Time Value of Needlework

I really don't enjoy clothes shopping.  Shopping does not fill the Hunter/Gather drive in me to prowl the aisles, stalk the latest trend and find a 'killer' sale.  I usually go shopping once or twice a year for clothes.

That being said, we needed  new funeral attire since the last few I've gone to were in the summer and the little man had [surprise] grown out of his suit.

This sweater's price tag was $54.  That is a bit high for my budget but it was on a 50% off the lowest ticket price clearance rack.  Well $27 was a bit more reasonable.  At the register it rang up for $7.54!  Okay, I did feel a SCORE rush there.

Next came the little man's suit, $52 for either the size 4 or 5.  So I bit the bullet, rationalizing that by getting the size 5, cuffing the pant legs and taking the waist in just a bit, he'll be wearing this suit to many events, parties and photo settings!

So the time value of these items?  
Time value can be thought of as 'what can you earn / hour' times 'how many hours it takes' plus 'cost of materials' to make the item.  Is that greater than the ticket price?  Then you've 'made money' by purchasing instead of making.  Of course that calculation only works if you have the interest and/or skills to make the item.

I could not even buy the 6 oversized buttons for $8 let along the cost of all that yarn!  And the last time I tried to knit a sweater?  Well let me just say after failing to attached the overly long selves, I had made a sweater vest.

I could probably have purchased the materials for the little man's suit for under $50 but how long would it have taken me to sew the suit?