What To Do and Not To Do When Starting Your Chunky Knitting Business
Hand knitting took the Craft world by storm at the end of 2016 and it does not seem to be getting any less popular anytime soon.
More and more people find this amazing way of knitting and start to Hand knit blankets, stuffed animals, pillows and anything one can only imagine. So many talented hand knitters are around us now—it is truly amazing.
I am very happy to see this, as when I just started posting my Hand knitting videos on YouTube in May 2016, it was a very new way to create something unique with your hands and Chunky yarns.
Many crafters who have discovered the Hand knitting style are making it their businesses: making chunky blankets and stuffies for sale.
Lets dive into what you should and should not do when starting your Chunky knit business from a perspective of a business owner who has been doing it for over 10 years:
What you SHOULD DO:
1. Do a lot of reseach before jumping into opening a business: read all the information you can find online on how to open and run a business; how to succeed after opening a new business, and specifically how to run a crafting business.
2. Decide what you like to make more: blankets or sutffies? It is a very important question because if you prefer to make suffies - they are sold pretty good at craft markets unlike blankets as they are more expensive and people at craft markets are usually planning to spend $20-50, not $100 and more.
3. Taking the above fact into consideration decide if you would like to sell online or in person: many people prefer to sell their Hand knitted items at craft markets as they can present their creations in real life. The downside of this kind of business - it is not good for selling blankets but good for selling stuffies; you will also spend every weekend or many weekends at markets, not at home.
4. If you decide to sell online, it is recommended to create a new page on Facebook and start selling there: if you start selling on your personal Facebook page, your friends and family will support you first but eventually they will all be avoiding your page. Creating a Facebook page for sales looks more professional in any case.
- If you want to sell on Etsy - read all the information you can find about it: it is not an easy option to sell on Etsy - there are too many crafters selling there already and you need to be very knowlegable and determined in order to succeed on this platform. The same applies for selling on Amason and Ebay.
5. Once you have decided what and where to sell, do some recearch again: some crafters are selling a lot, some - very little or nothing and it depends on many factors. Ask people in Facebook groups about their expereince of selling blankets and stuffies: there are LOTS of Facebook groups now!
6. Very important: decide how much you will be charging for your creations! Too much - and you will not sell a lot. Too little - you will be spending too much time on making products that will not cover your expenses and your time. The golden rule for making a price for your item: price of yarn and other supplies plus your time.
Example: If it takes you 1 hour to make a simple stuffed animal and it takes one skein of yarn that you paid $8 for a skein of yarn, the question is how much to charge for your time? How much would you like to be paid if you work for a company: $15-20-25? Then add that to the price of the yarn: $15-20-25+$8+$3 (sample of extra supplies for a stuffed animal) = that will be your price for that plushie. $15 for a very simple one, $20 for more advanced and $25 for a hard to make plushie. Same calculations applies to a blanket price.
7. Practice! You will need to Hand knit a lot of items before they will look good for selling. Do not assume that your first blanket will be sold right away: Chunky knit market is VERY overcrowded now and only the best, professionally made products are being sold.
8. Stay consistent: opening and running even a very small business is a lot of work and dedication.
9. Remember the GOLDEN RULE of ANY business: you need to sell what PEOPLE WANT to buy, NOT what YOU WANT to sell.
What you SHOULD NOT DO:
1. Do not buy lots of yarn before you have done #1-4 from the 'SHOULD DO" list: many people buy a lot of yarn not having any idea what they will be doing with it. (You will be surprised at how many people have made this mistake!);
2. Make a plan according to the research you have done of how to start a crafting business. Take your time - your goal is to do it right, not to do it fast.
3. DO NOT ever compare yourself or your business to anyone elses: we are all different and our creations/businesses will be very different too! Somebody will succeed big time, somebody will not but it is ok, at least you tried.
4. When you create a blanket or a stuffie you just love, please, do not assume everybody else will love it too: ask your family and friends what they think about it or post a picture of it in one of the Facebook groups and ask the opinion of other crafters: sometimes we all create something we like but it is not something that will be popular or will be sold.
5. Do not make lots of blankets and stuffies hoping they will all be sold - again, the Chunky market is very overcrowded now and your products need to really stand out to be sold. Be ready to make and unwind your products many times to practice.
6. Do not sell your products for nothing if you really hope to have a successful business: any business needs profit to survive.
7. Do not copy videos of other creators from YouTube: if you saw a video and learned a new pattern or technique and decided to make your own video showing the same pattern - give a credit to the orginal creator: you DID NOT teach yourself how to Hand knit - you learned it from that person on YouTube. Respect their time and business, give them a credit.
8. My personal motto: try to promote other American crafters and small businesses, not Chinese companies and not big Craft stores - support small businesses like yours.
WATCH my new Video tutorial: Hand knit an Easter Bunny Basket:
Two of your favorite colors are back:
1. Watermelon:
2. Gray Fog:
Join BeCozi Hand Knitting Club (Group) and Chunky Yarn Hand Knitting group to share your creations and to see creations of other Hand knitters. (Please, answer the Group questions to be accepted)
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Stay warm and BeCozi!
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Larissa