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Krambo
New Pal
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
 Posted - 05/05/2007 : 11:39:18 AM
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I love knitting.
I love it.
I would love to be able to quit everything and be able to support myself by knitting. I guess that's a tall order so I'll scale it down a bit....
What, in your opinion, is the best way to make some money though knitting? Enough to more than cover your yarn costs, for example....   |
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kjtendyke
Chatty Knitter
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 12:11:35 PM
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I work for Classic Elite Yarns, and they're always using knitters to knit up sample garments. I've knit many many things for them. You can get "paid" with either a check or yarn credit. Basically, if I choose yarn credit, then I get paid in yarn!
Are you in the Massachusetts area? If so, contact Classic Elite to see if they would like you to knit for them. Judy would be the woman to talk to. If you're not in Mass, check around anything nearby to see if there are yarn companies, magazines, etc... there are lots of places and designers who will be willing to pay to have something knit.
Good luck!
~Kristen~ [img]http://kristentendyke.com/images/turtle.gif[/img]
www.kristentendyke.com |
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sbutnarasu
Chatty Knitter
United Kingdom
163 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 12:15:29 PM
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Would it be ok to ask what is the price range they offer for a knitted garment? just out of curiosity.
Silvia ( who would not mind quiting her job :)
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kjtendyke
Chatty Knitter
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 2:52:38 PM
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It varies drastically depending on many different things. The weight of the yarn, difficulty of the pattern, how quickly it needs to be knit… it could be from $75 for a Stockinette vest knit on size 11 needles to $400 for a fair isle cardigan knit on size 5 needles.
Those are just rough estimates... but it really does depend on the specific garment.
~Kristen~ [img]http://kristentendyke.com/images/turtle.gif[/img]
www.kristentendyke.com |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 3:36:38 PM
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One question (I hope not ridiculous) - if one were to knit a sweater who sews it together? Do you send them the finished pieces or a totally finished garment?
Also, does the knitter just knit or is she responsible for tech proofing the pattern or offering feedback on the pattern?
GFTC of NYC
the pictures tell the story
www.flickr.com/photos/gftc_knits/ |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 4:20:36 PM
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GFTC it depends on the commission. All but one of the commissions I have knitted they assemble the pieces. Pattern feedback is something I always offer when I think it is needed, but sometimes I have been told to knit verbatim.
Brought to you by the tongue in cheek-y monkey
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Help me walk all over cancer
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simonamd
Warming Up
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2007 : 4:23:38 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by GFTC
One question (I hope not ridiculous) - if one were to knit a sweater who sews it together? Do you send them the finished pieces or a totally finished garment?
Also, does the knitter just knit or is she responsible for tech proofing the pattern or offering feedback on the pattern?
GFTC of NYC
the pictures tell the story
www.flickr.com/photos/gftc_knits/
It depends who you are making it for. I work with magazine publishers and each of them do it differently. In either case, I have to write the pattern. In one instance, I write the pattern in one size only and they do the rest; and the other publisher wants it all the way - instructions for all sizes and after their rewriting it, proofreading it again. So it really depends.
As it was mentioned above, you may be asked to knit up some other designer's pattern. I have not done that; but I guess that does not pay as much. But it still has a great benefit - you get to work with yarns you might not come to work with otherwise.
Good luck.
http://www.stylishknits.blogspot.com/
Simona |
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Renocat
Permanent Resident
1327 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2007 : 07:23:47 AM
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My LYS owner asked me to knit samples for her shop. She provided the yarn and the patterns and I was paid $.10 per yard used. A tank that took 300 yards earned me $30 and a baby hat and sweater that took 500 yards earned me $50 for a total of $80. She paid me in cash but I would have been just as happy to accept store credit because I know that money will go right back to the LYS [:00]
[img]http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/knit.gif[/img]
Kim
I have a blog! Kim Knits
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Krambo
New Pal
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2007 : 03:28:26 AM
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| I'm so sad that this thread got moved. It was getting some good replies then got buried. I chose to put it where I did precisely so it wouldn't get lost.....Too bad that doesn't fit in with the system, eh? |
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Mocha
Permanent Resident
Singapore
2903 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2007 : 08:26:53 AM
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How bout knitting for fashion house? I thought Salvatore Ferragamo would need plenty of knitters to knit those few thousands dollars bag. You should be getting decent return.
It's not possible to knit for ordinary folks - they have no concept on how expensive & labourious it is. Even if they do, most of the time they won't have the means to pay you. Your audience should be for the rich. If you knit for a knitter, they might criticise your knitting or think they can do better job.
Oh, you can also knit toys and sell them. That might work. |
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fiddlerbird555
Permanent Resident
USA
1429 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2007 : 08:05:11 AM
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Y'know, the mother of one of my kids' friends makes jewelry and sells them at craft fairs. It'd be interesting to ask someone doing that about their "business model" and see if it might apply to knitting. My gut feel would be that the bulk of your wares would be small, cheap, but flashy, some midling stuff, priced accordingly and a few really impressive show pieces that grab folks' attention and bring them in to admire your work, and might sell once in a blue moon.
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I can go loopy, or I can knit. Your choice. |
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Sue the nomad
New Pal
16 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2007 : 08:49:07 AM
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| Hi there - been away for a while but now back on track. I too would love to make some money out of knitting and have tried selling finished pieces via eba and etsy.com and through colleagues at work - and to some success - I now have a self funding hobby at least. But I really would like to make profit from my love of this hobby - passing on my knowledge to others by teaching, knitting to order rather than knitting items that 'might' sell in the future - anyone in the UK with any suggestions other than those I've already tried. I would love to set up my own LYS as there are so few really good ones here in the UK and certainly very few in south Wales - so any suggestions are more than welcome - looking forward to your views. |
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Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2007 : 08:55:56 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Krambo
I'm so sad that this thread got moved. It was getting some good replies then got buried. I chose to put it where I did precisely so it wouldn't get lost.....Too bad that doesn't fit in with the system, eh?
Most people use the active topics feature and thus will easily find a thread. Putting a thread in the wrong place so it doesn't get buried just wastes Clara's time because she has to move it.
Amanda Takes Off... and Amanda Knits
Hand and foot when harmonized forms martialism/but Military and literary when harmonized is art and this brings/philosophy. (Lee, Chang Hoo) |
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knitz2
Permanent Resident
USA
1800 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2007 : 5:54:33 PM
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one of my customers specializes in crocheting cotton caps, think inexpensive "kitchen cotton", which she then sells to a boutique in a nearby city. She pays from $1 - $1.50 per ball of yarn which makes one cap, then sells the cap to the shop for $6-$8 and the shop retails the caps at around $12-$15. this is in the Kansas City area. another puts her caps on consignment at a local "everything" shop.
you might check into local - and not so local - boutiques which might assist in selling your knitted items. I think this would be an especially good avenue to follow up on if you are near a tourist destination area and can come up with something tourists might be interested in when souvenier shopping.
Keep knitting, this too shall pass. |
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purlthis
Permanent Resident
USA
2719 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2007 : 5:59:50 PM
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My LYS knits for Abercrombie and Fitch. While I do not know the exact amounts they are paid, it is quite handsome. They only do 1/4 of a sleeve and sweater front for samples so that they can have them sent to factories to machine knit.
Rachel
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As I get older, I prefer to knit. Tracey Ullman
http://purledthis.blogspot.com/ UPDATED! WITH PICS! |
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amanda23
Warming Up
USA
61 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2008 : 10:01:12 PM
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I sell my knitted bags for more than the cost of yarn. It started with me making a felted bag for myself, then relatives started wanting them, then friends of relatives starting asking me to make bags for them. My mom and aunt have had "bag parties" selling bags for me, and I've had them in a couple local stores. Since moving to NJ I haven't pushed them too much around here, but a coworker saw mine and liked it, and I've since made several for her and her mom to give as gifts; plus another coworker has now "ordered" two bags from me. While I can't make a living off of it, it's nice to make some money just to knit!
-Amanda
my blog:
http://mollywaffles.blogspot.com/ |
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MonicaSilva
Chatty Knitter
USA
328 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2008 : 2:24:54 PM
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I'm in California. There's a knitter who knits scarves and other flat pieces during the week. On Sundays she drives to the farmer's market and sells them to non-knitters who walk by. She has a base of returning, loyal customers now.
Monica Silva
A Knit Skinny Scarf Blog
Knit with others at a cafe in the U.S.! Join a Knitting Group Today |
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procrastiknitter
Permanent Resident
Canada
1415 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2008 : 5:48:23 PM
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Knitting for the rich is the only option. I suspect that weirdly expensive neckwarmers, chunky hats, and hot water bottle covers would be the only way to make a little chunk of cash. It would likely yield a low hourly wage, but could pay for your hobby/allow you to make money while watching tv.
Never trust a man, who when left alone with a tea cozy, doesn't try to put it on - Billy Connolly |
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bignicelady
New Pal
3 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 09:13:35 AM
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I just recently saw in the newspaper that in Switzerland somebody got a "Rent a Granny to Knit Your Socks" business going. They pay the "Granny" about 10 to 12 bucks and sell the socks for 35 bucks a pair.
Nothing to make you rich if you knit the socks... but I bet that the company makes a nice profit.
Bignicelady |
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Topic |
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How can one make money from knitting?
