Earn Money Knitting

I was surfing the interweb and came across the Earn Money Knitting website. Of course, it got me to thinking, "Could I do that?". Or more precisely, "Could I do that again?".

I once sold a scarf and an afghan about 2003 or thereabouts. I shot myself in the foot with the pricing of the afghan; I under-charged by an asinine amount! (I don't know what the hell I was thinking.) The scarf pricing, however, used a much smarter formula. And, luckily, the buyer was a "patron of the crafts" who certainly appreciated the work involved in making anything entirely by hand.

Knitty also has an interesting article outlining things to consider with knitting for profit and I must admit that the final warning was a big concern for me when I agreed to knit the scarf in 2003. The scarf was custom and was practically sold before it was even made. Interestingly enough, the scarf was actually a chore for the exact reason that Janine Nelson mentioned in closing the Knitty article. However, the afghan was not. I think the reason for the difference was all in the state of mind: I never intended to sell that afghan; the scarf was "sold" and the buyer was waiting before I even purchased the materials.

Perhaps a good way to avoid the hobby-turned-business syndrome (or more precisely in a knitter's case, Knitting-Turned-Chore Syndrome) is to establish an inventory, find the client, then sell; instead of finding the client, making the item, then selling. It's probably more of a mind trick than anything else, but it seems to me that first method avoids pressure since there's no upfront commitment; a knitter can establish inventory at his/her leisure. With the second method, there is upfront pressure since the client and the commitment is established before the product is even made.

Of course, if you knit-for-profit activity is what pays your bills, then the laid-back first theory could potentially land you an eviction/foreclosure notice!!