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Knitting for profit sounds like a great idea if you’re obsessed with knitting and fiber arts. What could be better than starting a business doing something you love? One secret to success in knitting for profit is to focus a niche where you can become an expert.

Check out what knitted items others are selling on websites where hand made items are selling. On Etsy.com, for instance, you can search “knitted hats” and find the top 10 categories of knitted hats for sale:

  • newborn hats
  • men’s knitted hats
  • knitted infant hats
  • women’s knitted hat
  • knitted hats for children
  • knitted hats for kits
  • knitted animal hats

These topics can help provide you with valuable information for your knitting business focus. If you click on some of the knitting topics above, you can find that there are 3,454 search results for Etsy shops selling men’s hats but only 792 selling knitted animal hats.

Next, you can check out some of the shops for a knitting niche you’re interested in and see how many sales these shops have had. If they only have one or two sales, maybe there isn’t much interest in that knitted item. If they’ve have dozens or even hundreds of sales, then there probably is an interest and you could help fill that niche.

Once you’ve decided on a knitting niche for your business, find a sub niche within it, a specialty that you could fill. How about infant hats made of organic fibers like organic cotton or hypoallergenic fibers like alpaca yarn. People are usually willing to pay more for organic or specialty yarns, especially for an infant or child. I once knew a woman who specialized in knitting socks. Her sub niche – no two socks were alike. She created pairs of socks in the same color family but the two socks were in different patterns. It sounds funny but it worked!

This brings us to pricing for your knitting niche. Check out what others are selling their knitted items for and make sure you could purchase the specialty yarn, pay for your knitting time and still make a profit. After all, the main idea of knitting for profit is to actually make money.

Another advantage of specializing in one knitting niche is that if someone comes in search of a knitted infant hat, for instance, you have maybe a dozen or more options for the buyer. If you only have one infant hat and they don’t like that one, they will leave your shop or craft table quickly.

I used to sell handmade beadwork at craft fairs and I observed how people set up their tables and what drew buyers. A table set up with 30 different knitted infant hats would bring buyers more quickly than a table with 2 infant hats, 2 scarves, 3 pairs of mittens, etc. People like to have choices and if you specialize in a knitting niche, you can offer many style choices to them.

If you start focusing on a niche for your knitting business, you’ll quickly find that new ideas come to you for improvements to your product. Maybe you could add ribbons or crocheted flowers to make your infant hats stand out. Add beads to your hand knitted scarves and beadlovers will also flock to your knitting business. Just because you are specializing your knitting business on knitted hats, they don’t have to all be the same. You’ll be the expert at making YOUR knitted hats different than others.

In finding a niche for your knitting business, be sure to take into consideration your own interests. If you have babies yourself, or come in contact with other mothers, you can have a ready outlet for your business. What better way to sell knitted infant hats than by modeling them on your own baby? When mothers ask where you got the cute baby hat, you can tell them you make and sell them. You can also give them as shower gifts, letting everyone know if they like your baby hats, they can order one from you. Carry a business card always and maybe even a flyer with photos or your work.

I love knitting myself but I’ve decided to focus my knitting business on writing about knitting. That’s my knitting for profit niche. If you think about it, you can become an expert in your own knitting for profit niche, making sure it’s some aspect of knitting that you enjoy.

Other Resources for starting a knitting business

Liz Raad has written a terrific ebook on Knitting for Profit. Liz also has a helpful newsletter for those wanting to learn how to make a living from knitting and sign up is free.

The Savvy Crafters Guide To Success: Turn Your Crafts Into A Career

For more ideas on a knitting business, check out this Knitting for Profit blog

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