Knit - Live?
Have a look at this, Dear Reader - Knitted Poldark characters!
That's Demelza and Ross.
Also have a look at two lines in the article - 'the dolls sell for £34 apiece.' 'Each takes 7-8 hours to make.' That's £34 for a 7-8 hour day's work. Only that's not profit, you have to take into account the price of yarn and stuffing materials too. So that'll be around £30-32 for a 7-8 hour day's work.
That's £4-£4.57 per hour. The government's minimum wage is around £7.50 per hour. And people struggle to live on that. Although it's still much better than wages paid to workers in the garment trade in places like Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and other places Far East. They tend to average less than £3 per day. And the factories in which they work are overcrowded, unsafe, insanitary and have a nasty tendency to collapse. Yay cheap, disposable, Fashion! But that might be another entry.
Back to knitting - it is Very Difficult to make a living from knitting. Even when you're an acknowledged expert in your field, like Woolly Wormhead - who is famed (among knitters at least) for her original and quirky hats. We bumped into her at Unravel one year (goes all fan-girly!)
But seriously, Dear Reader, read her article. I know you can't make a living knitting. I mean, who's going to pay for at least twenty-five hours worth of knitting (plus yarn) for a pair of hand-made socks? Make them intricately textured socks and you're looking at more like 30-35 hours work. That's between £200 and £300 per pair of socks. Socks!
Ok, so they'll fit your feet perfectly. They'll be warm in winter and ok except in the very hottest of summers (or last Bank Holiday weekend!) They'll be unique. They'll last for several years - I have pairs I knitted maybe ten years ago still going strong, and I can be quite hard on my socks. But £200-300? For socks? Even if they last ten years, somehow £20-30 for a pair of socks still sounds a bit steep. Hmmm, perhaps it's time we looked at the real cost of clothing (real people's lives.) But not today. I really must vacuum, and dust.
Y'all have a good day now!
That's Demelza and Ross.
Also have a look at two lines in the article - 'the dolls sell for £34 apiece.' 'Each takes 7-8 hours to make.' That's £34 for a 7-8 hour day's work. Only that's not profit, you have to take into account the price of yarn and stuffing materials too. So that'll be around £30-32 for a 7-8 hour day's work.
That's £4-£4.57 per hour. The government's minimum wage is around £7.50 per hour. And people struggle to live on that. Although it's still much better than wages paid to workers in the garment trade in places like Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and other places Far East. They tend to average less than £3 per day. And the factories in which they work are overcrowded, unsafe, insanitary and have a nasty tendency to collapse. Yay cheap, disposable, Fashion! But that might be another entry.
Back to knitting - it is Very Difficult to make a living from knitting. Even when you're an acknowledged expert in your field, like Woolly Wormhead - who is famed (among knitters at least) for her original and quirky hats. We bumped into her at Unravel one year (goes all fan-girly!)
But seriously, Dear Reader, read her article. I know you can't make a living knitting. I mean, who's going to pay for at least twenty-five hours worth of knitting (plus yarn) for a pair of hand-made socks? Make them intricately textured socks and you're looking at more like 30-35 hours work. That's between £200 and £300 per pair of socks. Socks!
Ok, so they'll fit your feet perfectly. They'll be warm in winter and ok except in the very hottest of summers (or last Bank Holiday weekend!) They'll be unique. They'll last for several years - I have pairs I knitted maybe ten years ago still going strong, and I can be quite hard on my socks. But £200-300? For socks? Even if they last ten years, somehow £20-30 for a pair of socks still sounds a bit steep. Hmmm, perhaps it's time we looked at the real cost of clothing (real people's lives.) But not today. I really must vacuum, and dust.
Y'all have a good day now!