Cost of knitting

Just wondering how those of you who knit afford to do so. I do a bit of spinning, but I am not skilled enough to spin some of the nicer yarns.

I was looking at a nice pattern for a short sleeve jacket and was going to get my MIL to knit it (way to advanced for my beginner skills). The yarn alone was going to got $240 :o I suppose if it was your only hobby to spend on it would be affordable, but for me it is just out of my league. Well, I suppose I could afford it as it takes me so long to knit anything :lol:

So how do you afford it? Do you just knit small items that only need a few balls?

It is expensive, painfully so.

I tend to stick to small projects (found a great book at the library called "one skein") and that way I get the affordable satisfaction of making something with a lovely quality ball of yarn.

Otherwise, I justify it as my therapy. Knitting can give me wonderful peace of mind and it is much cheaper than a psychology session!

I used to live with a design student who knitted on. A budget.
She used to get second hand jumpers from op-Shops and unravel the yarn to re-use it. It was kind of painstaking but she knitted lots of awesome stuff ona student budget.

At the end of winter there are often sales where you can get wool for a couple of dollars per skein.

ooh - old stuff and unravelling. Forgot about that.

Must admit to being hesitant to buy at end of season sales. Would be ok if I had something in mind and I made sure I bought and extra ball or two. I could see myself just buying up on cool colours and then not really having enough when I find a pattern I want to knit with.

I soooo want to knit a long jacket/cardi one day, but the cost just frightens me. I could go for an eclectic mixed wool look I suppose?

Thanks Ladie :D

If you look at a seller called katwise on etsy she does amazing stuff with reclaimed wool. She knits long cape like jackets.

Katwise - Yes! Came across her the other week when doing on Etsy drool session. Fabulous stuff, very tempted to try and no unravelling required!

I was going to suggest op shops too, a lot of them have small lots of balls of wool, some of it very good quality. If you're prepared to collect a stash to dip into and you don't mind mix and matching your colours, you could do some amazing funky stuff.

There are a few places where you can get the wool direct from wholesalers. I think there is a place in Northern Vic that sells direct to the public.

I used to do alot of knitting when the girls were younger and at the moment I am trying a new pattern where you knit a blanket in squares but join as you go.

Oh, I love knitting, but it really is expensive. That's why I have decided to knit most things for babies up to three months:D Takes little time and is not that expensive. I just knitted a dress that cost about 10 dollars:)