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Why do hand knits cost so much?
By Rachel O'Brien
If you're reading this page, you're probably wondering the same thing I wondered when I first entered the cloth diapering community, 5 years ago. I saw gorgeous soakers, and long pants, and sweaters, and dresses, and a bunch of other things that I just drooled over. But then I would see the price, and it always confounded me. $70 for a pair of pants? $35 for a soaker? I mean, it's not made with gold, right? How can it cost THAT much? Those knitting mamas must be absolutely rolling in the dough! Then I started knitting. I knew nothing about different yarns, or patterns. I tried various yarns I found at the craft store, and invariably I would have problems. Besides the horrible construction (because I hadn't invested the years of my time into reading knitting books, practicing, taking classes, and watching others knit that I have now) the yarns I chose just weren't suited for long-term diapering use. Over the years I learned that *everything* in knitting matters... the needles you choose, the yarn you use, the evenness of your stitches, the pattern you decide to follow, the way you bind off a cuff, everything. Yes, it took me years to learn all of this. So now that I have the years of studying and experience under my belt, let's break it down and discuss exactly why hand-knit items cost "so much", shall we?
The majority of the diapering (and clothing) items we buy are made of a fabric. This fabric is bought by the seamstress in large pieces, ready to be measured, cut, and sewn. But not so with knitted items. We use the yarn we purchase to create a fabric. That means that instead of marking out a pattern, cutting, and sewing fabric, we actually have to create the fabric by hand, stitch by stitch, as we go. And since normally we cannot cut this fabric and sew it into a different shape, we actually have to create the fabric in the shape we want from the beginning. Sometimes we make multiple small pieces of fabric and stitch them into a larger garment. Sometimes we do what I do when I make longies-- start tight at the beginning to make a waistband, make it larger around the bum to make room for a diaper, fashion a crotch, make one leg, then make the other.
As we are creating this fabric, we have to make sure that we hold the yarn the same way throughout the piece. If we pull too tight in one spot, too loose in another, not only will the piece look horrible- it will also fit badly, and if it's a diapering piece, it will leak. An experienced knitter can make an item in which all the stitches are the same from the beginning to end- making a very sturdy fabric that will work well, look good, and stand up to washing and wearing. OK, you got the whole "we make the fabric" thing now, right? Let's talk about how long it takes to make this fabric. The fastest knitter in the Guinness Book of World Records knits 118 stitches in a minute (this has nothing to do with anything except that it totally boggles my mind). I do not knit anywhere near that fast! I find that in order to keep my stitches even and consistent, it takes me about 3 hours to knit an average (medium) soaker, and 6 hours to knit a pair of medium longies. Keep that fact in your head for a little bit and let's move on to yarn. Now, in a lot of ways, the yarn we use is a knitter's personal preference. By far, my favorite yarn to knit with is blue faced leicester (BFL). Every knitter is different, every customer is different. But when I buy yarn to use for an item I'll be selling, I want something tried and true-- something that I know I can trust, that will stand up to the abuse (um, I mean love) a child will dish out. There are dyers out there that have their own suppliers of BFL, and I have come to trust them over the years. I want to make sure I use yarns with colors that will not run, and I love to support other WAHfamilies. So *I* choose to use WAHM dyed yarns for my items, realizing that that will make my prices higher, and I have never regretted that. Let's look at the price of some of my favorite BFL yarns... These are average prices I'm finding now in August 2007, from dyers I know and trust.
Still following me? OK, so an average soaker takes oh, about 3 ounces of yarn. So if my average price for yarn is $5.45 per ounce, I put $16.35 worth of yarn into an average soaker, and I spend 3 hours knitting it. I charge $38 for a medium soaker. Minus the price of the yarn, I am making $21.65 in "profit" for that soaker. That $21.65 comes out to $7.22 per hour, less than minimum wage for my state. Wanna talk about longies? Medium longies take about 7 ounces, and take me 6 hours to knit. I charge $76 for a pair of medium longies. That's $32.70 worth of yarn, for again, $7.22 per hour. Does that $7.22 per hour go right into my pocket? Running a business takes a lot of investment, even a WAHM business! I'm not going to break that all down, but in order to run my business I need to buy needles, drawstring bags, business cards, wool wash, poly mailers, web site hosting, Hyena Cart hosting, PayPal fees... you get the idea. Is the pricing of hand knits starting to make sense now? A hand knit item that is made out of quality yarns, by an experienced knitter, is worth every penny. It's truly a piece of art, and every artisan deserves to be paid fairly for their craft, don't you think? I've seen quality knitted items passed down from child to child, and from family to family. If you're in the cloth diapering community you're aware of the resale value of your diapers-- quality hand knit wool that is well cared for tends to re-sell for 60-75% of it's original price, so an "expensive" piece is an investment you can be proud of. Show it off! Display it with pride! Rachel O'Brien ThreebiesKnits.com 8/25/2007
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