Knitting for Profit? How Much Should You Charge?

Whether made by hand or with 1957 58 Topps basketball cards knitting machine, creating beautiful knitted garments is a skilled craft. Therefore, when it comes to setting a garment price for your customers, never undervalue yourself or your skills.

How to charge for knitted items is a much discussed topic amongst dedicated knitters and there seems to be no hard and fast rules that can be applied.

Certainly, it's not adequate to use 'shop' prices as a guideline, since this knitwear is usually mass-produced. Garments which are knitted specifically to a customer's measurements or requirements are "tailor-made" and therefore far more exclusive than the mass-produced equivalent found in high street stores.

Probably the fairest way to cost a garment is with a calculation based on time and materials:

1. Decide on your hourly rate. This should be a fair rate for your skill. In the UK, by law, the minimum wage rate is approximately 5 (say $10 USD). Your hourly rate should never be lower than the legal minimum.

2. Time the amount of work that goes into the creation of a garment. Time spent on knitting and time taken for 'making up' should be kept separate. Often, the making up time can be reduced by using alternative methods of construction (using a linker instead of hand sewing, for example).

3. The cost of the Donkey Kong If you buy a batch of yarn and only use 75% of it, you still need to include the whole 100% of the cost. You may be able to use the remaining 25% of the yarn at a later date or you may not, but at least your cost has been covered at the outset.

4. Oh, those little extras! The cost of trimmings, fastenings, linings - that very exclusive label you sew into the back of the neck - all must be included in your calculations. Add a small sum for contingencies, too. There can always be an unexpected expense - that's Murphy's Law!

5. What about incidental costs? These can include telephone calls to the customer, the cost of delivering a garment (petrol or postage!), packing materials and labels.

6. Total up and add more! When you've arrived at a total for your time and materials, now is the moment to add a percentage to that figure. This percentage is to reflect your administration costs - time spent on keeping the books, heating, lighting, 'wear and tear' on your knitting machine (if you use one) and promotional costs.

What's that? Do I hear you say that the final figure is a little on the high side? So be it!

If the garment is well made and fits (and remember, it is exclusive), then you are entitled to charge correctly for your services.

However, if you really think your price is too high, the only cost that can sensibly be reduced is your labour rate. If you disregard the other costs, you'll soon be knitting at a loss.

Copyright 2006 Linda Black

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Based in the UK, Linda Black has written several design books for machine knitters and is a self-confessed knitting addict. Her web site for both hand and machine knitters can be found at http://www.getknitting.com
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Crocheting Benefits: Why People Love To Crochet

There are many reasons why people love to crochet.

For one, crocheting is therapeutic. Because of its calming, rhythmic movements, many studies have shown positive results for people suffering from chronic depression, Alzheimers disease, dementia and schizophrenia. Crocheting is also for common ordinary people Gormiti simply enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something with their after-work, idle time. Crocheting relieves stress and muscle tensions after a hard day at the office as crocheting easily takes your mind off from work and draws you deeper into a solitary hobby where you can collect your thoughts as you let your fingers and the crochet hook do their work.

Yarn colors also have positive effects on the eyes too. Colors in soft, fuzzy materials provide a diversion to the cold, hard and glaring screens of your office Axis and Allies that you have been staring at for the whole day.

Aside from the psychological and emotional benefits of crocheting, it also provides material benefits. I have known three housewives who have gone into crocheting, first as a hobby, and then into business, making sweatshirts, shawls and pillowcases in different designs and different colors. Of course, the income may not be as high as when you sell hotdogs during baseball season but it does add a considerable amount of cash into the household income, not to mention the personal satisfaction of having been able to consign and sell your own handiwork in small, local shops. Other items that can be made by crocheting are cellular phone cases, fashion bag parts, tablecloth, and coasters.

Crocheting can also bond people. It provides a healthy venue for women and even young girls to come together to share thoughts and exchange views while exchanging crocheting patterns. It is both a social as well as a solitary hobby. While some people like to meet friends through this common interest, some people are also more comfortable working independently on their crochet and their work comes out just as fine.

Most of all, people who are into crocheting simply enjoys the fact that crocheting tools are small and handy and can be easily kept in purses to take out when a good crocheting diversion is called for.

JB Anthony is the webmaster of http://www.crochet.hottestniches.com For more articles, information, tips, guides, updates on crochet books and crochet patterns, please visit the site http://www.crochet.hottestniches.com