Knitting For Profit

When knitters begin knitting for profit, especially if they are profiting directly from their knitted items, it can be most beneficial to increase knitting production. One of the easiest ways to increase production is by doing machine knitting and automating as much of your work as possible. While there may be some knitters who prefer the hand-knitted label, some people just need the added little push that a knitting machine can give them to take their knitting work into the realm of a viable business opportunity and to actually start to make money knitting.

Machine knitting may not be the right answer for all knitters though. Some of the new knitting machines require computer interfaces and have more setup options than many new cars or the latest electronic gadgets ever will. If you are one of those people that thought resetting your VCR, VCD or DVD player was a difficult task, you [ ... Continue Reading]

Knitting throughout the ages has enjoyed both peaks and ebbs in popularity but there have always been some people who had difficulty handling the knitting needles and thus, used to be unable to attempt knitting to see whether they enjoyed it or not. For the last few hundred years, knitting machines have made it possible for nearly everyone to at least try knitting. While machine knitting does make it possible for everyone to at least try their hand at knitting, you should not go out and order the most expensive knitting machine you can find just yet.

Machine knitting can be a great way to increase knitting production, help you to make even more profit from your knitting work and experience and even to replace those knitting needles if you are having a difficult time holding or controlling them. However, knitting machines, like knitting yarn, come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and price-ranges [ ... Continue Reading]

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]

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]