If you enjoy working with yarn, learning how to make money knitting is the perfect way to earn some extra cash.
Maybe you just want to cover your materials to make your hobby cost-free. Or maybe you have ambitions of becoming a full-time knitter.
In this post, I will show you how to get paid to knit including some ways you have probably never even thought of!
Read on for all the details and get started with your knitting business today!
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure for more information.
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How To Make Money Knitting
Before you start thinking about your knitting business, have a think about what you want to achieve and how much money you have to dedicate to your new money-making venture.
Selling your knitting is the obvious way to make money but if you become really successful, you might get overwhelmed with requests for items.
Likewise, teaching others how to knit can be a lucrative side gig if you have the time to dedicate to it.
Secondly you want to consider how much money can you can actually make with your hobby.
Yarn isn’t cheap and you need to be able to turn a profit otherwise it won’t be worth your time.
So let’s dive into the best ways to make money with a knitting business:
Selling Knitted Items
As I mentioned above, this is your obvious choice.
After all, if you love knitting, you probably have too many pieces already and are looking for excuses to make more stuff.
The main thing to consider when selling your knitting is how to make a profit.
Price too low and you won’t cover your time and materials. Price too high and you won’t get any sales.
You can sell items you make and are ready to go and you can also accept custom requests or commissions where you negotiate the price.
Best Selling Knitted Items on Etsy
The best way to find out what to sell and how much to sell your knitting items for is to do some market research.
Etsy is the best place for this as there are lots of Etsy stores that sell knitting so you can find some that are comparable to what you are selling.
To find the best items on Etsy you can use a website such as eRank which is a free website to check out Etsy rankings.
Which Knitted Items Sell Best On Etsy?
The key to doing well on Etsy is to sell knitted items that people are looking for:
- Original, quirky items that you can’t find mass-produced cheaply
- Beautiful, heirloom pieces that people will treasure for years to come.
- Custom pieces such as “Mommy and Me knits”
According to Etsy, the best selling knits on the platform are:
- Knitted Blankets
- Scarfs
- Woollen Toys
- Beanies
- Hair wraps
Keep in mind that shoppers flock to Etsy for something unique, special and personal.
Gifts, holidays, babies & weddings are great markets but they can be very saturated. Try to find a unique spin on bestselling items or fill a void in the market.
Is knitting a good business?
Knitting can be a great business but bear in mind that it is very seasonal. In the fall and winter you will get a lot of orders but business may dry up in the spring and summer.
You can use the quiet months to build up a stock inventory so you are all ready for busy season.
How Much Should I Sell My Knitting For?
This is the big question. One issue I have come across is that many crafters undersell their products and don’t really make a profit.
Most crafters suggest pricing your items at around 2x the cost of your materials.
The only issue with this is that it doesn’t take into account your local market and the need for competitive pricing.
It also doesn’t take into account the time you spend making the knitted items that you plan to sell.
In my opinion, your best bet for determining pricing on your knitting is to do some thorough market research.
Check out local craft fairs, do some searches on Etsy and check out your local Facebook marketplace.
See what similar items are selling for and price yours accordingly, being careful to factor in handling and shipping costs if necessary.
The Best Places To Sell Knitting
Now you have decided what to sell, it’s time to work out where to actually sell your crafts. Here are some places you can try:
- Craft Fairs
- Local stores
- Your Own Website
- Amazon
- Etsy
How To Sell Knitting On Etsy
Selling knit items on Etsy is a great way to start your knitting business because it is cheap and doesn’t require any special tools.
The knitting market on Etsy is pretty saturated so in order to be successful, you want to really niche down your Etsy store and make sure to promote your products as much as possible.
If you haven’t started your shop yet, make sure to go through this tutorial on How To Start An Etsy Store Successfully
It will take you step by step through from creating to launching your Etsy shop.
It also includes a link for 40 free listings which will help you to start your store for free.
4 Ways To Boost Your Etsy Knitting Business
1.Pick An Awesome Name
Your Etsy store name is really important for searches so make sure to read up on How To Name Your Etsy Shop.
You will want to create a store name that describes the kinds of products that you sell.
2. Niche Down
Pick one thing to focus on for your shop. Become known as the best shop for baby items/blankets/scrunchies instead of a generic knitting shop.
Once you have niched down, niche down even further. So let’s say you are interested in making items for dogs.
You can niche that down to “sweaters for dogs”
Then niche it again to “team sweaters for dogs”.
If you want to sell more than one type of product, Etsy has a feature where you can run multiple different shops under your single account if you have more than one focused item to sell.
3. Research Your Audience
Know who you are marketing to. This will help you to plan out future products and items that sell as soon as you list them.
4. Promote Your Etsy Store
Although Etsy has millions of visitors who are searching for handmade products, don’t rely on your shop organically showing up in search.
You want to promote your Etsy shop on social media and especially make use of Pinterest. This tutorial will show you How To Use Pinterest For Etsy
Selling Your Knitting At Local Stores
Upscale boutiques, where they can get really high prices for one-of-a-kind or even bespoke items are a great place to sell your knits.
The advantage of selling in local stores is that people will be able to touch and feel the quality of your knitted items so are more likely to pay top dollar for them.
How To Sell Knitting On Facebook
Selling your knitting locally on Facebook is a really good way to get started if you are new to making money with your hobby.
On Facebook you have a few options and I recommend you take a 3 pronged approach and try all three of these places on Facebook:
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook marketplace is the obvious place to start selling your items as you don’t need to pay anything and can reach a local audience.
You can create as many listings as you like for free. The only downside is arranging shipping or pick ups with your customers.
Your Facebook Page
You can create your own Facebook Page and promote your knitting that way. Ask for people to like your page and advertise sales and promotions.
Facebook Groups
In my opinion, Facebook groups are the best way to sell your knitting. Join as many local groups as you can. Look for handmade groups, mom groups and neighbourhood groups.
You can add your knitting to business promotions where allowed or respond to requests for unique gift ideas.
How To Become A Paid Test Knitter
One option if you love to knit is to become a test knitter.
This involves testing out a pattern and completing a project for a magazine or publication before it goes to market.
How Much Do Test Knitters Make?
A lot of test knitters only get paid in free yard and patterns (which might still work for you.)
Other test knitters get paid approximately 10 – 30 cents per yard (or meter).
The amount of payment for test knitting often depends on how complicated the project is.
Where to find Paid Test Knitting Jobs
Try the following places and make sure to have social media profiles with examples of your work (this will act as your resume):
- Ravelry
- Fiverr
- Instagram Pages of your favorite knit designers
- Knitting subreddits on Reddit
Sister Mountain is a site that also accepts test knitters although it is unclear whether they are paid or unpaid.
Can You Make Money Designing Knitting Patterns?
One of the best ways to make money with knitting is by selling knitting patterns.
In many cases, you can make more money selling patterns than finished items.
If you can create PDF knitting patterns you can sell them in a number of places.
Where To Sell Knitting Patterns
Your Own Website
Starting your own website selling patterns is not as hard as you might think. You can get started for around $5-10 a month and then promote your site on social media.
Once your site is launches you can add links to your Etsy store to create even more opportunities for product sales.
You can read my tutorial on How To Create A Website For Your Small Business.
Etsy
I’ve already spoken above about starting your own Etsy store and selling printables like PDF patterns is a great idea. Tons of people have Etsy shops that only sell knitting and crochet patterns.
There are no shipping costs and you can sell to customers Worldwide.
You can read my tutorial on How To Start Your Own Etsy Printables Business to learn the nitty gritty of getting started.
Yarn Stores
Selling your patterns in local yarn stores can be a great way to get started. Most of the time, you will only get paid if you pattern is sold but it’s a nice way to make some extra cash passively.
Shopify
Open An Online Store With Shopify and sell your knitting patterns without the hassle of setting up your own website. This can be a great way of making sales in addition to an Etsy shop.
Selling Knitting Patterns On Craft Sites
Selling your knitting patterns on craft sites is an easy way to make money knitting with your PDFs.
The top sites to sell patterns include:
If you don’t get much traction on selling patterns on these sites, you can list some free patterns and then drive the traffic to your website or blog and monetize that way (via ads or affiliate links).
Submitting Your Knitting Patterns to Knitting Magazines
Another option is to submit your knitting designs to magazines and publications and get published.
This can help to get you exposure for your knitting business but also can earn you money too!
Most of the time publications will put out a “submission call” when they are open to receiving new patterns from designers.
In a submission call, they will give you a brief plus information about deadlines, compensation details and the format your pattern should be in.
Keep an eye on all the knitting websites and publications for their submission calls.
Here are some places to try:
Vogue Knitting
The editors of Vogue Knitting magazine are always looking for stylish, modern, edgy designs that are unique.
Knitting Magazine
This UK based magazine has lots of patterns and featured knitters.
Selling Knitting Products
Make money without even knitting a stitch by becoming a wholesaler or reseller of knitting items. Here are some of the best ideas to get started:
Selling Knitting Supplies
Another way to make money with your knitting hobby is by selling knitting supplies to other crafters. You can sell these online (Etsy, Facebook) or at craft sales.
Some ideas include:
- Hand-dyed yarn
- Hand-dyed spinning fiber
- Kits For Beginners – needles, yards and a simple project
- Project kits – especially for color work projects where small quantities of a lot of different yarns or colorways are needed. People are willing to pay relatively more for 5 x 10 g of yarn if they don’t have to buy 5 balls of 50 g or even 100 g each
Selling Vintage Knits
You probably know that everything vintage is in and one of the easiest ways to make money knitting is by sourcing vintage knits then selling them on for a profit.
This form of Flea Market Flipping has been around forever but has really taken off in the last few years.
How it works – basically you scour thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets for brand name or classic knits and then resell them on eBay or clothing sites for a profit. Here are some of the places to resell your vintage clothing.
How much can you make?
Well, some vintage knits, such as Aran sweaters from Scotland, can easily make you $50+ and cost just a few bucks at a thrift store.
Selling Vintage Patterns
Another great vintage item to sell on Etsy or at flea markets is to find and sell vintage knitting patterns. These are often in high demand and can fetch great prices on eBay and other online auction sites.
RELATED POST: 10 Best Selling Vintage Items On Etsy
Teach Others To Knit
The last way to make money with your knitting hobby is to teach others!
Lots of people are interested in learning to knit and don’t know where to start.
If you are good at explaining stuff and can show different techniques and patterns, then teaching others may be for you.
Advertise online and at yarn stores that you offer one on one knitting tutorials and you might be surprised at how many people take you up on your offer!
There are a few different ways to get paid to teach others to knit both online and offline.
Start A Knitting Blog
I mentioned starting your own website above and a knit blog is a great way to do this and make money.
You can start a blog and then make money through affiliate marketing, advertising and also selling your own patterns and how-to ebooks.
You can start a blog in conjunction with an Etsy store to really boost your sales.
There are knitting bloggers making thousands every month with their blogs.
READ NOW: Start A Blog That Makes Money
Teach Kids To Knit on Outschool
If you like working with children and know how to make knitting fun, then consider signing up to be a teacher on Outschool.
On Outschool, you can host online knitting classes for kids ages 3-18. You can teach one-off classes or ongoing sessions that teach the basics or specific patterns.
With Outschool you set your own fees and can work as much or as little as you like making it great for people who already have a full-time job.
Become A Freelance Knitting Writer
If you don’t fancy starting your own blog but love writing about knitting, how about becoming a freelance writer for knitting magazines and blogs?
You can write how tos and articles about knitting news and trends and get paid per word or per article. This is a fantastic way to explore your creative side while writing about your passion.
Guest posting on knitting blogs is a great way to become known as an “expert” in your field.
To find knitting publications that accept paid contributors, you can do a search for “knitting blog + guest post” on Google.
Launch Your Own YouTube Channel
This is a way of making money that you can do as a standalone or combine with your blog. Lots of people are visual learners and they want to learn via videos.
YouTube is the perfect answer to this and you can monetize with affiliates and also on screen advertising.
You can combine your YouTube channel with TikTok videos and other socila media to boost your subscriber list.
LEARN MORE: How To Make Money With YouTube
Start A Knitting Podcast
You might think that knitting doesn’t really lend itself to the audio medium because you can’t actually see the teacher knitting but in fact, anything works for a podcast. One hugely popular knitting podcast is
Your podcast can make money through sponsorships, ads and recommending products to earn a commission.
READ MORE: How To Make Money Podcasting
Create A How To Knit Course
Share your love of knitting by creating an online course showing others how to take up this hobby.
You can create your own course very easily and sell it on platforms such as Craftsy and Udemy.
Here are some examples of top selling knitting courses on Udemy:
Vineyard Cardigan Knitting Tutorial
Knitting for Adults: A Beginners Guide to Knitting Basics
Start A Knitting Club
Another option is to start an online or offline knitting club and charge people per meeting or per month. A membership club is a really good way to build recurrent income.
Host Knitting Classes
You could host in person or online knitting classes where you show people how to knit simple projects. People would pay you per project.
Yarn stores are often willing to host knitting classes after hours so that is the best place to check when you are thinking of this kind of knitting business.
Write A Knitting Ebook
Another way to make money knitting is by publishing your own how to knit ebook on a site like Kindle Publishing. You can write an ebook in a day or so using Word then save it as a PDF and get ready to sell it.
Promote your ebook through social media and local yarn stores to boost sales.
Here are some tips to Make Money With Kindle Publishing.
Publish A Book Of Knitting Patterns
If you have experience creating and designing your own knitting patterns, you could compile them into a book or ebook and publish it.
If you don’t have the money to invest, start with an ebook that can always be turned into a physical compendium of patterns later on.
Write Knitting Novels
Here’s a knitting business that you might not have thought of. How about writing short stories for money?
Did you know that knitting is one of the most popular fiction genres right now?
Books like The Friday Night Knitting Club launched a massive trend of books about women who love to knit.
It’s easier than you might think to get started selling your fiction for cash. Read my tutorial on How To Sell Short Stories For Money
Final Thoughts On How To Make Money Knitting
If you are an avid knitter there are a lot of different ways you can start to monetize your hobby. From teaching others to selling patterns, look beyond selling handicrafts at fairs and online.
Do your research and price your items and patterns well and you will be on your way to owning a successful knitting business in no time!
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