How do you get people to get machine knitting?

[woodsmokewoolworks]

I love my machine. It gives me the freedom of time to go above and beyond the expected but how do I explain this to my clients?

[Former_Member]

You could always include your feelings about your machine in your shop description or on a business card with your clients purchase.

[Former_Member]

I don't think people realise how much work you put into machine knitting, they think you just churn out a finished product. I have an old knitting encylopaedia which describes machine knitting as almost a retrograde step, for centuries people knitted on wooden frames and needles came along later. Having said that I really like hand knitting, but only for myself and family.

[Former_Member]

I know exactly what you mean! For me machine knitting is a very time consuming thing, I am trying to speed up the process but struggle as there is always something going wrong with my machine!

[woodsmokewoolworks]

Michelle, the learning curve is extreme with machines. I have a couple of machines that I got dirt cheap because it was too much trouble for the original owneer to learn. Keep at it and you'll find it opens up an amazing world.

[JoAnnaSeiter]

I love my knitting machine as well. I always find it amusing when people come over to visit and see my machine set up and they go "What is that??!!" There are so many people that don't realize knitting can be done on a machine. I learned how to knit on a machine before learning to handknit and maybe that's why I prefer to machine knit. There is a definite learning curve to machine knitting, I'm always flipping through my books and watching youtube videos to look for better ways to do things.

[endenisia]

I was so happy when I learned to use my knitting machine as I can't knit big items by hand as I get RSI, so it allowed me to make jumpers and skirts etc, but before I learned I didn't realise the amount of fiddlyness there can be.
Well worth it tho.

[Former_Member]

Machine knitting is still a craft in every sense of the word.

[woodsmokewoolworks]

I belong to a selling co-op and every so often someone will say I shouldn't be there because my work isn't handmade. The woman who did it this time is an irritating idiot at best so to shut her up. I invited her over to see what was involved. Shut her up pretty fast.

[Former_Member]

Not hand made ?!?!?!? If only they knew eh?

[Former_Member]

Well, a handmade skirt means sewn on a machine and so a scarf on a machine is hand made. The stiches are done by hand it is all cast on by hand, cast off etc. The machine is an art you can do all kinds of stiches and designs. It is very tiring for the eyes and back and sometimes hard to recover lost stiches. It is handmade but EXPLAIN this all on your about page. Put up some pictures and some of your designs and maybe make a small piece with different stiches to show what you can do. Good luck and dont worry about the haters.

[Former_Member]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/173443208/fingerless-knit-gloves-arm-warmers?

[Former_Member]

I am finding that people like what I knit for myself - I knit with four ply pure wool, I couldn't afford the ready made garments and don't have the time to hand knit fine yarns. There are good and bad examples of both machine and hand knitting - I have seen garter stitch knitted on huge needles described as lace.