Major
Psychology
Advisor
Hickox, Chet F.
Advisor Department
General Business
Date
12-2013
Keywords
knitting, apparel, handmade, small business, pattern, design
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Abstract
Starting up a small business selling knitted apparel and original knitting patterns can be a time-consuming and exhausting process: from designing and constructing an original knitted garment, to selling and distributing one's artwork and patterns at prices that will sustain profit and provide room for creativity. This project investigated the process of creating original knitted art, and the steps to entering into and competing in a market of hand-made knitted apparel and knitting patterns.
The designing process is constant, but begins with inspiration. With newly-acquired skills and techniques, experience with particular yarns and fibers, and time, sketches evolve into finished, wearable garments. After testing the fluidity and conciseness of written patterns with other knitters, editing and incorporating feedback appropriately, and after garments are photographed, copyrighted patterns are uploaded to an online retail platform for sale and instant-distribution; finished garments are listed for sale separately, and given significance through titles and descriptions.
The process of selling also begins with inspiration – designing and crafting finished goods requires a constant focus on the needs and desires of the buyer, what a buyer will and will not purchase, and at what price they are willing to spend. Starting up a small business requires start-up funds and/or investors, and maintaining its success requires constant and appropriate exposure of one's product to its intended audience.
This Honors Project demonstrated the creative and technical skills required to design and create a line of sellable knitted goods, as well as basic business and legal considerations such as pricing and photographing items to sell and copyright infringement, and is a testament to the hard work and dedication necessary for entrepreneurial success.