Hopefully, this is the last carboy sweater I knit for a long, long time. The summer of 2013 is forever going to be remembered as the time I knit 4 consecutive carboy sweaters. It's a rather pathetic label for a time that should be remembered as, say, the time I conquered stand up paddle boarding (I have a long way to go) or time I took a fab vacation to Italy. Still, it will have to do. As my friend said after she gushed about unwrapping a new kitchen sponge, sometimes being an adult sucks.
Numerous people have told me that I should make these and sell them because I could make so much money. These people think I'm a little lazy for not spending my time cranking these out. Then, I ask them how much they would pay for this sweater made of mostly acrylic. The answer? $20, max. I tell them that it took me probably 6 hours or so to knit this, and they now look at me like I'm a little crazy. One person had a novel solution: I should have a sweatshop in China where people knit these carboy sweaters. That's every young girl's dream, isn't it? To lord over a sweatshop in China! Ugh, no thanks.
This is why I sell patterns, but not handcrafted goods. Although desktop publishing makes me feel all stabby, the stabby feeling fades after a brisk walk with the dog, and I can resume wearing my rose-colored glasses. That stabby feeling would last 6 hours multiplied by the number of commissioned sweaters I made if I were to knit for hire. No thanks.
Who I'll knit for and what I'll knit is always evolving. Babies? Sure! I do love giving babies a hand knit sweater. Adults? It depends. I will happily teach adults to knit, but the thought of knitting something for someone who just wants to throw money at me never seems worth it. I'd be interested to hear other crafter's thoughts about this, and how you handle people asking you to make them things.
Amen sister!
ReplyDeleteI tell people who ask that knitting is my hobby, not my job. I knit for fun, not money, and knitting is only fun when I get to decide what and when I knit - no pressure, no obligation. I guess that also explains why baby knits are the only gift knitting I do these days - 9 months is plenty of lead time. :p
The other great thing about baby knitting is that if you knit a garment a little big, they'll eventually fit it. However, someone did invite me with 7 days of lead time to a baby shower. I was rushing to get a baby hat eeked out in time! And I did feel a little shabby. ;)
DeleteHow difficult to make is the carboy sweater? I'm interested in purchasing the pattern, but I'm still fairly new at knitting and would want to get this done by Christmas. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTo make the sweater, you'll need to know how to knit/purl in the round, switch colors (only for the striped version, so knit the solid version if you want to make it easier), and make increase stitches. After you finish the top section, it's all ribbing in the round from that point on. It's just like knitting a really large hat. Feel free to ask me more questions, and thanks for your interest!
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