3/27/2019
Being unemployed (#funemployment) has been such a rollercoaster of ups and downs. I have really learned a lot about myself. Specifically, I was worried that once I quit my job, I’d find that having unlimited time to craft would result in me discovering it wasn’t actually what I wanted to do all the time – maybe I just had a few projects in mind and once I had completed those, I wouldn’t feel desire to craft anymore.
Luckily, that’s quite untrue. I love to craft, all day everyday. It is the thing that leaves me feeling most fulfilled and happy. Unfortunately, the struggle has been coming up with a profitable product that I can make and sell. My standards are high. I don’t want to produce and sell something that looks handmade. I want to sell things that look commercial. I want to make things that look and feel of true craft(wo)manship and of quality.
I’ve tried making several products over the last 5 weeks, the most prominent of which were beanies (very saturated market), knit throw pillows (high cost to make, low profit margin), and wire-wrapped rings.
It’s been very frustrating. I feel so ready to start a craft business. I feel ready to build a brand, design a logo, open an online platform, and get marketing. I’m just missing the product. I just know my ultimate goal is a lifestyle where I can make things that I find wholly fulfilling. I want freedom and flexibility and not to be tied to a desk.
Last Sunday I took a yarn spinning class. This means sitting at a spinning wheel and spinning roving wool (wool that has been sheared from the animal, and washed and combed) into yarn that can then be made to make whatever you’d like, just like they did before textile machinery existed. I had been looking forward to this class for a month. Though I didn’t know anything about spinning, I was hoping it would be the saving grace, the clarity that I needed to get a product going. In the class, we learned maintenance of spinning wheels (I rented a wheel from the shop for $10.00), the various parts of the wheel, the terminology of spinning, and then began by plying two commercial yarns together. This portion took about 2 hours. From there, we moved onto spinning roving wool into yarn. This was the frustrating part, my instructor explained. The key is having your hands moving faster than your feet. If your feet treadle too quickly for your hands to keep up, you will have uneven and overspun yarn, which might even snap.
My teacher, Nikki, praised my work. Though it was, in truth, very overspun, I guess it was okay for a very first time spinning wool.
This is the wool I spun in my class. As you can see, it’s thick in some places, and thin in others. At the thin spots, you can see kinks – this is a sign that it’s overspun. To touch, it’s hard and not stretchy and springy like yarn should be. I am still proud of it, and will still knit something with it, but it’s not a saleable product by any means.
I left the class not really sure what to feel. During the class’ lunch break, I had done a quick search for spinning wheels for sale in the area. I had found one at the consignment antique mall up the street for sale for $450.00. It was the model I wanted, the same brand as the one I had rented for my class, literally a mile away. It was barely used, and new, these spinning wheels go for $750 - $800. Antique and/or high end spinning wheels can go for $1400. I was floored by the actual cost of spinning wheels, and getting a basically brand new wheel for $450 seemed like such a good deal, though still wildly expensive. So, after class, I sat in my car contemplating a trip up the street to the antique market. $450 seemed like an awful lot to spend on a machine that I had just learned how to use – a machine that I had never actually produced anything acceptable on. I ended up going home without visiting the antique mall.
That night, I dreamt about spinning. I woke up itching to spin. I headed over to the antique market, not sure if it was still there. I found the booth where it was located and stared at the spinning wheel, discovering I felt relieved that it hadn’t been sold yet. Then, I stared some more.
I pondered if I could spin yarn and sell it to the yarn shop. I didn’t know the answer to that question. I had only spun once and it was so overspun. How long would it take me to master the skill enough to make something saleable? After spinning a couple more times, would I still feel passionate enough about it to practice as much was required to become proficient? How much would I have to spend on roving wool to practice? How much wool would I waste while practicing? How much was I really willing to invest? How long does it really take to spin a whole ball of yarn? Does this diminish the profit, making it an unwise business venture? I thought about how much I have practiced and learned about knitting over the past three years and how I still question if I have enough of a professional skill to sell my knits. By all accounts, it did not make sense to purchase the wheel. However, I thought about how I really had no other leads for a craft business, and I thought about how much I wanted to spin in that moment. If I bought it, I could swing by the yarn shop on my way home, and be spinning again in an hour, and who knows? Maybe I can make a business from this. That was so exciting to me.
Then I thought about the price tag again. I brought the wheel to the cash register hoping to make a deal. After a phone call to the owner, the price was lowered to $405. I was thinking about offering $400, so I felt that was very fair – a basically brand new wheel at 50% off the retail cost. Even so, I told them I needed 20 more minutes to think about it. I walked around the market for a bit, and then went back to just stand and stare at the wheel again. I felt like a mad person standing there and staring at this wheel, but I just couldn’t make up my mind. When I felt like I could stand there no longer without seriously questioning my sanity, I picked up the wheel and moved back toward the cashier. Though I had made the decision to buy it, I was still feeling uncertain inside.
In the car on the way to the yarn shop, I felt equally elated and equally stupid about my purchase.
Once I got home, I sat down and set about getting to spinning. I had bought some roving wool, but I wanted to practice a few more times plying two commercial yarns together. I finished spinning a bobbin, then set about the process of finishing the yarn, and then hung it to dry. I immediately started noticing some issues with it, but I thought it had to do with the way it was hung.
The next day, I realized it was because even though I had spun this yarn less than the yarn I had done in the class, it was still overspun. I did research on how to avoid overspinning yarn and found some great tips. Even so, that day, I spun another round of yarn to death. The finished product was inconsistent – overspun in some places, underspun in others. I just didn’t understand how my feet and hands should coordinate.
The next day, three days after my class, I finally got into the groove by counting. I started literally counting my treadling. Every 4 treadles, I’d release the yarn in my hands. This has resulted in a very even spin, and after finishing actually looks pretty professional!
I decided to “capitalize” on this improvement and went to the store to pick up some good color combinations to ply together. I’m not sure exactly at what point the idea came into my mind, but before I knew it, I was picking out Harry Potter Hogwarts House colors. My idea was the ply the house colors together, and then knit wrist warmers (the quickest and most professional looking thing I can make). I felt I could throw these up on Etsy for sale. They may not be representative of the brand that I ultimately want to create, but it’s something to get me going, something to list, something to sell. I felt so excited and driven.
I spun 4 balls of yarn that day with this new technique and I had an absolute blast doing it! I really love to spin, just as much as I love knitting! I know that once I start on the roving yarn, I will have an even larger learning curve to overcome, but for the moment I am feeling so optimistic about how much I’ve improved in just two days.
In the above picture, the yarn is on a device called a niddy noddy. Once spun, the yarn is taken off the bobbin and wrapped around the niddy noddy. This puts the yarn in place to be wrapped into a hank of yarn, and also allows you to measure the yardage of what you've just spun. Cameron and I made this niddy noddy from PVC purchased from the Home Depot. Traditionally, niddy noddies are wooden and beautiful, and cost around $30.00. I decided to save here after my spinning wheel and yarn costs. This PVC niddy noddy costs less than $6.00 to make.
The yarn is then taken off the niddy noddy and soaked in scorching water for 15 minutes.
Being soaked in hot water allows the fibers to relax and conform to their new shape.
The yarn is then lightly squeezed of water and hung to dry. We were having our first day over 60 degrees since Winter started so I hung these in our back yard on a tree branch to dry.
Once these are dry, I will be knitting them into Ravenclaw, Griffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff inspired wrist warmers.
I really agonized over the cost of this wheel, but I am comforted by the resale value should I find I don't use it enough to justify the price. However, it’s my ultimate hope that the purchase of this wheel is the turning point for me in my crafting. Of course, I don’t know if that will be the case, but I’m trying to focus on positivity and thoughts that are productive. It has been a struggle not doubting myself and what I’m doing, because I do doubt myself, if I’m being honest. However, I also recognize that I am making success less likely for myself if I pick myself apart in my mind all day. Therefore, I do my best to be optimistic and not be torn apart each day that ends without a product to sell. Here’s hoping. If nothing else, I am so overjoyed to have another skill!
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Well, your spinning and knitting is beautiful! And, Your story telling is tops! I wish you success and great enjoyment as you discover what your hands and imagination are capable of.