Selling Knitted Items

kazkaz

I've decided to try and earn some extra money by selling knitted items.
I'm going to register with Etsy & Folksy (already with Ebay).

I'm looking for suggestions on what to knit and would hopefully sell well. Nothing too extravagant at the moment as I've not knitted for quite a while. I'm also going to try my hand at learning to crochet.

K

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Mrs_Money

kazkaz wrote: »

I've decided to try and earn some extra money by selling knitted items.
I'm looking for suggestions on what to knit and would hopefully sell well. Nothing too extravagant at the moment as I've not knitted for quite a while. I'm also going to try my hand at learning to crochet.
K

I think it may come down to in the end, what you're interested in. Have a look at the "knitting" categories on both Etsy & Folksy and see what the competition will be. I suppose it's a choice of either toys, baby/children's clothes, home wares, adult clothing or accessories and seasonal stuff. Check all the competition to see how much/what they've sold (you can do this from the page where you see all their items). This may give you an idea - there's a lot of competition out there, particularly on Etsy (probably because it's American/world-wide).
I'm researching this at the moment and I've come to the conclusion that it's just a case of what you can offer that's different! Simple as that - not!

budgie123_2

Hiya,

I have recently started knitting a few items and found the website 'Ravelry' very helpful in general and it opened my eyes to how trendy knitting has become of late :j You could ask over there on the forums as there is so much helpful advice and see what people think. I know a lot of the knitters/crocheters over there design items and many even spin and dye yarns to sell them etc. There's also lots of information on good suppliers, patterns etc.

Am not sure myself how much money can be made by knitting but if someone asked me the type of thing I'd buy, I'd say wraps to wear with dresses (to weddings/parties/hide the upper arms etc)......and they'd need to be made from quality yarns like cashmere, alpaca, merino or silk, maybe with the option to have them made to match specific outfits and I wouldn't really want it to look the same as something I could buy in the shops cheaply. That's just me though......I probably wouldn't buy a jumper or anything made from synthetic fibres as it's not good on my skin. I think on ebay, cashmere baby blankets do well.....could be worth investigating?

Good luck!

inmypocketnottheirs

How about approaching the wool shop you buy your yarn from and asking if they will sell items on commission? That way they make money on your yarn and on selling the made up garments.

Just a thought.

Jane2112

If you can 'felt' items - they seem to be pretty 'in' at the moment.
Try a few smaller items first to test the water.

frank_r

yeah if your any good you sell it online. Setting a shopping cart website is free and straightforward (well you'd have to pay for hosting). but who knows - its a fun project and there a chance yuo could make some money

SaveForSummer

Scarves seem to be popular at the moment but then it's coming up to summer so maybe not so much... Maybe start for the winter season later in the year?

Gazing_On_Sunsets

I wonder if small items would be better than larger ones? You can knit lots of colourful, quirky animals or toys and sell at low prices; it might be better than knitting one huge garment that takes days, because even if you don't even pay yourself minimum wage, or any wage at all, a quality knitted garment would be expensive just on materials alone.

Or find yourself a specialist market. I knit, and I do historical re enactment. I was given a fleece so I learned to spin, and I knitted a load of accurate period hats, and sold them for £15-20 a go. £20 for a hat! I couldn't believe it but people liked the hand spun, hand knitted authenticity.

Dundunbanza

I'm "toying" with the idea of crocheting toys etc for sale. I'm in the process of making them up now, I intend to sell at craft fairs and table sales local to me and see how it goes. I will be selling them quite cheaply as they are small but I need to make up quite a fewl

Crafty_Toots

From experience, I'd say you have to do lots and lots of research, in particular you have to be very careful of what patterns you use to produce the item you intend to sell - many have copyright which prohibits commercial use of the pattern and/or items made from the pattern.

Good luck!

Toots x

jonbooth

Are you a Harry Hill fan? There's quite a lot of home-made "knitted character" items on Ebay at the moment.A large 'Knitler' went for over £19 recently.