Opinions needed please!

[Pickle]

Wise people of the forum, help!

As you may (or may not) know, I'm a knitter and braving my first stall selling to the public in a couple of weeks time.

I made a little blue vest for a baby boy which turned out quite cute, so then went on to make the same pattern in pink. When it was finished Mr Pickle looked at me like I was crazy, saying "what parent is going to dress their boy in that?", and is adament that it's a boy's pattern and not suitable for girls. I disagree, on the basis that I would have happily put it on my daughter when she was little!

What do you think? Picture attached (doesn't do them justice, I'm rubbish at taking photos). I need to know whether I'm wasting my time making more in feminine colours, or whether I should stick to boys colours.

I'd also be interested in opinions as to what I should charge for them - they are all going to be made in either 100% merino wool or bamboo. ?10? ?15?

All feedback welcomed.

[sillywoman]

Both very very cute. Could the pink one be a bit longer so it's like a little knit dress? would probably be more inclined to go for that than a vest, but think it would look cute either way.

?12 vest & ?15 dress?

[Pickle]

Yes, I could easily make the girls ones into a little dress, I hadn't thought of that, thanks!

[Zo?]

Lovely, in my opinion. Very good idea re making it longer so it could be a dress. Personally I'm a bit rubbish at washing (clothes, not myself - I'm positively fragrant...) and tend to run screaming from anything which might need handwashing, so you might like to print off some washing instructions to have on the stall.

Price point is very tricky, although a small discount for buying more than one has been a winner for us in the past.

All the very best of luck with your stall!

Zoe

[bluesuperted]

Think these are lovely. Dress idea is great.

Good point re: washing wool BUT in my opinion (as the owner of lots of lovely Grannie made knits) this is a misconception as good wool washes fantastically - I have baby cardis that have been washed and rewashed and look as good as new. My mum knit a cardi for a friend's baby and she text me to say how much wear they'd got out of it on her hols but that it was now waiting for handwashing! I text her and said shove it in the machine it'll be fine, and it was! If you agree with this then maybe a sign saying 'washing machine friendly at 30 degrees' or whatever you think?

Anyway Pickle I think your prices are very reasonable for the work you must put in!

[Pickle]

Thanks ladies.

Handwashing and me are not friends (to the extent that I recently took something of mine that did need handwashing to New Zealand with me on holiday and got my Mum to do it!) - so I make absolutely sure that everything I make is machine washable. I've started labelling up some of my items and am writing washing instructions on the back of the price label (although they all pretty much say "machine washable at 30").

[pebbles]

They're gorgeous :)

I definitely think doing it as a dress for the girl is a winner - maybe in other colours rather than just pink as I know quite a few mums who avoid pink for their girls?

Prices difficult but agree with Zoe about discount for buying more than 1. Maybe ?12 for 1 but ?10/?9 each if you buy more???

[GinaG3]

I'm amazed by peoples knitting skills. If I sat down to knit I'd end up with a knot. Really!

I think they are really nice and I also disagree that the pattern is masculine. Zoe said exactly as I was thinking, if you made the length a bit longer it could definitely be worn as a dress. If you made some neutral colours like cream/brown or even a light grey (verry nice!) they could be really versatile. In longer and shorter styles they could be worn in a lot of ways with various undergarments - ie. bright leggings, patterned tshirts. I say your not wasting your time (although I do not know how long it would take to make one..) try out a few longer lengths.

Good luck with the stall. X

[ClareC]

I agree, dress idea is fab and pattern isn't masculine so the vests work for boys and girls alike:-)

Prices sound good with discount for multi purchases another good idea.

Good luck with the stall :-)

[crystal7]

These are gorgeous Pickle! I woud buy the vest for a little girl but having a longer versian as well is a great idea.

Hearing that you can wash wool in a machine is a revelation to me, not sure if I dare...

[Belle]

I machine wash all my wool (and have quite a lot of cashmere as am from woolen mill country in Scotland) on the handwash setting in the machine. I would say with the really fine cashmere cardies that are well worn, they do look the worse for wear but that would prob be the case even if I handwashed them, it's more that I'm wearing them a lot. All my baby stuff that was wool has washed fine.

Think the vest would be cute over a long sleeved vest and with leggings/tights, would def buy. Not a masculine pattern at all! Do keep us posted on details of the stall as wouldn't want to miss it.

[Smiler]

V sweet! Little dress would be v nice. Agree that other colours than pink good too.

[underhillroad]

they are super cute and i've got two girls who i'd love to see this kind of dress/long top (i'd prefer it in that style I think) come the winter. Will you make them in larger sizes other than for babies?

[Moos]

Forgot to say today, I like the girl's one too - would look very sweet over blouse and girly cords. But I have boys, so what do I know...

Good luck!

[prm]

Lovely! Where can we buy them?

[Saffron]

Pickle- Am I just being really thick, but what's "a boy's pattern"? (Girls can't wear cable-knit??)

They're both adorable. I can picture the pink one with a white onsie and pink stiped leggings underneath, too cute. Are you doing something similar in toddler sizes?

Bamboo will be a great material for summer. Looking forward to seeing your stall. :)

[The Nappy Lady]

I love them both Pickle.

One of my favourite items for baby C was a next knitted vest, cream with blue and pink hearts on the front which she wore with long sleeve t-shirts and jeans or cords. It finally got too small - was somewhere around her belly button with a gap between it and the top of her trousers, but see absolutely no reason why girls can't wear knitted vests (tank tops as I call them - is that terribly 80's of me?).

Given how much work goes into them I, for a hand knit I think your prices are very fair, and I think the dress idea is also excellent for girls.

Well done you, I love knitting, especially cable stuff, but hate the sewing up - yours looks so neat.

Good luck with the stall.

Molly

xx

[mrs f]

love them! I definately see them working as a dress too.. makes me wish we had a girl!

Can't wait for your stall... remind me again when it is!?

Now the little one is finally here we need to get him stocked up on knitted goods seeing as my mum is point blank refusing to knit and my 85 year old grandma isn't up to knitting apart from socks nower days.... I need a supply!

[charlottep]

Very cute, I think they'd look great in bold colours, navy, red, purple, etc.

[Pickle]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.

I will be selling at the Blackwater Street market (behind Push Studios) on Saturday May 7th from 11am. I'm sharing the stall with my friend who sells yarn, needles etc. for those of you who fancy trying to make your own!

Most of the things I'll have this time round are spring/summer type designs - so short sleeved tops, a collection of cotton crochet hats for baby girls, booties etc. I'll have a few long sleeved boys jumpers as well. Lots of the items are knitted in bamboo which is great for any season as it's one of those magical cool in summer, warm in winter type yarns.

I'll take a photo of all my stock a couple of days beforehand and post so you can get a feel for what I'll have. Prices will range from ?5 to a maximum of ?20.

For now I'm focussing on 0-6 month sizes, as anything bigger takes longer to knit, uses more yarn and therefore costs more. However I'm very happy to make things to order - come and have a chat on the 7th.

Pippa x

[bluesuperted]

I have been thinking about your items and wanted to say, don't undercharge! A lovely knitted item is worth more than a mass produced cotton thingy and will have taken a lot of work! A nice little dress in a Lordship Lane shop would be likely to be ?15-20 so don't be afraid to charge a little more for unique, handmade items, especially with such high quality wool!

Feel free to ignore me but I just wanted to say! Will try and come to the stall as would love to take a look (just don't tell my mum, she'll be irate ;) xx

[amydown]

They are both really gorgeous!!! Couple of things that immediately spring to my mind are:

1) These would be great as gifts. Would you be able to add gift wrapping option (a small, tasteful box with tissue paper and ribbon)?

2) If I knew someone expecting a baby, I would absolutely love to commission a knitted item for them - perhaps a gift card that allows the parents to commission an item once the baby's born to a certain value?

[ClareC]

Oh no..... Think I will more than likely miss your stall :-( am booked in for a C Section on the 3rd so not sure I will be shopping by the 7th! Def would love to see piccies of all the stock beforehand!

[Otta]

I know it wasn't your intention Pickle, but I think you've sold worsele a few vests with this thread! :-) I'm a bloke, and I dont think the pattern is boyish. They both work. Personally though, I'd rather have something that was neither of those colours for my daughter.

[sophiesofa]

They're very cute. Maybe I'm just a really slow knitter but I don't see how you can knit them with merino or bamboo and make any profit from those prices - how long does it take you to knit one? One of those would probably take me about 8 hours!