Knitting For Profit

Felting Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:27:53 +0000

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 more merciful method that, while not one-hundred percent guaranteed, is substantially easier and less likely to result in injury or a complete loss of all your knitted crafts.

Take your worsted knitting yarn and knit with overly large stitches (as you would have to with over-sized knitting needles) and make whatever you are making roughly twice the size that it should normally be were it just a regular item not to be felted. When it is done, make sure that all of your loose ends are well tended to and not loose anymore.

The hard part is yet to come and any loose ends could very easily ruin all of your knitting. Do not worry about the size of the item being so large, initially it is going to get even larger and then it will shrink … maybe more than you want if you are not careful and attentive.

Find a sealed cloth bag to put your knitting into before you get the washing machine ready. A pillow case with a zipper seems to be about the best solution as it will help you keep your washing machine in working order after you are down felting the knitting. Make certain that any straps or other loose items on your knitted item are straight and then seal it in the bag.

If you fail to do this, the massive amount of lint that is getting ready to be turned loose could easily clog even the best washing machine … especially if you are felting a large knitted sweater or cape. Now it is time to get your washing machine ready.

By all means never stick your hands into an open washing machine that is still agitating but you will have to be very careful to stop your machine at least every five minutes so please be careful. Set the water level for the lowest setting possible, set the wash cycle to hot and the rinse cycle to cold. Do not let the machine cycle all the way through though. Start with one tablespoon of color-safe detergent before you even think about dropping your pillowcase and knitting in the washing machine.

When there are some suds in the hot water, place your pillowcase in the washing machine and let it agitate for about five minutes. Pull your pillowcase out of the water every five minutes, make sure that nothing is twisted or bent out of shape or your felting knit will be uneven. Some bleeding is also going to occur so just understand you really cannot prevent that.

Repeat this process as needed being certain to check your knitted craft at least every five minutes. The first time you check it, it will be slightly larger than you made it but it will quickly shrink back down and then you get to watch the felting process begin.

When it is what you feel to be the right texture and size (as it is your work after all) you are ready for the last stage of knitted felting. You can use cold rinse water in the washing machine but the colder the water is, the better the felting results will be. If you have a tub, bucket or other container large enough to hold your knitted and felted craft and ice water, that would be ideal. If you do use your washing machine for the cold rinse, be certain not to let the spin cycle kick in as this will very likely ruin your felting knitted products.

When all of that is done, you are ready to shape your felted knitted garment, bag or whatever else you may have created. Do not be afraid to stretch it and shape it while it is wet. If you start seeing something that does not look right; a quick dip back in the hot water and then straight to the cold water will allow you to start over. While that may seem like a lot of additional work to felt knitting items, when it is done right (and it may take some practice) the finished knitted garment will be a true home-made work of art that you will always love and cherish.

Knitting For Profit Blog Maintenance

Liz — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:34:47 +0000

Hi there!

You may have noticed that the home page of the knitting for profit blog is temporarily displaying incorrectly. We are undergoing some maintenance and upgrades of the site and all will be returned to normal hopefully very soon!

In the meantime all the links,buttons, tabs and articles all still work perfectly OK -just click on any of the tabs or article titles and you can still enjoy our fabulous knitting articles and site! (or just scroll right to the bottom of the home page where you will find the navigation sidebar)

Thank you for your patience!

Guilt-Free (Knitting) Business Mothers!

Liz — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:50:14 +0000

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: http://guiltfreebusinessmothers.com/seminars/tspub9lr.html

I'm looking forward to hearing what all 7 of the speakers have to say and taking away some great ideas and strategies for us work-at-home mums.

I hope you enjoy them too!

Linen Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:02:01 +0000

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 easier than anything but maybe some of the tightly knitted cotton garments but linen makes up for this in many ways. The linen knitting yarn produces very lightweight garments that are durable and easy to clean. Most linen knitting yarns will handle machine washing in warm water and with the exception of a few wrinkles, come out none the worse for wear.

Bleeding tends to be kept to a minimum even in warm water so the hand knitted linens will often last for a very long time. Additionally, the linen knitting yarns tend to make garments which are not quite as prone to pilling as some of the other fiber knitting yarns are. The linen, once knitted into a garment, will also work very well at releasing moisture from your skin. The linen knitting yarn also tends to create garments with an exceptional elastic property. Together, these qualities make linen knitting yarn ideal for creating lightweight summer gear for under or outer wear garments.

Pure linen knitting yarn can be fairly expensive but is certainly not unreasonably priced for the most part. The fibers that are used to make the linen knitting yarn are very long and are mostly spun into very lightweight yarns such as lace or baby weights. The linen also has some strange tendencies with dyes and variations may occur. However, it is always a good idea to buy all of your yarn for a single project at the same time from the same batch. Thus, in many respects, the actual absorbency of the linen knitting yarn should not present any major difficulties outside of the norm for most knitters.

Working with the linen knitting yarn may be a little difficult at first as it tends to be a bit stiff and getting the stitches just right may take a little added practice when you first begin working with it but as time goes on, it should become increasingly easier. The garments made from linen knitting yarn have the added benefit of becoming softer and more comfortable the more they are washed so if you are looking to knit a gift that will last forever, linen knitting yarn may give you your best chance to make that happen.

Merino Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:59:52 +0000

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 around the world for its fine wool and woolen products. So luxurious was the wool of the Merino sheep that until some time around the 1700s, exporting these sheep was a crime punishable by death. Fortunately, this law was repealed and the merino sheep has now become a major player in both the wool and yarn industries around the globe. Australia has also attained a level of fame for their fine merino wool.

The wool from the merino sheep varies in thickness and strength giving it the ability to produce many different size yarns. The ultra-fine wool from the merino sheep is generally short but is also extremely fine and luxurious. These qualities make it ideally suited for making blended knitting yarn with silk and the equally luxurious alpaca wool. One of the very few drawbacks of the pure merino knitting yarn is that it does tend to pill though so it may be difficult for some people to care for knitted garments made with pure merino knitting yarns.

The fact that merino knitting yarn and the garments made from it are generally softer even than cotton and also cheaper than some of the more luxurious knitting yarns make it ideally suited to making many undergarments and other clothing that will come into contact with the skin.

For outer garments or even for blouses and slacks, the merino wool still provides much of the same protection and elasticity that can be found in other wools. It is a great knitting yarn for making trousers, blouses or even scarves and ascots that may need to provide some warmth and protection but still need to be comfortable as well. Many garments knitted from merino yarn are sold on the high-end of the fashion sector as well. In these cases, the term “merino” refers to the clothes made from this particular wool or garment.

As with many wool-based knitting yarns, the merino yarn may have some variations in color between batches so if you are going to work with it, it is always best to purchase all of your knitting yarn at once from a single batch in order to prevent any unsightly variations in your finished products. However, given the number of items and garments that can be knitted with the merino knitting yarn, if you do have some left over, you should not be too hard pressed to find other uses for it.

The Merino Knitting Yarn will remain a very viable alternative to some of the more expensive knitting yarns for some people and always a pleasure to work with and to wear.

Knitting Business Success Story – Sue from TasmanianFibre.com.au

Liz — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:23:31 +0000

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. The Tasmanian House of Fibre (www.tasmaniafibre.com.au) supplies high quality, specialised yarns, the lastest of which are the beautiful, fine, luxurious, hand spun lace weight yarns – Mount Roland Silk ’n’ paca, Silk ’n’ Suri and Silk ’n’ Bunny.

Mount Roland Silk ’n’ paca is a fine lace weight hand spun yarn that is plied with natural silk. The Alpaca used is mainly from Sue’s own Alpaca Stud with some fleeces from other finely bred Tasmanian Alpacas. The yarn features natural colours but may also be enhanced with hand painted silk colourways.

Alpaca is light and very warm due to hollow fibres, the yarn is suited to lace weight scarves and wraps knitted on large needles or baby garments, this yarn is lovely to wear.

Mount Roland Silk ’n’ Suri is a very special and unique yarn. The Suri is also an Alpaca but instead of a fluffy coat the Suri has long silky lustrous locks. The yarn Silk ’n’ Suri is again plied with silk featuring natural colours and hand painted silk colourways.

Suri is a completely different fibre to work with, it has a long staple of 8 – 15 cm. When the Suri yarn is spun and plied with silk it is very good for garments that require drape, Suri is a heavy fibre compared to Alpaca and Angora rabbit. Suggested uses (I’m sure the fibre Artists out there will find many more) are, scarves, wraps, anything lacy, would be nice as an open lace over dress for a very spectacular wedding gown. Silk ‘n’ Suri should adapt well to cotton patterns.

Mount Roland Silk ’n’ Bunny – a real labour of love!

The rabbits are grown happily on the property, they have special five star accommodation that has been built just for them (by her loving Husband!), they are fed twice daily plus hay and water on demand. All cages are cleaned every 3 days and disinfected, floors are swept every day and washed.

The bunnies have special outdoor runs that they use to munch their way around the yard, so most days except when raining or high winds they are all taken out to their day runs and returned in the evening, grooming, chatting and clipping add to the hours of care.

Silk ’n’ Bunny is a beautiful, delicate, soft, luxury blend of hand spun lace weight English or German Angora and silk. It comes in natural colours of white, chocolate, smoke, gold/cream and some hand painted colourways of limited quantities. Angora rabbit fleece is extremely soft and warm and cuddly being a very low micron of 10 and under, again a hollow fibre, not a lot is needed for warmth.

Silk ’n’ Bunny makes a very soft, warm lacy scarf or wrap, is lovely used as a feature or trim on garments, e.g. cuffs, edging on hoods, baby booties to keep those little toes warm or mittens. The yarn as it is knitted produces a beautiful halo of soft fluffiness.

So with all the animal care, spinning, dyeing, website management and orders, managing a small band of spinners – her mum included, developing new lines and sourcing new supplies Sue has found she is now busier running her home based business than working 5 days a week – but she enjoys every minute of it and she loves chatting to her customers!

If you would like to know more or ask Sue a question, or just have a chat, you can contact her through her website at www.tasmanianfibre.com.au

Silk Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:38:57 +0000

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 create the finest quality silk knitting yarn and silk cloth.

There are other methods of creating silk yarn, and not all silk is created equal … though certainly much of it is based on individual tastes perhaps moral grounds for some people. Retrieving the single strands of silk necessitates killing the silkworms. While sufficient qualities are allowed to survive to produce more silkworms to harvest more silk, this actually does present a moral dilemma for some people. Countries like India and a few other places around the world have taken a different approach to harvesting the silk for the creation of silk knitting yarn that is more durable and just as beautiful in nearly every respect.

The harvesting of wild silk is becoming an increasingly popular method for gathering silk fibers for the creation of silk knitting yarn and other silk products. The silkworms are allowed to live a complete life-cycle and only when the cocoon has hatched and the moths have discarded the silk cocoon does the harvest take place. While this does prevent the silk strands from being harvested in a single strand, it does have certain benefits.

The discarded silk cocoons are then carefully removed from their place and brushed and spun much the same as cotton or wool knitting yarns. When the silk is harvested in this fashion it is usually known as Ahimsa silk but this is not always the case. Natural Silk harvesting is becoming increasingly popular around the world. While there are many benefits to getting the silk this way … especially for the silkworms who are more personally involved, there are some drawbacks as well.

Natural silk yarns tend to be a bit more yellow, grey or even brown in shade than the more traditionally harvested silks and the single stranded silks do. This makes them especially difficult to die and they often lose some of their signature silk sheen as well. Fortunately, no matter what type of silk knitting yarn you are looking for, there are many options available these days.

Whether you want silk knitting yarns made from the single strands, wild silk knitting yarns or even synthetic silk knitting yarn, they are all easily found and in a wide range of prices and styles.

$140,000 A Year From Knitting??

Liz — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:22:00 +0000

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 inspires you, and gives you a good boost in motivation to stay on your knitting for profit journey!

Metallic Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:53:16 +0000

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 that emulates or looks like the precious metals but in reality is something much more inexpensive but equally enduring in quality and beauty.

Going back to those days of old once more, the oldest examples of metal knitting yarn reveal that the long filaments or fibers of the metal used were actually individually wrapped around some type of fiber base. It was very common for there to be very small gaps in between the wraps in order to allow the underlying fibers to show as well. This gave enough contrast and exposure to the actual metal in the metal knitting yarn to allow it to more easily reflect light and often caused minor changes in color depending on what type of metallic knitting yarn was being used.

These days, the underlying base for the metal knitting yarns is generally another type of metal. The outer wraps are then braided or wrapped on to the base filament creating much the same affect though many would add, with a little more pizzazz. Unfortunately though, even the best of stainless steel can rust over the course of time, so the metal knitting yarn generally must be coated in order to prevent corrosion, color change or fading.

Normally it is not so important to know everything about the creation of your knitting yarn but in the case of metallic knitting yarn, it does help some. There are two very common methods for producing metal knitting yarn and while the end results may look very similar, the actual metal yarn itself is going to be vastly different and will have to be stitched differently … and generally with more difficulty as well. The two, most common methods for creating metal knitting yarn are the laminating process and the metalizing process.

In the laminating process, the metal knitting yarn is coated with some type of preservative that often makes the metal yarn even stiffer and more difficult to work with than it was originally. The metalizing process for creating metal knitting yarn uses a very high temperature to actually turn the metal into a vapor and using high pressure (and precision) machinery, literally blasts the vaporous metal onto a polyester film. The resulting metal knitting yarn is much more flexible and easier to handle and work with.

Any time that you make a knitted garment with the metal knitting yarn, make sure you mark it “Dryclean Only” and “Do Not Iron” as any other method of washing or pressing may very well cause damage to the metal knitting yarn and this could cause problems with the entire garment, not to mention distracting people’s attention from an otherwise beautiful piece of hand made clothing.

If you know a little about the metal knitting yarn before you begin buying it up, you should have a lot easier time learning how to work with it. Remember, not only is the inlay made with metal knitting yarn going to look great, it will help you to prevent many shocking experiences when you are wearing knitted clothes that are more subject to that old static cling.

Cashmere Knitting Yarn Review

Liz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:17:21 +0000

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 that and its price, it is generally reserved for knitting higher-priced items that people can show off as opposed to garments that are normally covered or hidden from view.

The primary reason that cashmere knitting yarn is so expensive is because it is not actually from the wool of the Cashmere Goats but their down fur. The down, no matter whether it come from fowl or mammals, is much softer and also much more scarce than the fur, hair or feathers that grow out of down. The cashmere goats are somewhat unique in that their down actually grows around their fur as something of a sub-growth to keep them warm in colder climates. The wool and the down are harvested at the same time in the Spring when the goats would normally be shedding their coats anyhow.

Pure cashmere knitting yarn is generally spun into lace weight yarn, fingering weight yarn or occasionally as large as double knitting yarn. However, the cashmere knitting yarns are frequently blended with other fibers to add different features to the yarn and the finished, knitted garments. The blended cashmere knitting yarn is also generally much cheaper than the pure cashmere yarns.

Some of the fancier cashmere blended knitting yarns are blended with silk. These yarns still generally remain very expensive though. One of the most common blends for cashmere yarn is with different types of wool. This allows the yarn to be spun much thicker and giving it more elasticity as well as retaining the ability to keep people warm. It also helps to sell cashmere knitting yarns at discounted prices.

While this is not a major issue for everyone, it can be a great benefit if you are just learning how to knit and do not want to spend a lot of money experimenting with different types of yarn to make garments that may or may not be all you thought they would when you started the knitting project. Still, both the blended and pure cashmere knitting yarns are generally very easy to work with and according to some people at least, as pleasurable to knit with as they are to wear.

Knitting For Profit

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$140,000 A Year From Knitting??

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