think of anything else via discussion I'll be sure to ask. I hope to hear from any of you, thank you in advance for any help. I hope I can add to this community with my blankets! :smile:

SpAzpieSweeTot said:

1. I have aTwin XL mattress, so something that fits it. Id look for cotton. I'd be ticked pink to have something weighted, not for AB purposes, just to accommodate my particular sensory issues. I'd like a super soft cotton quilt, with plenty of batting, like several squares sewn together. Animals are too common a theme for me. Maybe pinwheels, kites, and balloons? Or art supplies? Or sweets, like cupcakes, cookies, and candy? Or music? I'd like lots of bright, happy, girly colors. I'd love my name on it, or maybe a term of endearment.

The important thing, no matter what you're making, is the print has to fit. We have big bodies, so we need a big print to help us look and feel smaller.

2. What's a taggie blanket?

3. As you can see above, very.

4. Oh, goodness, yes, for me, anyway. Be warned, I'm ridiculously picky about them. My perfect design is in my mind, but I can't sew, so. . .

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So customization is a big must, good to know! I was wondering just how far I could go on customizing blankets, so seeing it'd be a big deal for some looks fun!

As for taggies, they're a blanket with lots of ribbon hoops on the sides so that babies can hook their fingers into them or fiddle with them to their hearts content. They can be all different colors or prints.



With cloth diapers, how would you suppose one would go about getting the best results of making one for the customer to be happy? Perhaps laying out a blueprint beforehand and then going about with the thickness and print? It'd be a bit difficult knowing folks have their preferences on size, thickness, things like that so I hope to get all the opinions I can personally find.

TurtleGirl said:

So customization is a big must, good to know! I was wondering just how far I could go on customizing blankets, so seeing it'd be a big deal for some looks fun!

As for taggies, they're a blanket with lots of ribbon hoops on the sides so that babies can hook their fingers into them or fiddle with them to their hearts content. They can be all different colors or prints.

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With cloth diapers, how would you suppose one would go about getting the best results of making one for the customer to be happy? Perhaps laying out a blueprint beforehand and then going about with the thickness and print? It'd be a bit difficult knowing folks have their preferences on size, thickness, things like that so I hope to get all the opinions I can personally find.

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I know quite a few bABies and Little ones who'd love those taggies.

The best thing to do about the diapers, is just to become the world's best listener, sewer, and communicator, because literally everyone is different. Be open to them being very super duper über descriptive of what they want, maybe even let them send you plans.


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siysiy said:

4) Are cloth diapers an interest in the community? If so, are there particular builds or forms of cloth diaper that one looks for?

Not not for me they leak. :sad:

hope that helps you

Siysiy

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Awww, such a sad Little frown. I shall try to turn it upside down. Where do you have leaks from? What styles have you tried? I mean like pocket, prefold, AIO. What were the absorbent bits made from? There a Clothie ADISCer here who is AB and IC, who makes A+A (Adapt and Accept) pocket diapers. She's a genius! She actually puts PUL (the waterproof stuff) around the legs, in a way where it won't leak. If they did, she wouldn't stand for it, being incontinent and all. I promise, I'm not trying to make you a clothie convert. I just hate to see Little bABies upset by bad experiences.

1) Pretty much like you'd find in stores but bigger. Very soft fabric with a silky ribbon along the edges.

2) Probably yes.

3) Yes customizable. Basic or custom patches or iron on designs, names, etc.

4) Also yes. I've already had a problem with this on etsy though. I asked for a layered (with zorb) cloth diaper. I wanted it to be extra thick all throughout and contoured much like a disposable. However, I got something that had the back sides angled to a point, and only had the zorb in the center. For me this was unusable for my side sleeping, but etsy refused to refund my money. I will not use etsy ever again without a better return policy for manufacturer defects like that.

Slomo said:

4) Also yes. I've already had a problem with this on etsy though. I asked for a layered (with zorb) cloth diaper. I wanted it to be extra thick all throughout and contoured much like a disposable. However, I got something that had the back sides angled to a point, and only had the zorb in the center. For me this was unusable for my side sleeping, but etsy refused to refund my money. I will not use etsy ever again without a better return policy for manufacturer defects like that.

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So for things like this, do you think it'd be better to go back and forth on blueprints before hand first? Maybe for things like cloth diapers, it'd be better to do it offsite like via email talks and such, though it sounds very difficult to manage to make sure all measurements and things get correct so that there aren't leaks for situations like this, but I think you folks would know how to avoid these better than I would in the design.

I'm going back and forth on the idea of whether or not to make the cloth diapers I sell custom made on a made to order basis or pre-made items, so it seems made to order is the way to go so far to ensure the best made products for a happy customer.

I have another question, how much are people willing to pay for these custom items? I get worried about pricing but I don't want to undersell myself, this is going to be my business after all. Customization means it'll be more expensive, same goes for making the item bigger. I'm not planning on charging up the wazoo for it, but things have to be fairly compensated for on my end as well. I not only want to be fair to the customer but also myself.

TurtleGirl said:

I have another question, how much are people willing to pay for these custom items? I get worried about pricing but I don't want to undersell myself, this is going to be my business after all. Customization means it'll be more expensive, same goes for making the item bigger. I'm not planning on charging up the wazoo for it, but things have to be fairly compensated for on my end as well. I not only want to be fair to the customer but also myself.

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As much of a pain in your butt as I'm afraid I'd be, I'd pay whatever you'd find fair.

SpAzpieSweeTot said:

As much of a pain in your butt as I'm afraid I'd be, I'd pay whatever you'd find fair.

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I'm willing to work with people, I want to try to be as flexible as possible with the materials at my disposal, I even managed to get an embroidery machine so I can do things like that for this line of work. I'm still planning out the details on pricing, but if you're interested in a blanket now, go ahead and shoot me a private message and I can give my email so we can talk things over.