Knitting For Profit

Felting knitting yarn is almost a misnomer here but it fits, Felting is actually the process of turning a knitted piece of work, no matter what it is, and turning it into a pseudo-cloth fabric by constantly stabbing it with your felting needles, themselves devices that should be one of those things that never came to be!

The felt knitting yarn should be a worsted yarn. As a general rule, look at what size knitting needles are required for the worsted or felting knitting yarn and go up about two sizes too large from the factory specifications.

If you would like to do your felt knitting the old-fashioned way, you will need some raw wool or other material that has not been spun and a pair of felting needles. If you decide to do this, be certain never to leave your felting needles unattended around cats or your other yarn as they will inevitably become entwined in ways that were never meant to be and are nearly impossible to resolve peacefully. Fortunately, there is a mo [ ... Continue Reading]

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This might sound a little off-topic, but two amazing Australian women I know are running a free teleseminar series that is starting next week about balancing business and work with mothering, which I thought might be of interest.

As a mother of two small children, I often get pangs of guilt when I get busy and spend more time on my business than with my little ones.

But I do love running my home business too!

If you are already running a business from home, or are planning to start up your knitting business, then I think this series will have some valuable advice for keeping that balance and enjoying both your family and your new business. It also includes some great advice for success in life and business for women - and it costs nothing!


I'm going to be listening in, and you can join in too by clicking the link below to register: [ ... Continue Reading]

Linen is produced from the stem of the Flax plant and is a surprisingly durable, lightweight fabric and thread that has some really amazing durability and elasticity. The linen knitting yarn is no different here. While the term “linen” has become something of a rather vague and very broad category all its own, the linen knitting yarn is definitely one that you will want to try at least once.

Linens are known to date back to prehistoric times. Sufficient evidence has been discovered to conclude that linen was indeed traded as a currency in ancient Egypt. The linen is also what was used when a person of greatness died due to the symbolism attached to such a valuable and precious commodity. These days, when many people discuss “linens”, they are discussing a wide range of household items that are or at least were made from the linen cloth originally.

When it comes to the properties of linen knitting yarn, your garments may tend to wrinkle a bit [ ... Continue Reading]

Merino knitting yarn and the garments made from it are renowned for their warmth, softness and breathability, and because merino is generally less expensive than many of the more luxurious knitting yarns, it can be an ideal choice for your knitted projects.

Merino knitting yarn is traditionally made from the wool of the Merino sheep but this has become a bit convoluted over the course of time. The Merino sheep have been introduced to many different parts of the world and many have been crossbred to produce both finer (and higher quality) meat and wool. The wool from the Merino sheep however, is of particular interest here as it is used for many different aspects of knitting. The Merino Knitting Yarn made from these sheep is great both as a single fiber knitting yarn and as a blended knitting yarn.

The Merino Sheep were first brought into Spain somewhere around the twelfth century. It was not too long thereafter that Spain become famous arou [ ... Continue Reading]

How does a single mum go from the backyard blues to running an International Fibre House that is now Tasmania's largest spinning supplier?

It all began with a rather unusual wedding present from her new husband Barry - 2 Alpacas! But what was she to do with them?

Two years on, the "Mount Roland Alpaca Stud" in the Highlands of Tasmania produces the finest of Alpaca fleeces and supplies to an international market. Sue is now the proud owner of 18 Alpacas, 14 Angora Rabbits (including a pair of German Angoras which are rare in Australia) and 8 Tasmanian Cormo coloured sheep for fine fleece production. She even buys fine fleeces from other Tasmanian growers to help with the demand of a worldwide market for her hand spun yarns!

Sue has now given up her fulltime day job to concentrate on this business, which was launched in October 2009 and very quickly attracted local and international interest with orders flowing in daily. [ ... Continue Reading]

Using silk knitting yarn can give your creations a wonderful softness and sheen, and is a popular choice for knitting warm-weather clothes. 

Traditionally, silk knitting yarn is made from purely silk fibres, but these days, many variations and combinations of silk knitting yarns are readily available including synthetic knitting yarns with many of the same properties as silk. Still, for quality and originality, nothing can ever completely replace the genuine silk knitting yarns.

Silk yarn is generally woven into a very fine or lace knitting yarn. The sheen and tensile strength of the silk yarns tends to be much better than most other fibers but even among natural silk knitting yarns, there are subtle differences that will result in different results for your garments knitted with silk. The ideal silk knitting yarns are made with the long strands of silk taken in whole from the cocoon of the silkworm. The long strands of silk fiber are used to cr [ ... Continue Reading]

Yes! You CAN make money knitting, and I am very excited to show you this article from the New York Times...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/fashion/17etsy.html?_r=1

It's an etsy success story of a woman who threw in her job to knit full-time and is now earning more that $140,000 a year working from home.

Now admittedly, this is no walk in the park - it's hard work doing that much knitting! But it shows what's possible, and it's really inspiring. Imagine if you were making only half or even a quarter of that amount from working at home and knitting...

So I hope this inspi [ ... Continue Reading]

To paraphrase an old movie; “I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you!” While metal knitting yarn has long been used as a decoration, what many people do not know is that it actually serves a very important purpose above and beyond just making your already beautifully knitted garments even more beautiful.

How many times have you picked up a static discharge and gotten shocked by touching someone or something once you have built up enough of that static cling?

In the old days, the most common metal knitting yarns were made out of precious or semi-precious metals and were often associated with the wealthy people and upper classes of society. In modern society, these traditional metal knitting yarns remain very popular and with rare exception, are actually much more affordable for the average person. However, they are not the only types of metals being used any more. These days, it is actually pretty easy to find metal knitting yarn [ ... Continue Reading]

Cashmere knitting yarns are well-known for being very soft, comfortable and lightweight while still providing an excellent source of protection against the weather and other elements.

Cashmere Knitting Yarn comes originally from Cashmere Wool but not all of that comes from the region of Kashmir where it originated. In fact, China is the largest producer of both the cashmere wool and not surprisingly perhaps, the cashmere knitting yarn as well.

Cashmere Knitting Yarn is especially well-suited for knitting lightweight garments that come into contact with the skin but still must afford a certain level of warmth and comfort as well. However, due to the fact that cashmere wool makes some of the most luxurious and perhaps expensive knitting yarns, it is rarely used for under clothes but rather for suits that are made for winter wear as well as for blouses and shirts.

Cashmere knitting yarn is among the softest knitting yarns and between [ ... Continue Reading]