What to Sell for Your Knitting or Crochet Business

Have you decided to take the plunge and start a knitting or crochet business?  Or do you have a craft business that isn’t gaining the type of momentum you’d like to see?  Read on for suggestions on selecting products to make and sell to reach your craft business goals.

If you are just starting out, be sure to read 3 Types of Knitting or Crochet Businesses: Which is Right for You? to help you choose a craft business direction and 5 Websites to Start a Knitting or Crochet Business to help you decide where to set up shop.

What Items to Make and Sell – Finished Handmade Items

As a knitter or crocheter, you know the time, talent, and love that goes into each finished item you make.  There are certainly customers out there that appreciate that, as well.  However, knitting and crocheting does take time, so it is important to think through the time and effort you can put into an item and what you’d need to charge to make the sale of that item worthwhile.

So, as someone who has run shops selling finished items for over five years, I have some advice to pass along on this front.  The first year or so, I spent a lot of time “testing the waters,” so to speak.  I had a lot to learn about what would sell, and I learned some lessons the hard way.  In an effort to save you some time (and effort and tears), here are some important considerations when choosing finished items to make and sell.

Factors to Consider When Choosing What to Sell:

• What do I want to make?
• How long does it take to complete an item?
• How much are the supplies?
• How much will it cost to ship?
• What sizes and colors will I offer?
• Will customers pay what I will need to charge to make it worth my time?

Walking through these considerations a bit, the first thing to consider is what you want to make and sell.  If you end up having success, you will likely (hopefully) be making A LOT of the items you sell.  Try not to be too broad in your focus.  I’ve truly found a lot of success narrowing the variety of items I offer to focus on a cohesive group of items that use the same yarn and color families.  That way, I can offer a variety of sizes and colors in a few items, rather than trying to make everything and constantly running out of stock or not having the right sizes.

The item in the photo is my best-selling shop item by far.  It is my own pattern (so it is original), and it is fun to make.  It knits up very quickly for me due to the super-bulky weight yarn and large needles.  Also, because I make so many, I have the rhythm of the project down.  (I am pretty sure I can knit these puppies in my sleep.)

For your finished items, choose those that you can make fairly cheaply and that work up quickly.  I spent time making blankets and more intricate items, but those take so long that even if I had a line of people wanting to order them, I could only make a few each year.  So, if you want to turn your knitting or crochet into a bustling business, the key is to focus on making a few cost-effective items well.

Pricing is always a hotly debated topic.  Many believe that you should never “undervalue” your work by selling it too cheaply.  Others like to “lowball” and sell under the competition.  Really, you need to find a balance that works for you, but that is a whole other animal to tackle and we won’t go into too much detail on that here.  Just know that you will need to consider all your costs – supplies, labor time, shipping, office supplies, when you choose a price for your items.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of the success of selling items depends on the way they are presented and marketed.  You can have the best product, but it won’t sell if it doesn’t get in front of the right buyer.  Again, that is a whole other topic for another post, but something to keep in mind. 🙂

Digital Products and Content

If you have been following along with this blog series, you have likely considered the option of starting a business (or retooling your current business) that “sells” content or digital products as a blogger or pattern designer.  If you haven’t already read the post 3 Types of Knitting or Crochet Businesses: Which is Right for You?, I recommend checking it out.

Selling Original Knitting or Crochet Patterns

If you have a knack for pattern design, selling original patterns can be a great business choice.  You can sell your patterns online through places like Ravelry, Etsy, or your own website.  You can also work as a designer for a yarn company.  I design patterns as a contracted designer for yarn companies and on my own through online platforms.

Pattern design is a great option if you like to be creative and like the ability to make different things and experiment.  As a pattern designer, it is important to have a meticulous eye for detail and go through the process of design, making a sample, and testing.  That way, you will ensure that you are offering a high-quality product.

So, what types of patterns should you design?  It is a good idea to have a focus for your designs.  For instance, a *wildly successful pattern designer is Heidi May from The Velvet Acorn.  (*wildly – as in over 300,000 sales on Etsy!) She has a trendy, inspired-by-nature aesthetic.  Being unique helps you stand out and appeal to knitters or crocheters looking for patterns.

Similarly to selling finished items, it does take the right presentation and marketing to gain a following of customers for your designs, but once you have them, they can be reliable and very supportive.  Not all pattern designers sell their designs, however.  Many offer them for free on their blogs as a way to drive traffic to their real business, their blogs.

“Selling Content” – Blogging

If you’ve decided to make a go of it as a knitting or crocheting blogger in a monetized way, you will essentially be “selling” content.  In other words, your goal is to convince people to come to your blog.  Once you get enough readers, you can start looking at ways to monetize the blog to turn a profit, whether that be through sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, or another method or combination of methods. (A whole other topic.)

So, what brings readers to a blog?  What should you write about?  Really, the answer is that you need to think of a problem that your target audience has and you need to provide the solution.  Here are some examples:

• Problem: Can’t find a good, free pattern for X.                                                         Solution: Provide a good, free pattern for X.
• Problem: Struggling to learn a new technique.                                                       Solution: Provide a tutorial or video on how to complete the technique.

Again, (I am verging on broken-record territory here, I know), but it will also be essential to set up your blog in a way that presents your content in an appealing, user-friendly manner and market it effectively to get the word out there.

This is a general overview to get those product-creating juices flowing.  Think about what you really want to make and put out there, and then consider the time, effort, and costs associated with that.  Those factors should play a part in what you select to sell for your knitting or crochet business.  No matter what you sell, whether it be finished items, patterns, or content, you’ll want it to have a focus and your own personal spin.

Let’s Keep in Touch!

Let’s connect!  Keep up to date on the lastest posts, tips, and updates from me by following Fandom Knitting & Crochet with your email.  You can enter it over on the sidebar. 🙂 Also, I’ve started a Facebook Page and Group, and I’d love to connect with you there.  So, head over and give the page a “like” and join the group and say hi!

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  I appreciate it!