Your other hobbies.

A few pairs of socks I've finished recently...

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TastyReuben said:
I think they all look great!
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Me too - you most definitely have refined knitting talent SatNavSaysStraightOn. I don't know how long it takes you to knit these socks (or the cost in yarn), but I think you could easily sell them or take commissions. I reckon people might pay good money for bespoke socks...
 
Morning Glory said:
Me too - you most definitely have refined knitting talent SatNavSaysStraightOn. I don't know how long it takes you to knit these socks (or the cost in yarn), but I think you could easily sell them or take commissions. I reckon people might pay good money for bespoke socks...
Click to expand...
Thank you.

Sadly most people want fast fashion. Items that are dirt cheap and not environmentally friendly (usually made from coal or petroleum based materials). And most are not interested in paying even the cost of the sock yarn let alone more than 50p per hour knitting!

I do know people who do sell them, but they are very careful who they sell them to and usually use commercial sock yarn, not the hand dyed yarn. They don't make much from them, and that's usually just plain/vanilla or ribbed socks. The most I've seen them sold for is $55 AUD for a mid calf man's sock (the gentleman concerned is a long time customer of someone I know via a knitting group online). $55 AUD is roughly £27.50, so by the time you've purchased 100g of sock yarn, for large feet and anything mid calf you'll need 125g or more, you don't make much for the hours of knitting. I guess if you're time is free and you'd not be doing anything else with it, then it could be worth a little pocket money.

But I don't sell (I've not tried either though). I only gift to those I know will take care of the product. My socks are machine washable (wool detergent, cold wool wash) but they can't go through the tumble drier. I usually knit in the evenings when the TV is on (even in summer it is dark here by 8pm) and also when I'm nebulising twice a day, so that time is time I'd otherwise be doing nothing with.

Yarn costs, even with cheap sock yarn, will cover more than half of what you might get in return. I'm not a slow knitter but I'm not stunningly fast either. i am however, a very neat knitter. A plain vanilla sock (8 inch circumference and UK size 6-7 foot with similar length calf) usually takes 5 days for a pair, so I guess around 15-20hrs. But I've never recorded it because they are usually gifts and it's time that is otherwise lost. Needless to say if I spin the yarn myself, it takes considerably longer. Most of the sock yarn I use is hand dyed artisan yarn, so not the cheapest but it's nicer and it shows. So earning money for them isn't easy. But they will last a very long time if liked after (similarly to my hiking socks that are 20-30 years old and only just starting to wear thin).

Cardigans, blankets and other such items, take much longer.

This was a customised cardigan I knit for my OH. He wanted a round neck and the pattern was a long V neck.
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I spun the yarn for this thick cardigan he asked for.
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These 2 were for me.

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This was a Rowan pattern hubby asked for.
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And one I knit for myself
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4 jumpers I made but gifted

The first 2 are Rowan patterns (notorious for minimal instructions and fitting entirely on 1 sheet of A4, so a lot of assumptions have to be made)

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There's a lace section at the bottom of the 3rd jumper which doesn't show on the photo.

This one is in cotton which is harder to knit with.

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These are 2 bed blankets I made and gifted. They are folded in half in the photo. My brother and sister had one each. They're queen to king sized.

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And a few hats... one of then matches a jumper, I just took the pattern and made a hat from it. My mother has the matching hat & jumper.

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I used the 2 almost identical hats to learn fair isle knitting. One fits hubby, the other fits me.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Thank you.

Sadly most people want fast fashion. Items that are dirt cheap and not environmentally friendly (usually made from coal or petroleum based materials). And most are not interested in paying even the cost of the sock yarn let alone more than 50p per hour knitting!

I do know people who do sell them, but they are very careful who they sell them to and usually use commercial sock yarn, not the hand dyed yarn. They don't make much from them, and that's usually just plain/vanilla or ribbed socks. The most I've seen them sold for is $55 AUD for a mid calf man's sock (the gentleman concerned is a long time customer of someone I know via a knitting group online). $55 AUD is roughly £27.50, so by the time you've purchased 100g of sock yarn, for large feet and anything mid calf you'll need 125g or more, you don't make much for the hours of knitting. I guess if you're time is free and you'd not be doing anything else with it, then it could be worth a little pocket money.

But I don't sell (I've not tried either though). I only gift to those I know will take care of the product. My socks are machine washable (wool detergent, cold wool wash) but they can't go through the tumble drier. I usually knit in the evenings when the TV is on (even in summer it is dark here by 8pm) and also when I'm nebulising twice a day, so that time is time I'd otherwise be doing nothing with.

Yarn costs, even with cheap sock yarn, will cover more than half of what you might get in return. I'm not a slow knitter but I'm not stunningly fast either. i am however, a very neat knitter. A plain vanilla sock (8 inch circumference and UK size 6-7 foot with similar length calf) usually takes 5 days for a pair, so I guess around 15-20hrs. But I've never recorded it because they are usually gifts and it's time that is otherwise lost. Needless to say if I spin the yarn myself, it takes considerably longer. Most of the sock yarn I use is hand dyed artisan yarn, so not the cheapest but it's nicer and it shows. So earning money for them isn't easy. But they will last a very long time if liked after (similarly to my hiking socks that are 20-30 years old and only just starting to wear thin).

Cardigans, blankets and other such items, take much longer.

This was a customised cardigan I knit for my OH. He wanted a round neck and the pattern was a long V neck.
View attachment 104403

I spun the yarn for this thick cardigan he asked for.
View attachment 104404

These 2 were for me.

View attachment 104405

View attachment 104406

This was a Rowan pattern hubby asked for.
View attachment 104407

And one I knit for myself
View attachment 104408
Click to expand...
That white one is cool

Russ
 
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