Written by Maz

Do you sell your knitting to make a living or supplement your income? Perhaps you are thinking about selling your knitting as a new side hustle?

If any of these apply to you, the question of how much to charge for your knitting will be at the forefront of your mind.

This article is going to discuss how much you should charge for your knitting, and we will have a look at how some successful, professional knitters price their hand knit garments.

So, if you are questioning how much you should charge for your knitting, please read on.

Post contains some affiliate links.

Why I think many knitters undercharge for their work

I need to start this article by stating that some of the statements within it are my own personal opinion. And I definitely think that far too many knitters charge way too little for their beautiful work.

I am a member of several knitting Facebook groups, many of which have been set up to enable crafters to sell their wares. There was post just last week where a lady was asking whether everyone thought £20 was too much too ask for what was a stunning hand knit blanket. The blanket had pretty lace detailing and was knit in beautiful dk yarn, it wasn’t a quick to knit chunky knit or anything like that.

My first thought was, crikey £20 is a bargain, ask for at least double that! But then most of the posters starting to say that they charge between £10 and £25 for a blanket, sometimes including the postage price too.

It is my opinion that £20 is way to cheap a price for a hand knit blanket. And as I have said to many other knitters on Facebook, I think £8 or £10 is way to cheap for a baby set or even just a cardigan. The reply is always that they agree, but that people won’t pay any more, and a cheap price is better than nothing when selling knitting. People love to knit baby clothes and blankets, and selling them even for a price that is way too low enables them to continue to buy new wool and continue with their beloved hobby.

My personal opinion is that it is a real, real shame to sell beautiful, hand made items for a very low price. Yarn is expensive, and knitting isn’t the fastest of crafts. You actually hand stitch the fabric, and then sew it up, and then add buttons, press or block etc etc.

If you want to sell your hand knit items, you really should ensure that you are making at least a minimum wage hourly rate equivalent. In the UK, that would be round about £9 an hour. So after the cost of wool, buttons, other materials, and any listing fees if you are selling online, please try pay yourself around £9 an hour.

Honestly, I really do think that if people aren’t prepared to pay an amount that is fair for your lovely knitting, then you shouldn’t sell it to them. Not unless it is to help someone in tight squeeze, or something like that.

How much can you actually make selling your knitting

I was interested to find out whether or not is is possible to make a good profit from selling knitting. After having a look around on Etsy, I can tell you that the answer is a definite big yes.

Please see the below list for details of some crafters who have many buyers who appreciate hand made goods and don’t expect to pay pennies for wonderful hand knitting. You can click on the links to take a look at their stores if you wish.

• The Etsy store LobosMade has some wonderful hand knit beanies which cost £75.78. These hats are adult sized, and are one off, unique knits due the fact that they are made from leftover yarn. This fact also makes the hats eco friendly, and buyers are going crazy for them.
• KatKnitArt charges what I would say are decent prices for her beautiful knitting, and people are leaving her great reviews. This talented knitter makes and sells items such as knitted scarves, blankets, shawls etc and is based in the USA.
• WoolhouseESHOP is another wonderful Etsy knitting shop that charges what I would say are reasonable prices for the work involved. Hats for example are around £55, and sweaters approximately £145. Once again, buyers are raving in their reviews and thousands of items have been sold.

This is just a short list of Etsy knitters who are making a living from selling their knitting. I just wanted to demonstrate that you really can ask a fair price for your work, and should never sell yourself down.

The trick to selling your knitting for a higher price

I think that if you want to make a good living from selling hand knitting, you need to follow a few basic rules. Good, high quality, fresh looking photography of your knitting is essential, especially when selling online. At craft fairs people can touch and feel the quality of your work, but online is different. It is best to use a model to show how your knitted items might look when worn, and natural light with subtle or plain backgrounds will help you to create professional looking product photos.

Look at the newborn hat store, Babies Republic. Over time this seller has acquired professional photos of her hats in action as newborn photo props. This has given thousands of buyers the confidence to purchase her lovely knits. This knitter specialises in one type of knitted item, which is the baby hats. Having a speciality can also help you attract more buyers, and higher prices, because you can become an ‘expert’ in your field, just like with any other job.

I would say that consistency is another very important factor in successfully selling your knitting at decent prices. The longer your business is around, the more your feedback and reputation will grow, and the more people will line up to purchase your work. Social media of course will help grow an audience, and you need regular, high quality, interesting , relevant posting here as well as in your store.

This article has given a brief overview of how much you should charge for your knitting. I hope it has encouraged knitters to value their work more, and to consider raising their prices and not sell beautiful work for very low prices. It is hard work to reach the higher levels, but if you ever dream of selling your knitting to actually make a proper living then making under minimum wage levels just isn’t going to be enough.

Let us make non knitters see the value in our beloved craft. Let’s sell our knitting for what it is really worth.