I had a really hard time deciding what to talk about for today's WIP Wednesday without making it sound like the same old projects again. Yes, I'm still working on the shawl (ready to start lightest stripe), and the top (hasn't gone anywhere since my last post). Today though, I am going to talk about my headbands.
For those of you who did not see my Etsy link on the right, or even if you did, I am knitting black headbands with colorful borders and flowers to sell. They seem to be very popular around the winter time, so why not take the break time I have at work and get a head start on my inventory?
I finally bought a foam head!
I am hoping to have at least 1 a week made so that by the end of the summer I can finish them up and sell them.
In progress, this is 2 hours (four 30 min breaks at work) worth of work, will be done by tomorrow!
Here's where you all come in. I have been knitting them with black wool yarn (Paton's -- a Random Act of Kindness from a fellow Ravelor -- to be exact) and am debating whether to keep doing so or not. Would people be O.K. with acrylic? If I choose acrylic, does it have to be 'luxury' acrylic, or can I get away with something like Simply Soft? Will it lesson the value of the product? My thing is that for those allergic to wool, this is a nice option. Plus it's cheaper to buy for me to knit with, and also most of my customer base may not really know the difference anyways. What would you do?
And then there's the borders, made with hand dyed and spun superwash wool/nylon blend yarn. If I did acrylic, for those allergic, would this small amount of wool still irritate the wearer?
I pretty much run out of previously spun and dyed yarn, except for these 2, which I am thinking I will over dye soon. The pink because I already did one band in it. The red/yellow because I think that a different color may sell better. I am thinking of overlaying both with blue, to make the pink a purple color and then the other a purple/green variety? What do you all think?
Obviously, I cannot make up my mind on much of anything. I was debating this all day at work (all 8 hours, really!) and finally decided to ask all of you. I value your opinions so much because you are all such creative knitters and spinners!
One final thought. I don't usually reply to comments on here because I am unsure if you guys read them. If I know you read or look for replies, I will start doing so. What do you all think?
I hope the week is serving you all well! I finally got more stuff moved to my new place. It's starting to look less like an empty room and more like an empty room with boxes!
Don't forget to check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesdays!
~Lisa
Sasha being awesome! Courtesy a photo message from my little sister!
I would consider offering both with the price reflecting the materials. I'm not sure about your customer base, but I think most people would notice(and be upset if you sent acrylic without telling them since your current description clearly states you use 100% Wool) I think it's totally acceptable to offer a less expensive, allergy free product, just let people know what they're getting and everyone will be happy! Hope this helps some.It's a cute headband. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI love it when kitties hide in funny little places like that. I don't really have any other advice to offer on this subject, but I'll be thinking about it! : )
ReplyDeleteLike Robin said, I think it makes sense to have two different products priced accordingly to their materials.
ReplyDeleteAs for the wool edging, most people don't actually have an allergic reaction to wool, it's just that their skin is sensitive to the prickliness, so if it's really soft wool it will probably be fine. Most actual allergies are due to the lanolin in raw wool, which shouldn't be much of a problem in finished yarn, as far as I understand it, though I could be wrong (I read all that somewhere but can't remember exactly where).
Hi Lisa! I'm really loving the headbands you are working on- I'm so jealous that you are so organized in your creating efforts. I have to admit I'm somewhat baffled about the replying to comments thing- wish I could figure out the best way to tackle that one...
ReplyDeleteLisa, your headbands look fabulous! The contrast between the dark yarn and your vibrant handspun is really, really lovely. :) I think offering up an acrylic option would be very thoughtful in regards to wool-allergy sufferers, though, if it were me, I'd make more wool-based headbands just because I like working with wool more than synthetics. As long as you clearly state which headbands are wool and which aren't, and offer up the acrylic headbands at a slightly lower price, I think you'd make everybody very happy. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the consensus. Pricing your merchandise based on the materials that are used to make them seems very reasonable.
ReplyDeleteLike Lynn, I'm baffled as to whether I should reply to comments or not... I know I personally LOVE reading comments on my own blog. I assume other bloggers appreciate the same. Instead of sending email response to my comments, I make sure to reciprocate comments to the people who were generous enough to do so for me. My exception to this is questions. If somebody asks a question, I respond. :-D
I think that you could def. use the simply soft yarns or any other super soft yarn that is a quality yarn but you will have to adjust your prices accordingly. You could even do a cotton one, that price would prob. be more than acrylic but it would be yet another option for your shop. :) Having lots of options and price ranges will give you a bigger customer base too.
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